Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber. Faced with a growing population and a severe scarcity of water in his hilltop capital of Amber, Jai Singh decided to move his seat of power to the plains below. Consulting ancient architectural treatises like the Vastu Shastra and Shilpa Shastra, he collaborated with the Bengali architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya to design the city. The result was a grid-based layout divided into nine blocks, making Jaipur one of the earliest planned cities in modern Indian history.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Jaipur flourished as a center of trade, art, and culture. It maintained a largely stable and prosperous existence through strategic alliances, first with the Mughal Empire and later with the British East India Company. In 1876, under the rule of Maharaja Ram Singh, the city was painted pink to welcome Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. This aesthetic choice became deeply ingrained in the city's identity, leading to the colloquial moniker "Pink City."
Following India's independence in 1947, the princely state of Jaipur merged with Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, and other Rajput states to form the modern state of Rajasthan. In 1949, Jaipur was selected as the state capital. The latter half of the 20th century and the early 21st century have seen the city undergo massive urbanization. While it has successfully preserved its walled heritage zones, the outer city has expanded rapidly to accommodate booming IT sectors, educational institutions, and a surging population.
