Rajasthan

From colonial times to the present, Rajasthan has been presented as the land of Rajas and maharajas adorning themselves with colourful robes and living in huge palaces. Monuments in the state have been featured in Hollywood movies such as Octopussy and The Dark Knight Rises, as well as numerous Bollywood movies.

But did you know that in the middle of Rajasthan, there were two districts fully administered by the British? One of them is known for its Dargah. You might also find it interesting to know that a part of the erstwhile Rajputana agency lies in Madhya Pradesh today!

Rajputana Agency

At the time of Independence, the present-day state of Rajasthan was part of the British Rajputana agency, comprising twenty-two princely states and estates. In fact, in this large territory, the only area directly under British rule was Ajmer. From 1878, the region had been constituted as a chief commissioner’s province, known as Ajmer Merwara. The other directly ruled district was Merwara, which was jointly administered with Ajmer, forming the Ajmer-Merwara province.

Interestingly, parts of the old Rajputana Agency, such as Sironj, were transferred to Madhya Pradesh during state reorganisation.

Formation of Matsya Union

The States Ministry believed that the four princely states of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, and Karauli, clustered in eastern Rajputana, had “natural, racial, and economic affinities” with each other (Menon, 1956). Hence, Matsya Union was inaugurated on 18 March 1948 with the Maharaja of Dholpur, the oldest of the four rulers, as the Rajpramukh (Rajasthan Assembly, n.d.).

At the time of formation itself, the Matsya Union was agreed upon as a temporary arrangement since it was not large enough or financially viable to be an independent union. It was decided that when the time came, it would have to join either Rajasthan or the United Provinces (Menon, 1956).

Sowing the seeds of Rajasthan's statehood

Alongside the creation of the Matsya Union, the idea of a state of Rajasthan began to take shape in the south-east of Rajputana. Ten princely states considered merging to form a Union. An alternative to merging them with the proposed state of Madhya Bharat was proposed, but then it was decided that ‘the natural affinity of these states was more with Rajputana (White Paper, 1950). This marked the beginning of what historians call the phased integration of Rajasthan, a process that unfolded over seven key stages between 1948 and 1956.

A Union without Mewar

On 25 March 1948, the Rajasthan Union was inaugurated with the Maharao of Kotah, Bhim Singh II, as Rajpramukh. Three days after the inauguration, the Maharana of Udaipur officially decided to join the Rajasthan Union. After discussions with the other states, it was decided that the Maharana of Udaipur, Bhupal Singh Bahadur, would become the Rajpramukh for life. At the same time, the Maharao of Kotah would be elected as the Senior Uprajpramukh. The capital of Kotah was also altered to Udaipur. This was known as the United States of Rajasthan, and it was the second major step in the long journey to a unified Rajasthan (Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, n.d.).

Independent states

While all the smaller states had merged to form the Matsya Union in the east and the Rajasthan Union in the southeast, the four largest states that comprised most of Rajputana remained independent. These were Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer.

The latter three all shared a national border with Pakistan, so V.P. Menon, secretary of the States Ministry, suggested integrating these three states into a centrally administered area under a chief commissioner. If Kutch State (currently in northern Gujarat) were also included in this scheme, then all of the central and southern borders with Pakistan would be under the direct control of the Government of India. However, this idea did not have many backers, and Menon gave it up (Menon, 1956).

The alternative was to merge the four states of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer individually into the newly formed Rajasthan Union. This solution found favour with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the head of the States Ministry. The four states agreed immediately to the integration, and Greater Rajasthan was inaugurated by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 30 March 1949. This date is still celebrated as ‘Rajasthan Day’ every year (Government of Rajasthan, n.d.).

This marked the third phase in Rajasthan’s unification and gave the region a coherent territorial identity. With this, Rajasthan now included most of Rajputana and several princely capitals.

From Maharajas to Rajpramukhs

The Maharana of Udaipur, Bhupal Singh Bahadur, expressed his desire to be Rajpramukh of the new Union as he was the Rajpramukh of the previous Union and the senior most among all the rulers. However, considering his declining health, it was instead decided to create an honorary position for him of Maharaj pramukh that would be outside the general administrative set-up. Jaipur was picked as the capital of the new Union and the Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Man Singh II, was selected as Rajpramukh. The rulers of Jodhpur and Kotah were made the Senior Uprajpramukhs and the rulers of Bundi and Dungarpur would be the Junior Uprajpramukhs.

Merger of Matsya Union

At this point, the integration of the Matsya Union into Greater Rajasthan came into discussion. The rulers of Alwar and Karauli unanimously favoured integration with Rajasthan, but Bharatpur and Dholpur were reluctant, so a three-member committee was formed to ascertain public opinion in the latter two states through questionnaires and public meetings. As the majority desired integration with Rajasthan, Matsya Union was dissolved, and its four princely states joined the newly formed Greater Rajasthan Union on 15 May 1949, less than fourteen months after it was created (Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, n.d.).

What about Ajmer?

When Greater Rajasthan was integrated into the Indian Union, Ajmer was retained as a separate state that existed independently in central Rajasthan. But given its linguistic, cultural and geographical links with Rajasthan and the absence of any discernible reason for Ajmer to continue being an independent state, its integration into Rajasthan as a district was agreed upon. Ajmer was officially merged with Rajasthan as part of the States Reorganisation Act on 1 November 1956. (Menon, 1956).

Deliberations over Abu Taluk

In 1950, Sirohi district's Abu Taluk Road was sliced and included in Bombay State. However, Rajasthan maintained its claim on the taluk, citing both local feeling and that Rajasthani was the mother tongue of 65 per cent of the local population (Census of India, 2001).

Hence, in 1956, as per the recommendation of the States Reorganisation Committee, the Abu Road taluk was re-integrated with the Sirohi district and Rajasthan. Additionally, the enclave of Sunel was received from Madhya Pradesh, while the enclave of Sironj was given to Madhya Pradesh due to the ease of geography and administration (SRC, 1955).

By 26 January 1950, Rajasthan became a Part B state under the new Constitution of India. Finally, after the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Rajasthan was constituted as a full-fledged Indian state with its modern administrative boundaries and a legislative assembly (Government of India, n.d.).

References

• Census of India (2001). Census of India, 2001: Sirohi. 

  
  

• Government of Rajasthan (n.d.). Rajasthan Day. 

  
  

• Menon, V.P. (1956). The Story of the Integration of Indian States. Orient Blackswan.

  
  

• Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (n.d.). History of Legislature in Rajasthan. 

  
  

• Ministry of States. (1950). White Paper on Indian States. Government of India. 

  
  

• State Reorganization Committee (1955). Report of the States Reorganisation Commission