Kuchaman City () is a tehsil located in west-central Rajasthan, India. It is located approximately to the south-east of the city of Didwana, the district headquarters of Didwana-Kuchaman district.
The historic Kuchaman Fort, dating from the 9th century AD, overlooks the city from a 300 m cliff. It houses a temple adorned with paintings of local deities such as Tejaji, Gogaji, and Jambu Maharaj. The fort also contains the Maa Kali Temple and Krishna Mandir, both of which enshrine idols that are over 1,000 years old. These idols were brought back by the Kuchaman rulers from their military campaigns.
Kuchaman is an educational hub of the state, home to numerous pre-engineering and pre-medical coaching institutes. The city is popularly referred to as "Shiksha Nagari" or City of Education.
History
Kuchaman was founded as the seat of the Pratihara dynasty rulers during the 5th to 8th centuries CE. In the 16th century, it was conquered by the Chauhans and later by the Gaurs. The Rathores finally took over and ruled it as a feudal jagir. Historically, Kuchaman was a stop on the highly profitable Central Asian caravan route.
According to legend, the mountain range where Kuchaman is located was once inhabited by the Kuchbandhis, and the town likely derives its name from them. The region, including Kuchbandia and its surrounding areas, was dominated for a long time by the Gaur Kshatriyas. This is supported by inscriptions of the Gaur rulers found at Hirani, Mithadi, Lichana, and other nearby locations. Their capital was Maroth, an ancient city of historical significance.
In 1715 AD, Raja Raghunath Singh Maroth assumed suzerainty over the Kuchaman Fort. Mandore was also one of the seven cantonments built by Nagabhata. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Marwar (Jodhpur State) was established by the rulers of Mandore and Mandore gained control of the Kuchaman fort in the 15th century Jodhpur took control of the entire Marwar region including the Kuchaman Fort. Gaudawati was also part of Marwar.
In 1727 AD, Thakur Zalim Singh Mertiya of Gaudawati Maroth, Rajasthan, a descendant of Raghunath Singh Mertiya, established the feudal state of Kuchaman Jagir (manor) under the princely state of Jodhpur. During the same period the city of Kuchaman was also established by Zalim Singh.
Thakur Zalim Singh was awarded the feudatory of Kuchaman by Maharaja Abhai Singh of Marwar in 1725 AD. During the princely period, the Kuchaman feudatory comprised 193 villages. Thakur Zalim Singh was martyred while fighting on behalf of the princely state of Jodhpur. It is said that the rulers of this place were always loyal to the princely state of Jodhpur. Poet Raja Bankidas wrote in his fame praise of the feudal rulers of Kuchaman.
Before the independence of India, the last ruler of the Kuchaman Jagir was Raja Hari Singh, and the last feudatory after independence was Raja Pratap Singh, who died in 1993.
The feudatory of Kuchaman was given the honorary title of Raja (word for king in Hindi) by the Maharaja of Jodhpur and was entitled to the style of Highness. This title was first given to Hari Singh. Kuchaman Jagir was also a salute feudal diocese of Jodhpur state. A salute status was a princely or feudatory status under the British Raj that had been granted a gun salute by the British Crown (as paramount ruler). Kuchaman Jagir received a four-gun salute, with additional five-gun salutes granted on a local or personal basis during the regime of Rao Bahadur Thakur Kesari Singh. The salute was hereditary or local only.
The fort has now been converted into a heritage hotel managed by Amritanandamayi Trust, named after Mata Amritanandamayi.
Feudal Manor of Kuchaman
Raja Thakur Raghunath Singh of Maroth, born in 1610 AD as the second son of Thakur Sanwal Das, was awarded 112 villages of Maroth and 19 villages of Sambhar by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan of Delhi. In 1715 AD, Raja Raghunath Singh Maroth's suzerainty took place on the Kuchaman fort. He married five wives and had two sons, Thakur Kishor Singh and Kunwar Roop Singh. Thakur Kishor Singh of Maroth married Thakurani Hadiji and had a son, Thakur Zalim Singh.
+Feudatory/Thakurs/Raja of Kuchaman JagirNameTitleRegimeZalim SinghMaharaj Shri Thakur 1725 AD - 1753 ADSabha SinghMaharaj Shri Thakur 1753 AD - 1764 ADSuraj MalMaharaj Shri Thakur 1764 AD - 1793 ADShivnath SinghMaharaj Shri Raoraja Thakur 1793 AD - 1826 ADRanjit SinghMaharaj Shri Raoraja Thakur 1826 AD - 1860 ADKesari SinghMaharaj Shri Rao Bahadur Thakur 1860 AD - 1877 ADSher SinghMaharaj Shri Rao Bahadur Thakur 1877 AD - 1916 ADNahar SinghMaharaj Shri Rao Bahadur Thakur 1916 AD - 1919 ADHari SinghMaharaj Shri Rao Bahadur Raja 1919 AD - 1956 ADPratap Singh (Titular) Maharaj Shri Rao Bahadur Raja 1956 AD - 1993 AD
Colonel James Tod did not record the chief of Kuchaman City as among the eight great chiefs of Marwar in his book "Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan; Travels in Western India." He does include him among the second-class chiefs, noting after his name, "a chief of considerable power." The Thakurs of Kuchaman belong to Udawat clan.
Raoraja Thakur Shivnath Singh was granted a patta worth fifty thousand rupees and the title of Raoraja. In addition, he was also permitted to mint currency of Iktisanda 5 rupees in Kuchaman in recognition of his services.
