Rajputana Agency

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States of Rajputana

The 330,330 km² Rajputana Agency was an administrative grouping of 20 Indian princely states at the time of colonial rule . It got its name "Land of the Rajputs" from the Rajput people who formed the upper class there . Today the area essentially forms the state of Rajasthan .

The agency's geographic location extended diamond-shaped between 23 ° 3 'and 30 ° 12' north and 69 ° 30 'and 78 ° 17' east. It bordered on the east on the United Provinces and Gwalior , on the west on Sindh , on the north and northwest on the Punjab , where it reaches up to 140 km to Delhi and to the southeast on the Palanpur Agency of the Bombay Presidency . Especially the western parts are desert. The Aravalli Mountains divide the region from NE to SW.

history

After a first anti- Mahrathen alliance with Alwar and Bharatpur had already been concluded in 1803 . After the Second Marathic War , after the Barlow Settlement , which only guaranteed some British protection, from January 1806, relations with the princes fell under the jurisdiction of the British resident in Delhi, Lieutenant Colonel David Ochterlony , who was replaced by Archibald Seton in June . Charles Metcalfe followed in 1811 . The remaining princes of the region came under the control of the East India Company Bharatpur by treaties in 1817/18 , Alwar and Dholpur initially remained under the resident, who later took over responsibility for Jodhpur and Bikaner. Relations with Dungarpur, Banswara, Partabgarh were regulated by the resident in Malwa (until 1825). Maj. Gen. Ochterlony became Resident in Rajputana and Commissioner on April 1, 1818 for most of them. In December he also took over his previous post in Delhi as Metcalfe's successor.

Captain James Tod became Political Agent at Mewar and Harauti in Udaipur (Merwar) in March 1818 and, due to its geographical proximity, was also responsible for Bundi, Kota, Jodhpur (from 1819) and Jaisalmer (from 1821). After 1822 he was subordinate to Ochterlony and his sphere of activity was limited to Merwar. Through administrative reform he succeeded in increasing the state revenue from about 30,000 Rs. To over 1.2 million between 1818 and 1822. Sirohi came under British protectorate only in 1823. After a conference ( darbar ) between the princes and the Governor General Lord Bentinck , which took place in Ajmer on January 18, 1832, the actual Rajputana Agency was created.

After the battles for the succession to the throne in Kota and the uprising of the Mer in Merwara in 1820/21, it remained essentially peaceful, with the exception of riots in Jodhpur in 1835 and 1839. Lord Dalhousie decided that Rajput states were not subject to the Doctrine of Lapse , so that the succession to the throne could be secured through adoption. If not the princes, some of the local troops rebelled during the Sepoy uprising in 1857. With the storming of Kota in March 1858, the rebellion in Rajputana ended.

Sirohi State was a center of the 1921-22 campaign of non-cooperation . During the Second World War there was a large prisoner-of-war camp near Deoli for Italians and, at times, Camp 17, an internment camp for German civilians displaced from the Dutch East Indies .

population

Censuses resulted in 1881: 10,100,542, 1891: 12,220,343 and after the devastating famine years of the following decade in 1901: 9,723,301 (−21%) inhabitants. Approx. 83% were Hindus and 9½% Muslim. Almost three quarters spoke one of the 16 or so Rajasthani dialects. In terms of indigenous people ( tribals ), the Bhil (3½%) and Meo (170,000) tribes are represented as the largest groups. In 1901 6.2% of men were able to read and write, the proportion of women was 0.2%.

organization

The agency was for administrative purposes in Ajmer-Merwara (approx. 7000 km²), which is under direct British control, and other agencies respectively. Residencies shared. The small enclaves Gangapur and Nandwas belonged to Gwalior and Indore, respectively . Three districts of Tonk with around 3700 km² were located, enclosed by the area of ​​the Central India Agency . The summer capital was in Mount Abu in Sirohi, where land was purchased as early as 1845 for a sanatorium for soldiers from Bombay. For cost reasons, the entire administration was relocated there all year round in 1856. There were also important pilgrimage sites (Somnath Modhera).

The chief colonial official was the Political Agent to the Governor-General (AGG) who was always also Chief Commissioner for Alwar-Merwara . In personal union he was also a political agent for Ajmer. This last agency initially comprised nine states, but responsibilities were changed several times until 1858. The AGG had the right to a 13 round salute whenever it visited states of its territory. The agents subordinate to him were entitled to 11 shots. He initially had three assistants. The First Assistant was responsible for taxes and justice in Ajmer. The second managed the day-to-day business. The third was mainly responsible for border protection. In 1833 a fourth assistant post was created and the first incumbent became Lt. Charles Trevelyan , who would be responsible for starving millions of Irish people from 1845–1848 . Since 1836 the AGG no longer reported directly to the government in Calcutta, but to the Lieutenant-Governor in Agra . The first incumbent was Charles Metcalfe (until 1840). In the individual states, informants ( mookhber, literally: news writers) were maintained until 1841 , who regularly reported on what was happening in the states from all accessible sources.

Subordinate were five, from 1906 six, agents accredited to the princes and three residents. The commanders of the Mewar Bhil Corps also had an administrative position in the “wild” mountainous regions of Mewar.

A practice not practiced elsewhere was that the states delegated their own diplomats, known as "Vakils", to the AGG or agents who also mediated relations between the princes.

Resident of Delhi

Henry Montgomery Lawrence († in Lucknow during the Sepoy Uprising)

All agents in Rajputana were subordinate to the resident of Delhi. The incumbents were:

  • David Ochterlony, January to June 1806
  • Archibald Seton, 1806-1811
  • Charles Metcalfe
  • David Ochterlony, December 1818 - resigned April 1825 († July 15, 1825)
  • Charles Metcalfe, October 1825 - July 31, 1827
  • Edward Colebrooke
  • Francis Hawkins, from September 18, 1829
  • WB Martin, from November 25, 1830

Political Agent to the Governor-General (1832-1858)

  • Lt.-Col. A. Lockett, 1832-29 November 1833
  • Major Nathaniel Alves, April 18, 1834 - February 1, 1839
  • Lt.-Col. John Sutherland, provisional from February 12, 1839, officially February 15, 1841 - June 24, 1848 († in Bharatpur)
  • Col. John Low, November 20, 1848 - December 25, 1852 (acting successor: George St. Pierre Lawrence)
  • Lt.-Col. Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence, March 5, 1853 - March 1857 (brother of George)
  • Col. George St. Pierre Lawrence, from March 15, 1857

structure

View over the administrative headquarters of Mt. Abu (approx. 1898)
  • Mewar Residency ( called Neemuch Agency until July 1837 ) for this state, seat in the capital Udaipur , which was split off in 1906
  • Jaipur Residency, based in Jaipur , with the states of Jaipur and Kishangarh , as well as the domain ( estate ) Lawa.
  • Western Rajputana States Residency, headquartered in Jodhpur , comprised the countries Jodhpur (= Marwar), Jaisalmer and at times Sirohi in which the area of Mt. Abu, which was initially leased by the British as the summer capital, was located.
  • Bikaner Agency, for this state .
  • Tarangagadh, based in Taranga .
  • Alwar Agency, for this state .
  • Eastern Rajputana States Agency, based in Bharatpur , with the states of Bharatpur , Dholpur and Karauli .
  • The Haraoti-Tonk Agency, based in Deoli , included Tonk , Bundi and the Shahpura domain , later also Jhalawar.
  • Kotah-Jhalawar Agency, in Kota , with Kota (divided in 1838) and the newly created Jhalawar , which was really a separate state only in 1899.

All princes had the right to 15 or 17 gun salutes , which was stipulated in 1832 and again in 1857. They were automatically entitled to a seat in the Chamber of Princes created in 1921 .

When the constitutional amendment ( Government of India Acts ) made necessary reorganization

  • Kotah-Jhalawar Agency and Bundi of the Eastern Rajputana States Agency slammed
  • the Haraoti-Tonk Agency (excluding Bundi) part of the Jaipur Residency
  • Mewar and the Western Rajputana States Agency were 1931 Kushalgarh to Mewar Residency and Southern Rajputana States Agency reunited
  • the new Western Rajputana States Residency included Danta, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Palanpur
  • Bikaner and Sirohi formed part of the directly administered Rajputana Agency.

In general, after 1832 the residents interfered as “advisers” more strongly than in other regions in the affairs of the states. From the late 1840s, the agents began campaigning in the United States for the abolition of customs that contradicted their puritanical morals, such as slave and girl trafficking, the murder of newborn girls, widow burning ( sati ), the persecution of witches, and feudal privileges over the merchant class . Especially at the time of the minority of a prince, when a country was under (British) rule, was modernized in their interest.

However, many of the princes opened their autocratic system late (after 1935) or not at all until independence. The rajas of the desert states (Bikaner, Jodhpur) lived for a long time “like a maharaja.” In these countries the costs of keeping the court amounted to 16-17% of all income in the 1930s. Several states had the British, often deputy from the ICS , in the upper echelons of their civil service. In the 1930s, Henry Beauchamp St. John Diwan in Jaipur , six of the eight highest positions in 1937/8, was in British hands. At the same time Donald Field officiated followed by Peter Young as a divan in Jodhpur.

Finances

As in India in general, the main source of income for the states was the property tax, which was usually collected by (hereditary) tax tenants ( jagirdar ) collectively from the villages under their control. Furthermore, there were also lands ( khalsa ) that were directly taxable to the ruler .

The tributes of the states that had previously been delivered in Delhi were delivered in Ajmer from 1832 onwards. Most states received subsidies for the faithful fulfillment of their contractual obligations, in some cases also compensation for the abolition of road tolls.

Traditionally, a lot of salt was extracted throughout the region. After they established their salt monopoly, the British made agreements with the princes to take over or dissolve the salt works, for which they paid compensation. Usually this was offset against the due tribute.

Judiciary

Before 1876, jurisdiction was entirely in the hands of the states. There were few written laws, property fines were common, often including murder. Offenses against caste rules were punished relatively severely. At the lower level, panchayats ruled . A defendant's guilt has been determined in part by trial by fire. Appeal to Raja was possible, but rarely successful.

The five Courts of Vakils created between 1842 and 1847 decided criminal cases that went beyond the borders of individual states. Jail sentences of over five years (or 5000 Rs. 1901) had to be confirmed by a higher authority. The British Appellate Body also acted as the AGG's fifth assistant. After more and more states signed extradition treaties with the British and among themselves, these courts became redundant and dissolved in the early 20th century.

After 1876, most states introduced British-style criminal law . However, magistrates based on the British model were used for special areas (railways, salt) . In the “wild” areas to the south, with a high proportion of tribals, simplified fast-track procedures were carried out by border courts, each staffed by a representative of the state and a colonial official.

In the country, a security guard ( chaudikar ) had the function of a village police officer. Around 1900 the princes maintained a total of 11,000 police forces, and some of the soldiers of the states were also entrusted with police tasks. The practice of inmates having to pay for their food or being taken out to beg was finally abolished in 1884. Placing in iron was common until 1888.

military

Rajputs in British pay (cigarette pictures)

Under the conditions of the Protection Treaties 1817/18, the states usually undertook to provide a certain number of troops upon request. The AGG had the right to requisition troops. Jodhpu's obligation to provide 1500 mounted men on a permanent basis was replaced in return for an annual payment. The British maintained the Jodhpur Legion, which was disbanded after they mutinied in 1857. The Kotah Contingent was subordinate to British officers, after 1858 it became the Deoli Irregular Force.

