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Rajasthan

Rajasthan, the Land of the Kings, is India at its exotic and colourful best.

It is the home of the Rajputs, a group of warrior clans who have controlled this part of India for 1000 years according to a code of chivalry and honour akin to that followed by medieval Europe's knights.

Although the fortunes of its former rulers may be in tatters, the culture of Rajasthan, with its battle-scarred forts, amazing palaces, riotous colours and sense of gallantry, is still very much alive.

The harsh Rajasthani landscape and tribal customs have fashioned a people and culture which are visibly different from those found in the rest of India - from the huge, pastel-coloured turbans and soup-strainer moustaches sported by the men to the bright mirrored skirts and chunky silver jewellery of the women. They have also endowed the state with a magical air of romance, speckled with desert forts, lush oasis, and exotic cities that rise out of the landscape like shimmering backdrops to Tales of the Arabian Nights.

Facts
Area: 342,000 sq km Population: 50 million
Capital City: Jaipur (pop 1.5 million)
Main Languages: Rajasthani & Hindi

History
The Rajputs' bravery and sense of honor were unparalleled, but they spent much of their energy squabbling amongst themselves and this weakness eventually led to them becoming vassal states of the Moghul Empire. As the Mughals declined, the Rajputs gradually clawed back their independence and when the British arrived they signed articles of alliance which allowed them to continue as independent states, each with its own maharaja, subject to the usual British political and economic constraints. These alliances proved to be the beginning of the end for the Rajput rulers. Indulgence and extravagance soon replaced chivalry and honor so that, by the early 1900s, many of the maharajas spent most of their time travelling the world with a vast army of wives, concubines and retainers, playing polo, racing horses and gambling their fortunes away. Their profligate waste was socially disastrous and when India gained its independence, Rajasthan had one of the subcontinent's lowest life-expectancy and literacy rates.

At Independence, India's ruling Congress Party was forced to make a deal with the nominally independent Rajput states in order to secure their agreement to join the new India. The rulers were allowed to keep their titles, their property holdings were secured and they were paid an annual stipend commensurate with their status. It couldn't last forever, given India's socialist tendencies, and the crunch came in the early 1970s when Indira Gandhi abolished both the titles and the stipends and severely sequestered the maharajas' property rights. While some of the rulers have survived these changes by turning their forts into museums and their palaces into luxury hotels, many have fallen by the wayside, unable to cope with the financial and managerial demands of the late 20th century.

The cities of Rajasthan are: Jaipur, Bharatpur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaiselmer, Shekhawati (Nawalgarth).

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