Kingdom of Jodhpur

### Government

United Parliamentary Absolute Monarchy under a Pahlavi Statist One Party Dictatorship

### Region

South Asia

The **Kingdom of Jodhpur** is a Puppet Kingdom of the Empire of Iran located South of the Kingdoms of Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Jaipur, North of the Baroda and North of the Kingdom of Bhopal.

## History

### First Kingdom

The Rathore rulers of the Indian princely state of Jodhpur were of an ancient dynasty established in the 8th century. However, the dynasty's fortunes were made by Rao Jodha, first of the rulers of the Rathore dynasty in Jodhpur in 1459. Out of the 15 rulers that preceded Jodha, nine died on the battlefield, six of them against foreign armies. Jodha's son himself died after a battle in which he saved 140 women from Afghan raiders.

The kingdom remained independent until it was annexed by the Mughal Empire in 1581 after the death of Chandrasen Rathore. It remained under direct Mughal control until Udai Singh was restored to the throne as a vassal and given the title of Raja in 1583. During the late 17th century it was under the strict control of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but the ruling house of Rathore was allowed to remain semi-autonomous in their territory. During this time Durgadas Rathore struggled to preserve the rathore dynasty and freed Marwar from the Mughal Empire after 31 years of war. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the kingdom was overrun by the Maratha hordes of Scindia and Holkar. Marwar was financially bankrupt due to heavy tributes exacted by the Marathas and its once renowned army had now thinned down because of internal wars and rebellions by its nobles, forcing its rulers to ask the British for aid. The British had no role in the state's affairs until 6 January 1818, when the Raja at that time, Man Singh, entered into a subsidiary alliance, after which the Rajas of Marwar (or Jodhpur) continued as rulers of a princely state. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Rajput Nobles of Pali under Thakur Kushal Singh of Auwa led a rebellion against Raja Takht Singh and the British, however the rebellion was put to an end by the British armies under colonel Holmes after a siege of the Thakurs fort in Auwa. The armies of Jodhpur State fought in World War I for the British. They actively fought in Afghanistan and the Middle-east and scored a series of victories for the British empire. The Jodhpur lancers with the support of the Mysore lancers defeated a large host of Turks and Germans in the Battle of Haifa (1918). Some of the other battles they participated in were the battles of Suez, Gaza, Jordan Valley, Abu Tellul and Megiddo.

Following Indian independence in 1947 Maharaja Hanwant Singh, the last ruler of Jodhpur state, delayed signing the Instrument of Accession to India. He even briefly considered acceding to Pakistan, for Jodhpur shared a border with the new nation and he had been personally given a blank page to write his demands and an assurance of access to sea ports in Pakistan by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. But due to the effective persuasion of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Lord Mountbatten, the Maharaja of Jodhpur agreed to the accession of his state to the new Dominion of India.

### Rise of the Second Kingdom

The Kingdom became an independent nation after the Iranian Army invaded Rajasthan during their invasion of India. The Kingdom's official recognition of independence happened after the invasion of India and it was designated the homeland of the Marwari people and the Gypsy people of India. Jodhpur after its establishment as a Kingdom had implemented reforms in order to make the Kingdom strong economically, politically and militarily in order to keep the nation stable just in case war breaks out near Jodhpur itself. However these reformist ideals were causing trouble with the Gypsy groups who feel like their way of life is in danger.

## Government

The Government of Jodhpur is an Absolute Monarchy in which the Maharajah rules as an autocrat and makes decisions and creates laws without opposition. The Kingdom's order of succession is Saliac in which only males that are paternal descendants of Maharajahs are allowed to be heirs to the throne.

### Cabinet

* **Maharajah:** Gaj Singh II
* **Crown Prince:** Shivraj Singh
* **Foreign Minister:** Shanti Dhariwal
* **Economics Minister:** Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
* **Education Minister:** B. D. Kalla
* **Agriculture Minister:** Om Birla
* **Tourism Minister:** Mangal Lodha
* **Justice Minister:** Abhishek Singhvi
* **Industry Minister:** Kumar Mangalam Birla
* **Minister of Defense:** Kishan Singh Rathore
* **Minister of Intelligence:** Massoud Rajavi
* **Chief of State Forces:** Brigadier General Raghubir Singh
* **Chief of Army:** Lieutenant Colonel Kishen Singh
* **Chief of Air Force:** Alireza Sabahifard

## Military

The Military of Jodhpur consists of an Army that covers the entirety of Jodhpur's Landmass. The Military consists of Infantry Brigades, Artillery Brigades and Armored Brigades all under the command of Hossein Salami with a powerful Air Force. The State Forces are large in numbers and they have a horde of equipment from the many military bases within Jodhpur that were used by the Indian people to protect their nation from the then Pakistan and Iran and It's Puppet States before their invasion of India.

## Economy

Jodhpur's contributes $4 billion (approx) to Rajasthan's economy through different Industries. Jodhpur is the Handicraft Hub of India of $200 million industry. Tourism comes next where Jodhpur is one of the most popular tourist destination through many portals with top heritage hotels of India. Jodhpur also has the largest Education Industry in South Asia with top Coaching institutes of IIT-JEE, NEET and Civil Service Exams.

The upcoming 9 MMTPA Refinery and Petrochemical complex to be set up by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in Pachpadra, Barmer district will transform the industrial scene of the city drastically. Pachpadra lies just 60 kilometres from the industrial area of Boranada in Jodhpur. Around 120 by-products that are produced by the refinery are going to provide huge opportunities for new industries to be set up in and around Jodhpur.

### Tourism

Jodhpur's most notable attractions are Mehrangarh Fort which overlooks upon the city, the blue bylanes of the old city are also an attraction, Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jaswant Thada, and the Ghanta Ghar, or Clock Tower. Tourists are also within proximity to Mandore Garden, Kaylana Lake and Garden, Balsamand Lake, Machia Biological Park, Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, Ratanada Ganesh Temple, Toorji Ka Jhalra, Sardar Samand Lake and Palace, Masooria Hills, Veer Durgadas Smarak (monument, park, and museum) and Bhim Bhadak Cave. Other attractions of people are at markets of food, antique items, traditional clothes and traditional shoes (also called *Jodhpuri Mojari*) held in Jodhpur.

## Culture

Jodhpur has culturally been known by the name of *Jodhana* by the locals. The city is famous for its food and its popularity can be judged by the fact that one can find sweet shops named "Jodhpur Sweets" in many cities throughout India. Being at the onshore of Thar Desert, life has been influenced by ways of select nomadic tribes (so-called "gypsy" groups – *Banjare* in Hindi – have settled in some parts of the city). Jodhpur has distinct cultural identity through its food and is famous for its Mirchi Bada and Mawa Kachori. A number of dishes from Indian cuisine originated in Jodhpur. The city savours a number of food items, but the specialities of the city are Pyaaj Kachori, Mirchi Bada and Mawa Kachori.