Rajasthan
(2002 est. pop. 57.6 million). Home of the inhospitable Thar Desert and with an overall arid climate, site of nuclear tests, and defender of a politically sensitive border with Pakistan, Rajasthan is nonetheless regarded as the major tourist destination in India. India's second-largest state, Rajasthan ("abode of the rajas") is an amalgam of nineteen princely states and three chiefdoms in an area with evidence of continuous human habitation for 100,000 years. Exotic palaces, forts, and temples; the holy lake and camel fair at Pushkar; the golden city of Jaisalmer; the glorious palaces of Udaipur; the pink city of Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan; and the blue city of Jodhpur all hold historic and contemporary appeal, reflecting heroic battles and artistic deeds.
The Rajput rulers appeared in the ninth century, reputed descendants of fifth-and sixth-century Huns, and by the eleventh century had carved out numerous principalities. The Mughal emperor Akbar (1542–1605) subjugated the Rajasthan rulers beginning in 1562; in the eighteenth century, the Mughals lost control and the Rajput chieftains consolidated their kingdoms, retaining elegance and ceremony in vital centers of art.
From 1817 to 1823, the rulers accepted British suzerainty in return for internal control of their states, and Rajputana, as it was known under the British, became the center for princely India, the two-fifths of the subcontinent left in the hands of Indian rulers. Following India's independence in 1947, the Rajputs gradually accepted uniform administration, education, and representative government.
Two trade routes gave Rajasthan great importance in Indian history. One led from Agra through Marwar (Jodhpur) to the port of Surat in Mumbai (Bombay). The other led across the Thar Desert to Jaisalmer and thence to the Indus River. Southeast of the Aravallis mountain range, the soil is fertile. Since the 1950s, irrigation has increased the production of millet, maize, wheat, barley, rice, and cotton. Leading industries and resources are textiles, chemicals, precision instruments, lead and zinc, emeralds, garnets, and silver.
Nationwide religious events, local folk heroes, and village deities provide frequent occasions for festivals featuring dazzling costumes and ornaments and vigorous dancing and singing to the music of pipes, drums, and stringed instruments. Dances include the geer, gloomar, and panihari for women, and the kacchi ghori, in which males ride dummy horses. Hindus and Muslims join in one another's festivals. The state boasts a rich literary tradition, famous pilgrim centers, and universities at Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, and Kota.
Further Reading
Gahlot, Sukhvir Singh, and Banshi Dhar. (1989) Castes and Tribes of Rajasthan. Jodhpur, India: Jain Brothers.
Ganguli, Kalyan Kumar. (1983) Cultural History of Rajasthan. Delhi: Sundeep.
Kathuria, Ramdev P. (1987) Life in the Courts of Rajasthan during the Eighteenth Century. New Delhi: S. Chand.
Matheson, Sylvia A., and Roloff Beny. (1984) Rajasthan, Land of Kings. London: Frederick Muller; New York: Vendome Press.
Rudolph, Suzanne Hoeber, and Lloyd I. Rudolph. (1984) Essays on Rajputana: Reflections on History, Culture, and Administration. New Delhi: Concept.
Sankalia, Hasmukhlal Dhirajlal. (1988) Archaeology in Rajasthan. Udaipur, India: Sahitya Sansthan, Rajasthan Vidyapeeth.
Sharma, G. N. (1968) Social Life in Medieval Rajasthan, 1500–1800 A.D. Agra, India: Lakshmi Narain Agarwal.
Singh, Raghubir. (1981) Rajasthan: India's Enchanted Land. London and New York: Thames & Hudson.
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