'Memoirs and Recollections of An Officer of the Indian Political Service' [‎34r] (67/156)

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These were grouped into three political agencies each under a Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. stationed
respectively at Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaipur. The Rajput Rulers of Rajputana were
aristocrats of the Princely Order of India. The historical annals of the great clans,
which composed this martial and proud race; the Sesodias (Udaipur), the Rathors
(Jodhpur and Bikaner) and the Chauhans (Jaipur and Bundi); are a recital of feudal
romance and knightly chivalry. For years, the Rajputs battled against the Mohammedan
Moguls to maintain their independence. Udaipur was ruled over by the most ancient and
famous dynasty of them all. Quoting from Murray's Handbook on India "There is no
blood in India which is bluer than that of its Maharana." and then.again "Even when a
Rajput was compelled to make a virtue of necessity and give his daughter in marriage to the
Mogul, as in the case of the Rathor Princess of Jodhpur, the personality of the Hindu
was never submerged. Some of the most celebrated Emperors, such as Jehangir, Shah
Jahan and Aurungzeb were the sons of Rajput Princesses." The Sesodias of Mewar
(Udaipur) never gave a princess in marriage to any Mohammedan.
Politically, therefore, Rajputana was a wonderful training ground for a young officer
like myself. As Under Secretary to the Resident, I was also District Magistrate of
Abu, a function which was combined with that of Civil Judge, Chief Forest Officer,
Chairman of the Municipal Committee and even Secretary of the Gymkhana Club, and the
Golf Club. For six months of the year (November to April) the Resident and his senior
staff would be away in Ajmer or on tour, and the Under-Secretary was left on his own
to administer the hill station and the Headquarter Office. We lived in a delightful
house called 'The Dell' in the shadow of the hill on which the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. was built.
The only other Europeans who stayed on in Abu during these cold weather months were the
married Principal and some of the staff of the Lawrence Military School for the children
of soldiers, and the headmaster of the Irish Brothers College which catered for the
educational needs of the Anglo-Indian community of Bombay and the cities of Western
India. For these few months in each year the District Magistrate was, to all intents and
purposes, the 'Rajah' of his small demesne. Apart from the interest and the variety
of the work, the great attraction for my wife and me was the local shooting or 'shikar',
for the jungle hillsides of Abu were the natural habitat of tigers, panthers, the
occasional bear, and the 'sambhar', a truly noble deer. In addition there was the small
game, principally the jungle fowl, which was not only a very game sporting bird, but
also made excellent eating: as such it was an important supplement to our own diet in
a place where, because of the sanctity in which it was held by Hindus, the meat of the
cow was taboo. So we lived well and enjoyed ourselves.
The peasants of the few villages around Abu were much plagued by the depredations of the
tigers and the panthers on their small herds of cattle and goats. They would come
frequently to the magistrate with their tales of woe, and would offer up piteous