Rajasthan Day 2024: Every year, March 30 is celebrated as Rajasthan Diwas. It is the largest state in terms of area. Rajasthan has a long history that dates back to prehistoric times. Its culture was similar to the Indus Valley civilization, dating back to between 3,000 and 1,000 BC. The Chauhans became an imperial power by the 12th century, having dominated Rajput affairs since the 7th century. Following the Chauhans, the Mewar Guhilots ruled over the fate of the warring tribes.
Apart from Mewar, other notable states in the past included Marwar, Jaipur, Bundi, Kota, Bharatpur, and Alwar. These were the parent states of all the other states. In 1818, all of these states ratified the British Treaty of Subordinate Alliance, which served to safeguard the princes' interests.
Why is March 30 celebrated as Rajasthan Day?
On March 30th, 1949, the state was formed when Rajputana's name, as adopted by the British Crown, was merged into the Dominion of India. The four princely states, namely Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer, joined with the United States of Rajasthan, and the region became popular with the name Greater Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Day 2024: Know Date, History, Geography, Significance, and More
How did Rajasthan become India’s largest state by area?
The history of the founding of Rajasthan is fascinating. Rajasthan was essentially contained within the Rajputana Agency, a political office of the British Indian Empire, at the time of its independence. It was made up of twenty-two estates and princely states. After attaining independence, in less than two years, all 22 states came together to form the largest state in India.
The Rajputana Agency: The Rajputana Agency covered an area of about 330,330 square kilometres, and its agent, who lived in Mount Abu, reported to the Governor General. Since they largely remained loyal to the British during the revolt of 1857, there were no major administrative changes made in these areas during British rule. After independence, these states were slowly integrated into the Indian Union, in stages.
Mastsya Union: The Matsya Union was integrated on March 18, 1948. It included four princely states Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli. The Union later became a major part of Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Union: The Union of Rajasthan, consisting of Banswara, Bundi, Dungarpur, Jhalawar, Kishangarh, Pratapgarh, Shahapura, Tonk and Kota, was inaugurated on March 25, 1948. The Kota State got the honour of being the capital of this union.
United States of Rajasthan: In 1949, this union was expanded to include the major states of Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer, creating the United States of Greater Rajasthan. After Ajmer state, the Abu Road Taluka, and Sunel Tappa joined the current state of Rajasthan, it was finally formally established in 1958.
Greater Rajasthan: A larger part of the former agency's east and southeast were under the jurisdiction of the Matsya Union and the Rajasthan Union. The latter three also shared a border with Pakistan, making their swift integration into the Indian Union even more important.
On March 30, 1949, Patel formally launched Greater Rajasthan. Jaipur was chosen as the new union's capital, and Sawai Man Singh II, the 36-year-old Maharaja of Jaipur, was chosen as the Rajpramukh. The Matsya Union and Greater Rajasthan united on May 15, 1949, to form the state of Rajasthan.
United Rajasthan: The cabinet was formed under the direction of Shri Manikya Lal Verma, with the Maharana of Udaipur appointed as the Rajpramukh and Kota Naresh appointed as the Vice-Rajpramukh of this union. On April 18, 1948, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru formally established the United States of Rajasthan.
Ultimately, in 1958, the present state of Rajasthan formally came into being, with Ajmer state, the Abu Road Taluka and Sunel Tappa joining it. The entire western flank of the state borders with Pakistan, while Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh bound Rajasthan in the north-east, south-east and Gujarat in the south-west.
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