Chetavani ra Chungatya
Chetavani ra Chungatya is a patriotic Dingal poem composed by Kesari Singh Barhath in 1903 and addressed to Maharana of Mewar, Fateh Singh, exhorting him to uphold the traditions of his lineage and to not attend the Delhi Durbar organized by the British Raj. The couplets had the desired effect on the Maharana who decided not to attend the durbar despite being present in Delhi. The work remains one of the great literary works produced during the freedom struggle. It consists of 13 stanzas or sortha.
Background
Sources:Invitation
The Delhi Durbar of 1903 was held to celebrate the succession of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as Emperor and Empress of India. At the same time, the capital of British India was shifted from Kolkata to Delhi. Lord Curzon had obtained the consent of almost all the kings, nawabs, feudatories, and vassals, except the Maharana of Udaipur, to appear in the Durbar.In response, the Maharajas of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Sirohi, Kota, Bikaner, etc., appreciated the invitation & expressed joy & gratitude. Udaipur, however, received it coldly due to the treaty of 1818 b/w Mewar State and the British. Lord Curzon went to convince the Maharana to attend the Delhi Durbar, which he eventually agreed to do with conditions: first position among the native rulers of India, exemption from the procession, and a seat in keeping with his status.'
The main concern of Maharana was the potential compromise of his claim to precedence over all other Indian princes. Thus, it was assured that "due consideration would be given to his dignity" and his place would be first in the order of precedence among all the ruling Princes of India.
The Counsel
The general opinion of the nobles and the people in the Mewar State was against the Maharana's decision. Even many nobles and chieftains from outside Mewar State were disheartened at the news. Some of them gathered and requested Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath to find a solution to this predicament.Kesari Singh Barhath of Devpura, earlier chief advisor to Fateh Singh, consulted Rao Gopal Singh of Kharwa to dissuade Maharana from going to Delhi. Thakur Hari Singh of Khatu, Thakur Karan Singh of Jobner, Rao Umrao Singh, Sajjan Singh of Khandela and Thakur Bhur Singh from Malsisar joined in. Everyone agreed that to uphold Mewar's pride, Fateh Singh should be reminded of Rana's traditions, pride and honor. These discussions took place at Malsisar thakur's haveli in Jaipur.
Rao Gopal Singh suggested that in critical times such as this in the history of Rajputana, the Charanas have always given the right guidance through their eloquent speech. Hence, Kesari Singh was entrusted with this task, who composed a poem of thirteen sorthas, hearing which, everyone present there were very impressed. They were certain of the effectiveness of these sorthas that if conveyed to Maharana in time, he would give up the idea of attending the Durbar.
The purpose of the poem was to convey to the Maharana that it was derogatory to his dignity and beneath his status to attend the Durbar, and would impair the prestige, which he enjoyed among the Rajputs and the Hindus of India.
Delhi Durbar-1903
Rao Gopal Singh Kharwa had taken the responsibility of delivering these couplets to Fateh Singh in Udaipur, titled Chetavani Ra Chungatia. However, by the time he arrived, Fateh Singh had departed by train. Despite this, Zorawar Singh, younger brother of Kesari Singh, was prepared and delivered the couplets in hand to Maharana at Sareri or Nasirabad railway station en route to Delhi.Rao Gopal Singh writes in a letter to his nephew Khet Singh, "Kesari Singhji, a devotee of Kshattra Shakti, composed a couplet addressed to Maharana Saheb. At that time, Maharana Saheb had left for Udaipur by a special train. This couplet was then presented before Shri Darbar at the Nasirabad station, where he stated that if he had received these couplets in Udaipur itself, then he wouldn't have left. However, he would only deliberate on the matter after reaching Delhi."
