Marwar मारवाड़ | |
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Historical and cultural region | |
 Jaisalmer Fort, Jaisalmer  Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur  Junagarh Fort, Bikaner | |
 _Suresh_Godara.jpg) | |
| Continent | Asia |
| Country | India |
| State | Rajasthan |
| Districts | Jodhpur,Nagaur,Barmer,Pali &Jalore
|
| Demonym | Marwari |
| Largest city | Jodhpur |
| Regional Language or dialect | Marwari (Rajasthani) |
Marwar (Marwari:[maːɾwaːɽ], also calledJodhpur region,Marwari:[d͡ʒoːd̪ʱpʊɾ]) is a cultural and historical region in the western part of theIndian state ofRajasthan. TheThar Desert is located in this region of Rajasthan and stretches westward intoPakistan'sSindh province.[1] The language of this region is known asMarwari, which is the most widely spoken language of theRajasthani family of languages.[2][3]
In its most contracted definition, Marwar refers to the area governed by the erstwhileprincely state of Jodhpur, comprising present-day districts ofJodhpur,Barmer,Jalore,Nagaur, andPali. Although the formerkingdoms of Bikaner andJaisalmer were independent of the Marwar state, they are often included in the broader Marwar region due to geographical and cultural affinities.[4][5]
The region has lent its name to the Marwaris, also known as MarwariBanias—a historically enterprising trading community that migrated across India, and came to play a significant role in the country's commercial and financial spheres.[6]
Historically, the term 'Marwar' referred to a geographical entity spanning a cultural area across nearly all ofRajasthan.[7]
The name Marwar is commonly believed to derive from theSanskrit word "Maru" (मरु), meaning desert, and a regional suffix "wār" or "vāra", meaning region or land.[8][9] Thus, Marwar can be interpreted as “the region of the desert”. Historically, the area was also referred to as "Maru-bhumi" (मरुभूमि) and "Marusthali" (मरुस्थली) meaning desert land, and also has been interpreted as ‘land of death and thirst’ in folklore.[10][11]
The use of the term Marwar became more prominent during the medieval period, particularly underRajput rule, as theRathore dynasty consolidated their control over the region. The Persian-influenced form “Marwar” likely evolved from the earlier Sanskritized names through linguistic adaptations common during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods.[12]
In 1901, the region (Jodhpur state) had an area of 93,424 square kilometres (36,071 mi2).[13]
Marwar is a sandy plain lying northwest of theAravalli Range, which runs southwest-northeast through Rajasthan state. The Aravallis wring much of the moisture from thesouthwest monsoon, which provides most of India's rainfall. Annual rainfall is low, ranging from 10 cm to 40 cm. Temperatures range from 48 to 50 degrees Celsius in the summer, to below freezing point in winter. Thenorthwestern thorn scrub forests lie next to the Aravalli Range, while the rest of the region lies in theThar Desert.
TheLuni River is the principal feature of the Marwar plains. It originates from the Pushkar valley ofAjmer district, and the main river flows through Marwar in a south-westerly direction until it finally disappears into the seasonal wetland of theRann of Kutch in Gujarat. It is fed by tributaries that flow from the Aravallis. Irrigation from the river, and from wells near the river, support crops of wheat and barley.[14]
The sandy tracts ofThar Desert in western Marwar (Maru Pradesh) are characterised by a harsh physical geography and a fragile ecology. High wind velocity, shiftingsand dunes and very deep and saline water sources pose a challenge to sustained human habitation in the Thar.
The area is prone to devastating droughts. The Thar Desert is one of the most inhospitable landscapes on earth. Apart from the huge distances between hamlets and settlements here, the landscape is constantly shifting with the sand, as wind and sandstorms re-arrange the landscape. This, added to the lack of water in such an arid region, means that the villagers often find themselves migrating on foot across hundreds of miles towards neighbouring states in search of water.
Hieun Tsang described a kingdom inRajasthan, which he callsKu-cha-lo (orGurjara), largely because the whole of theMarwar area of Rajasthan was more or less identified with theGurjara, as early as the 6th or 7th century.[15] TheGurjara Pratihara,[16] established a kingdom in the Marwar region in the 6th century, with a capital atMandore,[17] 9 km from present-dayJodhpur. The ruined city ofOsian, or Ossian, 65 km from Jodhpur, was an important religious centre of the Pratihara period.
