TERRITORY, POLITY AND STATUS: A Study of Shekhawats

There are many misconceptions about the Shekhawats and the region they occupied in the history of Rajputana, mostly based on wrong facts, documents and records. Even the theories propounded by scholars like C.U. Wills are not based on perfect, adequate and contemporary sources and, therefore, draw wrong inferences, for example, that Shekhawats were no better than the Ijaredars, that Shekhawati was under the close Mughal control, that Shekhawati was created by the Jaipur State and hence enjoyed no right greater than the creator, that during the minority of the Jaipur State, the Shekhawati Thikanedars have improved their territorial, customary and political status, that the British view about the status of Shekhawati Thikanedars as conqueror and original independent chieftains of Shekhawati was erroneous, and that Maharaja Jai Singh was de facto sovereign.

The book, which is based on the original records, documents and written arguments, aims at not only removing all the misconceptions and wrong theory put forward by Wills, but also establishing the real and original status of the Shekhawati Thikanedars. The creditability of Shekhawats is also clearly mentioned in Ain-e-Akbari, who not only earned name and fame in the Mughal Court but also founded their regime on their own by clan conquest.

The material included in this book would be quite useful for researchers and students of history.