RAS question
The Hurda (Hurra) Conference of 1734 was called by:
Correct answer: (B) Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur.
The Hurda Conference of 1734 was called by Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur to bring Rajput rulers together against the growing Maratha threat.
Explanation
The Hurda Conference was held on 17 July 1734 and was convened by Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur. The point was not a routine court meeting: it was a political attempt to unite Rajput rulers as Maratha power and raids began to alarm Rajputana. Other Rajas looked to Jai Singh for protection, and he called the conference at Hurda to deal with this Maratha peril. Representatives of Mewar, Marwar, Kota, Bundi and other states attended. The conference matters because it shows both Jai Singh's leadership role among Rajput states and the limits of Rajput unity, as the arrangement did not last long.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Mewar was represented at the conference, but Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur convened it, not Maharana Jagat Singh of Mewar.
- (C) The Marathas were the political threat that the meeting was meant to address, so the Maratha Peshwa was not the convener.
- (D) Marwar was among the Rajput states connected with the meeting, but Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur, not Rao Abhai Singh of Marwar, called it.
Concept
This tests eighteenth-century Rajputana politics, especially Rajput responses to Maratha expansion. It recurs in RAS because the Hurda Conference is a compact example of inter-state diplomacy, Jaipur's role, and the failure of durable Rajput unity.