History of Rajasthan: From Prehistory to Integration — RPSC RAS Paper I, Unit I, Part A
Weightage: Part A of Paper I Unit I, and the largest block of Rajasthan history and culture in the Prelims syllabus. RAS sets short answers (5 marks, about 50 words) and 10-mark answers (about 150 words), so every fact below should be learnable as a one-line card.
1. What Part A asks for
The revised syllabus lists prehistoric sites, the achievements of rulers up to the eighteenth century, the revenue and administrative system, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (1857, tribal movements, integration), and, separately, arts, culture and literature (the next chapter). National history (Part B) is aliased from UPSC CSE, so this chapter stays with Rajasthan.
2. Prehistoric and protohistoric sites
| Site | District | Why it is asked |
|---|---|---|
| Kalibangan | Hanumangarh | Harappan town; ploughed field, fire altars; excavated by B. K. Thapar and B. B. Lal |
| Ahar (Banas culture) | Udaipur | Copper-using culture on the Banas |
| Ganeshwar | Sikar | Early copper working |
| Bagor | Bhilwara | Mesolithic site with evidence of animal keeping |
| Bairat (Viratnagar) | Jaipur | Matsya capital; Ashokan edict (Bhabru) |
3. The Rajput states and their rulers
| Dynasty and region | Rulers and events to know |
|---|---|
| Chauhans of Sambhar and Ajmer | Vigraharaja IV; Prithviraj III lost the second battle of Tarain (1192) |
| Guhilas / Sisodias of Mewar | Bappa Rawal; Rana Kumbha (Vijay Stambh, Kumbhalgarh); Rana Sanga (Khanwa, 1527); Maharana Pratap (Haldighati, 1576) |
| Rathores of Marwar | Rao Jodha founded Jodhpur (1459); Maldeo; Durgadas Rathore and Ajit Singh against Aurangzeb |
| Kachhwahas of Amber | Bharmal joined Akbar (1562); Man Singh I; Sawai Jai Singh II founded Jaipur (1727) and built observatories |
| Hadas, Bhatis, Bikaner Rathores | Bundi and Kota; Jaisalmer; Rao Bika founded Bikaner (about 1488) |
| Jats of Bharatpur | Suraj Mal and the Lohagarh fort |
Two relationships shape the period. Amber and most Rajput houses allied with the Mughals, while Mewar resisted, with Pratap's fight at Haldighati and Dewair the standard example. Later, Maratha raids weakened the states, and treaties with the East India Company in 1817-18 brought them under British paramountcy in the Rajputana Agency, while Ajmer-Merwara was ruled directly.
4. Revenue and administrative system
Land in the princely states was held mainly under three heads:
- Khalsa: land under direct state control, with revenue paid to the treasury.
- Jagir: land granted to nobles in return for service, and the source of the feudal order the Praja Mandals later attacked.
- Sasan: tax-free grants to religious institutions and scholars.
Two common revenue methods were batai (a crop share) and kankut (an estimate of the standing crop). At the top, a Diwan or Pradhan served the ruler, and districts were run by officials called hakims. Peasants paid many extra levies (lag-bag) and did unpaid labour (begar), which the peasant movements resisted.
5. 1857 in Rajasthan
The risings began with the sepoys, and the rulers stayed loyal. Key episodes are:
- Nasirabad (28 May 1857), the first outbreak in Rajputana, followed by Neemuch (early June), a cantonment just across today's border in Madhya Pradesh that Rajasthan syllabi usually include.
- Kota (October 1857), where soldiers and townsmen under Lala Jaidayal and Mehrab Khan killed the British agent Major Burton and held the city until 1858.
- Auwa (Marwar), where Thakur Kushal Singh Champawat rose against Jodhpur and the British in 1857.
Tantya Tope also moved through the region in the winter of 1857-58.