The royal Rathore family ofJodhpur are the descent from the famousRashtrakuta dynasty.[18] On the fall of theRashtrakuta dynasty they migrated north toKannauj.[18] After the sacking ofKannauj byMuhammad of Ghor in 1194, and its capture by theDelhi Sultanate in the early 13th century, the Rathores fled west. The Rathore family chronicles relate that Rao Siha, grandson ofJai Chandra, the last Gahadvala king of Kannauj, came to Marwar on a pilgrimage toDwarka in Gujarat. On halting at the town ofPali he and his followers settled there to protect theBrahmin community from the raids of marauding bands. The brahmans of Pali requested Siha to settle in Pali and become their King.Rao (king) Chunda, tenth in succession from Siha, finally wrested control ofMandore and much of Marwar from the Turks with help of the Partiharas. The Jodhpur state was founded in the 13th century by theRathore[19][20] clan ofRajputs. The city of Jodhpur, capital of the Rathore state and now a district administrative centre, was founded in 1459 by Rao Chanda's successorRao Jodha.
In 1561 the kingdom was invaded by theMughal EmperorAkbar. Parganas of Jaitaran and Merta were captured by Mughals. After a war for almost two decades and the death of RaoChandrasen Rathore in 1581, Marwar was brought under direct Mughal administration and remained so till its administration was handed over toRaja Udai Singh in 1583.
In 1679 CE, whenMaharaja Jaswant Singh whom EmperorAurangzeb had posted atJamrud at the mouth of theKhyber Pass, died at that place, leaving no son to succeed him; his widowedRanis (Queens) atLahore gave birth to two sons. One died and the other survived to secure the throne of Marwar and to stir up the sentiments of his co-religionists against the Muslim Monarch. The family of the late Raja had left Jamrud without the permission of the emperor and killed an officer atAttock when the officer had asked them about their identity. This was a sufficient ground for incorporating Marwar in the Mughal Empire, or reducing it to a state of dependency under a capable ruler.[citation needed] So the Mughal EmperorAurangzeb invaded Marwar in 1679.Durgadas Rathore led a rebellion against the Mughals which lasted for 31 years. After the death of Aurangzeb, Durgadas captured Jodhpur and evicted the Mughal garrison from Marwar.
All the Rajput clans united due to the aggressive behaviour of the Mughal emperor. A triple alliance was formed by the states ofJodhpur kingdom,Udaipur (Mewar) andJaipur Kingdom to become independent from theMughal Empire.
Internecine disputes and succession wars disturbed the peace of the early years of the century, until in January 1818 Jodhpur was brought underBritish control. Jodhpur became aprincely state ofRathore Clan of Rajputs in theRajputana Agency ofBritish India.
The state was bounded on the north byBikaner state, on the northeast byJaipur state, on the west by the British province ofAjmer, on the southeast byMewar (Udaipur) state, on the south bySirohi state and theBanas Kantha Agency ofBombay Presidency, on the southwest bySind Province, and on the west byJaisalmer State. The Rathore Maharaja was the head of state, with an aristocracy ofJagirdars,Zamindars and Thakurs. There were 22parganas and 4500 villages in the state.
In 1843, when Maharaja Man Singh (ruled 1803–1843) died without a son and without having adopted an heir. The nobles and state officials were left to select a successor from the nearest of kin. Their choice fell upon RajaTakht Singh ofAhmednagar. Maharaja Takht Singh, who supported the British during theRevolt of 1857, died in 1873. His successor, MaharajaJaswant Singh II, who died in 1896, was a very enlightened ruler. His brother,Sir Pratap Singh, conducted the administration until his nephew, Sardar Singh, came of age in 1898. Maharaja Sardar Singh ruled until 1911. The imperial service cavalry formed part of the reserve brigade during the Tirah campaign.
Marwar suffered more severely than any other part of Rajputana from the famine of 1899–1900. In February 1900 more than 110,000 people were in receipt of famine relief. The kingdom had a population of 1,935,565 in 1901, a 23% decline from the 1891, largely due to the results of the famine.
Its ruler, theMaharaja of Jodhpur, expressed a wish to join theDominion of Pakistan butLord Mountbatten warned him that his subjects were mostlyHindus and his accession to Pakistan would create problems. As a result, Jodhpur, too, acceded to India.[21]
In 1949Maharaja Hanwant Singh acceded to theGovernment of India; in 1950Rajputana became the state ofRajasthan.
Marwar is well known across India for itsMarwari horse.[22]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Jodhpur".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 427–428.
The historical Marwar, until the late 1800s, remained a formidable but a somewhat elusive geographical entity spanning a cultural area across nearly all of Rajputana. The geographical imagination of Rajputana was absent and what emerged was a political imagination of the region.
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