Entry

Tourism in Bhilwara.

Apr 4th, 2008 23:06
kumar gaurav, http://www.rajasthantravelguide.co.in/

Bhilwara Tourism
The best time to visit Bhilwara is during the winter months from October
to March. Winter months are pleasant enough for long stays. The summer
months are best avoided for visiting Bhilwara.
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.
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