Rajputana Agency | |
|---|---|
| 1832–1948 | |
 The Rajputana Agency within the British Indian Empire in 1920 Detailed map of Rajputana Agency in 1920 | |
| Capital | Ajmer (1832–1845) Mount Abu (1845–1947) |
| States under AGG for Rajputana | |
| Government | Indirect imperial rule over a group ofhereditary monarchies |
| Agent to the Governor-General | |
• 1832–1836 (first) | Abraham Locket |
| Historical era | New Imperialism |
• First agreements with local princely rulers | 1817 |
• Rajputana Agency established inAjmer | 1832 |
• Headquarters shifted toMount Abu | 1845 |
• Accession to theIndian Union | 1948 |
| Area | |
| 1901 | 330,875 km2 (127,752 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 1901 | 9,723,301 |
| Princely state |
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| Individual residencies |
| Agencies |
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| Lists |
TheRajputana Agency was a political office of theBritish Indian Empire dealing with a collection of native states inRajputana (now inRajasthan, northwestern India), under the political charge of an Agent reporting directly to theGovernor-General of India and residing atMount Abu in theAravalli Range. The total area of the states falling within the Rajputana Agency was 127,541 square miles (330,330 km2), with eighteen states and two estates or chiefships.
The smallBritish province ofAjmer-Merwara was also included within the geographical area of Rajputana, but that was under direct British rule exceptKekri.
All of the princely states hadHindu rulers, exceptTonk, which had aMuslim ruler, most beingRajputs, except two in Eastern Rajputana,Bharatpur State andDholpur State, which hadJat 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 theCharans, known aspoet-historians andadministrators inprincely states;[2] theBrahmins, who traditionally performed priestly functions, and were numerous and influential; theBhats, who were the keepers of secular tradition and of the genealogies; theHindu mercantilecastes;Jains, who comprised the majority of the merchants; the agricultural groups, such as theJats and theGurjars, the tribal peoples,Bhils,Meenas andMeo. In the 1901 census, 7,035,093 persons, or more than 72% of the total population spoke one of theRajasthani languages.
In the eleventh century, Rajputana was ruled by a number of local dynasties, Chief of these were theGurjara Pratiharas, who ruled atKanauj; theParamaras ofMalwa; the Chauhans andGaur dynasty ofAjmer ; the Bamraulia ofDholpur; theChaulukya (Solankis) ofAnhilwara in Gujarat;Mahawar koli of (Rajasthan); theGuhilots with theSisodia of Udaipur (Mewar); theRathores ofMarwar (Jodhpur); and theKachwaha clan ofJaipur. The Rathore, Chauhan, Sisodia and Kachwahas ruled until Indian independence. In 14th century greatMaharana Kumbha ruled over entire Mewar region for 34 years after defeating various Islamic Sultans many times. He built theVijay Stambha (Tower of Victory) to commemorate his victories against Islamic Sultans. Colonel James Tod calledVijay Stambha one of finest examples of Hindu Rajput architecture. In 16th century the Rajputs first allied & then faced off with foreignerBabur, founder of theMughal Empire atFatehpur Sikri in 1527. Some clans chose to conciliate withAkbar, except for the Sisodia clan, which, however, conciliated withJahangir 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 toAurangzeb'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 greatMaharana Pratap against Akbar and Mewar and Marwar against Aurangzeb. In the 16th centuryJat power arose and they fought against Aurangzeb in battle ofTilpat. After death of Gokula SinghRaja Ram Jat looted Akbar's tomb and exhumed Akbar's bones and burned them. After Aurangzeb's death, theinvasion of the Marathas andNader Shah of Iran led to a triple alliance among the three leading Rajput chiefs, which internal jealousy so weakened that theMarathas, 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. TheSecond Anglo-Maratha War distracted theMarathas from 1807 to 1809. In 1817 the British went to war with thePindaris, raiders who were based in Maratha territory, which quickly became theThird 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 theAfghan adventurerAmir Khan submitted and signed a treaty with the British, making him the ruler ofTonk. By the end of 1818 similar treaties had been executed between the other Rajput states and Britain. The MarathaSindhia ruler ofGwalior gave up the district ofAjmer-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 theRevolt 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 theRevolt of 1857,World War I, &World War II.
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In the time of theBritish 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 theAravalli 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 itsMalwa branch in the south, and diverging toAgra 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 toHyderabad inSindh. In 1909 another line was opened running north near the eastern boundary from Kotah to Bharatpur.
They were...historians, and teachers; sometimes they were leading state servants, sometimes guides and protectors of trade.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rajputana".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. Ashok Gujjar.
