HARYANA
Haryana : An Historical Overview
Haryana is situated between Lat. 27°39 to 30°55 N. and Long 74°27.8 to 77°36.5 E. It is bounded on the West by Punjab; on the North by Himachal Pradesh; on the East by Uttar Pradesh; and on the South by Rajasthan. Delhi, the National capital, stands conspicuously on its South-Eastern extremity on the right bank of the river Yamuna. Haryana s area is 44,222 sq. kms. and population 2,10,82, 989 (2001). It comprises four divisions of Ambala, Gurgaon, Rohtakand Hisar, and eighteen districts, Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Karnal, Ambala, Jind, Sirsa, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Sonepat, Kurukshetra, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Jhajjar, Patehabad, Kaithal, Yamuna Nagar and Punchkula. It is a predominantly rural state where 78% live in 7073 villages. The rest of the population 22% - lives in cities (11) and in towns (70).
Physically, the state falls into two broad natural divisions : (i) the Sub-Himalayan Tract; and (ii) the Indo-Gangetic plain, which run almost parallel to each other. But for the Yamuna which forms the state s Eastern boundary with Uttar Pradesh there is no perennial river here. The soil is for the most part medium-textured. Barring a part of Mahendragarh, there is no known mineral wealth. The climate is tropical and the rain fall is inadequate. Agriculture is still the chief means of people s economy, although of late industries have also started coming up in a big way.
Haryana is the matrix of creation , says the tradition. Evidence in the form of fossil remains from the Shivalik foothills gives some credence to this: Ramapithicus, the first harbinger of man is reported to have lived here some 14 million years ago. A few tools of stone found in some parts of Gurgaon (Aravalli hills) and Ambala (Shivaiiks) attest the presence of the "Stone age Man* here around 20 to 30 thousand years ago. This early man of Haryana, it is surmised, belonged to the Begritos.race. He led an exceedingly simple life; knew no cultivation and survived on fruits, nuts and roots, and hunted down small animals. His population was quite sparse but the possibility of his having formed some sort of social institutions can not be ruled out.
This stage of the early settlers of Haryana continued for several thousand years. About third millennium B.C., the society was, however, transformed by a new discovery - farming, which was brought here by the Chalcolithic people from Rajasthan who moved in here through the valley of the Drishadvati around 2500 B.C. The indigenous population, as noted above, being quite sparse seems to have befriended and mixed with the "newcomers giving birth to a new people styled as Siswals by the archaeologists. Agriculture brought sedentary life and villages sprang up. The cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals provided a total production which exceeded the individual s subsistence requirement for a year . This is proved by archaeological finds from the area.
Around 2300 B.C. another new people, the so-catled Harappans came. They were city- dwellers; and no sooner they landed here than there ushered in a sort of urban revolution leading to the emergence of a complex society of specialized tradesmen, and skilled and unskilled workers. The newcomers, after a short while, involved into a process of social assimiltation - the city-dwelling Harappans belonging to the Dravida group of the anthropological type of the Southern Europoid Minor Race mixed-up with the old indigenous inhabitants and gave birth to a new ethnic community whom we can call the forbears of the Haryanavis. These people continued to live in the region peacefully with ample social security owing to their superior economy But sometime around the later half of the second millennium B.C. a new people using the Painted Gray Ware (PGW), the Aryans, arrived on the scene from the North- West and caused some stir. The population of the original settlers was sparse. Nor was the PGW immigration on a very large scale. And since quite extensive cultivable land was available, there was no clash between the two peoples. The archaeological explorations conducted here so far indicate that there are only very few sites where the settlements of both the Siswal- Harappans and PGW men are found; and there too. the evidence of clash or killing of one by the other is conspicuous by its absence. Conversely at one site - Bhagwanpura, even evidence of their living together in peace and harmony is met with. This negates the current theory that Aryans annihilated the original inhabitants or drove them out and occupied their places. At least in our region this did not happen. After sometime, however, a strange, phenomenon is witnessed. The Aryans, a simple folk, overshadowed the materially well-off, urbanized old settlers. How did they do this? In the present state of our knowledge, it is difficult to give an exact answer to this query However, the explanation provided by a Soviet scholar, Y.V. Gankovsky seems to be plausible. According to him, in the mid-second millennium B.C. a serious internal crisis, overtook the Northern region - including Haryana. This was owing to the whetting of social contradictions as a result of the expansion of slavery, debt, incongruity between the level of development or productive forces, and exploitation and probably authoritarianism on the part of the socio-political superstructure which crowned the edifice of the Siswal Harrapan civilization. This crisis seems ultimately to have resulted in the fall of these great people.
