The maharaja of Jaipur belongs to the Kachwaha clan of Rajputs, claiming
descent from Rama, king of Ajodhya. The state is said to have been
founded about 1128 by Dhula Rai, from Gwalior, who with his Kachwahas is
said to have absorbed or driven out the petty chiefs. The Jaipur house
furnished to the Moguls some of their most distinguished generals. Among
them were Man Singh, who fought in Orissa and Assam; Jai Singh,
commonly known by his imperial title of Mirza Raja, whose name appears
in all the wars of Aurangzeb in the Deccan; and Jai Singh II., or Sawai
Jai Singh, the famous mathematician and astronomer, and the founder of
Jaipur city. Towards the end of the 18th century the Jats of Bharatpur
and the chief of Alwar each annexed a portion of the territory of
Jaipur. By the end of the century the state was in great confusion,
distracted by internal broils and impoverished by the exactions of the
Mahrattas. The disputes between the chiefs of Jaipur and Jodhpur had
brought both states to the verge of ruin, and Amir Khan with the
Pindaris was exhausting the country. By a treaty in 1818 the protection
of the British was extended to Jaipur and an annual tribute fixed. In
1835 there was a serious disturbance in the city, after which the
British government took measures to insist upon order and to reform the
administration as well as to support its effective action; and the state
has gradually become well-governed and prosperous. During the Mutiny of
1857 the maharaja assisted the British in every way that lay in his
power. Maharaja Madho Singh, G.C.S.I., G.C.V.O., was born in 1861, and
succeeded in 1882. He is distinguished for his enlightened
administration and his patronage of art. He was one of the princes who
visited England at the time of King Edward's coronation in 1902. It was
he who started and endowed with a donation of 15 lakhs, afterwards
increased to 20 lakhs, of rupees (£133,000) the "Indian People's Famine
Fund." The Jaipur imperial service transport corps saw service in the
Chitral and Tirah campaigns.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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