| Ajmer-Merwara Province Ajmer-Merwara | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of British India | |||||||||
| 1818–1947 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 Rajputana Agency and Ajmer-Merwara province, 1909 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• 1881 | 7,021 km2 (2,711 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1881 | 460,722 | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Ceded to the British | 1818 | ||||||||
• Merger of theCentral Provinces and Berar Province | 1947 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Ajmer-Merwara (also known asAjmir Province,[1] andAjmer-Merwara-Kekri) was a former province ofBritish India in the historicalAjmer region. The territory was ceded to the British byDaulat Rao Sindhia by a treaty on 25 June 1818. It was under theBengal Presidency until 1861 when it became part of theNorth-Western Provinces.[2] Finally on 1 April 1871, it became a separate province as Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri. It became a part ofindependent India on 15 August 1947 when theBritish left India.[3]
The province consisted of thedistricts ofAjmer andMerwar, which were physically separated from the rest of British India forming anenclave amidst the manyprincely states ofRajputana. Unlike these states, which were ruled by local nobles who acknowledged Britishsuzerainty, Ajmer-Merwara was administered directly by the British.
In 1842, the two districts were under a single commissioner, then they were separated in 1856 and were administered by theEast India Company. Finally, after 1858, by a chief commissioner who was subordinate to theGovernor-General of India's agent for theRajputana Agency.
The area of the province was 2,710 square miles (7,000 km2). The plateau, on whose centre stands the town ofAjmer, may be considered as the highest point in the plains ofNorth India; from the circle of hills which hem it in, the country slopes away on every side - towards river valleys on the east, south, west and towards theThar Desert region on the north. TheAravalli Range is the distinguishing feature of the district. The range of hills which runs between Ajmer andNasirabad marks the watershed of the continent ofIndia. The rain which falls on the southeastern slopes drains into theChambal, and so into theBay of Bengal; that which falls on the northwest side into theLuni River, which discharges itself into theRann of Kutch.[4]
The province is on the border of what may be called thearid zone; it is the debatable land between the north-eastern and south-westernmonsoons, and beyond the influence of either. The south-west monsoon sweeps up theNarmada valley fromBombay and crossing the tableland atNeemuch gives copious supplies toMalwa,Jhalawar andKota and the countries which lie in the course of the Chambal River.[4]
The clouds which strikeKathiawar andKutch are deprived of a great deal of their moisture by the hills in those countries (now the majority of this region is inGujarat state within independentIndia), and the greater part of the remainder is deposited onMount Abu and the higher slopes of the Aravalli Range, leaving but little for Merwara, where the hills are lower, and still less for Ajmer. It is only when the monsoon is in considerable force that Merwara gets a plentiful supply from it. The north-eastern monsoon sweeps up the valley of theGanges from the Bay of Bengal and waters the northern part ofRajasthan, but hardly penetrates farther west than the longitude of Ajmer. The rainfall of the district depends on the varying strength of these two monsoons. The agriculturist of Ajmer-Merwara could never rely upon two good harvests in succession.[4]
Part of theAjmer region, theterritory of the future province was ceded to the British byDaulat Rao Sindhia ofGwalior State as part of a treaty dated 25 June 1818. Then in May 1823 the Merwara (Mewar) part was ceded to Britain byUdaipur State. Thereafter Ajmer-Merwara was administered directly by the BritishEast India Company. After theIndian Rebellion of 1857, in 1858 the powers of the company were transferred to the British Crown and theGovernor-General of India. His administration of Ajmer-Merwara was controlled by a chief commissioner who was subordinate to the British agent for theRajputana Agency.[5]
From the date ofpartition and independence in 1947 until 1950, Ajmer-Merwara remained a province of the newDominion of India. In 1950 it becameAjmer State, which on 1 November 1956, was merged into the state ofRajasthan.
The Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1952 was the landmark in the legal history of land reforms in Rajasthan which was followed by Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 that became applicable to the whole of Rajasthan. The overriding effect of this Act provided relief to the existing tenants and the rights accrued to tenants accordingly. Now the Jats are major land holders in the region.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ajmere-Merwara".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 453.