The Aryans were a dynamic people; they were liberal and assimilative. They were hard working and for sure had hardly any social contradictions in their life. As a result, they made rapid progress in every field of life. The development of productive-forces, e.g. the emergence of iron and iron tools, helped them a great deal to husband new uninhabited areas, improve irrigational cultivation and advance different kinds of handicraft and farming. Brahmavarta, the central abode of these people, became the cradle of the Indian civilization. Here the bulk of theVedic literature was composed; National values, norms and ideas were formed; and standards of behaviour and social intercourse were devised. The entire country looked up to the people of this region for guidance and followed them. Even Manu admits this in his celebrated Smriti.
In the later Vedic period, the region came to lose some of its pristine glory. The centre of Aryan activity shifted to the valley of the Ganga. But this situation lasted only for a short period. In the so-called epic age, the region again came to limelight. The Bharata War was fought here during the course of which the immortal message of Gita was delivered. Besides this, several other works were also composed here.
The decline of the Kurus after the Bharata War brought in many tribes in the region who mixed up with and became part and parcel of the original settlers. This mix-up gave the people singular breath and energy which made them sturdy agriculturists and cattle breeders and strong fighters .
On the political front a republican tribe, Mattamayurs, whom Nakula had vanquished in his digvijaya before the Bharata War gained supremacy in this period. The leader of this tribe around 320 B.C. was Chandragupta. In the post-Alexander period, this bellicose son of Mauryas carved out a mighty kingdom for himself and shifted his capital to Pataliputra. He and his successors gave good Government, but the life of the masses seems to have degenerated a great deal in this period. The varna system appears to have undergone radical changes. The principle of equality of man at the time of birth and acquisition of social status by dint of merit in later life was done away with. Brahmanas assumed great power and their injunctions became socio-religious authority which none could dare to defy Jainism and Buddhism which came to this region in the sixth century B.C. strove to effect some change in this situation. But owing to several factors which are outside the scope of this paper for discussion, the reforming orders achieved precious little and became almost an extinct force after some time.
After the fall of the Mauryas (187 B.C.), the Yaudheyas, a very powerful republican tribe of Rohtak and the Agras of Agroha formed independent kingdoms. A large number of Yaudheya coins have been found here from various sites. Agra coins are not so frequent, however. These heroic people fought with the foreign invaders like the Indo-Greeks, the Shakas and the Kushanas. They suffered defeat in the struggle but never gave up hope of recovering their lost freedom. Ultimately they triumphed. However, Samudra Gupta, the powerful king of the Guptas again subjugated them about A.D. 350. The Guptas1 hold over them continued until the death of the bellicose Skandagupta. Then the Hunas ransacked the country and chaos and confusion prevailed all around. Haryana, with other parts of Northern India, was thrown into a melting pot. But fortunately, at this juncture, a son of the soil, Harshavardhana of the Pushpabhuti dynasty elbowed his way to power (A.D. 606) and restored order not only in Haryana but in almost the whole of Northern India. This "good reign came to a close in A.D. 647 when Harsha died.
Once again there was chaos a nd confusion. Many powerful feudal chiefs came to fill the void. The Pratiharas and Tomaras got some success for a while, and so did the Chauhans who came after them. But the onslaught of the Turk and Afghan invaders from north-west broke their backbone.
In 1206 Qutbuddin Aibak sat on the throne of Delhi and laid the foundations of the Turkish rule in India. He, as also his successors, the so-called Sultans of Delhi belonging to different dynasties, in most of the cases, maltreated their subjects; they showed religious intolerance; and effected economic exploitation of the worst type. In consequence, the people became hostile to them, and whenever their haqumat showed any sign of weakness or disruption, the sturdy Meos, Ahirs, Rajputs, Gujars and Jats of Haryana rose in open rebellion against them. At the people s level, however, the two communities - Hindus and Muslims - lived in harmony.
