Rajasthan: Formation of the state

Rajasthan was formed out of the princely states of Rajputana, a cluster of states with Ajmer-Merwara, a British India territory, in their midst. According to the Rajasthan High Court's history, the state was formed between March 17, 1948 and January 25, 1950 by the integration of 19 princely states; the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly describes the merger of twenty-two states, completed in April, 1949 in five phases.

Phases of Integration

• The princely states were declared annexed to the Union of India on 15 August, 1947.
• Matsya Union: Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli; inaugurated on 17th March, 1948, with a cabinet led by Shri Shobha Ram.
• Union of Rajasthan: Banswara, Bundi, Dungarpur, Jhalawar, Kishangarh, Pratapgarh, Shahapura, Tonk and Kota; inaugurated on 25 March, 1948. Kota was its capital, the Kota Naresh was Rajpramukh and Shri Gokul Lal Asawa was Chief Minister.
• Three days later the Maharana of Udaipur decided to join. He became Rajpramukh, the Kota Naresh became Up-Rajpramukh, and the cabinet was led by Shri Manikya Lal Verma. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated this Union on 18 April, 1948.
• Greater Rajasthan: Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jaipur and Jodhpur merged with the Union; it was inaugurated on 30 March, 1949 by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel (the High Court history records this as the inauguration of the new state at Jaipur).
• Maharana Bhupal Singh of Udaipur became Maha-Rajpramukh, the Kota Naresh Up-Rajpramukh, and Shri Hira Lal Shastri headed the cabinet.
• The Matsya Union merged with Greater Rajasthan on 15 May, 1949.

Capital and High Court

• A committee (Shri B.R. Patel, Lt. Col. T.C. Puri, Shri S.P. Sinha) reported on March 27, 1949 that Jaipur should be the capital and the High Court should be at Jodhpur.
• Five High Courts were then working at Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur and Alwar, with 20 judges in all.
• The Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949 replaced them with a single High Court, inaugurated at Jodhpur on August 29, 1949.
• Justice Kamal Kant Verma took oath as Chief Justice with 11 other judges; the court also sat at Jaipur and Udaipur, and from September 3, 1949 at Bikaner and Kota for pending cases.
• From 22nd May, 1950, it ceased to sit at Bikaner, Kota and Udaipur; the Jaipur bench continued.

Part "B" State and the 1956 Reorganisation

• On 26th January, 1950 the Constitution came into force and Rajasthan became a Part "B" State.
• Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Section 50 abolished the High Courts of Part "B" States and Section 49(2) created a High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan.
• By a telegram of October 27, 1956, Jodhpur was declared the principal seat from November 1, 1956; a temporary bench at Jaipur was set up the same day.
• The Act added the State of Ajmer (a Part "C" State) and the talukas of Abu and Sunnel-Tappa to Rajasthan, and transferred the Sironj sub-division of Kota district to Madhya Pradesh.
• A committee reported on February 26, 1958 that the capital should stay at Jaipur and the High Court's principal seat at Jodhpur; the Jaipur bench was abolished in 1958.
• A permanent bench at Jaipur was set up by the President's order of December 8, 1976. The High Court now has a sanctioned strength of 50 judges.

Legislative Assembly

• Under Article 168, Rajasthan chose a unicameral legislature, the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
• The Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha came into existence in March 1952, the first elected by adult franchise.
• Its strength, set by the Delimitation Commission, was 160 in 1952 and is now 200.
• The Ajmer Legislative Assembly, set up in May, 1952 with 30 members, met on 4, 5 and 6 April, 1956 to consider the States Reorganisation Bill and approved Ajmer's merger into Rajasthan (November, 1956); its members were treated as members of the Rajasthan Assembly.