Rajputana Agency

Population and dynasties

All of the princely states had Hindu rulers, except Tonk, which had a Muslim ruler, most being Rajputs, except two in Eastern Rajputana, Bharatpur State and Dholpur State, which had Jat rulers.

Although Rajputs ruled most of the states, they comprised a small minority of the population; in the 1901 census, of a total population of 9,723,301, only 620,229 were Rajputs, who were numerically strongest in the northern states and in Udaipur and Tarangagadh.

Other important castes and tribes of Rajputana were the Charans, known as poet-historians and administrators in princely states; the Brahmins, who traditionally performed priestly functions, and were numerous and influential; the Bhats, who were the keepers of secular tradition and of the genealogies; the Hindu mercantile castes; Jains, who comprised the majority of the merchants; the agricultural groups, such as the Jats and the Gurjars, the tribal peoples, Bhils, Meenas and Meo. In the 1901 census, 7,035,093 persons, or more than 72% of the total population spoke one of the Rajasthani languages.

Rulers

In the eleventh century, Rajputana was ruled by a number of local dynasties, Chief of these were the Gurjara Pratiharas, who ruled at Kanauj; the Paramaras of Malwa; the Chauhans and Gaur dynasty of Ajmer; the Bamraulia of Dholpur; the Chaulukya (Solankis) of Anhilwara in Gujarat; Mahawar koli of (Rajasthan); the Guhilots with the Sisodia of Udaipur (Mewar); the Rathores of Marwar (Jodhpur); and the Kachwaha clan of Jaipur. The Rathore, Chauhan, Sisodia and Kachwahas ruled until Indian independence. In 14th century great Maharana Kumbha ruled over entire Mewar region for 34 years after defeating various Islamic Sultans many times. He built the Vijay Stambha (Tower of Victory) to commemorate his victories against Islamic Sultans. Colonel James Tod called Vijay Stambha one of finest examples of Hindu Rajput architecture. In 16th century the Rajputs first allied & then faced off with foreigner Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire at Delhi in 1527. Some clans chose to conciliate with Akbar, except for the Sisodia clan, which, however, conciliated with Jahangir in 1616. Many Mughal Kings sought refuge from the friendly allied Rajput kings during internal conflicts or while on the run; e.g. Akbar was born at the Rajput Fortress of Amarkot in Rajputana (in modern-day Sindh), where his parents had been given refuge by the local Hindu ruler Rana Prasad. From Jahangir's accession to Aurangzeb's death in 1707, a period of 100 years, many Rajput kings allied with Mughals although some states did rebel like Bundelas against Shah Jahan, Mewar's great Maharana Pratap against Akbar and Mewar and Marwar against Aurangzeb. In the 16th century Jat power arose and they fought against Aurangzeb in battle of Tilpat. After death of Gokula Singh Raja Ram Jat looted Akbar's tomb and exhumed Akbar's bones and burned them. After Aurangzeb's death, the invasion of the Marathas and Nader Shah of Iran led to a triple alliance among the three leading Rajput chiefs, which internal jealousy so weakened that the Marathas, having been called in by the Rathors to aid them, took possession of Ajmer about 1756. By the end of the century nearly the whole of Eastern Rajputana had been aligned with Marathas. The Second Anglo-Maratha War distracted the Marathas from 1807 to 1809. In 1817 the British went to war with the Pindaris, raiders who were based in Maratha territory, which quickly became the Third Anglo-Maratha War, and the British government offered its protection to the Rajput rulers from the Pindaris and the Marathas. The Pindari were defeated, and the Afghan adventurer Amir Khan submitted and signed a treaty with the British, making him the ruler of Tonk. By the end of 1818 similar treaties had been executed between the other Rajput states and Britain. The Maratha Sindhia ruler of Gwalior gave up the district of Ajmer-Merwara to the British, and Maratha influence in Rajasthan came to an end. Most of the Jat and Rajput princes remained loyal to Britain in the Revolt of 1857, and few political changes were made in Rajputana until Indian independence in 1947. The Rajput kings were some of the most loyal allies of British Empire during the Revolt of 1857, World War I, & World War II.

Statistical overview

Economy

In the time of the British Raj, the majority of the people were occupied in agriculture. In the large towns banking and commerce flourished. In the north, the staple products for export were salt, grain, wool and cotton, and in the south opium and cotton. The major imports included sugar, hardware and piece goods. Rajputana had relatively little industrial production. The principal manufactures were cotton and woolen goods, metalwork, ivory carving, and other handicrafts which were chiefly carried on in the eastern states. The system of agriculture was very simple; in the drier country west of the Aravalli Range only one crop was raised in the year, while in other parts south and east of the Aravallis two crops were raised annually, and various kinds of cereals, pulses and fibres are grown. In the desert tracts fine breeds of camels, cattle, horses and sheep were to be found wherever there is pasturage. Irrigation, mostly from wells, was almost confined to the northern portion. Rajputana was traversed throughout by the Rajputana railway, with its Malwa branch in the south, and diverging to Agra and Delhi in the north. Jodhpur, Udaipur and Bikaner had constructed branch railways at their own cost, the first of which was extended in 1901 to Hyderabad in Sindh. In 1909 another line was opened running north near the eastern boundary from Kotah to Bharatpur.