6. Peasant and tribal movements
| Movement | Region | Leaders and features |
|---|---|---|
| Bijolia | Mewar | From 1897; Sitaram Das, Vijay Singh Pathik, Manikya Lal Verma; against heavy levies and begar; settled in 1941 |
| Begun | Mewar | 1921, similar grievances; Ramnarayan Chaudhary |
| Bhil movement | South Rajasthan | Govind Giri and the Sampsabha; Mangarh Hill massacre, 17 November 1913 |
| Eki (Bhomat) | Mewar, Sirohi | Motilal Tejawat, 1921-22; Nimchana massacre |
| Meo movement | Alwar, Bharatpur | Early 1930s, over revenue and repression |
| Shekhawati and Sikar | Sikar | Jat kisan sabhas, 1930s |
Praja Mandals carried the politics forward. Major ones were the Jaipur Praja Mandal (1931), the Mewar Praja Mandal (1938, Manikya Lal Verma) and the Marwar Lok Parishad (1938, Jai Narayan Vyas). The All India States' People's Conference met at Udaipur in 1945 under Nehru.
7. The integration of Rajasthan
Rajasthan formed in seven stages, and the dates are examined directly.
| Stage | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 March 1948 | Matsya Union (Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli) |
| 2 | 25 March 1948 | Rajasthan Union (Kota and neighbouring states); capital Kota |
| 3 | 18 April 1948 | United Rajasthan (Udaipur joins); capital Udaipur |
| 4 | 30 March 1949 | Greater Rajasthan (Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer); capital Jaipur |
| 5 | 15 May 1949 | Matsya Union merges |
| 6 | 26 January 1950 | Sirohi merged, with Abu and Delwara initially left out |
| 7 | 1 November 1956 | States Reorganisation Act: Ajmer-Merwara, Abu Road and others added; Sironj to MP |
30 March is celebrated as Rajasthan Day. Hiralal Shastri led the government of Greater Rajasthan, and the office of Rajpramukh ended in 1956.
Worked example 7.1 (a 10-mark answer, ~150 words). "Describe the process of integration of Rajasthan."
Model answer. Rajasthan's twenty-odd princely states were integrated in seven stages between 1948 and 1956.
The Matsya Union (Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli) was formed on 18 March 1948, and the Rajasthan Union around Kota followed on 25 March 1948. Udaipur joined on 18 April 1948 to form United Rajasthan. The decisive step was 30 March 1949, when Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer joined to create Greater Rajasthan with Jaipur as capital, celebrated as Rajasthan Day. The Matsya Union merged on 15 May 1949 and Sirohi in January 1950. Finally, on 1 November 1956, the States Reorganisation Act added Ajmer-Merwara, Abu Road and Sunel Tappa, transferred Sironj to Madhya Pradesh and abolished the Rajpramukh.
The process combined princely accession, popular pressure through Praja Mandals and the Union government's mediation.
Common traps RPSC sets here
- Reversing the order of stages 1 and 2. Matsya (18 March) came before the Rajasthan Union (25 March).
- Calling 1956 the year Rajasthan formed. It completed the process; Greater Rajasthan was 1949.
- Attributing Haldighati to Akbar in person. Man Singh led the Mughal force in 1576.
- Merging Bijolia and Begun. Both are Mewar peasant movements but different places and years.
Memory aids
- "Matsya, Rajasthan, United, Greater, Matsya merges, Sirohi, SRA": the seven stages in order.
- "Pratap at Haldighati 76, Sanga at Khanwa 27": two battle years.
- "Jaipur 31, Mewar 38, Marwar 38": the Praja Mandals.
Summary
Rajasthan's history moves from Kalibangan, Ahar and Bagor through the Rajput states, whose resistance (Mewar) and alliance (Amber) with the Mughals frame the period. Land was held as khalsa, jagir and sasan, with levies that fed the Bijolia, Begun, Bhil and Meo movements.
After the 1857 outbreaks at Nasirabad, Neemuch, Kota and Auwa, Praja Mandals and the seven-stage integration (1948-56) produced the present state.
Exam protocol
- Give dates for integration and battles; RAS rewards dated one-liners.
- In a 5-mark answer, state the fact and one consequence in the first two lines.
- Pair every movement with its region, leader and outcome.
