Jaipur

Jaipur, or Jeypore, a city and native state of India in the Rajputana agency. The city is a prosperous place of comparatively recent date. It derives its name from the famous Maharaja Jai Singh II., who founded it in 1728. It is built of pink stucco in imitation of sandstone, and is remarkable for the width and regularity of its streets. It is the only city in India that is laid out in rectangular blocks, and it is divided by cross streets into six equal portions. The main streets are 111 ft. wide and are paved, while the city is lighted by gas. The regularity of plan, and the straight streets with the houses all built after the same pattern, deprive Jaipur of the charm of the East, while the painted mud walls of the houses give it the meretricious air of stage scenery. The huge palace of the maharaja stands in the centre of the city. Another noteworthy building is Jai Singh’s observatory. The chief industries are in metals and marble, which are fostered by a school of art, founded in 1868. There is also a wealthy and enterprising community of native bankers. The city has three colleges and several hospitals. Pop. (1901), 160,167. The ancient capital of Jaipur was Amber.

The State of Jaipur, which takes its name from the city, has a total area of 15,579 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 2,658,666, showing a decrease of 6% in the decade. The estimated revenue is £430,000, and the tribute £27,000. The centre of the state is a sandy and barren plain 1,600 ft. above sea-level, bounded on the E. by ranges of hills running north and south. On the N. and W. it is bounded by a broken chain of hills, an offshoot of the Aravalli mountains, beyond which lies the sandy desert of Rajputana. The soil is generally sandy. The hills are more or less covered with jungle trees, of no value except for fuel. Towards the S. and E. the soil becomes more fertile. Salt is largely manufactured and exported from the Sambhar lake, which is worked by the government of India under an arrangement with the states of Jaipur and Jodhpur. It yields salt of a very high quality. The state is traversed by the Rajputana railway, with branches to Agra and Delhi.

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.