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HistoryKunwar Bagh Singh son of Rao Samrath Singh of Torawati, Patan (1748â1754) was thakur of Koodan under Sikar thikana and his brother Kunwar Guman Singh of Magloona village.[3]Role in Skekhawati farmersâ movementBefore independence the conditions of the farmers were worst. The farmers of the Shekhawati region were exploited and oppressed by the Jagirdars during British Raj. They were deprived of fundamental rights. They were given inhuman treatment when the Jagirdars did not get cesses known as âlagâ (tax) or âbegarâ (unpaid work) in time, they were given hard punishments and their crop used to be destroyed. Every thing that the farmers had, never treated as his own. In Jagir areas all cultivators were really landless. There was no tenancy law and one could be thrown away from the land one cultivated at the pleasure of Jagirdar, his "malik" (owner). In most of the Jagirs a Jagirdar would in the first instance be taking fifty percent of the produce. This would be taken by actual division of the produce on the thrashing floor or by appraisal of the standing crop (kunta). Then over and above the share of the produce the farmers had to pay numerous "lags" or cesses. There were 37 kinds of âlagsâ prevalent in the Shekhawati area. Together with the share of the produce known as "Hasil" (share) these cesses meant that the farmers had to part with more than eighty percent of their produce. The findings of the Sukhdeonarain Committee in the years 1940-42 bear this out. If a farmer had to marry his daughter he had to pay "Chavri Lag" (marriage tax), if he held a dinner then a "Kansa Lag"; if members of the family separated then "Dhunwa Lag" (house tax) and so on. If the Jagirdar had a guest then fodder for his mount had to be supplied. Then there was "begar" that is forced labour, for tilling the personal lands of the Jagirdar. The homestead in which the farmers lived in the habitation had to be vacated in case he ceased cultivating the land. He could not alienate the plot to anyone.Farmers of the Shekhawati, mainly the Jats, united against oppression of Jagirdars by forming âSikar Jat-Kisan-Panchayatâ and stopped giving "lags" or cesses to the Jagirdards. The âJaipur Praja-Mandalâ also supported the Shekhawati farmersâ movement against abolition of Jagirdari system. The leaders of âBijoria-Kisan-Movementâ of 1922, 1931, and 1932 supported the movement of Shekhawati farmers. The Jagirdars tried to suppress the movement in many ways. Many farmers were killed and a large number were sent to jail. A Jat farmer was beaten to death in the market of Sikar town; his dead body was thrown and insulted.The village Kudan was one of the pioneers in the freedom movement and abolition of Jagirs.The Jat Prajapati Maha-Yagya 1934In 1934, to spread the principles of Arya Samaj and create awakening in Shekhawati, it was decided to hold the Prajapati Yagya (Prayer ceremony for the Lord of Universe). The Jat Prajapati Maha-Yagya took place at Sikar from 20 - 29 January 1934. Kunwar Hukam Singh Rahees Angai (Mathura) was made Yagyapati or Chairman of the Yagya. Chaudhary Kaluram of village Kudan was the Yagyaman. Acharya Shri Jagdev Sidhanthi received an invitation for this Yagya at his Gurukul at Kirttal, In that invitation was he requested to attend the Yagya and bring twenty Bhramcharis and disciples with him. Volunteers went to all the households in all the villages in the region and collected material that would be needed. They collected Ghee, Flour, Gur, and invited all the householders to participate. Hundreds of cans of Ghee and hundreds of sacks of flour were collected.During the Yagya 3000 men and women adopted the Yogyopavit (initiation), which was a symbol Kisan sangathan. Sheetal Kumari daughter of Kunwar Netram Singh adopted yagyopavit. Chaudhary Chimana Ram of Sangasi brought his wife wearing salwar-kurta. The unity of Jat farmers in this Yagya had terrified the Jagirdars of Sikar. The role played by Sardar Har Lal Singh and Thakur Deshraj was unparallel which made this yagya a grand success.In December 1934, âAll India Jat Students Federation Conferenceâ was organized at Pilani; the coordinator of it was Master Ratan Singh. Sir Chhotu Ram, Kunwar Netram Singh, Chaudhary Ram Singh, Thakur Jhumman Singh, Thakur Deshraj and Sardar Har Lal Singh, along with large number of farmers from various states, attended it. This conference gave a great strength to the Jat youth.Kudan in Princely States ReportThe main agricultural caste in Rajasthan is the Jats: they comprise the largest single caste in the state (9 per cent), and were, in the 1930s and even earlier, the most self-conscious and prosperous among the peasant castes. In 1935 their claims to certain privileges led to a series of clashes between them and the Rajputs, who resisted their attempts to revise accepted signs of status. The clash of 1935 is reminiscent of similar ones in other areas between lower castes on the rise and higher established castes. [4]
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