Rajputana

Climate.

The climate throughout Rajputana is very dry and hot during the summer; while in the winter it is much colder in the north than in the lower districts, with hard frost and ice on the Bikaner borders. The rainfall is very unequally distributed: but on the whole Rajputana is reckoned one of the healthiest countries in India.

Population.

In 1931 the population was 11,2 25,71 2. The territory is called Rajputana because it is politically possessed by Rajputs. The whole number of this race is only 620,229, and no where do they form a majority of the whole population in a state; but they are strongest, numerically, in the northern states and in Udaipur. The Brahmans rank first ; with them may be classed the Bhats, the keepers of secular tradition and of the genealogies. Next come the mercantile castes, mostly belonging to the Jain sect; these are followed by the powerful cultivating tribes, such as the Jats and Gujars, and then come the so-called aboriginal tribes, chief of whom are the Minas, Bhils and Meos. Rajasthani is the chief language of the country, one or other of its dialects being spoken by more than 7o% of the total population.

The mass of the people are occupied in agriculture. The chief manufactures are cotton and woollen goods, carvings in ivory and working in metals, etc., all of which handicrafts are chiefly carried on in the eastern states. The system of agriculture is very simple; in the country west of the Aravallis only one crop is raised in the year, while in other parts south and east of the Aravallis two crops are raised annually, and various kinds of cereals, pulses and fibres are grown. Jaipur had 144,179 pop• History.—previous to the invasion of Upper India by the Mohammedans, Rajputana was subject for the most part to two or three powerful tribal dynasties. Chief of these were the Rah

tors, who ruled at Kanauj ; the Chauhans of Ajmere ; the Solankis of Anhilwara, in Gujarat; the Gehlots with the Sisodhyia sept, still in Mewar or Udaipur ; and the Kachwaha clan, still in Jaipur. These tribal dynasties of Rajputs were gradually supplanted by the Moslem invaders of the iith century and weakened by internal feuds. The clans were finally either conquered, overawed or con ciliated by Akbar—all except the distant Sisodhyia clan, which, however, submitted to Jehangir in 1616. The Mahrattas, having been called in by the Rahtors to aid them, took possession of Ajmere about 1756; thenceforward Rajputana became involved in the general disorganization of India. By the end of the century nearly the whole of Rajputana had been virtually subdued by the Mahrattas. On the outbreak of the Pindari War in 1817 the British government offered its protection. The Pindaris were down, Amir Khan submitting and signing a treaty which constituted him the first ruler of the existing state of Tonk. By the end of 1818 similar treaties had been executed by the other Rajput states with the paramount power. Since then the political history of Rajputana has been comparatively uneventful. The great storm of the Mutiny of 1857, though dangerous while it lasted, was short, as most of the rajas remained loyal.

Rajputana is of great archaeological interest, possessing some fine religious buildings in ruins and others in excellent preserva tion. Among the latter are the mosques at Ajmere and the temples on Abu. But the most characteristic features of architecture in the country are shown in the forts and palaces of the chiefs.