Mewar / Udaipur: Information

Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Gujarat. For centuries, the region was ruled by Rajputs. The princely state of Udaipur emerged as an administrative unit during the period of British East India Company governance in India and remained until the end of the British Raj era.

The Mewar region lies between the Aravali Range to the north-west, Ajmer to the north, Gujarat and the Vagad region of Rajasthan to the south, the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh state to the southeast and the Hadoti region of Rajasthan to the east.

The state of Mewar was founded around 530 AD; later it was also, and ultimately predominantly, called Udaipur after the name of the capital. In 1568, Emperor Akbar conquered Chittorgarh, the capital of Mewar. In 1576, Maharana Pratap, the ruler of Mewar, was defeated at the Battle of Haldighati and Gogunda, Udaipur and Kumbhalgarh were conquered. However through guerrilla warfare, Maharana Pratap recaptured western Mewar. In 1606, Amar Singh defeated the Mughals in the Battle of Dewar. 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.

For half a century prior to 1818, the armies of Holkar, Scindia, and Amir Khan 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 behalf of Britain) 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-eighths in perpetuity. The British authorities granted the ruler of Udaipur a 19 gun salute.

The last ruler of Udaipur Kingdom signed the accession to Independent India on 7 April 1949. At this point, it had been ruled by the Rajputs of Mori, Guhilot and Sisodia dynasties for over 1,400 years. Chittaurgarh was the capital of Sisodia clans of Rajputs of Mewar.