Ajmer-Merwara (also known as Ajmir Province, and Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri) was a former province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

in the historical

Ajmer region Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

. The territory was ceded to the British by Daulat Rao Sindhia by a treaty on 25 June 1818. It was under the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

until 1861 when it became part of the

North-Western Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an Presidencies and provinces of British India, administrative region in British Raj, British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Cede ...

. Finally on 1 April 1871, it became a separate province as Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri. It became a part of independent India on 15 August 1947 when the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

left India. The province consisted of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s of

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

and Merwara, which were physically separated from the rest of British India forming an

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

amidst the many princely states of

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

. Unlike these states, which were ruled by local nobles who acknowledged British

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

, Ajmer-Merwara was administered directly by the British. In 1842, the two districts were under a single commissioner, then they were separated in 1856 and were administered by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. Finally, after 1858, by a chief commissioner who was subordinate to the

Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

's agent for the

Rajputana Agency The Rajputana Agency was a political office of the British Raj, British Indian Empire dealing with a collection of native states in Rajputana (now in Rajasthan, northwestern India), under the political charge of an Agent reporting directly to ...

Extent and geography

The area of the province was . The plateau, on whose centre stands the town of

, may be considered as the highest point in the plains of

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

; from the circle of hills which hem it in, the country slopes away on every side - towards river valleys on the east, south, west and towards the

Thar Desert The Thar Desert (), also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of in India and Pakistan. It is the world's 18th-largest desert, and the world's 9th-large ...

region on the north. The

Aravalli Range The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in North India, Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Ahme ...

is the distinguishing feature of the district. The range of hills which runs between Ajmer and Nasirabad marks the watershed of the continent of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The rain which falls on the southeastern slopes drains into the Chambal, and so into the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

; that which falls on the northwest side into the

Luni River The Luni is the largest river in the Thar Desert in Northwest India. It originates in Naga hills of the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli Range, near Ajmer, passes through the southeastern portion of the Thar Desert, and ends in the marshy lands of ...

, which discharges itself into the

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located mostly in the Kutch district of the Indian state of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan. ...

. The province is on the border of what may be called the arid zone; it is the debatable land between the north-eastern and south-western

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

s, and beyond the influence of either. The south-west monsoon sweeps up the

Narmada The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...

valley from

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

and crossing the tableland at

Neemuch Neemuch or Nimach is a city in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. The town shares its northwestern border with the state of Rajasthan and is the administrative headquarters of Neemuch District. Formerly a large British people, British cantonm ...

gives copious supplies to

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

, Jhalawar and Kota and the countries which lie in the course of the Chambal River. The clouds which strike

Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...

and Kutch are deprived of a great deal of their moisture by the hills in those countries (now the majority of this region is in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

state within independent

), and the greater part of the remainder is deposited on

Mount Abu Mount Abu (), known as Arbudgiri in Jain tradition, is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in the Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. Here, the mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. It is ref ...

and the higher slopes of the Aravalli Range, leaving but little for Merwara, where the hills are lower, and still less for Ajmer. It is only when the monsoon is in considerable force that Merwara gets a plentiful supply from it. The north-eastern monsoon sweeps up the valley of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

from the Bay of Bengal and waters the northern part of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, but hardly penetrates farther west than the longitude of Ajmer. The rainfall of the district depends on the varying strength of these two monsoons. The agriculturist of Ajmer-Merwara could never rely upon two good harvests in succession.

British rule

Part of the

, the

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

of the future province was ceded to the British by Daulat Rao Sindhia of

Gwalior State The Gwalior State was a List of Maratha dynasties and states, state within the Maratha Confederacy located in Central India. It was ruled by the Scindia, House of Scindia (anglicized from Sendrak), a Hindu Maratha Confederacy, Maratha dynasty. ...

as part of a treaty dated 25 June 1818. Then in May 1823 the Merwara (Mewar) part was ceded to Britain by

Udaipur State The Kingdom of Mewar was an independent Hindu Monarchy, kingdom that existed in the Rajputana region of the Indian subcontinent and later became a dominant state in medieval India. The kingdom was initially founded and ruled by the Guhila dyna ...

. Thereafter Ajmer-Merwara was administered directly by the British

. After the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

, in 1858 the powers of the company were transferred to the British Crown and the

. His administration of Ajmer-Merwara was controlled by a chief commissioner who was subordinate to the British agent for the

.Ajmer Merwara

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

, 1909, v. 5, p. 137-146.

Superintendents for Ajmer

* 9 Jul 181817 Jul 1818 Nixon *18 Jul 181815 Dec 1824 Francis Boyle Shannon Wilder (1785–1849) *16 Dec 182421 Apr 1825 Richard Moore (1st time) *22 Apr 182523 Oct 1827 Henry Middleton *24 Oct 182728 Nov 1831 Richard Cavendish *29 Nov 18311 Jul 1832 Richard Moore (2nd time) * 2 Jul 183216 Apr 1834 Alexander Speirs *17 Apr 183430 Jun 1836 George Frederick Edmonstone (1813–1864) * 1 Jul 183625 Jul 1837 Charles E. Trevelyan (1807–1886) *26 Jul 1837Feb 1842 J.D. Macnaghten

Superintendents for Merwara (from Feb 1842, Ajmer-Merwara)

