Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit raja-putra, "son of a
king"[1]) is a member of the patrilineal clans of the Indian subcontinent. They rose to prominence from the late 6th century AD and
continued to dominate many regions of central and northern India until the 20th century.
The Rajput population and the
former Rajput states are found spread across India where they are spread in
north, west and central India. In Pakistan they are found on the eastern
parts of the country. These areas include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Sindh.
History
Origins
The origin of the Rajput’s is the
subject of debate. Writers such as M. S. Naravane and V. P. Malik believe that
the term was not used to designate a particular tribe or social group earlier
than the 6th century AD, as there is no mention of the term in the historical
record as pertaining to a social group prior to that time.[2] One theory espouses that with the collapse of the Gupta Empire
from the late 6th century, the invading Hephthalites (White Huns) were probably integrated within Indian society.
Leaders and nobles from among the invaders were assimilated into the Kshatriya ritual rank in the Hindu varna system, while others who followed and
supported them – such as the Ahirs, Gurjars and Jats – were ranked as cultivators. At the
same time, some indigenous tribes were ranked as Rajput, examples of which are
the Bhatis, Bundelas, Chandelas and Rathors. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that Rajputs
"... actually vary greatly in status, from princely lineages, such as
the Guhilot and Kachwaha,
to simple cultivators."[1] Aydogdy Kurbanov says that the assimilation was specifically
between the Hephthalites, Gurjars, and people from northwestern India, forming
the Rajput community.[3] Pradeep Barua also believes that Rajputs have foreign origins,
he says their practice of asserting Kshatriya status was followed by other
Indian groups thereby establishing themselves as Rajputs.[4] According to most authorities, successful claims to Rajput
status frequently were made by groups that achieved secular power; probably
that is how the invaders from Central Asia as well as patrician lines of
indigenous tribal peoples were absorbed.[1]
Rajput kingdoms
From the beginning of the 7th
century, Rajput dynasties dominated North India,
including areas now in Pakistan, and the many petty Rajput kingdoms became the
primary obstacle to the complete Muslim conquest of Hindu north India.[1] In
the 1020s, the Rajput rulers of Gwalior and Kalinjar raised
a successful defence against the attacks of Mahmud of Ghazni, Although Mahmud could not subdue the Rajput forts but the two
cities did pay him tribute.[6] Thereafter,
in the late 12th century Muhammad of Ghor attempted to invade Gujarat but
was defeated by the Chaulukya
dynasty of Rajput’s.[7] The Rajput kingdoms were
disparate: loyalty to a clan was more important than allegiance to the wider
Rajput social grouping, meaning that one clan would fight another. This and the
internecine jostling for position that took place when a clan leader (raja)
died meant that Rajput politics were fluid and prevented the formation of a
coherent Rajput empire.[8]Even
after the Muslim conquest of the regions in Punjab and
the Ganges River valley, the Rajputs maintained their independence in Rajasthan
and the forests of central India. Later, Sultan Alauddin Khilji of
the Delhi Sultanate took the two Rajput forts
of Chittor and Ranthambhor in
eastern Rajasthan in the 14th century but could not hold them for long.[1]
In the 15th century, the Muslim
sultans of Malwa Sultanate and the Gujarat Sultanate put a joint effort to overcome Rana Kumbha but
both the sultans were defeated.[9] Subsequently,
in 1518 the Rajput Mewar Kingdom under Rana Sanga achieved
a major victory over Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi of
Delhi Sultanate and afterwards Rana's influence extended up to the striking
distance of Pilia Khar in Agra.[10][11]Accordingly,
Rana Sanga came to be the most distinguished indigenous contender for supremacy
but was defeated by the Mughal invader Babur at Battle of Khanwa in 1527.[12]
From as early as the 16th
century, Purbiya Rajput
soldiers from the eastern regions of Bihar and Awadh, were recruited as
mercenaries for Rajputs in the west, particularly in the Malwa region.[13]
After the mid-16th century, many
Rajput rulers formed close relationships with the Mughal emperors and
served them in different capacities.[14][15] It
was due to the support of the Rajputs that Akbar was able to lay the
foundations of the Mughal empire in India.[16]Some
Rajput nobles married their daughters to Mughal emperors or their sons for
political motives.[17][18][19][20] For
example, Akbar accomplished
40 marriages for him, his sons and grandsons, out of which 17 were
Rajput-Mughal alliances.[21] Akbar's
successors as Mogul emperors, his son Jahangir and
grandson Shah Jahan had Rajput mothers.[22] The
ruling Sisodia Rajput
family of Mewar made
it a point of honour not to engage in matrimonial relationships with mughals
and thus claimed to stand apart from those Rajput clans who did so.[23] The Rana of
Mewar Pratap Singh had successfully resisted the
efforts of Akbar to subdue the Mewar kingdom.[24]
Akbar's diplomatic policy
regarding the Rajputs was later damaged by the intolerant rules introduced by
his great-grandson Aurangzeb. A prominent example of these
rules included the re-imposition of Jaziya,
which had been abolished by Akbar.[16] The
Rajputs then revolted against the Mughal empire. Aurangzeb's conflicts with the
Rajputs, which commenced in the early 1680s, henceforth became a contributing
factor towards the downfall of the Mughal empire.[1][16]
By the late 18th century, the Rajput
rulers begin negotiations with the East India Company and by 1818 all the Rajput
states had formed an alliance with the company.
