Within the limits of Rajputana the Rajputs form a vast body of kindred, and any Rajput can marry any Rajput woman who does not belong to his own clan. The most numerous of the clans is the Rahtor, to which the chiefs of Marwar, Bikanir and Kishangarh belong. Its strength in 1901 was 122,160. Next comes the Kachwaha clan, which is strong in Jaipur and Alwar, both chiefs belonging to its members. It numbers 100,186. The Chauhan follows with an aggregate of 86,460, among whom are the chiefs of Bundi, Kotah and Sirohi. The Jadu or Jadon, which includes in its ranks the chiefs of Karauli and Iaisalmer, numbers 74,666. The Sisodhyias, who include the ancient and illustrious house of Udaipur, number 51,366. The Ponwar clan, to which Vikramaditya, the celebrated king of Ujjain, from whom the Hindu Era is named, is said to have belonged, numbers 43,435. The Solanki and Parihar clans, once powerful, are now only 18,949 and 9448 respectively.
RAJPUTANA, a collection of native states in India, under the political charge of an agent to the governor-general, who resides at Abu in the Aravalli Hills. It lies between 23° and 30° N. and between 69° 30′ and 75° 15′ E., and includes 18 states and 2 estates or chief ships. For political purposes
these are subdivided into eight subordinate groups, consisting
of three residencies and five agencies. These are as follow:
(1) Mewar residency, with headquarters at Udaipur, comprising
the states of Udaipur (Mewar), Dungarpur, Partabgarh and
Banswara; (2) Jaipur residency, with headquarters at Jaipur,
comprising the states of Jaipur and Kishangarh, with the estate
of Lawa; (3) Western Rajputana states residency, with headquarters
at Jodhpur, comprising the states of jodhpur, Jaisalmer
and Sirohi; (4) Bikanir agency, with headquarters at Bikanir;
(5) Alwar agency, with headquarters at Alwar; (6) Eastern
Rajputana states agency, with headquarters at Bharatpur,
comprising the states of Bharatpur, Dholpur, and Karauli;
(7) Haraoti-Tonk agency, with headquarters at Deoli, comprising
the states of Tonk and Bundi, with the estate of Shahpura;
(8) Kotah-jhalawar agency, with headquarters at
Kotah, comprising the states of Kotah and Ihalawar. All of
these states are under Rajput rulers, except Tonk, which is
Mahommedan, and Bharatpur and Dholpur, which are '[at.
The small British province of Ajmere-Merwara is also included
within the geographical area of Rajputana.
Physical Features.—The total area of Rajputana is about 127,541 sq. m. It is bounded on the west by Sind, and on the north-west by the Punjab state of Bahawalpur. Thence its northern and north-eastern frontier marches with the Punjab and the United Provinces until it touches the river Chambal, where it turns south-eastward for about 200 m., dividing the states of Dholpur, Karauli, Jaipur and Kotah from Gwalior. The southern boundary runs in a very irregular line across the central region of India, dividing the Ra'putana states from a number of native states in Central India and (liujarat. The most striking physical feature is the Aravalli range of mountains, which intersects the country almost from end to end in a line running from south-west to north-east. Mount Abu is at the south-western extremity of the range, and the north-eastern end may be said to terminate near Khetri in the Shaikhawati district of Jai ur, although a series of broken ridges is continued in the direction of lgelhi. About three-fifths of Rajputana lies north-west of the range, leaving two fifths on the east and south. The tract lying to the north-west contains the states of Bikanir, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur. With the exception of the sub-montane districts of Jodhpur, which lie immediately below the Aravallis, this division is sandy, ill-watered and unproductive, improving gradually from a desert in the north-west and west to comparatively fertile land on the east. The country to the east and south-east of the Aravallis affords a striking contrast to the sand plains on the north-west of the range, and is blessed with fertile lands, hill-ranges and long stretches of forest, where fuel and fodder are abundant.
