From colonial time to the present, Rajasthan has been presented as the land of Rajas and maharajas adorning themselves with colorful robes and living in huge palaces. Monuments in the state have been featured in Hollywood movies such as Octopussy, The Dark Knight Rises, and numerous Bollywood movies.
But did you know 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! Dive in to know more!
Rajputana Agency
At the time of Independence, the present-day state of Rajasthan was almost wholly contained in the Rajputana Agency, a political office of the British Indian Empire. It consisted of 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.
Formation of Matsya Union
The States Ministry believed that the four princely states of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, and Karauli, clustered together in the eastern end of Rajputana, had ‘natural, racial and economic affinities’ with each other. Hence, Matsya Union was inaugurated on 18 March 1948 with the Maharaja of Dholpur, the oldest of the four rulers, as the Rajpramukh.
Matsya Union - A Temporary Arrangement
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 # United Provinces.
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’.
A Union without Mewar!
Udaipur (also known as Mewar), being the biggest of the ten, suggested that all the states should merge into Udaipur. However, this idea of a larger state swallowing smaller states, and therefore also their identity and existence, ran counter to the idea of integration that the Union was trying to achieve. As a result, the nine smaller states decided to go ahead and form the Union themselves, leaving Udaipur out!
Udaipur joins Rajasthan Union
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, while the Maharaoof Kotah would be elected as the Senior Uprajpramukh. The capital of Kotah was also altered to Udaipur.
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.
Menon's Proposition
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) was also included in this scheme, then all of the central and southern border 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.
Creation of Greater Rajasthan
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.
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 favored 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!
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.
Deliberations over Abu Taluk
In 1950, Sirohi district's Abu Taluk Road had been 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 percent of the local population.
Exchange of Enclaves
Hence, in 1956, the as per recommendation of the States Reorganization Committee, the Abu Road taluk was re-integrated with Sirohi district and Rajasthan State. Additionally, the enclave of Sunel was received from Madhya Pradesh while the enclave of Sironj was given to Madhya Pradesh due to ease of geography and administration. This led to the creation of Rajasthan as we recognize it today!
Sources: Administrative Atlas of India (2011); Origin Story of India’s States (2020) @venkataraghavns; We the People of the States of Bharat (2022) @ChopraSanjeev
Contribution: Thread and Maps @mehrkalraaa; FLAME Centre for Legislative Education and Research @shivakjolad @mayadodd
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