Kudan
Encyclopedia
Koodan or Kudan is a village in Sikar district
in Rajasthan
, India
. It is a well-developed village connected by road and with all forms of modern communication facilities. It is mainly a Jat
village with Jat gotra
s Sunda
, Maharia and Kajla. Other major castes are Harijan and Brahmin with a few Soni and Daroga. The village came into prominence during British Raj
for its role in freedom movement and abolition of Jagir
s.
Another village of the name Koodan is also a site of Dam in Katni district in Madhya Pradesh.
of Koodan under Sikar
thikana and his brother Kunwar Guman Singh of Magloona village.
. They were deprived of fundamental rights. They were given inhuman treatment when the Jagirdars did not get cesses known as “lag” (tax) or “begar” (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 ‘lags” 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 ‘Sikar Jat-Kisan-Panchayat’ and stopped giving "lags" or cesses to the Jagirdards. The ‘Jaipur Praja-Mandal’ also supported the Shekhawati farmers’ movement against abolition of Jagirdari system. The leaders of ‘Bijoria-Kisan-Movement’ 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.
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, ‘All India Jat Students Federation Conference’ 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.
The Jat demonstrations broke out in Sikar
, the largest thikana in Jaipur State, and involved both economic and social issues. The Jats in the area had formed two associations, the Sikarwati Jat Panchayat and the Jat Kisan Sabha, and had received some help and encouragement from the British Indian province of Uttar Pradesh. Some of these "outsiders" were organizers for the socialist-oriented Kisan Sabha which attempted to mobilize the peasantry in the 1930s in response to radical pressures in the Congress.
The initial demonstration in Khuri
village on March 27, 1935, was occasioned by a social issue, whether a Jat bridegroom should be allowed to ride to his bride's house on a horse, a ceremonial act asserting higher station than Rajputs were prepared to concede. The Rajputs objected, the Jats insisted, fighting broke out, and an old Jat was killed. The incident led to further clashes, and the thikana police, the Sikar Lancers, under command of the English chief of the Sikar police, charged the Jat crowds with lathis (quarter-staffs), injuring many. This incident was followed by others as Jats in the area protested against the revenue collections and resisted and attacked Sikar revenue officials on April 22 at Bhaironpura and at Kudan village on April 25. The Sikar police killed four Jats while putting down this last demonstration and arrested 104 persons. The anti-rent agitation eventually involved some twenty-one villages, and local headmen were as active as any outsiders. A school where, according to the Jaipur durbar, unlawful doctrines were being preached by a Jat teacher from outside the state, was knocked down. The agitation had some effects. The Rao Raja of Sikar remitted all arrears of revenue previous to 1934 and promised to open schools, provide loans where needed, and embark on a permanent land settlement that would introduce some certainty into the vagaries of the thikana's revenue demand.
There is a private high school named Shastri Bal Niketan senior secondary school. It has a teacher’s training College with B.Ed. training facilities named Shri Shatri Mahila Teacher Training College.
Kudan is one of the most educated village in Sikar District, full credit of this may be given to Maharia's (Jat) of Kudan Village.Teachers took a lot of pain that all of the young boys must be enrolled in school. His efforts gave a big booster to the education of this small village. Kudan produced a big number of great persons and considering the size of the village.
There was a significant contribution in the field of education and development of Kudan between 1940 and 1975 by Kabra family - Shri Gulab Chand Kabra, Shri Ladu Ram Kabra and Shri Narsingh Das Kabra. All of these brothers had their business link at Calcutta & Mumbai (Shri Dungar Mal Kabra). Perhaps Kabra family were first to migrate far away and established the new link between this small village to the rest of world.
Today many of Kudanites are staying at various parts of world and significantly contributing in their own way to the motherland.
Sikar district
Sikar District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. The town of Sikar is the district headquarters.-Location:The district is located in the north-eastern part of the state of Rajasthan. It is bounded on the north by Jhunjhunu District, in the north-west by Churu district, in...
in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is a well-developed village connected by road and with all forms of modern communication facilities. It is mainly a Jat
Jat people
The Jat people are a community of traditionally non-elite tillers and herders in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory,...
village with Jat gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
s Sunda
Sunda (clan)
Sunda , classically called the Sondreans , is a gotra of Jats found in Rajasthan state of India. Sunda people are found dwelling in villages...
, Maharia and Kajla. Other major castes are Harijan and Brahmin with a few Soni and Daroga. The village came into prominence during British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
for its role in freedom movement and abolition of Jagir
Jagir
In historic India, a jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond his lifetime, in recognition of his military service...
s.
Another village of the name Koodan is also a site of Dam in Katni district in Madhya Pradesh.
History
Kunwar Bagh Singh son of Rao Samrath Singh (1748–1754) was ThakurThakur (Indian title)
Thakur is an Indian feudal title in several Indian languages, literally meaning "lord". A Thikana is the state or estate of a Thakur. A Thakurani is the wife of a Thakur...
of Koodan under Sikar
Sikar
Sikar is a city located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan state in India. It is the administrative headquarter of Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old Havelis which are a huge tourist attraction. The best way to reach the city is to use road transport from Jaipur...
thikana and his brother Kunwar Guman Singh of Magloona village.
