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Rajasthan
Le Rajasthan, the land of the Lords, represents India in its most surprising and picturesque aspects with its fortresses still bearing the scars of battles, its breathtakingly splendid palaces, its vivid colours, its pride and its romantic sense of honour.
More than any other Indian state, Rajasthan evokes ancient imagery of the exotic East, defying the most fertile imagination. Fortresses and fairy tale palaces are like jewels ornamenting the landscape. They testify the opulent life of the Rajahs who ruled the country for centuries. On the other hand, tradition expresses itself with a wide array of colours, exuberant celebrations, charming music and a real taste for beauty, which can be surprising coming from people struggling against increasingly long drought, fighting every single day for their survival.
Rajasthan’s geography
Area: 342,239 km2 (Switzerland: 41,293 km2)
Population (2005 estimate): 51.5 millions
Capital: Jaipur (with an approximate population of 2.5 millions)
Main languages: Hindi, Rajasthani
The state is divided, by a diagonal line, in an area of rocky mountains on the southeast and an arid landscape on the northwest, the Thar Desert which lies all the way to Pakistan.
Its population is essentially made of semi nomad farmers. Further to the east, sands are stopped by the Aravalli, India’s oldest range of mountains, sheltering valleys, rivers and peaceful lakes which are unfortunately drying.
Rajasthan state was definitively founded on November first 1956. Since then, considerable progresses have been made in the industry, water supplies, education and irrigation.
History
Before 5th century A.D., the major political events took place in the Gangetic Plains. Only then were the first states founded in the little populated area of Rajasthan. As time went by, thanks to rules on community life, and interethnic weddings, a new caste was formed: the Rajputs (rajaputra = son of a king). Between 5th and 7th century, the Rajputs dominated almost the whole north of India. The Rajputs were too busy defending their respective borders to unify themselves within an empire. But nonetheless, they established their own culture, through temple’s architecture as well as some of their behaviours. Rajputs have many different origins; some of them were Brahmins coming from commercial cities, others were simple tribe members or even Huns from Central Asia, etc.
As clan-organized warriors, the Rajputs ruled the region for one millennium following an honour code comparable with the one of Middle Ages European knights. Even if short-lived alliances and marriages of convenience marked the everyday life, pride and independence were supreme values.
Nevertheless, the Rajputs failed to stand united against their enemy. They wasted energy in internal fights which weakened them to the point they became puppet states of the Mongolian Empire. But the bravery and the sense of honour of the Rajputs remain unrivalled.
These warriors were fighting restlessly, and when hope was nothing more than a vain word, they would initiate the Jauhar (mass suicide), in accordance with the chivalrous code: following a merciless rite, women and children immolated themselves in a big fire, while the men, dressed with saffron cloth, faced the enemy to death. Hundreds of thousands of Rajputs died like this.
These alliances marked the end of the Rajputs sovereigns. Complacency and prodigality soon took over chivalry. At the beginning of the 20th century, the maharajas spent their time travelling around the world, accompanied by an army of concubines and servants. They were playing polo, betting races, and claiming whole floors in the most prestigious hotels of Europe and America. Though the British never prevented them to do so, the huge waste of the wealth of the Rajputana (country of the Rajputs) ended up prejudicial from a social and economical point of view. When India acquired its independence in 1947, the life expectancy and literacy rate of the Rajasthan appeared to be the lowest of the sub-continent. At the time of Independence, the part of the congress had to make a deal with the independent rajput states so that they adhere to the newborn India. Their leaders were authorized to keep their titles and their goods and obtained a guarantee of annual income proportional to their status.
With the decline of the Mongolian Empire, the Rajputs reclaimed their independence after some spectacular victories. But a new faction came into the picture, the British. Like the Mongols, the British established themselves in India only to rule it and control its economy. With the Raj expansion, the majority of the Rajput’s states signed alliances with the British, who allowed them to preserve their autonomy. Each state stayed under the authority of a Maharaja, while they were still subject to some political and economic constraints.
These alliances marked the end of the Rajputs sovereigns. Complacency and prodigality soon took over chivalry. At the beginning of the 20th century, the maharajas spent their time travelling around the world, accompanied by an army of concubines and servants. They were playing polo, betting races, and claiming whole floors in the most prestigious hotels of Europe and America. Though the British never prevented them to do so, the huge waste of the wealth of the Rajputana (country of the Rajputs) ended up prejudicial from a social and economical point of view. When India acquired its independence in 1947, the life expectancy and literacy rate of the Rajasthan appeared to be the lowest of the sub-continent. At the time of Independence, the part of the congress had to make a deal with the independent rajput states so that they adhere to the newborn India. Their leaders were authorized to keep their titles and their goods and obtained a guarantee of annual income proportional to their status.
This privileged situation could not go on: Indira Gandhi decided to put an end to it, at the beginning of the 70s, by abolishing titles and incomes and by sequestering their goods. Some leaders transformed their palaces into luxurious hotels, but most of them did not succeed in adapting themselves to the economic requirements of the end of the twentieth century.
Because this part of India had practically not been modernized, they ended up precarious compared to other British protectorates. These areas, mostly agricultural, brought only little incomes and farmers paid their taxes with their products.
The geographical dispersion of the rural population encouraged the development of multiple Fairs, based on the lunar calendar, in places often sanctified by old myths. These
Fairs combine religious ceremonies and commerce. In many recluse areas grew a so-called tribal population, whose lifestyle is completely different from the hindu society. From hunters until the 20th century, to road menders for most of them now, the members are on the verge of social exclusion.