At a glance
- Haripura Congress (1938, president Subhas Chandra Bose): the Congress gave moral support to the people of the princely states and left them to build their own organisations. Praja Mandals followed the same year in Mewar, Alwar and Bharatpur.
- Books give different founding years. Founding, reorganisation, first session and recognition are separate dates, so check which one a question asks.
- In Mewar, Jaipur and Bharatpur the state first banned the Mandal; a satyagraha followed, and the ban was later lifted or the Mandal recognised.
Background
- Rajputana–Madhya Bharat Sabha: formed by Jamnalal Bajaj, Vijay Singh Pathik and others, with Bajaj as president. V.D. Mathur dates it to 1919, IGNCA to March 1920.
- All India States' People's Conference (AISPC): first session at Bombay on 17–18 December 1927 under Dewan Bahadur Ramchandra Rao. Vijay Singh Pathik was elected a vice-president and Ramnarayan Chaudhary became secretary for the Rajputana states.
- Rajputana States' People's Conference (Rajputana Deshi Rajya Lok Parishad): its first provincial session met at Ajmer in 1931, organised by Ramnarayan Chaudhary.
- State branches: the AISPC's units in the states were called Praja Mandal, Praja Parishad or Lok Parishad. Where a ruler would not allow one, it was opened outside the state: Sirohi (Bombay), Bikaner (Calcutta), Jaisalmer (Jodhpur).
- AISPC's seventh session: Udaipur, 31 December 1945 to 1 January 1946, with Jawaharlal Nehru presiding; Manikya Lal Verma invited it.
Praja Mandals by state
| State | Founded | Founders and leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Jaipur Praja Mandal | 1931; reorganised in 1936–37 (IGNCA; RBSE: after Haripura, 1938) | Kapurchand Patni. Chiranjilal Mishra was president at the reorganisation; from 1938 Jamnalal Bajaj was president and Hiralal Shastri secretary |
| Marwar (Jodhpur) | Marwar Praja Mandal, 1934. Marwar Lok Parishad, May 1938 (IGNCA: 16 May) | Bhanwar Lal Saraf, president of the Praja Mandal. Jai Narayan Vyas, the Lok Parishad's guiding force |
| Mewar (Udaipur) | 24 April 1938 (IGNCA: 25 April) | Balwant Singh Mehta, president; Bhure Lal Baya, vice-president; Manikya Lal Verma, general secretary |
| Bikaner | Bikaner Praja Mandal, at Calcutta, 1936. Bikaner Rajya Praja Parishad, 22 July 1942 (IGNCA: 12 July) | Vaidya Maghram; Raghuvar Dayal Goyal for the Praja Parishad |
| Kota (Hadoti) | Hadoti Praja Mandal, 1934 (V.D. Mathur: 1926). Kota Rajya Praja Mandal, 1939 (IGNCA: 1938) | Nayanuram Sharma; Abhinna Hari, who led it after Sharma's death in 1941 |
| Bundi | Bundi Praja Mandal, 1931. Bundi Rajya Lok Parishad, 1944 | Kanti Lal in 1931. Lok Parishad: Harimohan Mathur, president, and Brij Sundar Sharma, secretary; the RBSE book names Rishi Dutt Mehta as its founder |
| Jhalawar | First public meeting, 1947 | Mangilal Bhavya, Kanhaiyalal Mittal, Maqbool Alam |
| Alwar | 1938 | Harinarayan Sharma |
| Bharatpur | December 1938, at Rewari | Gopilal Yadav, president; Master Adityendra, treasurer |
| Dholpur | 1936 | Krishna Dutt Paliwal |
| Karauli | 1938 (IGNCA: 1939) | Trilok Chand Mathur, Chiranji Lal Sharma |
| Shahpura | 1938 (V.D. Mathur: 1937) | Ramesh Chandra Ojha, guided by Manikya Lal Verma (IGNCA: founded by Verma); Ladu Ram Vyas was another leader |
| Kishangarh | 1939 | |
| Sirohi | Pravasi Sirohi Praja Mandal, at Bombay, 1934. Sirohi Rajya Praja Mandal, January 1939 | Gokulbhai Bhatt; Vridhi Shankar Trivedi at Bombay |
| Dungarpur | 1944 | Bhogilal Pandya, president, with Gauri Shankar Upadhyaya and Harideo Joshi; the RBSE book names Harideo Joshi as the founder |
| Banswara | 1945 | Bhupendra Nath Trivedi, Dhulji Bhai Bhavsar |
| Pratapgarh | 1936 in the RBSE book; 1946 in IGNCA | Amritlal Payak, Chunnilal Prabhakar |
| Kushalgarh | 1944 (IGNCA: 1940) | Bhanwar Lal Nigam |
| Jaisalmer | 1945, at Jodhpur. Earlier: a Lok Parishad in 1937–38 (RBSE: an attempt; IGNCA: founded 1938) | Meetha Lal Vyas |
Key events
| State | When | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Jaipur | 1938–39 | The Praja Mandal's first session was held in 1938 under Jamnalal Bajaj. The state blocked the Mandal, and Bajaj was arrested near Bairath when he entered Jaipur against a ban on him. An agreement of 7 August 1939 recognised the Mandal |
| Jaipur | 1942 | Hiralal Shastri reached an unwritten understanding with the Jaipur darbar (IGNCA: with Prime Minister Mirza Ismail; V.D. Mathur: with Maharaja Sawai Man Singh), known in exam books as the "Gentlemen's Agreement", and the Praja Mandal stayed out of the Quit India Movement. Baba Harishchandra's group left and formed the Azad Morcha, which rejoined in 1945 at Nehru's urging |