Role in Skekhawati farmers’ movement
Before independence the conditions of the farmers were worst. The farmers of the Shekhawati region were exploited and oppressed by the Jagirdars during British RajBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. They were deprived of fundamental rights. They were given inhuman treatment when the Jagirdars did not get cesses known as “lag” (tax) or “begar” (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 ‘lags” 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 ‘Sikar Jat-Kisan-Panchayat’ and stopped giving "lags" or cesses to the Jagirdards. The ‘Jaipur Praja-Mandal’ also supported the Shekhawati farmers’ movement against abolition of Jagirdari system. The leaders of ‘Bijoria-Kisan-Movement’ 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 1934
In 1934, to spread the principles of Arya SamajArya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
and create awakening in Shekhawati, it was decided to hold the Prajapati Yagya (Prayer ceremony for the Lord of Universe). The Jat Prajapati
Prajapati
In Hinduism, Prajapati "lord of creatures" is a Hindu deity presiding over procreation, and protector of life. He appears as a creator deity or supreme God Viswakarma Vedic deities in RV 10 and in Brahmana literature...
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
Ghee
Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....
, Flour, Gur
Gur
-People:*Mordechai Gur , Israeli politician and the 10th Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces-Places:*A village in Tibet, see Gur, Tibet*Gur place name in ancient Israel near Megiddo*Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands-Other:...
, 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
Har Lal Singh
Sardar Har Lal Singh was a freedom fighter, social worker who played a leading role in the Shekhawati farmers’ movement for abolition of the Jagirdari system. He was from Duladon ka Bas village, presently known as Hanumanpura. His gotra was Dullar. He was born in 1901 in the family of Chaudhary...
and Thakur Deshraj
Thakur Deshraj
Thakur Deshraj was a social worker, journalist, nationalist, freedom fighter and author of many books. He was from Rajasthan state in India. He was revenue minister in the princely state of Bharatpur....
was unparallel which made this yagya a grand success.
In December 1934, ‘All India Jat Students Federation Conference’ 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
Thakur Deshraj
Thakur Deshraj was a social worker, journalist, nationalist, freedom fighter and author of many books. He was from Rajasthan state in India. He was revenue minister in the princely state of Bharatpur....
and Sardar Har Lal Singh
Har Lal Singh
Sardar Har Lal Singh was a freedom fighter, social worker who played a leading role in the Shekhawati farmers’ movement for abolition of the Jagirdari system. He was from Duladon ka Bas village, presently known as Hanumanpura. His gotra was Dullar. He was born in 1901 in the family of Chaudhary...
, 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 Report
The 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.The Jat demonstrations broke out in Sikar
Sikar
Sikar is a city located in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan state in India. It is the administrative headquarter of Sikar District. Sikar is a historical city and contains many old Havelis which are a huge tourist attraction. The best way to reach the city is to use road transport from Jaipur...
, the largest thikana in Jaipur State, and involved both economic and social issues. The Jats in the area had formed two associations, the Sikarwati Jat Panchayat and the Jat Kisan Sabha, and had received some help and encouragement from the British Indian province of Uttar Pradesh. Some of these "outsiders" were organizers for the socialist-oriented Kisan Sabha which attempted to mobilize the peasantry in the 1930s in response to radical pressures in the Congress.
The initial demonstration in Khuri
Khuri
Khuri or Khudi is a village in Sikar district in Rajasthan. Khuri came in the news in 1935 for struggle by jats against Jagirdari system in Sikar. The village is inhabited by mainly Jats. Major Jat gotras in the village are Mahla, Thalod....
village on March 27, 1935, was occasioned by a social issue, whether a Jat bridegroom should be allowed to ride to his bride's house on a horse, a ceremonial act asserting higher station than Rajputs were prepared to concede. The Rajputs objected, the Jats insisted, fighting broke out, and an old Jat was killed. The incident led to further clashes, and the thikana police, the Sikar Lancers, under command of the English chief of the Sikar police, charged the Jat crowds with lathis (quarter-staffs), injuring many. This incident was followed by others as Jats in the area protested against the revenue collections and resisted and attacked Sikar revenue officials on April 22 at Bhaironpura and at Kudan village on April 25. The Sikar police killed four Jats while putting down this last demonstration and arrested 104 persons. The anti-rent agitation eventually involved some twenty-one villages, and local headmen were as active as any outsiders. A school where, according to the Jaipur durbar, unlawful doctrines were being preached by a Jat teacher from outside the state, was knocked down. The agitation had some effects. The Rao Raja of Sikar remitted all arrears of revenue previous to 1934 and promised to open schools, provide loans where needed, and embark on a permanent land settlement that would introduce some certainty into the vagaries of the thikana's revenue demand.
Education
Kudan has a very good standard of education. There is a Govt. Higher Secondary School with Science(Mathematics) and Arts faculties. The school was established in 1951 and was a major center of high school education for decades for the nearby villages. Also, there is a Govt. Secondary Girls School and a very old Govt. Primary School. All the schools in the village are affiliated with Board of Secondary Education Rajasthan.There is a private high school named Shastri Bal Niketan senior secondary school. It has a teacher’s training College with B.Ed. training facilities named Shri Shatri Mahila Teacher Training College.
Kudan is one of the most educated village in Sikar District, full credit of this may be given to Maharia's (Jat) of Kudan Village.Teachers took a lot of pain that all of the young boys must be enrolled in school. His efforts gave a big booster to the education of this small village. Kudan produced a big number of great persons and considering the size of the village.
There was a significant contribution in the field of education and development of Kudan between 1940 and 1975 by Kabra family - Shri Gulab Chand Kabra, Shri Ladu Ram Kabra and Shri Narsingh Das Kabra. All of these brothers had their business link at Calcutta & Mumbai (Shri Dungar Mal Kabra). Perhaps Kabra family were first to migrate far away and established the new link between this small village to the rest of world.
Today many of Kudanites are staying at various parts of world and significantly contributing in their own way to the motherland.