In 1526 Babar occupied Haryana. He kept tight control over the region. But still the brave people of Haryana, especially the Mandhars of Kaithal region, rose against him and gave him trouble. His son Humayun was not destined to stay here for long; the Surs took advantage of the situation and ousted him. After some time the Surs1 fortunes also dwindled. Hemu, a Bhargava general of Rewari came on the scene for a while : he held charge of Delhi and Haryana until he lost them to Akbar in 1556. Akbar proved to be an enlightened monarch. He and his successors Indianized themselves, followed liberal policy, showed retigious tolerance and revised their revenue policy. In consequence, the people liked them. However, Aurangzeb who deviated from this path was opposed by them, especially by the Satnamis and the Jats. And same was the case during the later-Mughal times when a number of feudal lords appeared on the scene and subjected the people to severe exploitation. The weak haqims were not cared for by the brave people, especially the peasants in the region, as is attested by the following couplet.
In 1803, the British appeared on the scene. It is generally believed that except for a few persons whose material interests were directly affected, the general masses did not oppose the British rule (in their respective lands) in India; rather they welcomed it as heralding the dawn of peace, prosperity and security (R. C. Majumdar). This belief, at least in the case of Haryana, does not stand historical scrutiny : the people in this region, hundreds and thousands of them from every walk of life came forward to oppose the British when they came to occupy their land in 1803 with obstinate valour which has ever characterised them. A long-struggle went on. In 1809, however, they yielded in the face of great opposition on the part of the Birtish. But this does not mean that the foreign domination was accepted once for all by them : whenever and wherever the British hold seemed easier to break, the people did not lose chance and rose in revolt against them. The following revolts bear out this truth : Chhachhrauli Revolt of 1810 and 1818; Rania Revolt of 1818; Peasants Revolt, of 1824; Revolt of Prince Pratap Singh of Jind.
Balawali Revolt of 1835-36; Murder of William Fraser, 1835; Kaithal Revolt of 1843; Revolt of Ajit Singh of Ladwa, and other Sikh chiefs, 1845-46.
These revolts were not doubt suppressed by the British, but they seem to have achieved little success in crushing the spirit of the people. This is amply proved by the happenings of 1857: when the people got the news of the outbreak of the Uprising, they seized the opportunity with both hands and played a very significant role in the struggle. By June-July they had freed almost entire Haryana from the British hold. But as elsewhere, the Haryanvis failed in the struggle.
After the end of the Uprising although the famous proclamation of Queen Victoria (1859) announced better treatment to the people, yet the British Sahibs wreaked vengeance on the people of Haryana. Their region was tagged vengeance on the people of Haryana. Their region was tagged with Punjab vide the Government of India Notification No. 606 of 13 April, 1858 where they suffered punishment of the worst type for taking active part in the Uprising. As a result, they became poor and backward in every walk of life.
For many years there was no political activity in the region. The Wahabis raised their heads in 1860 s but they were also suppressed. The situation was so hopeless that even the new winds of change" which brought political awakening to most of the regions in India in the later part of the nineteenth century, especially after the foundation of the Indian National Congress (1885), had little effect here for quite some time. But in the succeeding century things improved. especially under the influence of the Arya Samaj which for several reasons, was very popular here. Thanks to the Samaj propaganda new ideas spread, and people began to inculcate in their hearts love of their country (Bharatmata). Some educated persons joined the Indian National Congress. Babu Murlidhar of Ambala was the most prominent among them. Murlidhar was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress. Lala Lajpat Rai lived in Hisar those days. He, too, played a big role in making Congress popular here.
After 1919 when the Congress, thanks to Gandhiji s dynamic leadership, started mass agitation and movement for Swaraj, the people of Haryana came out. stood under its flag and fought the British imperialism with confidence and converge. The struggle was long and tough, harsh and hurtful. But they did not mind suffering for a noble cause - freedom of their motherland. Their efforts as also of their counter parts living in other states, bore fruits and India got her freedom on 15 August 1947.
The people were mighty pleased. They thought and rightly of course, that their age-old dreams will be fulfilled now. But unfortunately, it did not happen. Being a part of Punjab, they suffered discrimination and neglect at the hands of their big brother . They raised their voice against injustice and demanded a separate state for themselves. As a result, the state of Haryana came into being on 1 November, 1966.
In their new world; the simple, bold, hardworking Haryanavis made strenuous effort at making good the inadequacies, absences and lacks for their life. In consequence, the state became one of the richest states in the country. There was all round development and per capita income increased manifold. The 1934 back region of yester years became an affluent forward-looking state - the state where action is.
That is material development. The cultural aspect of life has, regretably not progressed on desired lines. There are many reasons for this lack. But good quality education, healthy exposure, and such like things will, it is hoped, effect improvement here, too, before long.
K. C. Yadav
Formerly Proferssor of History,
Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra