Marwar

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Mewar.
This article is about the historical region. For the kingdom known as Marwar, see
Jodhpur State. For the villages in Iran, see Marvar and Morvar
.
For other uses, see Marwari (disambiguation).

Marwar
Jodhpur region
Marwar region is the areas near Jodhpur.
Marwar region is the areas near Jodhpur.

Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a

region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a protected area (In present days word "wad" is used for "fencing" in Rajasthani). English translation of the word 'marwar' is the region protected by desert.[1]

Historically, the term 'Marwar' referred to a geographical entity spanning a cultural area across nearly all of Rajasthan.

Pali, Bikaner, Sikar, Churu, and Jhunjhunu.[3]

In its most contracted definition, Marwar comprises the areas governed by the erstwhile princely state of

Godwar, on the southwest by Sindh, and on the west by Jaisalmer
.

Geography

In 1901, the region (Jodhpur state) had an area of 93,424 km2.

Marwar is a sandy plain lying northwest of the

northwestern thorn scrub forests lie next to the Aravalli Range, while the rest of the region lies in the Thar Desert
.

The Luni River is the principal feature of the Marwar plains. It originates from the Pushkar valley 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 tributaries that flow from the Aravallis. Irrigation from the river, and from wells near the river, support crops of wheat and barley.[4]

The sandy tracts of

sand dunes
and very deep and saline water sources pose a challenge to sustained human habitation in the Thar.

The area is 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. This, added to the lack of water in such an arid region, means that the villagers often find themselves migrating on foot across hundreds of miles towards neighbouring states in search of water.

History

See also:
Jodhpur State
Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Rashtrakuta dynasty they migrated north to Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh.[8]

The Jodhpur state was founded in the 13th century by the

Jai Chandra, the last Gahadvala king of Kannauj, came to Marwar on a pilgrimage to Dwarka in Gujarat. On halting at the town of Pali he and his followers settled there to protect the Brahmin community from the raids of marauding bands. The brahmans of Pali requested Siyaji to settle in Pali and become their King. Rao (king) Chunda, tenth in succession from Siyaji, finally wrested control of Mandore and much of Marwar from the Turks with help of the Partiharas. The city of Jodhpur, capital of the Rathore 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. Parganas of Jaitaran and Merta were captured by Mughals. After a war for almost two decades and the death of Rao Chandrasen Rathore in 1581, Marwar was brought under direct Mughal administration and remained so till its administration was handed over to Raja Udai Singh
in 1583.

In 1679 CE, when

Maharaja Jaswant Singh whom Emperor Aurangzeb had posted at Jamrud at the mouth of the Khyber Pass, died at that place, leaving no son to succeed him; his widowed Ranis (Queens) at Lahore gave birth to two sons. One died and the other survived to secure the throne of Marwar and to stir up the sentiments of his co-religionists against the Muslim Monarch. The family of the late Raja had left Jamrud without the permission of the emperor and killed an officer at Attock when the officer had asked them about their identity. This was a sufficient ground for incorporating Marwar in the Mughal Empire, or reducing it to a state of dependency under a capable ruler.[citation needed] So the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb invaded Marwar in 1679. Durgadas Rathore
led a rebellion against the Mughals which lasted for 31 years. After the death of Aurangzeb, Durgadas captured Jodhpur and evicted the Mughal garrison from Marwar.

All the Rajput clans united due to the aggressive behaviour of the Mughal emperor. A triple alliance was formed by the states of

Jaipur Kingdom to become independent from the Mughal Empire
.

Internecine disputes and succession wars disturbed the peace of the early years of the century, until in January 1818 Jodhpur was brought under

British India
.

The state was bounded on the north by

parganas
and 4500 villages in the state.

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

Revolt of 1857, died in 1873. His successor, Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, who died in 1896, was a very enlightened ruler. His brother, Sir Pratap 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 people 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.

Its ruler, the

Hindus and his accession to Pakistan would create problems. As a result, Jodhpur, too, acceded to India.[10]

In 1949 Maharaja Hanwant Singh acceded to the Government of India; in 1950 Rajputana became the state of Rajasthan.

Marwari horses

Marwar is well known across India for its Marwari horse.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Admin, Studentera (29 May 2023). "Rajasthan: Place of Kings and Forts". Studentera. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  2. ISBN 978-1-000-44041-6
    . The historical Marwar, until the late 1800s, remained a formidable but a somewhat elusive geographical entity spanning a cultural area across nearly all of Rajputana. The geographical imagination of Rajputana was absent and what emerged was a political imagination of the region.
  3. ISBN 978-93-86057-73-0
    . The Marwar region includes the central and western parts of Rajasthan, the state's most infertile terrain. The word 'Marwar' itself is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Maruwat', meaning 'desert'.
  4. ^ "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 16, page 211 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  5. ISBN 9780391023581
    .
  6. ^ Panchānana Rāya (1939). A historical review of Hindu India: 300 B. C. to 1200 A. D. I. M. H. Press. p. 125.
  7. ^ "New Page 1". Archived from the original on 16 September 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
  8. ^ a b India: The Peacock's Call by Aline Dobbie p.41
  9. ^ SBS, Rajasthani (22 February 2024). "Marwar Dynasty". SBS Rajasthani.
  10. ^ "HH the Maharaja". Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Marwari horses find new home in India". The Times of India. 14 September 2006. Archived from the original on 6 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2009.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marwar.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Jodhpur". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 427–428.

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