History
Rajasthan was known as Rajputana or the home of Rajputs, a martial community who ruled over this area for centuries. History of Rajasthan dates back to the pre-historic times. From 3000 to 1000 BC it had a culture akin to that of the Indus valley civilization. It were the Chauhans who dominated the Rajput affairs from 7 th century and by 12 th century they had become an imperial power. After the Chauhans it was the Guhilots of Mewar who controlled the destiny of the warring tribes. Besides Mewar other States also historically prominent, were Marwar, Jaipur, Bundi, Kota, Bharatpur and Alwar.The other small states were only the offshoots of these. All these States had accepted the British Treaty of Subordinate Alliance in 1818 as it protected the interests of the princes. It naturally left the people discontented.
After the revolt of 1857,the people united themselves under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi to contribute to the freedom movement. With the introduction of provincial autonomy in 1935 in British India agitation for civil liberties and political rights becomes stronger in 1948 to 1956 when the States Reorganization Act was promulgated.
First came the Matsya Union (1948) consisting of a fraction of the States. Slowly and gradually other States merged with the union. By 1949,major States like Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, had joined this Union making it a united State of greater Rajasthan.
Ultimately in 1958 the present State of Rajasthan formally came into being with the Almer State, the Abu Road Taluka and Sunel Tappa jointing it.
At Independence, India’s ruling Congress Party was forced to make a deal with the nominally independent Rajput states in order to secure their agreement to join the new India. The rulers were allowed to keep their titles, their property holding were secured and they were paid an annual stipend commensurate with their status. It couldn’t last forever and the crunch came in the early 1970s when Indira Gandhi abolished both the titles and the stipends and severely sequestered their property rights.
While some of the rulers have survived this by converting their palaces into luxury hotels, many have fallen by the wayside unable to cope with the financial and managerial demands of the 21 st century.
Getting Around
Rajasthan has an extensive network of bus and train services, although the trains are less useful in places such as the Shekhawati region. Some rail services, particularly around Udaipur in the south, still operate on the slower metre-gauge system. The conversion to broad gauge is taking place but is a painfully slow process. More and more travelers are engaging a private taxi and driver to get around. The best way to travel in Rajasthan by road is to hire a taxi. A large number of tour operators run package tours (holidays) to Rajasthan, covering such activities as trekking, camel safaris, wildlife safaris, hotel booking as well as sightseeing, travel by train or palace on wheels.
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