The Udaipur State, also known as Mewar State, was an independent state in northwestern India prior to the formation of the Indian Republic.
Geography
The geographical boundaries of Mewar have waxed and waned over the centuries, but as of 1941, the area of the state was 34,110 square kilometres. From the treaty with the British in 1818 to its accession to the Republic of India in 1949, the boundaries of Udaipur state were as follows: the state was bounded on the north by the British district of Ajmer-Merwara; on the west by Jodhpur and Sirohi; on the southwest by Idar; on the south by Dungarpur, Banswara and Pratabgarh; on the east by Bundi and Kotah; and on the northeast by Jaipur.
Mewar was founded by Bappa Rawal, formerly a chieftain of the Mori king of Chittor, who acquired control of Chittor in c.728. Nagda was the first capital of Mewar and continued to be so until c. 948 when the ruler Allat moved the capital from Nagda, Rajasthan to Ahar.
In 1615, after four decades of skirmishing, Mewar and the Mughals entered into a treaty under which Mewar territory under the Mughals' possession was returned in exchange for the crown prince of Mewar attending the Mughal court and Mewar providing a force of 1,000 horsemen to the Mughals.
Maratha influence
The Marathas made the first successful incursion into Mewar territory in 1725 and, subsequently, continued to exert increasing influence not only on Mewar but also surrounding states of Dungarpur, Banswara, and Bundi. To counter the Marathas, Maharana Jagat Singh of Mewar convened a conference of Rajput rulers in Hurda in 1734, but no agreement materialised. Maratha power continued to grow, with the Marathas regularly extracting hefty tributes from Mewar over the remaining part of the century.
By 1818, the armies of Holkar, Scindia, and Tonk had plundered Mewar, pauperising its ruler and people. As early as 1805, Maharana Bhim Singh of Mewar approached the British for assistance but the Treaty of 1803 with Scindia prevented the British from entertaining the request. But by 1817, the British too were anxious to have alliances with Rajput rulers and the Treaty of Friendship, Alliances and Unity was concluded between Mewar and East India Company on 13 January 1818. Under the treaty, the British Government agreed to protect the territory of Mewar, in return for which Mewar acknowledged British supremacy and agreed to abstain from political associations with other states and to pay one-fourth of its revenues as tribute for 5 years, and three-eight in perpetuity. A constitution for Udaipur State was adopted on May 23, 1947. The last ruler of Udaipur State signed the accession to Independent India on 7 April 1949.
Maharanas
Until 1303, the rulers of Mewar were called 'Maharawals'. Upon the death of Rawal Ratan Singh during the sack of Chittorgarh by Allauddin Khilji 1303, Hammir Singh became the ruler of Mewar and styled himself as 'Maharana', which is what its rulers were called until dissolution of the state in 1949. Bhagwat Singh died on 2 November 1984. He has two sons, Mahendra Singh and Arvind Singh. Before his death, he founded a trust named the Maharana Mewar Foundation and tasked younger son Arvind to look after it. Arvind lives in Udaipur's City Palace.
Political Agents employed by the East India Company to oversee their affairs in the state included James Tod, who held the office from March 1818 to June 1822. The post of British Resident that superseded this position was twice held by Alan Holme.
Administrative structure
At the time of the 1901 census, the state was divided into 17 administrative sub-divisions - 11 zilas and 6 parganas, the difference between a zila and pargana being that the latter was larger and broken up into further subdivisions. Further, there were 28 principal jagirs and 2 bhumats. Each zila was administered by a hakim, a state official, supported at each tehsil by an assistant hakim. The state was poorly managed before British rule. The revenue of Udaipur state was Rs.4,00,000 with a debt of Rs.29,00,000 in 1819, after which the British took over the administration. The state revenue showed improvement under British agents, the revenue rising to Rs.8,00,000 in 1821 and an average of Rs.28,00,000 in 1899-1900.
Land tenure
The principal forms of land tenure in the state were jagir, bhum, sasan, and khalsa. Jagirs were grants of land made in recognition service of a civil or political nature. Jagirdars, the holders of jagir, usually paid a fixed annual tribute called chhatund on an annual basis, and nazarana on the succession of a new Maharana. On the death of a jagirdar, the jagir reverted to the Maharana until the late jagirdar's successor was recognized by the Maharana. Those holding bhum tenures paid a small tribute or nominal quit-rent, and were liable to be called on for local service. Sasan holders were not liable for payments to the Maharana but taxes were sometimes recovered from them. Khalsa holders were cultivators who were undisturbed in their possession as long as they continued to pay land revenue. As of 1912, 38% of the land revenue of the State was from khalsa land, the rest from other forms of tenure.
