Everything about Rajputana Agency totally explained
Rajputana Agency was a collection of native states in India (now in Rajasthan, west of Jaipur, northwestern India), under the political charge of an agent to the
Governor-General of India who resided at
Mount Abu in the
Aravalli Range. The total area of Rajputana was 127,541 square miles (330,330 km²). It included 18 states and 2 estates or chiefships. For administrative purposes Rajputana was subdivided into nine groups of states, consisting of three residencies and six agencies:
- Mewar Residency, with headquarters at Udaipur, included the state of Mewar (Udaipur).
- Western Rajputana States Agency, which included the states of Dungarpur, Partabgarh and Banswara. This agency was part of Mewar Residency until 1906, when it was separated.
- Jaipur Residency, with headquarters at Jaipur, comprising the states of Jaipur and Kishangarh and the estate of Lawa.
- Western Rajputana States Residency, with headquarters at Jodhpur, comprising the states of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Sirohi.
- Bikaner Agency, with headquarters at Bikaner.
- Tarangagadh, with headquarters at Taranga.
- Alwar Agency, with headquarters at Alwar.
- Eastern Rajputana States Agency, with headquarters at Bharatpur, comprising the states of Bharatpur, Dholpur, and Karauli.
- Haraoti-Tonk Agency, with headquarters at Deoli, comprising the states of Tonk and Bundi and the estate of Shahpura.
- Kotah-Jhalawar Agency, with headquarters at Kota, comprising the states of Kotah and Jhalawar.
All of the states had
Hindu Rajput rulers, except
Tonk, which had a
Muslim ruler, and Bharatpur and
Dholpur, which had
Jat rulers. The small British province of
Ajmer-Merwara was also included within the geographical area of Rajputana, but was under direct British rule. Although Rajputs ruled most of the states, they comprised a minority of the population; in the 1901 census, of a total population of 9,723,301, 620,229 were Rajputs, who were numerically strongest in the northern states and in Udaipur.
Other important castes and tribes of Rajputana were the
Brahmins, who traditionally occupied the highest rank among castes, and were numerous and influential; the Bhat caste, who were the keepers of secular tradition and of the genealogies; the
Hindu mercantile
castes;
Jains, who comprised the majority of the merchants; the powerful cultivating groups, such as the
Jat caste, the
Gujars and the
Meenas, the tribal peoples,
Bhils and
Meo. In the 1901 census, 7,035,093 persons, or more than 72% of the total population spoke one of the
Rajasthani languages.
Economy
Under 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 of 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's 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.
Rulers
In northern India in the eleventh century, Rajputana was ruled by a number of dynasties, Chief of these were the
Pratiharas, who ruled at
Kanauj; the
Paramaras of
Malwa; the
Rahavers of
Tarangagadh; the
Chauhans of
Ajmer; the
Solankis of
Anhilwara in
Gujarat; the
Guhilots with the
Sesodia sept of Udaipur (
Mewar); the
Rahtors of
Marwar (Jodhpur); and the
Kachwaha clan of
Jaipur. The Sesodias and Kachwahas ruled until Indian independence. These Rajput dynasties were gradually supplanted or subordinated by the Moslem invaders of the 11th century and weakened by internal feuds. At the beginning of the 16th century the Rajput power began to revive, only to be overthrown by the
Babur, founder of the
Mughal empire at
Fatehpur Sikri in
1527. The clans were finally either conquered, overawed or conciliated by
Akbar, except for the distant Sesodia clan, which, however, submitted to
Jahangir in
1616. From Akbar's accession to
Aurangzeb's death in
1707, a period of 151 years, most of India was under Mughal control. Aurangzeb's death and the invasion of
Nadir 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 Rahtors to aid them, took possession of Ajmer about
1756. By the end of the century nearly the whole of Rajputana had been virtually subdued by the Marathas. The
Second Anglo-Maratha War distracted the Marathas from
1807 to
1809, but afterwards Maratha domination of Rajputana resumed. 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 The Sword of Rever Dyansty again make war and in the history of Rajasthan this war is being remembered as victory of "Rahevars" with the east india co. of Britain. 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 Rajput princes remained loyal to Britain in the
Revolt of 1857, and few political changes were made in Rajputana until Indian independence in
1947.
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