*18231836 Henry Hall (1789–1875) *18361857 Charles George Dixon (died 1857)

Agents of the Governors-general for the Rajputana agency

*183229 Nov 1833 Abraham Lockett (1781–1834) *29 Nov 1833Jun 1834 Alexander Speirs *Jun 18341 Feb 1839 Nathaniel Alves * 1 Feb 18391839 John Ludlow (acting) (1788–1880) *Apr 1839Dec 1847 James Sutherland (died 1848) *Jan 1844Oct 1846 Charles Thoresby (died 1862) (acting for Sutherland) *Dec 1847Jan 1853 John Low (1788–1880) *25 Jun 184819 Nov 1848 Showers (acting for Low) * 8 Sep 18511 Dec 1851 D.A. Malcolm (acting for Low) *18521853 George St. Patrick Lawrence (1804–1884) (1st time) * 5 Mar 1853Feb 1857 Henry Montgomery Lawrence (1806–1857) *15 Mar 1857Apr 1864 George St. Patrick Lawrence (s.a.) (2nd time) *10 Apr 185924 Nov 1860 William Frederick Eden (1814–1867) (acting for Lawrence) *Apr 18641867 William Frederick Eden (s.a.) *18671870 Richard Harte Keatinge (1825–1904) *15 Jun 18701 Apr 1871 John Cheap Brooke (1818–1899) (acting for Keatinge)

Chief Commissioners

* 1 Apr 187121 Jun 1873 Richard Harte Keatinge (s.a.) * 1 Apr 187121 Jun 1873 John Cheape Brooke (s.a.) (acting for Keatinge) *21 Jun 18736 Apr 1874 Sir Lewis Pelly (1st time) (1825–1892) (acting to 6 Feb 1874) * 6 Apr 18746 Jul 1874 William H. Beynon (acting) (1903) * 6 Jul 187412 Nov 1874 Sir Lewis Pelly (2nd time) (s.a.) *12 Nov 187418 Aug 1876 Alfred Comyns Lyall (acting) (1835–1911) *18 Aug 18765 Mar 1877 Charles Kenneth Mackenzie Walter (1833–1892) (1st time)(acting) * 5 Mar 187712 Dec 1878 Sir Lewis Pelly (3rd time) (s.a.) *12 Dec 187827 Mar 1887 Edward Ridley Colborne Bradford (1836–1911) (1st time) *17 Mar 188128 Nov 1882 Charles Kenneth Mackenzie Walter (s.a.) (2nd time) (acting) *28 Nov 188227 Mar 1887 Edward Ridley Colborne Bradford (s.a.) (2nd time) *27 Mar 188720 Mar 1890 Charles Kenneth Mackenzie Walter (1833–1892) (3rd time)(acting to 1 Apr 1887) *20 Mar 189027 Aug 1891 George Herbert Trevor (1st time) (1840–1927) *27 Aug 18912 Dec 1891 P.W. Powlett (acting) * 2 Dec 189122 Nov 1893 George Herbert Trevor (2nd time) (s.a.) *22 Nov 189311 Jan 1894 William Francis Prideaux (acting) (1840–1914) *11 Jan 189520 Mar 1895 George Herbert Trevor (3rd time) (s.a.) *20 Mar 189510 Mar 1898 Robert Joseph Crosthwaite (1841–1917) *10 Mar 18981 May 1900 Arthur Henry Temple Martindale (1854–1942) (1st time) * 1 May 19001 Apr 1901 William Hutt Curzon Wyllie (acting)(1848–1909) * 1 Apr 19013 Feb 1902 A.P. Thornton (acting) * 3 Feb 19021 Apr 1905 Arthur Henry Temple Martindale (s.a.) (2nd time) * 1 Apr 19054 Jan 1918 Elliot Graham Colvin (1861–1940) * 4 Jan 191822 Dec 1919 John Manners Smith (1864–1920) *22 Dec 19197 Aug 1925 Robert Erskine Holland (1873–1965) * 7 Aug 192518 Mar 1927 Stewart Blakeley Agnew Patterson (1872–1942) *18 Mar 192714 Oct 1932 Leonard William Reynolds (1874–1946) *14 Oct 193228 Oct 1937 George Drummond Ogilvie (1882–1966) *28 Oct 19371 Dec 1944 Arthur Cunningham Lothian (1887–1962) *May 1939Oct 1939 Conrad Corfield (1893–1980) (acting for Lothian) * 1 Dec 194415 Aug 1947 Hiranand Rupchand Shivdasani (1904–1949)

Post-independence

From the date of partition and independence in 1947 until 1950, Ajmer-Merwara remained a province of the new

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, * * was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its Indian independence movement, independence, India had be ...

. In 1950 it became Ajmer State, which on 1 November 1956, was merged into the state of

. The Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1952 was the landmark in the legal history of land reforms in Rajasthan which was followed by Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 that became applicable to the whole of Rajasthan. The overriding effect of this Act provided relief to the existing tenants and the rights accrued to tenants accordingly. Now the Jats are major land holders in the region.

References

{{Authority control Provinces of British India Historical Indian regions History of Rajasthan Ajmer district 1818 establishments in British India 1936 disestablishments in British India History of Ajmer