History of Udaipur, India
Udaipur revels in reputation of being once the capital of the Mewar principality. It
takes pride in being one of the few Rajput states, which did not owe their allegiance to
the Muslim power in the name of realpolitik.
Mewar was the seat of the famous Sisodia Rajputs suzerains, which makes the Mewar
household the longest lasting of all ruling powers in Rajasthan, and perhaps the oldest
surviving dynasty in the world.
When Udai Singh II ascended the throne of Mewar in 1537, it was clear that the splendid
for of Chittor was destined to be doomed. Udai Singh looked for a suitable place for his
new capital and settled for the area around Lake Pichola, protected on all sides by
outcrops of the Aravalli Range. He laid the foundation stones of the city in 1559. When
Chittor fell to the marauding armies of the Mughals, he shifted to the new capital of
Udaipur.
After his death in 1572 Udai was succeeded by his son Pratap, a legendary hero whose
refusal to submit to the Mughal suzerainty led to the battle of Haldighati, which, though
indecisive, resulted in the great misery for Maharana Pratap.
With the passage of time, the city of Udaipur prospered in all directions. It emerged
as a great center of commerce and arts. This finds expression in the famous miniature
paintings and the amazing palaces on the lake and its shore. With the decline of the
Mughals, Marathas became a dominat power in India. They attacked Mewar in 1736 and as a
result the city was reduced to poverty and ruin. The British, whose role in the East India
Company had until then been purely commercial, stepped in to pick up the pieces,
presenting the ruler of Mewar with a treaty of "perpetual alliance and
friendship" in 1818. Guaranteeing protection from invaders and restoration of all its
hereditary territories, this treaty and the support of the British helped to put Udaipur
on the road to recovery. Yet Mewar never distanced itself from its principle of not bowing
down to a foreign power and its rulers never allowed the British to interfere in the
internal affairs of the state.
After Indian Independence the maharana of Udaipur at the forefront of a campaign by the
princely states to join the new democratic and independent India. |
