Jodhpur

Introduction: Recognized as the Sun city of Rajasthan, the district of Jodhpur is centrally located in the western region of the state. Jodhpur is bordered by Nagaur in East, Jaisalmer in west, Bikaner in North and Barmer as well as Pali in the South. Geographically it is located at  26’00⁰ to  27’37⁰ to north Latitude and between 72’ 55⁰ and 73’ 52⁰ at East Longitude. The total area of the district is 22850 sq. Kms and is located at 250-300 meters above sea level. Like other deserted district the summers are too hot and winters too cold.

History: Jodhpur is like a jewel in the crown of Rajasthan. The history of Jodhpur is related with the Rathore clan of rajputs who regard themselves as the descendants of Lord Ram, who  belonged from the Suryavanshi reign. The records reveals that during 470 A.D the Nayal pal captured the kingdom of Kanauj present Kanpur located in Uttar Pradesh, which had  been under the control of Rathore rulers for seven centuries. In 1193 when Mohammad Gauri invaded India, it came under his control.

The outgoing ruler Jai Chand was thrown in the river but fortunately his son Siyaji survived. Later Siyaji Rathore had an alliance with the local prince by marrying his sister with an intention of strengthening the rule of Rathor’s in the region. The main purpose of this treaty was to kick out the Pratihars, the rulers of Mandore state, which was located nine kms from present Jodhpur. With the help of Rathore rulers he became an independent ruler of Pali, which was in south of Jodhpur. After him, his survivors continued to fight for strengthening their rule over the area. Fortunately in 1381 Rao Chanda succeeded in defeating the Pratihars of mandore and mandore became the center point of Rathor’s administration.

Later Rao Chanda’s son and his survivor Rainmal captured the state of Ajmer and was asked to take care of his orphan nephew, who was supposed to be given the control of Chittor district which lied in Mewar region. Rainmal had an eye on the kingdom of Chittor, but unfortunately he was an opium addict and was shot dead. As the result of this Mewar and Marwar became the separate states.

However, the struggle of Rathor’s to capture Mandore continued. After fifteen years of struggle in 1453, Jodha, who was the 24th son of Rainmal finally captured the control of Mandore and was assigned the separate ruler of the state. Later an saint advised him to settle his capital on the top of the hills.

The need of establishing more safer headquarter go more flourished by 1459. Thus, the state of Mandore which was located nine km in south to Jodhpur was considered as the most suitable place for the purpose. During his control on Jodhpur during 1516-32, Rao Ganga Singh very daringly fought against the Marwar king Rana Sanga and Mughal empire Babur.
 
Later, in the coming next century the survivors of the Jodhpur rulers had a treaty with Babur’s grandson, Akbar. Many of the rajput rulers fought under the flag of Mughal empire. With the support of Mughal emperors the throne of Jodhpur kingdom flourished with full swung and it became a prominent business center. From 1638 to 1678 Maharaja Jaswant Singh ruled over the state of Jodhpur had disagreement with the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb as he backed the wrong prince in the war of succession with mughal empire. As a result he was appointed as a viceroy in Afghanistan. In his absence Aurangzeb tried to kidnap his son but with the activeness of the loyal of Jaswant singh, his son was protected by sending him out by hiding him inside the sweet baskets.

Later, the a triangular treaty was signed between the rulers of Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaipur to fight against the Mughal empire. This resulted in matrimonial alliance between the rulers of Jodhpur and Udaipur, which was earlier stopped due to alliance of Jodhpur rulers withy mughal empires. As the result of this marriage the child who was born given the throne of Jodhpur kingdom. But this lead to jealousy which is evident from the fact that when the young prince was asked that where is Jodhpur located he pointed to the sheath of his 'dagger and said, "Inside here".

Year 1870 was a turning point in the history of Jodhpur, when Sir Pratap Singh son of Maharaja of Jodhpur got the throne of state. He was close friend to three British sovereigns. Sir Pratap Singh is regarded as the founder of present Jodhpur, after him Maharaja Umaid Singh carried it forward during 1918 to 47. The kingdom was not considered as the largest kingdom but the most progressive kingdom of that period.

With the independence of India in 1947, this was merged in the state of Rajasthan in 1949.

Tourist Destinations: Jodhpur the ‘Sun City’ has some great destinations to visit. The following paragraphs brief them:

The fort of Maharangarh: Built in 1459 it one of the largest forts India have. Expanded in the area of five kms the beauty of fort lies in its traditional art of Jodhpuri sculptures. Moti Mahal, Phool Mahal, Sheesh Mahal are some beautiful places located inside the fort.

Jaswant Thada: Built in 19th century to felicitate the bravery of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II. It is huge cenotaph (Chattri) inside which the pictures of rulers and Maharaja’s of Jodhpur are carved out.

Umaid Bhawan Palace: Built with an objective of providing the employment to people of Jodhpur during the time of famine, the beautiful palace has the collection of weapons, antiques & fascinating clocks, crockery and trophies. In one portion the royal family of Jodhpur still stays there.

Rai-ka-Bagh Palace: Constructed in 1663 by Hadiji, who was queen of Maharaja Jaswant Singh I. This place was also liked by the king himself and he also used to stay here. During visit of swami Vivekanad this place was provided to him for giving his preaching’s to the people, even Maharaja Jaswant Singh came to listen him.

Raj Ranchhodji Temple: Built by queen Jadechi Rajkanwar after the death of her husband, king Jaswant Singh. The  temple is built by  red sandstone. The major attraction of the  temple is  statue of Ranchhodji made by  black marble. Green, yellow and blue glasses are fixed at its main door.

Achal Nath Shivalaya: Constructed by Nanak Devi, queen of Rao Gang on May 21, 1531. The huge  water reservoir called Bawari in traditional language was made near the Shivlinga is called as Ganga Bawari.

Umed Garden: Constructed by Maharaja Umaid Singh, the total area of garden in 82 acres. The most fascinating things of this garden are green lawns, high Ashoka trees, roses and seasonal flowers, museum, fountains, library and a zoo. In 1978 a Walk in Aviary was built where one can see various classes of birds, African and Australian parrots, ducks, rabbits etc; in their natural environment.
 

Facts & Figures

Latitude	26’000 to  27’370 North
Longitude	72'550 and 73,520 East
Altitude	250-300 meters
Area	22850 sq. Kms.
Temperature	Max. (Summer): 49 0C; Min. (Winter): 1 0C
Average Rainfall	30.2 cms.
Arable Land	131752 Hectares
Pasture Land	125701 Hectares
Population	2886505 (2001 census)
Population Density	126 per sq. kilometer
Sex Ratio	907
Literacy	57.38%
Subdivision	5
Tehsil	7
Panchayat Samiti	9
Villages	1157
STD Code	0291

Connectivity

Air: Jodhpur city has an airport located some 5 km away from city centre. The Indian Airlines Office is south of the Centre on Airport Road and is open daily from 10 am to 1pm and 2 pm to 4.30 pm. It has flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Udaipur and Jaipur.

Rail: The city is well connected by the railway lines and trains are available from all major cities in the country. The booking office is on Station Road, between the railway station and Sojati Gate.

Road: The distance of the district is about 338 kms from the state capital Jaipurand 604 kms from New Delhi. RSTC buses and private luxury buses connect Jodhpur with almost all major places of Rajasthan. You can get direct buses from Jaipur and Delhi towards Jodhpur; the road transport is comfortable.

For more information about Jodhpur district Click here