Historical Information on Bhilwara
Bhilwara has a quaint story of origin,
carefully preserved by the locals. It is said to have come up in the
middle of the 11th century when a Bhil tribal, supposedly one of the
first settlers, built a Shiva temple on the site of the existing
Jataun ka Mandir. This is in the area called Junawas, the oldest part
of the town. and if we are to believe this, the town is more than 900
years old.
¤ A Peaceful Past
But if not, then it’s only about 400 years old. and this is
according to authentic records. 16th century Rajasthan belonged to the
Rajputs. For most of the time these men were building grand forts and
fighting amongst themselves or with others for Honour, and at times,
for territory. So in keeping with the trend, the Ranas of Mewar
(Udaipur), too, were always fighting, especially the Mughals. Bhilwara
had nothing to do in this power struggle, except for the fact that it
lay on the Mewar-Delhi route. On the occasion of every invasion and
Mewar’s resistance to it, the villages and towns here would be
plundered. As a result the plains of Bhilwara lay periodically
deserted.
 But
good times were ahead; the 17th and 18th centuries were more or less
peaceful. A treaty had been signed between Mewar’s Amar Singh and
Delhi’s Jahangir in 1615. But Amar Singh was so upset with
himself for having shaken hands with the Mughals that he gave up his
title in favour of his son Maharana Karan Singh. The poor Rajput even
left Udaipur and never came back (see History of Udaipur for more).
¤ The Flurishing Trade
After the treaty was signed, Maharana Raj Singh (1654-1710) formally
included Bhilwara under his wing. This induced a sense of security and
privilege among the merchants and artisans of the town. Not just that,
Raj Singh also organized an association of the merchants of the town
known as the Panch Mahajans, which was for stimulating the business
activity of the area.
¤ The Downfall of the Town
Unfortunately, Bhilwara’s wellbeing was cut short again. This
time by the Marathas who plundered the town about 10-12 times in the
beginning of the 19th century. The wealth and prosperity that had been
accumulated in the past two centuries of peaceful construction was
completely lost. So much so that James Tod, the British Political
Agent and historian, records that the 6,000 families of 1806 were
reduced to zero in 1818, and the place was turned into a ghost city.
¤ Developed as a Commercial Center By Britishers
It was then that the British took up the task of building Bhilwara.
They developed it as the chief commercial mart of Central India. and
if Tod is to be believed, the present town was absolutely non-existent
when they took upon themselves the task of building a bazaar with the
required infrastructure that would support it. Both foreign and local
merchants were encouraged to settle here, shops and houses were given
out at moderate rates and fairs were hosted almost every week in which
goods from distant lands were piled up in the streets. The entire
project was taken up with utmost seriousness by the British who not
only exempted Bhilwara from taxation for a full year but also posted
guards to ensure a sense of security among the inhabitants. A kind of
democratic set up was allowed for Bhilwara to stimulate growth. This
gave Tod opportunity to say: "Bhilwara is perhaps the most
conspicuous instance in all India of the change which our predominant
influence has effected in four short years… With proper
management this place might become the chief mart of Rajputana and ten
thousand houses would soon find inhabitants, such are its local
capabilities as an entrepot."
¤ Developed as a Florishing Town
Tod’s forecasting was a bit too ambitious, though not completely
unjustified. By 1822AD Bhilwara sprouted nearly 3,000 houses which
were lived in by merchants, bankers and artisans. A road was also
built in an attempt to make transport easy.
But soon the town faced new problems. The merchants from Bhilwara
were losing profits, as they were required to pay an additional
town-duty of metage. This lead to a lot of discontent among the local
merchants. The local governing bodies were also plagued by differences
often arising from religious issues. All these problems hampered the
efforts made by the British. Trade and industry in Bhilwara did
flourish, but not to the scale the British had intended. |