| Mewar | 1938–41 | The Mandal was declared illegal on 11 May 1938 and Verma was expelled; he worked from Ajmer. In February 1939 he was arrested and beaten, and Gandhi condemned it in Harijan. The ban was lifted in 1941 (IGNCA: 22 February); the first session followed at Udaipur on 25–26 November 1941 under Verma, attended by Acharya Kripalani and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit |
| Mewar | August 1942 | Verma asked the Maharana to break with the British; his arrest led to a state-wide strike, part of the Quit India Movement |
| Marwar | 1940 | The Lok Parishad was declared unlawful on 29 March 1940; a settlement later in 1940 ended the ban |
| Marwar | 28 March 1942 | Responsible Government Day: Lok Parishad workers who went to Chandawal village were attacked with lathis and spears |
| Marwar | 13 March 1947 | Dabra, Didwana (now Didwana-Kuchaman district): the jagirdar's men (RBSE: the police) attacked a peasants' meeting led by the Lok Parishad against the jagirdars; leaders such as Mathura Das Mathur, Dwarka Das Purohit and Radha Kishan were arrested |
| Kota | August 1942 | Praja Mandal workers shut the police in their barracks, took the city Kotwali and raised the tricolour; the people held the city for about two weeks |
| Bikaner | 1944–46 | 26 October 1944: Bikaner Anti-Repression Day. 30 June–1 July 1946: Praja Parishad session at Raisinghnagar; police fired on its tricolour procession and Birbal Singh was killed (1 July) |
| Jaisalmer | 4 April 1946 | Sagarmal Gopa died after his arrest and imprisonment in Jaisalmer. The state called it suicide; Nehru and Jai Narayan Vyas condemned his treatment |
| Bharatpur | 1939–40 | The state banned the Mandal; its ultimatum of 9 April 1939 was followed by a satyagraha. A settlement recognised it (25 October 1939 in IGNCA, December 1940 in the RBSE book). Its first political conference, on 30 December 1940, was presided over by Jai Narayan Vyas |
| Dholpur | 12 November 1946 | The state police broke up the Praja Mandal's session at Tasimo village |
| Dungarpur | June 1947 | Rastapal: police attacked a school run by Praja Mandal workers; Nanabhai Khant and the Bhil girl Kalibai were killed |
| Shahpura | 1947 | A popular government was formed under Gokul Lal Asawa (14 August in IGNCA, September in V.D. Mathur) |
What they had in common
- Aim: Marwar, Bikaner and Alwar asked for responsible government under the ruler's aegis.
- Names: Lok Parishad in Marwar and (from 1944) Bundi; Praja Parishad in Bikaner and, after its recognition, Bharatpur; most others were called Praja Mandals.
- Roots: the peasant and tribal movements (Bijolia, Begun, the Bhil movements) came first. Manikya Lal Verma had worked with Pathik in the Bijolia and Begun movements.
Remember: often mixed up
- First Praja MandalV.D. Mathur names Jaipur's (1931), but RBSE dates Bundi's to 1931 too, and Hadoti's and Bundi's are dated as early as 1926–27 (V.D. Mathur; Bundi Gazetteer) · Marwar's (1934) was the first to take up political work.
- Marwar's three bodiesPraja Mandal (1934, banned in 1936) · Nagrik Adhikar Rakshak Sabha (1936, also banned) · Lok Parishad (1938).
- Kota's Mangrol session1939, presided over by Nayanuram Sharma. RBSE and IGNCA count it as the first session; V.D. Mathur calls it the fourth.
- Bharatpur's two bodiesthe Rajya Praja Sangh (1928) is not the Praja Mandal of 1938.
Test yourself: asked in exams
CET Graduation Level 2022 · Q1
Which of the following (Political Activist - Related Princely State) is not correctly matched?
- (1)Krishna Dutt Paliwal - Dholpur
- (2)Harimohan Mathur - Karauli
- (3)Mathura Das Mathur - Marwar
- (4)Gopilal Yadav - Bharatpur
Show answer
✓ (2) Harimohan Mathur - Karauli
See the full paperCET Graduation Level 2022 · Q2
Bharatpur Rajya Praja Sangh was established in-
- (1)1937
- (2)1928
- (3)1938
- (4)1942
Show answer
✓ (2) 1928
See the full paperProtection Officer 2022 · Q130
To which Prajamandal did freedom fighter Dharmchand Surana belong ?
- (1)Jaipur Prajamandal
- (2)Sirohi Prajamandal
- (3)Dungarpur Prajamandal
- (4)Banswara Prajamandal
Show answer
✓ (2) Sirohi Prajamandal
See the full paperRAS Prelims 2023 · Q123
With which of the following Prajamandal Movement Kanhaiya Lal Mittal, Mangilal Bavya and Makbul Alam were associated ?
- (1)Jhalawar Rajya Praja Mandal
- (2)Banswara Rajya Praja Mandal
- (3)Bundi Rajya Praja Parishad
- (4)Karauli Rajya Praja Mandal
Show answer
✓ (1) Jhalawar Rajya Praja Mandal
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