The deliberation
It is believed that Fateh Singh came to Delhi due to the pressure of the colonial government, but reading the couplets written by Kesari Singh had a profound effect on him. Moreover, his conditions over precedence in seating were not followed. The poet reminded the Maharana of the glorious and heroic traditions of his ancestors, who never submitted to any power nor paid ‘Nazar’ to anyone but carried on constant struggle to uphold their name and fame. The composition accused the ruler of deviating from the heroic traditions of his dynasty. The couplets had clearly indicated the wishes of the people.The famous Indian diarist Amar Singh, son of Thakur Narayan Singh of Kanota, attended the Delhi Durbar as an Imperial Cadet. He recounted in his diary that Sir Pratap, Maharaja of Idar & Regent of Jodhpur, was woken up at midnight by him & informed of Maharana's refusal to attend; who, in turn, informed Viceroy's secretary Lawrence of the situation and warned him that if undue pressure was put on Maharana or retaliatory action was taken, the matter would worsen. He reminded that, at the moment, the armed forces of all the princely states were halted in Delhi and their full sympathies remained with the Maharana. Lord Curzon, upon learning of this, reluctantly accepted the outcome.
Since his arrival in Delhi, Fateh Singh had stayed in his camp, the rebuking couplets '' causing him to reconsider his decision and creating turmoil. Thakur Narayan Singh of Kanota and Maharaja Jai Singh of Alwar disguised themselves and came to his camp to show their support. They detailed the arrangements for his travel from Delhi to Chittor, with horses at every mile: his travel from Delhi to Baswa to be handled by Alwar State, from Baswa to Jahazpur by Jaipur State, and from Jahazpur to Chittor by Gopal Singh Kharwa. Sir Pratap of Jodhpur would handle everything back in Delhi.
These words strengthened his resolve. Maharana declared he was ill and returned to Udaipur via a special train.
Assessment and reactions
This incident was widely published in newspapers with big headlines of Maharana withdrawing from the durbar. The incident was seen as part of the nationalistic movements gaining momentum across India. According to the poem, the visit would have been a dishonor to the millions of Hindus in the nation who saw the Mewar King as a savior of the Hindu religion. This ideological overtone was unique to Mewar.Evaluating the impact of Chetavani Ra Chungatya, the eminent historian Raghubir Singh Gehlot writes—
'…….. The British had their sights on Rajasthan. Kesari Singh's opposition to the colonial government finally boiled over. Maharana Fateh Singh, following his predecessors, was reluctant to attend the Delhi Darbar, despite being invited. When he left for Delhi, Kesari Singh then spoke out against the Maharana and the dormant pride was ignited. Even the chief among the Rajput kings and the revered Hindu Suraj, the Maharana, was pinched that day by Kesari Singh, who with a thundering roar, questioned that descendant of Pratap and Raj Singh. Fateh Singh never attended, and his empty chair symbolically represented the defiance of the Rajput kings and their people. Lord Curzon did not challenge the Maharana. This had a huge impact on Rajasthan and the people, inspiring a wave of courage and hope against the harsh rule of the British.Dr. Kanhaiyalal Rajpurohit writes—
While the Delhi Durbar was being held, the seat of the Maharana of Mewar was lying vacant. Maharana's special train was moving towards Udaipur. This was a huge blow to the imperialist conceit by the Indians. Kesari Singh's poignant deliverances had performed this miracle. The chetavani was really the call of the soul of Rajasthan which was not possible to ignore.
Delhi Durbar-1911
Even in the Delhi Darbar of 1911, Maharana Fateh Singh did not attend the durbar and the royal procession of George V. He met the emperor at Salimgarh railway station and returned to Udaipur therefrom. The testimony of the accused Somdutt during the Nimej Murder Case, whose main accused was Zorawar Singh Barhath, revealed the plannings of revolutionaries. It became known that Kesari Singh Barhath and Gopal Singh Kharwa had once again devised ways to prevent Maharana from attending the durbar.The accused Somdutt alias Trivenidas Lahiri divulged in his statement—'An anonymous letter was prepared addressed to Maharana on behalf of the Sardars of Mewar, whose script was edited by me. It was mentioned in the letter that Maharana belongs to the Suryavansh, he has never bowed his head before the Mughals in the past. It would be better to commit suicide rather than bow before to the Firangi now.'