The Mewar Bhil Corps is a state armed police force of the Rajasthan Police. The Corps was originally raised by the British Indian government as a military unit along similar lines as units such as the Merwara Battalion and Malwa Bhil Corps. The Corps operated as a regular unit of the British Indian Army until 1938; since then it has been maintained as a para-military force. As of 2015, the sanctioned strength of the Corps was 773 personnel. It is organized along with the battalions of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary under an Additional Director General of Police for Armed Battalions. The sole battalion of the MBC is deployed in Udaipur range.

History

The Mewar Bhil Corps was established in 1841 under the command of Captain W. Hunter, with its headquarters at Kherwara. The reasons for raising the Corps were two-fold: (a) to provide employment to members of the

Bhil Bhil or Bheel refer to the various Indigenous peoples, indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura. Though they now speak the Bhili ...

tribe, thus ensuring their "good behavior" and (b) to police the "difficult hill country" of

Mewar Mewar, also spelled as 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 Rajasth ...

Organization

As of 1891, the Corps had five officers - Commandant, Assistant Commandant, Adjutant, Wing Officer, and Medical Officer (of which the 2nd in command was stationed in Kotra, the others in Kherwara). The Commandant was also entrusted with political charge of the Bhomat region, also known as the Mewar Hilly Tracts. This officer acted as First Assistant to the Mewar

Political Agent Political Agent or political agent may refer to: *Political Resident, a representative with consular duties and political contacts with local chiefs * Political officer (British Empire), an officer of the British imperial civil administration, also ...

. The Assistant Commandant of the Mewar Bhil Corps was located in Kotra and acted as the Second Assistant to the Mewar Political Agent. Until the 1930s, regular military officers used to be appointed to the Corps; after that time, officers in the Indian Army Reserve were appointed because of the paucity of regular officers.

Size of the Corps

The initial strength of the Corps was 4 companies, which was increased to 10 companies in 1844, of which 3 companies were stationed in the village of Kotra (in present-day Kotra tehsil). In 1861, the Corps was reduced to 8 companies, 6 at Kherwara and 2 at Kotra. As of 1891, a detachment of the Corps was stationed in Udaipur as an escort to the Resident of Mewar. As of 1932, the strength of the Corps was 633 ranks.

Expenses

It was raised at a cost of Rs. 120,000 of which the

Mewar State The Kingdom of Mewar was an independent Hindu 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 dynasty, foll ...

paid Rs. 50,000 and the remainder by the British Indian Government. In the early decades, the Mewar State contributed Rs. 50,000 annually for the upkeep of the Corps but, in 1883, it was arranged that instead of the payment, the British Government should take revenues from the villages in the Mewar portion of Mewara. As of 1932, the annual expense of the Corps was Rs. 2.29 lakhs.

Engagements

The Mewar Bhil Corps' primary function was to maintain the internal security in Mewar State, such as providing guards for residences at

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

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

, and was never pressed into active service in a war. The following were the Corps' better known engagements in matters of internal security.

1857 Rebellion

During the

Indian Revolt 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 ...

, the Mewar Bhil Corps remained loyal to 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 ...

. One wing of the 1st Bengal Cavalry was stationed at Kherwara cantonment, which was a cause of concern to the British as the other wing of the cavalry in Nimach had revolted. Captains J.C. Brooke and R.M. Annesley who were the Commandant and second-in-command respectively, arranged for the Mewar Bhil Corps to shut the passes leading out of Kherwara and keep the Bengal Cavalry in check.

1875 Bagore Rebellion

In a dispute about succession to the rulership of Mewar, the ''jagirdar'' of Bagore, Sohan Singh, claimed the right of accession instead of Sajjan Singh and openly rebelled against the Maharana. On 18 September 1875, 275 men of the Mewar Bhil Corps were dispatched along with the Maharana's troops to Bagore. Sohan Singh surrendered without a shot being fired.

Uniform

The uniform of the Mewar Bhil Corps in 1900 consisted of a dark green tunic and breeches plus khaki

puttees Close-up of a World War I era United States Army infantryman's puttees A puttee (also spelled ''puttie'', adapted from the Hindi '' paṭṭī'', meaning "bandage") is a covering for the lower part of the leg from the ankle to the knee, also kno ...

Facings A facing colour, also known as facings, is a common tailoring technique for European military uniforms where the visible inside lining of a standard military jacket, coat or tunic is of a different colour to that of the garment itself.René Char ...

on collar, shoulder straps and cuffs were red. The headdress was a round black cap with MBC in bronze metal lettering.Plate 162 Army and Navy Gazette, 1 June 1901

Transition

In 1950, Mewar Bhil Corps was transferred to the Rajasthan Police.

References

{{Authority control Kingdom of Mewar Bhil Rajasthan Police 1841 establishments in British India Government agencies established in 1841