Thar Desert: Thar Desert or the Great Indian Desert covers the western borders of India from Gujrat to Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, lying between Aravalli Hills in the northeast and the alluvial plains of the Indus river in the west. It is characterized by large stretches of sand and sand dunes, scanty rainfall and extremely limited sources of water and vegetation. Temperatures during summers are high and cross 450C. Living conditions are extremely harsh and people have been moving from one place to another in search of water, food and shelter. Thar desert finds references in pre-historic epics of Ramayan and Mahabharat, with mentions about river Saraswati, lakes and oceans. Sambhar lake is one of the salt water lakes of Thar Desert in Rajasthan. Thar Desert is well known for its flora and fauna and is full of wild life and migratory and resident birds of the desert. National desert park and desert festivals are great tourist attractions. The economy of the region is primarily based on monsoon fed agriculture and cattle grazing. Water form Rajasthan Canal is gradually transforming the landscape.
Marwar: Marwar, Marudhara, Marusthali or Maru Pradesh is a large stretch of land lying on the north west flank of Rajasthan. It covers the districts of Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Nagaur and Pali. Marwar is part of the Thar Desert and the climatic conditions are generally very harsh. The area is frequented by high wind velocity, shifting sands and saline water. The rainfall is scanty and ranges from ten to twelve inches ( 250 mm to 300 mm ) in a year. The temperatures normally cross 450C in summers. Luni river is the main drainage of the area, rising from Pushkar Lake and flowing in south westerly direction through Marwar and finally getting lost in the Rann of Kutch in Gujrat. Marwar is bound on the north by Bikaner, on the northeast by Churu, Sikar and Jaipur, on the east by Ajmer, on the southeast by Mewar, on the south by Sirohi and on the west by Jaisalmer. Marwar was the biggest princely state of Rajasthan and was next to Jammu and Kashmir and Hyderabad amongst the princely states of India.
Ahirs were the original residents of the region and were followed by Aryans. Gurjara Pratihara, a Rajput clan established the kingdom of Marwar in 6th century AD, with their capital at Mandore. Gurjara Pratihara empire continued upto 11th century AD. Those were tumultuous years, full of intrigues, internecine conflicts and wars. After the fall of the Pratihara dynasty, Rathore clan of Rajputs came to power in the 13th century. Rao Jodha belonging to Rathore clan captured Mandore and the surrounding territory and founded the state of Marwar. He also established Jodhpur and built Jodhpur Fort in 1459 and shifted the capital of Marwar from Mandore to Jodhpur. Rao Jodha was a powerful king and extended the territories of Marwar during his rule.
Rao Jodha died in 1545. Thereafter, inspite of all the uncertainties, intrigues, conflicts and wars, the Rathore Clan of Rajputs continued to rule Marwar till its accession to the union of India in August 1947. During this period, Marwar had a number of powerful and illustrious rulers, who extended the territories of Marwar and brought glory to it. Maldeo , Udai Singh son of Maldeo, Jaswant Singh, Ajit Singh son of Jaswant Singh, Durgadas Rathore the regent of Ajit Singh, Vijay Singh and ManSingh are some of those distinguished names. They maintained cordial relations with the rulers of Delhi and held influential positions in their administrative set up and army. It was during the rule of Man Singh, that, Marwar entered into treaty arrangements with the British, in the year 1818 from considerations of peace and security. Subsequent rulers Takhat Singh, Jaswant Singh, Sardar Singh and Sumer Singh contributed considerably in the development of Marwar.
Umed Singh: Umaid Singh was the second son of Maharaja Sardar Singh and he became the Maharaja of Jodhpur in 1918 after the death his elder brother Maharaja Sumer Singh. Umaid Singh was born in July 1903 and died in June 1947 at the age of 44. He was a progressive ruler and introduced far reaching reforms in education, health and other social, judicial and administrative services. During his reign the state of Marwar was renamed as Jodhpur State in 1933. He was the builder of Umaid Bhawan, the internationally known palace of Jodhpur. Incidentally, that was a famine relief work, which provided employment to a large number of people in the thirties from 1929 to 1936. He was also responsible for the development of Sardar Samand which converted that part of the desert area into fertile farm lands. He laid the foundation of Jawai Bandh in 1946 for supplementing the watersupply requirements of Jodhpur and irrigation and waterspply requirements of Pali.
Maharaja Umed Singh was a popular and far-sighted ruler. He could see the signs of the times. On the completion of Umaid Bhawan, which was completed sometimes in 1936, he had some intuition and some tinklings of inner voice, which prompted him to stamp Umaid Bhawan in his personal name. Similarly, Sardar Samand was also stamped in his name. That provided tremendous relief to the following generations, as after the accession of Jodhpur State to the union of India in 1947 and subsequent merger with the state of Rajasthan, the two valuable properties of Umaid Bawan and Sardar Samand, which stood in the name of the Maharaja as personal properties, were inherited by the house of Jodhpur.
Maharaja Umaid Singh held the ranks of Captain, Major, Lt Colonel, Colonel, Air Commodore, Air Vice Marshal and Lt General in the Indian Army. He was also knighted by the British Government through the awards of KCVO ( Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order ), GCIE ( Knight commander of the order of the Indian Empire ) and GCSI ( Knight commander of the order of the Star of India).
Hanwant Singh: Hanwanat Singh succeeded his illustrious father as Maharaja of Jodhpur after his death at Mt Abu in June 1947. Incidentaly, that, was on the eve of the partition of India. British Parliament had passed the Indian Independence Act and had put into motion the process of transfer of power to the two new born countries of India and Pakistan on 15 August 1947. At that time, India was divided into 17 British Provinces and 565 Princely States. The princely states had treaty arrangements with the British Government and had substantial autonomy in managing the day to day affairs of their states. The treaty arrangements of the states with the British Government were to lapse on 15 August 1947. The princely states had the option either to declare independence or to accede to India or Pakistan.
Due to political awakening in the states, most of the princely states signed the formal instruments for accession to India. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the then home minister and VP Menon, secretary for states played a very crucial role in bringing out the integration of praincely states with the union of India. That was the time, when social and political conditions were very different, than what we have to-day. By and large, the people of India did not have any hard feelings or animosity for the newly formed state of Pakistan. It was under that environment and looking to the large fraternal population, living across the border, Maharaja Hanwant Singh toyed with the idea, that, Jodhpur may perhaps have a better future with the newly formed state of Pakistan. Instinctively, he contacted Jinnah, through the good offices of the Nawab of Bhopal, communicating his intention about the accession of Jodhpur to Pakistan. However, after persuasion by Governor General Mountbatten and Sardar Patel, Maharaja Hanwant Singh signed the formal instrument for accession of Jodhpur to India in August 1947.
Maharaja Hanwant Singh was an accomplished polo player and was world polo champion. He was also fond of flying, and maintained a light six seater plane, which he piloted, off and on. After the independence of India and integration of Rajasthan, he was campaigning for election to the Indian Parliament ( Lok Sabha ) from Jodhpur, during the general elections of February 1952. Incidentally, his plane crashed on 26 January 1952 and he died at the age of 28. His son Gaj Singh, who was a minor at that time, succeeded him as the Maharaja of Jodhpur. The wife of Hanwant Singh, Maharani Krishna Kumari of Dhrangadhra was later elected as M.P. from Jodhpur in 1971. Their elder daughter Sailesh Kumari was married in Banswara royal family. The younger daughter, Chandresh Kumari Katoch of Kanagra was elected as M.P. from Jodhpur in 2003.