Thakur Kesari Singh of Kuchaman was one of the most prominent Thakurs of Marwar. He and his son, Kunwar Sher Singh were full of respect and devotion for Swami Dayanand Saraswati. Kesari Singh was awarded the title of Rao Bahadur by the then British Government. Kuchaman City has had a long history as a base for local power. Kuchaman Thakur also had good relations with other princely states outside Jodhpur state. When Bakhtawar Singh Prabhakar became the ruler of Alwar, he strengthened his position through strategic marriages with the Thakur of Kuchaman.
Jodhpur feudatory Kuchaman mint
Kuchaman was the only feudatory state of Jodhpur permitted to strike its own coinage. All the early coins were dated 1789 AD (1203 AH), which likely corresponds to the 31st year of Thakur Suraj Mal's reign as the third Thakur of Kuchaman.
Silver rupee coins were minted by the Kuchaman feudatory under the license of the Princely State of Jodhpur. These coins were issued in the name of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. Additionally, Thakur Suraj Mal's successor, Raoraja Thakur Shivnath Singh, was also granted permission to mint the Iktisanda 5-rupee coins in Kuchaman, in recognition of his services.
Kuchaman feudatory mint was one of the six licensed mints of Jodhpur state including Sojat, Pali, Merta, Nagaur and Jodhpur. The only Thakur of Jodhpur State to have been allowed to mint was the Thakur of Kuchaman. Only silver coins were minted for the first time in 1788, the pieces being rupee, half rupee and quarter rupee.
During the years 1893-94 and 1894–95, 306,518 and 15,316 coins respectively Silver and Gold were struck by the Kuchaman mint. The mint mark of Khanda and the initials of the mint master in Nagari are also found on the coins minted at Kuchaman. Coins of Kuchaman were called Iktisanda coins. Sometimes the Thakur of Budsu also had a similar privilege of minting his own coins in his thikana like Kuchaman during the period of Maharaja Man Singh of Marwar.
Geography
Topography
Kuchaman is located in the central-western part of Rajasthan and eastern part of the Marwar region. The city covers a total area of . The city is surrounded by fertile plains to the east and south, and hill chains and Thar areas to the north and west. Kuchaman generally slopes downwards from North to the South, and then to the southeast. The city is also surrounded by the hills to the east, which are part of the Aravalli range.
Climate
Kuchaman has a dry climate with a hot summer. Sandstorms are common in summer. The district's climate is marked by extreme dryness, large variations of temperature & highly irregular rainfall patterns. The maximum temperature recorded in the district is with as the lowest recorded temperature. The average temperature of the district is . The winter season extends from mid-November until the beginning of March. The rainy season is relatively short, extending from July through mid-September. There are six climatological stations within the district, being within the cities of Didwana, Kuchaman, Parbatsar, Makarana, Nawa & Ladnun. The average rainfall in the district is & 59% relative humidity.
Strategic importance
Kuchaman is an important town in western Rajasthan and is located about from the Pakistan border. This location makes it an important route for the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, and Border Security Force to reach the border from the capital Jaipur.
Flora and fauna Tropical thorn forests are located in arid and semi-arid regions of western Rajasthan. Kuchaman is a part of western Rajasthan and Marwar region and the whole region comes under a tropical zone. Such thorn forests extend from the western Indo-Pak border to the Aravalli hills and the south-eastern plateau. The main species found in forests in this area include babul, reonja, jand, and karira. The region is a haven for migratory and resident birds of the desert, including many eagles, harriers, falcons, buzzards, kestrels, chidi, godavan and vultures.
Demographics India census, Kuchaman City had a population of 81,969. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. The average literacy rate was 76.53%, higher than the state average of 66.11% and national average of 74.04%; male literacy was 86.82%, and female literacy was 65.65%. 14.46% of the population was under 6 years of age.
Languages The official language of Kuchaman is Hindi and the additional official language is English. The native and primary dialect of the city is Marwari, with the Rajasthani and Standard Hindi dialects also commonplace.
Religion According to the 2011 census, Hindus form the majority religious group accounting for 75.02% of the city's population, followed by Muslims (22.78%), Jains (1.96%) and others (0.24%).
Economy In addition to Kuchaman's role as the educational and administrative center of the region, Kuchaman's economy is driven by tourism, salt processing, cattle feed manufacturing and trade in handloom, handicrafts and paddy procurement. Major trading centers of the city are Krishi Upaj Mandi, Dhaan Mandi, Balaji Bazar, SikarRoad Bazar, PS Plaza, and the Sarda Complex.
Kuchaman has established local trade promotion organizations such as the Kuchaman Vyapar Mandal and Vyapar Manch. The Food Corporation of India (FCI), Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) has its regional offices here.
The main businesses in the town are salt-processing, vegetable-oil production and local trade. Within the last few decades, Kuchaman has emerged as a hub of education in Rajasthan, along with Sikar, Ajmer and Kota. Offices of all the major government and private banks and financial institutions of the country are located in the city; along with this, the services of chartered accountants are easily available in the context of financial consultancy. Kuchaman has also produced one of the highest numbers of Chartered Accountants in the country. Kuchaman is a major center of arts and crafts. It has many traditional shops selling antiques, jewelry, handicrafts, gems, bangles, pottery, carpets, textiles, leather and metal products. Kuchaman is one of the largest manufacturers of handwoven cotton beds, chairs in India. Skilled artisans of marble are prepared here, which is famous for marble art work and flooring installation in the country and abroad.
Kuchaman is famous for the production of onions and melons. Kuchaman is also a hub of Emery dyeing mills, leather shoes making and khayal singing center.