Kudan, Rajasthan

Kudan कूदन Koodan,कूदण
Village
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District	Sikar
Population  (2011)
• Total	3,929
Languages
• Official	Hindi
• Spoken(Colloquial)	Shekhawati
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	332031
Telephone code	91-1572
Vehicle registration	RJ-23
Nearest city	Sikar
Avg. summer temperature	35–40 °C (95–104 °F)
Avg. winter temperature	15–18 °C (59–64 °F)

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 gotras Sunda, Badsara, 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 Jagirs.

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 of Torawati, Patan (1748–1754) was thakur of Koodan under Sikar 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 Raj. 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-Yajna 1934

In 1934, to spread the principles of Arya Samaj and create awakening in Shekhawati, it was decided to hold the Prajapati Yajna (Prayer ceremony for the Lord of Universe). The Jat Prajapati Maha-Yajna took place at Sikar from 20–29 January 1934. Kunwar Hukam Singh Rahees Angai (Mathura) was made Yajnapati or Chairman of the Yajna. Chaudhary Kaluram of village Kudan was the Yajnaman. Acharya Shri Jagdev Sidhanthi received an invitation for this Yajna at his Gurukul at Kirttal, In that invitation was he requested to attend the Yajna 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 Yajna 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 Yajna had terrified the Jagirdars of Sikar. The role played by Sardar Har Lal Singh and Thakur Deshraj was unparallel which made this Yajna 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.

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, 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.

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.

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.

Kudan is also first among equals for serving the nation. Sahid Maj Surendra Badsara,SM belong to very same village along with three airforce officers and two army officers along with hundreds in other ranks. All credit for same goes to Sahid Maj Surendra Badsara,SM and Capt(Retd)Gajendra Maharia for spreading awareness and motivating children in village for join the profession of arms.