The British Indian Army , the Rajputs, like the Gurkhas as a warlike people especially valued for service in the colonial army, recruited u. a. in the following infantry regiments in the region (after restructuring in 1903): 2nd (Queen's Own) Regiment of Rajput Light Infantry; 4th Prince Albert Victor's Rajputs; 7th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Rajputs; 8th, 11th, 13th (Shekhawati Regiment), 16th (Lucknow Regiment) Rajputs, plus 120th and 122nd Rajputana Infantry. From the disbanded Rajputana Local Corps the 42nd Deoli (emerged from the Deoli Irregular Force), 43rd Erinpura (financed by Jodhpur, successor to the Jodhpur Legion) and 44th Merwara Infantry Regiments were formed. The Imperial Service Troops ( called Indian States Forces after 1921 ) provided by the princely states from 1888 onwards included the Bikaner Camel Corps, Bikaner Light Infantry and the Jodhpur Lancers. There were bases in Erinpura , Kherwara and Kotra.

Most of the rulers had their own army, which at the beginning of the 20th century often sank to a pure bodyguard and palace guard, often in splendid uniforms. In 1881 Merwar ceded all of Mewar Merwara's income to the British to cover defense costs (Rs 50,000 for Bhil Corps, Rs 16,000 for Merwara Corps).

literature

  • Aitchison, Sir Charles Umpherston; A collection of treaties engagements, and sanads relating to India and neighboring countries (Revised and Continued up to 1929); Delhi 1983 (reprint of the 1930 edition; Orig .: Calcutta 1882); Vol. III
  • Banerjee, AC; The Rajput states and the East India Company; Calcutta 1951
  • Imperial Gazetteer Of India; Oxford 1908 ( full text )
  • Rudolph, Lloyd I .; Hoeber-Rudolph, Susanne; Rajputana under British Paramountcy: The Failure of Indirect Rule; Journal of Modern History, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Jun., 1966), pp. 138-160
  • CSK Singh; Bhils' Participation in Politics in Rajasthan in the 1920's; in: Social Scientist, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Apr. 1985), pp. 31-43
  • The western Rajputana states; a medico-topographical and general account of Marwar, Sirohi, Jaisalmir; 1899 ( full text )
  • Vashishtha, Vijay Kumar; Rajputana Agency, 1832-1858; Jaipur sn [? 1979]
Individual evidence
  1. ^ Imperial Gazetteer Of India; Oxford 1908-; Vol. IV: "Indian Empire Administrative" and Vol. XXI, pp. 89-159.
  2. ↑ see: AS Bennell; The Anglo-Maratha Confrontation of June and July 1803; Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 3/4 (Oct., 1962), pp. 107-131.
  3. ↑ Texts in: Aitchison (1882)
  4. ↑ Anon. ("An Indian Mahomedan"); British India From Queen Elizabeth to Lord Reading; London 1926
  5. ↑ before 1901 inaccurate, see: FC Danvers; A Review of Indian Statistics; Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Mar., 1901), pp. 31-72
  6. ↑ Reginald H. Hooker; Modes of Census-Taking in the British Dominions; Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Vol. 57, No. 2 (Jun., 1894), pp. 298-368
  7. ↑ in addition came the plague in 1897/8 and fever in autumn 1900; see. Davis, Mike; Late Victorian holocausts: El Niño famines and the making of the third world; 2001, ISBN 1859847390
  8. ↑ a b c Vashishtha, Vijay Kumar; Rajputana Agency, 1832-1858; Jaipur sn [? 1979]
  9. ↑ cf. Amended Table of Salutes to Native Princes and Territories under the authority of the Government of India (No. 3), Cons. Aug 21, 1857, No. 58. Political Consultations of the Foreign Department in National Archives of India. quoted in: Vashishtha (? 1979)
  10. ↑ Overview in: Aitchison (1930), pp. 5–7.
  11. ^ Overview in Aitchison (1930), app. I.
  12. ↑ The list is not exhaustive, see: en: List of regiments of the Indian Army (1903) , en: List of regiments of the Indian Army (1922)

See also