British colonial period
According to historian Virbhadra
Singhji, Rajputs ruled in the "overwhelming" majority of the princely
states of Rajasthan and Saurashtra in the British Raj era. These regions also contained
the largest concentration of princely states in India, including over 200 in
Saurashtra alone.[29]
James Tod, a British colonial official, was impressed by the military
qualities of the Rajputs but is today considered to have been unusually
enamoured of them. Although the group venerate him to this day, he is viewed by
many historians since the late nineteenth century as being a not particularly
reliable commentator.[30][31] Jason Freitag, his only
significant biographer, has said that Tod is "manifestly biased".[32]
The Rajput practices of female infanticide and sati (widow immolation) were other
matters of concern to the British. It was believed that the Rajputs were the
primary adherents to these practices, which the British Raj considered savage
and which provided the initial impetus for British ethnographic studies of the subcontinent that
eventually manifested itself as a much wider exercise in social engineering.[33]
In reference to the role of the
Rajput soldiers serving under the British banner, Captain A. H. Bingley wrote:
Rajputs have served in our ranks
from Plassey to the present day (1899). They have taken part in almost every
campaign undertaken by the Indian armies. Under Forde they defeated the French
at Condore. Under Monro at Buxar they routed the forces of the Nawab of Oudh.
Under Lake they took part in the brilliant series of victories which destroyed
the power of the Marathas.[34]
Independent India
On India's independence in 1947, the princely states, including those of the Rajput,
were given three choices: join either India or Pakistan, or remain independent.
Rajput rulers of the 22 princely states of Rajputana acceded
to newly independent India, amalgamated into the new state of Rajasthan in 1949–1950.[35] Initially the maharajas were
granted funding from the Privy purse in exchange for their acquiescence, but a series of land reforms
over the following decades weakened their power, and their privy purse was cut
off during Indira Gandhi's administration under the 1971 Constitution 26th Amendment Act. The estates, treasures, and practices of the old Rajput rulers
now form a key part of Rajasthan's tourist trade and cultural memory.[36]
In 1951, the Rajput Rana dynasty of
Nepal came to an end, having been the power behind the throne of the Shah dynasty figureheads since 1846.[37]
The Rajput Dogra dynasty of Kashmir and Jammu also came to an end in 1947.[38] though title was retained until
monarchy was abolished in 1971 by the 26th amendment to the Constitution of
India.[39]
The Rajputs are today considered
to be a Forward Caste in India's system of positive discrimination. This means that they receive no special treatment by
government bodies because forward castes are considered to be inherently
privileged groups. [40] However, some Rajputs too like
other agricultural castes demand reservations in Government jobs, which so far
is not heeded to by the Government of India.
Rajput lifestyle
The double-edged scimitar known
as the khanda was
a popular weapon among the Rajputs of that era. On special occasions, a primary
chief would break up a meeting of his vassal chiefs with khanda nariyal, the distribution of
daggers and coconuts. Another affirmation of the Rajput's reverence for his
sword was the Karga Shapna ("adoration of the sword")
ritual, performed during the annual Navaratri festival,
after which a Rajput is considered "free to indulge his passion for rapine
and revenge".[56] The Rajput of Rajasthan also
offer a sacrifice of water buffalo or goat to their family Goddess ( Kuldevta) during Navaratri.[57] The ritual requires slaying of
the animal with a single stroke. In the past this ritual was considered a rite
of passage for young Rajput men.[58]
By the late 19th century, there
was a shift of focus among Rajputs from politics to a concern with kinship.[59] Many Rajputs of Rajasthan are
nostalgic about their past and keenly conscious of their genealogy, emphasising
a Rajput ethos that is martial in spirit, with a fierce pride in lineage and
tradition
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