Maru Pradesh is a geographical region and a proposed desert state in northwest

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Its proposed capital is

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

. It would be carved out from the state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. The proposed state consists of

Barmer district Barmer District is a district in Rajasthan state of India. It is located in the western part of Rajasthan state forming a part of the Thar Desert. Barmer is the third largest district by area in Rajasthan and fifth largest district in India. Oc ...

Jaisalmer district Jaisalmer is the largest district in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and the third largest district in India. Located in Marwar (Jodhpur Division), the city of Jaisalmer is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is around from the ...

, Bikaner district, Churu district,

Ganganagar district Sri Ganganagar district is the northernmost district of Rajasthan state in western India. History Named after Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar district was part of Bikaner state. This was a mostly uninhabited region. The hi ...

Hanumangarh district Hanumangarh district is a district in the state of Rajasthan in India. The city of Hanumangarh is the district headquarters and its largest city. District profile The district is located in the extreme north of Rajasthan. It has an area of 12 ...

Jhunjhunu district Jhunjhunu district is a district of the Indian state of Rajasthan in northern India. The city of Jhunjhunu is the district headquarters. District location The district falls within Shekhawati region, and is bounded on the northeast and east ...

Jodhpur district Jodhpur District is a district in the State of Rajasthan in western India. The city of Jodhpur is the administrative headquarters of the district. As of the 2011 census, it is the second highest populated district of Rajasthan (out of 33), af ...

Nagaur district Nagaur district is one of the 33 districts of the state of Rajasthan in western India. Panchayati Raj was introduced here. It is the fifth largest district in Rajasthan and the area of the district is . The city of Nagaur is the district headqu ...

, Pali district,

Jalore district Jalore District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The city of Jalore is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district has an area of (3.11 percent of Rajasthan's area), and a population of 1,828,730 (2011 census ...

Sirohi district Sirohi District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The city of Sirohi is the district headquarters. As of 2011 it is the third least populous district of Rajasthan (out of 33), after Jaisalmer and Pratapgarh. History In 1948 ...

, and Sikar district.

, which is larger in area than 110 countries, is divided into two parts by the

Aravalli Range The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern- Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad Gujarat. ...

; one part is the

Thar Desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 20th-largest desert, a ...

, known as Maru Pradesh.

History of the desert movement

When Rajasthan was being formed,

and

Bikaner State Bikaner State was a princely state in the Rajputana from 1465 to 1947. The founder of the state, Rao Bika, was the eldest son of Rao Jodha, ruler of Jodhpur. Rao Bika chose to build his own kingdom instead of inheriting his father' ...

strongly opposed the merger of Rajasthan, and both states were in favor of creating a desert state. It is said that the then ruler of Jodhpur,

Hanwant Singh Raj Rajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Shri Hanwant Singh Rathore of Jodhpur (16 June 1923 – 26 January 1952) was the ruler of the Indian princely state of Jodhpur. He succeeded his father as Maharaja of Jodhpur on 9 June 1947 and held the title till ...

, went to the first

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

wearing a black turban in protest against the merger into Rajasthan. Then in 1953, Mr. Pratap Singh, former Minister of Bikaner State, protested against the merger of Rajasthan and not constituting Bikaner as a desert state. He named the protest as Bikaner Bandh. In 1956, when new states were formed, many memoranda were also given, and the government ignored the international border citing security. From time to time, voices in different parts used to arise for Maru Pradesh. Former MP Swami Keshavanand not only voiced his opinion, but also wrote in his book, ''Marubhoomi Seva'', that the entire development of this desert will happen only when this desert becomes a separate state. In the immediate period, Gumanmal Lodha started this movement in Jodhpur, and then became an MP from Pali District. In 1998, Former Maharaja Gajsingh of Jodhpur also said that this desert will be developed by becoming a desert state. Amrit Nahata, MP from Barmer, the author Dilsukh Rai Chaudhary Sikar, Chandra Prakash Deora of Jodhpur, former foreign minister

Jaswant Singh Major Jaswant Singh (; 3 January 193827 September 2020) was an officer of the Indian Army and an Indian Cabinet Minister. He was one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and was one of India's longest serving parliamen ...

, and others also voiced protests. When the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee created three new states in the year 2000,

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (23 October 1923 – 15 May 2010) was the 11th vice president of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kan ...

wrote a letter saying that for the development of the entire Rajasthan and the internal security of the country, two parts of the state were go done. In 2014 Sona Ram, a former MP from Barmer, also raised the demand for the development of the desert. Similarly, Congress leader

Rameshwar Lal Dudi Rameshwar Lal Dudi (born 1 July 1963) is an Indian politician from Bikaner, Rajasthan. He was Leader of The Opposition, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. Dudi was a first-time legislator and got elected from Nokha constituency in Bikaner dist ...

, Bhadra former MLA Suresh Chaudhary, MP and RLP leader Hanuman Beniwal have also expressed support for Maru Pradesh. -->

Demographics

Per the Census 2011 data, the total population of the proposed state is 28,132,949.

References

External links

Jodhpur?t=KLj2Hn0zjoG6raziyhgZ1Q&s=09 Maru Pradesh
Proposed states and union territories of India

History of the desert movement

Demographics

References

Further reading

External links