"Marwar".
Marwar (मारवाड़) is a region of southwestern Rajasthan state in western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word Marwar is derived from Sanskrit word 'Maruwat'. English translation of the word is "region of death", reflecting harsh climatic conditions. Other view is that the word 'Marwar' is made up of 'Mar' from alternate name of Jaisalmer and last part ‘war’ of Mewar.
The Luni River is the principal feature of the Marwar plains. It originates in the sacred Pushkar Lake of Ajmer District, and the main river flows through Marwar in a south-westerly direction until it finally disappears into the seasonal wetland of the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. It is fed by numerous tributaries that flow from the Aravallis. Irrigation from the river, and from wells near the river, support crops of wheat and barley.
The sandy tracts of Thar Desert in western Marwar are characterized by a harsh physical geography and a fragile ecology. High wind velocity, shifting sand dunes and very deep and saline water sources pose a challenge to sustained human habitation in the Thar. The area is also 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 at will. This added to the lack of water in such an arid region, means that the villagers of the area often find themselves migrating on foot across hundreds of miles towards neighboring states in search of water.
The Jodhpur state was founded in the 13th century by the Rathor clan of Rajputs, who claim descent from the Gahadvala kings of Kannauj. After the sacking of Kannauj by Muhammad of Ghor in 1194, and its capture by the Delhi Sultanate in the early 13th century, the Rathors fled west. The Rathor family chronicles relate that Siyaji, grandson of Jai Chandra, the last Gahadvala king of Kannauj, came to Marwar on a pilgrimage to Dwarka in Gujarat, and on halting at the town of Pali he and his followers settled there to protect the Brahmin community from the raids of marauding bands. Rao (king) Chanda, tenth in succession from Siyaji, finally wrested control of Marwar from the Pratiharas. The city of Jodhpur, capital of the Rathor state and now a district administrative centre, was founded in 1459 by Rao Chanda's successor Rao Jodha.
In 1561 the kingdom was invaded by the Mughal emperor Akbar, and Rao Malladeva (ruled 1532-1584) was forced to submit, and to send his son as a mark of homage to take service under the Mughal emperor. When this son Udai Singh succeeded to the throne in 1584, he gave his sister Jodhabai in marriage to Akbar, and was rewarded by the restoration of most of his former possessions. Udai Singh's son, Gaj Singh (1620-1638), held high service under Akbar, and conducted successful expeditions in Gujarat and the Deccan.
The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who was far less tolerant of Hinduism than his predecessors, invaded Marwar in 1679, plundered Jodhpur, sacked all the large towns, and commanded the conversion of the Rathors to Islam. This cemented all the Rajput clans into a bond of union, and a triple alliance was formed by the three states of Jodhpur, Udaipur (Mewar) and Jaipur, to throw off the Mughal yoke. One of the conditions of this alliance was that the rulers of Jodhpur and Jaipur should regain the privilege of marriage with the ruling Sesodia dynasty of Mewar, which they had forfeited by contracting alliances with the Mughal emperors, on the understanding that the offspring of Sesodia princesses should succeed to the state in preference to all other children. The quarrels arising from this stipulation lasted through many generations, and led to the invitation of Maratha help from the rival aspirants to power, and finally to the subjection of all the Rajput states to the Marathas. Jodhpur was conquered by Sindhia, who levied a tribute of 60,000 rupees, and took from it the fort and town of Ajmer. Internecine disputes and succession wars disturbed the peace of the early years of the century, until in January 1818 Jodhpur was brought under British control.
Jodhpur became a princely state in the Rajputana Agency of British India. The state had an area of 90,554 km² (34,963 square miles), which included the present-day districts of Barmer, Jalor, Jodhpur, Nagaur, and Pali. It was bounded on the north by Bikaner state, on the northwest by Jaipur state, on the west by the British province of Ajmer, on the southwest by Mewar (Udaipur) state, on the south by Sirohi state and the Banas Kantha agency of Bombay Presidency, on the southeast by Sind Province, and on the west by Jaisalmer state. The Rathore Maharaja was the head of state, with an aristocracy of Jagirdars, Jamidars and Thakurs. There were 22 parganas and 4500 villages in the state.
In 1839 the British intervened to quell an insurrection. 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 Raja Takht Singh of Ahmednagar. Maharaja Takht Singh, who supported the British during the Revolt of 1857, died in 1873. His successor, Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, who died in 1896, was a very enlightened ruler. His brother, Sir Pertab 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 persons 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.
In 1949 Maharaja Hanwant Singh acceded to the Government of India, and in 1950 Rajputana became the state of Rajasthan.
Though the position of Kisan (farmer) in what was Khalsa (under the direct control of the state) was better in comparison to a Kisan of the Jagir areas, he was only a little above a beast of burden. In Jagir areas of Marwar state before independence all cultivators were really landless. There was no tenancy Law and one could be thrown away from the land one cultivated at the pleasure of Jagirdar, his "malik". In most of the Jagirs a Jagirdar would in the first instance be taking fifty percent of the produce. This would be taken by actual division of the produce on the thrashing floor or by appraisal of the standing crop (kunta). The latter method proved at times more onerous as the appraisal depended on the whims of the Kamdar. Then over and above the share of the produce the farmer had to pay numerous "lags" or cesses. There were 64 kinds of begars (work without pay) prevalent in Marwar. Together with the share of the produce known as "Hasil" these cesses meant that the farmers had to part with more than eighty percent of their produce. The findings of the Sukhdeonarain Committee in the years 1940-42 bear this out. If a farmer had to marry his daughter he had to pay "Chavri Lag" if he held a dinner then a "Kansa Lag"; if members of the family separated then "Dhunwa Lag" and so on. If the Jagirdar had a guest then fodder for his mount had to be supplied. Then there was "begar" that is forced labour, for tilling the personal lands of the Jagirdar. The homestead in which the farmer lived in the Abadi had to be vacated in case he ceased cultivating the land. He could not alienate the plot to anyone. Then the bigger Jagirdars had judicial powers including magisterial powers. Further they had their own police force besides the revenue staff. This enabled them to keep their stronghold on the farmers. Over and above this policy of divide and rule was fully practiced. By offering the temptation of giving better land for cultivation one farmer would be set against another. There were no schools worth the name in rural areas and the masses were steeped in ignorance.
Rural masses of Marwar were united by Kisan Kesari-Baldev Ram Mirdha under the banner of "Marwar Kisan Sabha" founded in 1940. After the formation of Rajasthan, Baldev Ram Mirdha who had by then retired from Government service formed the "Rajathan Kisan Sabha" and unified the Kisans of Rajasthan under its banner. He was its first president. Since the broad objectives of the Kisan Sabha and the congress were identical the congress leaders approached Baldev Ram Mirdha to unite the Rajasthan Kisan Sabha with the Congress. Baldev Ram Mirdha was a visionary and he realized that the two could not and should not remain separate. Therefore, he just made one demand from the national leaders that the Jagirs be abolished forthwith in Rajasthan. This was agreed to by the Congress high command with the result that the Jagirs were soon abolished. A tenancy law was passed and the cultivating farmers were made the owners of the land.
Geography of India | Regions of India | Regions of Rajasthan
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