History of Bikaner

Perched on the glittering rocky soil of Thar, devoid of any glitzz and glamour, the austerely attractive desert city Bikaner has a history strewn with the might, passion and romance of its many unsung heroes. Established in 1486 by the fearless Rao Bika, the son of Rao Jodha, the ruler of Jodhpur who in a fit of rage after receiving a harsh comment by his father Rao Jodha went on and set up the capital in the middle of an infertile land, devoid of any water. But the founder had to struggle for more than 30 years to bring stability in Bikaner as frequent attacks by the desert nomads was difficult to deal with.

The desert town prospered into one of the important centres of trade and commerce of Rajasthan as it fell on the busiest trade route which linking Central Asia and China to India.

As the Mughal influence grew rapidly in this region of Rajasthan, an important alliance was formed between the Maharaja of Bikaner and the Mughal Emperor Akbar. This episode added new pages to the history of the desert city as the city was brought under the protection of the Mughal army and the Mughals were blesses with some of the mightest warriors sons of mother India.

With the increase of British interference, Bikaner demanded its freedom and offered its best riding camels to the East India Company in exchange.

When India attained independence, the desert city became a part of Indian Union.