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Bikaner was founded in the 15th century by Rao Bikaji, the son of the Rathor raja
of Marwar (Jodhpur). Bikaji was the second son of Rao Jodhaji, the real founder
of Jodhpur state, its magnificent fort and city, Bika left Jodhpur in a huff with
a few kinsmen and followers because his father taunted him in open durbar about
expansionist schemes with his uncle, Rao Kandhal. He set up his own kingdom in the
desert of the north. Supported by the blessing of a great female mystic, Karni Mata,
whom he had met along the way and who had predicted that his fame and glory would
someday exceed that of his father, Rao Bika fought the local desert clans for thirty
years, and ultimately carved out a kingdom approximately the size of England. This
desert city was a major trade center on the old caravan route linking central Asia
and North India with the Gujarat sea ports long before a Rathor Prince, Bika, conquered
it in 1486 A.D. and called it Bikaner.
History of Bikaner
Bikaner was founded in the 15th century by Rao Bikaji, the son of the Rathor raja
of Marwar (Jodhpur). Bikaji was the second son of Rao Jodhaji, the real founder
of Jodhpur state, its magnificent fort and city, Bika left Jodhpur in a huff with
a few kinsmen and followers because his father taunted him in open durbar about
expansionist schemes with his uncle, Rao Kandhal. He set up his own kingdom in the
desert of the north. Supported by the blessing of a great female mystic, Karni Mata,
whom he had met along the way and who had predicted that his fame and glory would
someday exceed that of his father, Rao Bika fought the local desert clans for thirty
years, and ultimately carved out a kingdom approximately the size of England. This
desert city was a major trade center on the old caravan route linking central Asia
and North India with the Gujarat sea ports long before a Rathor Prince, Bika, conquered
it in 1486 A.D. and called it Bikaner.
Fortunately for his descendants, no enemy could withstand the harsh desert that
surrounds this rich city and disrupt its leisurely lifestyle, which still prevails.
Here, medieval settings, customs, and attitudes are natural and modern ways rather
alien. Bikaner has a special quality, an authentic medieval flavor that immediately
draws the outsider's attention.
In the 16th century the maharajas of Bikaner came into conflict with the Mughal
emperor in Delhi, who were in the process of setting up their new empire in Hindustan.
Being located closer to Delhi, Bikaner spent much more time fighting the Mughals
than other desert kingdoms, such as Jaisalmer or Jodhpur. With the harsh desert
terrain on their side, the Bikaner armies soundly defeated the Mughals in their
early encounters. By the late 16th century, however, they had won over by the diplomacy
of Emperor Akbar. As a result, several of Bikaner's rulers commanded the Mughal
armies, fighting with distinction from Gujarat in the west to the Deccan in the
south. One great ruler, Raja Prithviraj Singh, a poet and a warrior, in fact became
one of the "Nine Gems " of Akbar's court. Bikaner, meanwhile, had
had become a flourishing town and an important trading post along the centuries-old
caravan trails that connected India with the Middle East and China. As the town
prospered it became known, it became known for the hand work of its gold and silver
smiths, weavers and perfumaries and leather craftsmen. It also became known as an
important center for the arts and music . It was especially well known for its of
miniature paintings, which were a delicate fusion of the Rajput and the Mughal style.
However, with the eclipse of the Mughals in the 18th century, Bikaner along with
the rest of Rajasthan fell into the slow decline, although its desert barriers at
least spared it the depredations that the Marathas were wreaking on its other Rajput
neighbors. This situation continued until the treaty with the British in 1818, in
which “perpetual friendship, alliance and a unity of interests" were pledged.
Turn Of Fortune
By the mid-19th century the years of internal strife and the financial and military
pressures being put on Bikaner by its new allies, the British had put the kingdom
into debt. It had become a shabby and a backward province. But, curiously it was
Bikaner's famous camels that triggered off a process of economic and political
recovery. The British were involved in fighting the Afghan War at the time and it
was realised that the only vehicles that could deliver their supplies in that terrain
were camels. The maharaja of Bikaner cannily cashed in on this opportunity by supplying
the British army with a steady stream of Bikaner’s camels. This resulted in a turnaround
of Bikaner's fortunes. A modern administrative system was soon installed, the
first hospitals established, and a police force set up to handle the lawlessness
and banditry that were becoming rampant. In 1886, this remote desert kingdom became
the first Indian princely State to introduce electricity.
Maharaja Ganga Singh
It was Maharaja Ganga Singh (reigned 1898 -1944), one of the most remarkable rulers
India produced in the early 20th century, who was responsible for putting Bikaner
in a position of prominence on the map of India. Maharaja Ganga, who was educated
at the celebrated mayo College in Ajmer, gave Bikaner a prominence far beyond its
size.
First he created the famous Bikaner Camel Corps, or Ganga Risala, a flamboyant fighting
force that he personally led, on behalf of the British, first to China to put down
the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, then to Somaliland to quell the quell the Somali Uprising
in 1903, and finally to Egypt during World War I. Maharaja Ganga Singh also built
up the Bikaner's economy, promoting among other things, the Ganga Canal, an
ambitious irrigation project that was years ahead of his time, and which turned
the deserts of Bikaner into rich farmland. But perhaps most of all, perhaps Maharaja
Ganga Singh came to be known for his spectacular grouse shoots, to which everybody
from the Viceroy downward, including fellow maharajas, vied to be invited. Maharaja
Ganga Singh very shrewdly treated these hunts as a diplomatic tool, using the opportunity
to charm selected guests and win their support. His guests at the great shoots included
the Prince of Wales, later King George V, and French President Clemenceau, Maharaja
Ganga Singh later became something of an International political figure, going on
to lead the Indian delegation to the League of Nations. In 1949 the kingdom became
part of the new state of Rajasthan in Independent India.
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