history of rajasthan
The Mythology of region:
According to the Hindu Mythology, the Rajputs of Rajasthan were the descenda
nts of the Kshatriyas or warriors of Vedic India. The emergence of the Rajput warrior clans was in the 6th and 7th centuries. Rajputs ancestry can be divided into two: the "solar" or suryavanshi - those who descended from Rama, the hero of the epic Ramayana, and the "lunar" or chandravanshi, who claim descent from Krishna, the hero of the epic Mahabharata. Later a third clan was added, the agnikula or fire-born, said to have emerged from the flames of a sacrificial fire on Mt Abu.
Historical Wars and Moghul Influence:
Rajasthan lies in North-western region of India and has remained independent from the great empires. Buddhism failed to make substantial inroad here; the Mauryan empire (321-184 BC), whose most renowned emperor, Ashoka, converted to Buddhism in 261 BC, had minimal impact in Rajasthan; however, there are Buddhist caves and stupas (Buddhist Shrines) at Jhalawar in Southern Rajasthan. Ancient Hindu scriptural epics make reference to sites in present-day Rajasthan. The holy pilgrimage site of Pushkar is mentioned in both the "Mahabharata and Ramayana." Mohammed of Ghori was killed in 1206 and his successor, Qutb-ud-din, became the first of the Sultans of Delhi. Within 20 years, the Muslims had brought the whole of the Ganges basin under their control. In 1297, Ala-ud-din Khilji pushed the Muslim borders south into Gujarat. Ala-ud-din mounted a protracted siege of the massive fort at Ranthambhore, which was at the time ruled by the Rajput chief Hammir Deva.
Hammir was reported as dead (although it's unknown if he did actually die in the siege) and upon hearing of their chief's demise, the womenfolk of the fortress collectively threw themselves on a pyre, thus performing the first instance of jauhar, or collective sacrifice, in the history of the Rajputs.
Alu-ud-din later went on to sack the fortress at Chittorgarh in 1303, held by the Sisodia clan. According to tradition, Alu-ud-din had heard repute of the great beauty of Padmini, the consort of the Sisodian chief, and resolved to carry her off with him. Like Ranthambhore before it, Chittorgarh also fell to the Muslim leader. The Delhi sultanate weakened at the beginning of the 16th century, and the Rajputs took advantage of this to restore and expand their territories. At this time the kingdom of Mewar, ruled by the Sisodias under the leadership of Rana Sangram Singh, gained preeminence among the Rajput states. Under this leader, Mewar pushed its boundaries far beyond its original territory, posing a formidable threat to the new Mughal Empire which was emerging under the leadership of Babur (reigned 1527-30). Babur, a descendent of both Timur and Genghis Khan, marched into Punjab from his capital at Kabul in Afghanistan in 1525and defeated the Sultan of Delhi at Panipat. He then focused his attention on the Rajput princely states, many of whom, anticipating his designs, had banded together to form a united front under Rana Sangram Singh. Unfortunately, when the inevitable confrontation took place, the Rajputs were defeated by Babur. They sustained great losses, with many Rajput chiefs falling in the fray, including Rana Sangram Singh himself, who reputedly had no less than 80 wound son his body suffered during both this and previous campaigns. The defeat shook the very foundations of the princely states.
Mewar's confidence was shattered by the death of its illustrious leader, and its territories contracted following sub-sequent attacks by the Sultan of Gujarat, At this time Marwar, under its ruler Maldeo, emerged as the strongest of the Rajput states, and it recorded a victory against the claimant to the Mughal throne, Sher Shah. However, none of the Rajputs was able to withstand the formidable threat posed by the most renowned of the Mughal emperors, Akbar (reigned 1556-1605).Recognising that the Rajputs could not be conquered by mere force alone, Akbar contracted a marriage alliance with a princess of the important Kachhwaha clan who held Amber (and later founded Jaipur). The Kachhwahas, unlike their other Rajputbrethren at the time, aligned themselves with the powerful Mughals, and even sent troops to aid them in times of battle. Akbar also used more conventional methods to assert, his dominance over the Rajputs, wresting Ajmer from the Rathores of Marwar which had been briefly restored to the Rajputs under Maldeo. All the import-ant Rajput states eventually acknowledged Mughal sovereignty and became vassal states of the Mughal Empire, except Mewar, which fiercely clung to its independence, refusing to pay homage to the infidels.