The chief rivers of Rajputana are the Luni, the Chambal and the Banas. The first of these, the only river of any consequence in the north-western division, flows for 200 m. from the Pushkar valley, close to Ajmere, to the Runn of Cutch. In the south-eastern division the river system is important. The Chambal is by far the largest river in Rajputana, through which it flows for about one-third of its course, while it forms its boundary for another third. The source of the river is in the highlands of the Vindhyas, upwards of 2000 ft. above the sea; it soon becomes a considerable stream, collecting in its course the waters of other rivers, and finally discharging itself into the Jumna after a course of 560 m. Next in importance ranks the Banas, which rises in the south-west near Kankroli in Udaipur. It collects nearly all the drainage of the Udaipur plateau with that of the eastern slopes and hill-tracts of the Aravallis, and joins the Chambal a little beyond the north-eastern extremity of the Bundi state, after a course of about 300 m. Other rivers are the W. Banas and the Sabarmati, which rise among the south-west hills of Udaipur and take a south-westerly course. The river Mahi, which passes through the states of Partabgarh and Banswara, receiving the Som, drains the south-west corner of Rajputana through Gujarat into the Gulf of Cambay. Rajputana possesses no natural freshwater lakes, but there are several important artificial lakes, all of which have been constructed with the object of storing water. The only basin of any extent is the, Sambhar salt lake, of about 50 m. in circuit.
Geology.—Geologically considered, the country may be divided into three regions-a central, and the largest, comprising the whole width of the Aravalli system, formed of very old sub-metamorphic and gneissic rocks; an eastern region, with sharply defined boundary, along which the most ancient formations are abruptly replaced by the great basin of the Vindhyan strata, or are overlaid by the still more extensive spread of the Deccan trap, forming the plateau of Malwa; and a western region, of very ill-defined margin, in which, besides some rocks of undetermined age, it is more or less known or suspected that Tertiary and Secondary strata stretch across from Sind, beneath the sands of the desert, towards the Hanks of the Aravallis. Rajputana produces a variety of metals. Ore of cobalt is obtained in no other locality in India, and although zinc blende has been found elsewhere it is known to have been extracted only in this province. Copiper and lead are found in several parts of the Aravalli range an of the minor ridges in Alwar and Shaikhawati, and iron ores abound in several states. Alum and blue vitriol (sulphate of copper) are manufactured from decomposed schists at Khetri in Shaikhawati. Good building materials are obtained from many of the rocks of the country, among which the Raialo limestone (a fine-grained crystalline marble) and the laisalmer limestone stand pre-eminent.
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 Bikanir borders. The rainfall is very unequally distributed: in the western part, which comes near to the limits of the rainless region of Asia, it is very scanty, and scarcely averages more than 5 in.; in the south-west the fall is more copious, sometimes exceeding 100 in. at Abu; but, except in the south-west highlands of the Aravallis, rain is most abundant in the south-east. Notwithstanding all its drawbacks, Rajputana is reckoned one of the healthiest countries in India, at least for the native inhabitants.
Population.—In 1901 the population was 9,723,301, showing a decrease of 20% in the decade owing to the great famines of 1897–1898 and 1900–1901. The greatest mortality was caused by virulent malarial fever, which raged during the autumn months of 1900 and the early months of 1901. Epidemics of cholera, which occurred during the years of scarcity and famine, also swept away large numbers.
It is commonly supposed that, because nearly the whole country is ruled by Rajputs, therefore the population consists mainly of Rajput tribes; but these are merely the dominant race, and the territory is called Rajputana because it is politically possessed by Rajputs. The whole number of this race is 620,229, and nowhere do they form a majority of the whole population in a state; but they are Strongest, numerically, in the northern states and in Udaipur. By rigid precedence the Brahmans occupy the first rank; they are numerous and influential, and with them may be classed the peculiar and important caste of 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 Iats 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 7,035,093 persons or more than 72% of the total population. The gross revenue of all the states is estimated at 214 millions sterling.
The mass of the people are occupied in agriculture. In the large towns banking and commerce flourish to a degree beyond what might be expected. In the north the staple products for export are salt, grain, wool and cotton, in the south opium and cotton; While the imports consist of sugar, hardware and piece goods. Rajputana is very poor in industrial production. The principal manufactures are cotton and woollen goods, carvings in ivory and working in metals, &c., all of which handicrafts are chiefly carried on in the eastern states. The system of agriculture is
