Udaipur State

Mewar was founded by Bappa Rawal, formerly a chieftain of the Mori king of Chittor, who acquired control of Chittor in c.728.[11] 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.[1]

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.[12]

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.[13] To counter the Marathas, Maharana Jagat Singh of Mewar convened a conference of Rajput rulers in Hurda in 1734, but no agreement materialised.[13] Maratha power continued to grow, with the Marathas regularly extracting hefty tributes from Mewar over the remaining part of the century.[13]

By 1818, the armies of Holkar, Scindia, and Tonk had plundered Mewar, pauperising its ruler and people. [14]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. [14] 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.[14][15]

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.[15] A constitution for Udaipur State was adopted on May 23, 1947.[16] The last ruler of Udaipur State signed the accession to Independent India on 7 April 1949.[17]

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 (bhum barar), and were liable to be called on for local service. Sasan (also known as muafi) holders were not liable for payments to the Maharana but taxes were sometimes recovered from them. Khalsa (crown lands) holders were cultivators who were undisturbed in their possession as long as they continued to pay land revenue.[23] As of 1912, 38% of the land revenue of the State was from khalsa land, the rest from other forms of tenure.[24]