An uneasy truce was thus maintained between the Rajputs and the Mughal emperors, until the reign of Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor, when relations were characterized by mutual hostility. Aurangzeb devoted his resources to extending the empire's boundaries. The punitive taxes which he levied on his subjects to pay for his military exploits and his religious zealotry eventually secured his downfall. The Rajputs were united in their opposition to Aurangzeb, and the Rathores and Sisodias raised arms against him. It didn't take long for revolts by the enemies of Aurangzeb to break out on all sides and, with his death in 1707, the Mughal Empire's for-tunes rapidly declined.
Following the death of Aurangzeb and the dissolution of the Mughal Empire came the Marathas. They first rose to prominence with Shivaji who, between 1646 and 1680, per-formed feats of arms and heroism across central India. The Maratha Empire continued under the Peshwas, hereditary government ministers who became the real rulers. They gradually took over more and more of the weakening Mughal Empire's powers, first by supplying troops and then by actually taking control of Mughal land. The Marathas conducted numerous raids on the Rajputs, and the latter, too busy fighting among themselves, laid themselves wide open to these aggressions, resulting in numerous defeats in battle, the loss of territories and the invitable decline of the rajput states.
British Influence:
In the early 19th century, the East India Company, a London trading company which had a monopoly on trade in India, was taken over by the British Government, and India was effectively under British control. Meanwhile, the Marathas continued to mount raids on the Rajputs. Initially the British adopted a policy of neutrality towards the feuding parties. However, the British eventually stepped into the fray, negotiating treaties with the leaders of the main Rajput states. British protection was offered in return for Rajput support. Weakened by habitual fighting between themselves and in their skirmishes with the Marathas, one by one the princely states forfeited their independence in exchange for this protection. British residents were gradually installed in the princely states. The British ultimately eliminated the Maratha threat, but by this stage the Rajputs were effectively reduced to puppet leaders and lackeys of the British. While the Rajput leaders enjoyed the status and prestige of their positions, discontent was manifesting itself among numbers of their subjects, which broke out in rebellion in 1857. This rebellion proved to be a precursor to widespread opposition to British rule throughout India. It was Mohandas Gandhi, later to be known as Mahatma Gandhi, who galvanised the peasants and villagers into then on-violent resistance which was to spear-head the nationalist movement. By the time WWII was concluded, Indian independence was inevitable. The war dealt a deathblow to colonialism and the myth of European superiority, and Britain no longer had the power nor the desire to maintain a vast empire. Within India, however, a major problem had developed: the large Muslim minority had realized that an independent India would also be a Hindu-dominated India.
The country was divided along purely religious lines, with the Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, speaking for the Muslims, and the Congress Party led by Jawaharlal Nehru, representing the Hindu population. Gandhi was absolutely opposed to the severing of the Muslim dominated regions from the prospective new nation. However, Jinnah was intransigent: I` will have India divided, or India destroyed,` was his uncompromising demand. The new viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, made a last-ditch attempt to convince the rival factions that a united India was a more sensible proposition, but the reluctant decision was made to divide the country. Independence was finally instituted on 15 August 1947, with the concomitant partitioning of the nascent country. The result was a Hindu-dominated India and a Muslim-dominated West and East Pakistan. Emergence of the State of Rajasthan "It took some time for the boundaries of the proposed new state of Rajasthan to be defined. In 1948, Rajasthan comprised the south and south-eastern states of Rajputana. With the merger of Mewar, Udaipur became the capital of the United State of Rajasthan. The Maharana of Udaipur was invested with the title of rajpramukh (head of state). Manikya Lal Varma was appointed as prime minister of the new state, which was inaugurated on April 18, 1948.
Many of the former rulers of Rajasthan continue to use the title of maharaja for social purposes. The only power this title holds today is as a status symbol. Since the privy purse abolition, the princes have had to financially support themselves. Some hastily sold valuable heirlooms and properties for literally nothing, in a desperate attempt to pay bills. While a handful of princes squandered their family fortunes, others refused to surrender their heritage, and turned their hands to business, politics or other vocations. Many decided to convert their palaces into hotels as a means of earning income. Some of these palace-hotels have become prime tourist destinations in India, such as the Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur, the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur and the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. The revenue earned from such hotels has enabled the maharajas to maintain their properties, sustain time-honored family traditions and continue to lead a comfortable lifestyle.
