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For the 1982 film, see Rajput (film).

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Classification Forward caste
Religions Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism
Populated States The Indian subcontinent, particularly North India, Saurashtra (Gujarat)

Rajput (from Sanskrit raja-putra, "son of a king"[1]) is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and current eastern Pakistan. They seem to have risen to prominence from the late 6th century CE and governed the majority of princely states in Rajasthan and Surashtra during the period of the British Raj.





The origin of the Rajputs 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 until 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.[1] At the same time, some indigenous tribes were ranked as Rajput, examples of which are the 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

A royal Rajput procession, mural at the fort in Jodhpur.[5]

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 India.[1] These dynasties 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.[6] Even after the Muslim conquest of the 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 Khilji dynasty took the two Rajput forts of Chittor and Ranthambhor in eastern Rajasthan in the 14th century but could not hold them for long.[1]

After the mid-16th century, many Rajput rulers formed close relationships with the Mughal emperors and served them in different capacities.[7][8] Some Rajput nobles married their daughters to Mughal emperors for political motives.[9][10][11][12] For example, Akbar accomplished 40 marriages for him, his sons and grandsons, out of which 17 were Rajput-Mughal alliances.[13] The ruling Sisodia Rajput family of Mewar made it a point of honour not to engage in such relationships and thus claimed to stand apart from those Rajput clans who did so.[14]

Later, Rajputs came under the influence of the Maratha Empire.[15][16][17]

British colonial period

Chittorgarh Fort, built by a dynasty of Sisodia Rajputs.
The Derawar Fort built by a Hindu Rajput dynasty of the Bhati clan,[18] in modern-day Bahawalpur, Pakistan.


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.[20][21] Jason Freitag, his only significant biographer, has said that Tod is "manifestly biased".[22]




Independent India



The Rajput Dogra dynasty of Kashmir and Jammu also came to an end in 1947.[28] though title was retained until monarchy was abolished in 1971 by the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India.[29]



Main article: Rajput clans

There are several major subdivisions of Rajputs, known as vansh or vamsha, the step below the super-division jāti[31] These vansh delineate claimed descent from various sources, and the Rajput are generally considered to be divided into three primary vansh:[32] Suryavanshi denotes descent from the solar deity Surya, Chandravanshi from the lunar deity Chandra, and Agnivanshi from the fire deity Agni.[33] The four prominent clans in the post-Gupta period - Chauhans, Paramaras, Pratiharas and Solankis – all claimed their mythological origin to have been from a sacrificial fire at Mount Abu.[4]

Lesser-noted vansh include Udayvanshi, Rajvanshi,[34] and Rishivanshi.[35] The histories of the various vanshs were later recorded in documents known as vamshāavalīis; André Wink counts these among the "status-legitimizing texts".[36]


Culture and ethos


The Rajputs were a Martial Race in the period of the British Raj.[39] This was a designation created by administrators that classified each ethnic group as either "martial" or "non-martial": a "martial race" was typically considered brave and well built for fighting,[40] whilst the remainder were those whom the British believed to be unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles.[41]

Rajput lifestyle



By the late 19th century, there was a shift of focus among Rajputs from politics to a concern with kinship.[43] 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.[44]

Rajput diet


See also


  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Rajput". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 November 2010. 
  3. ^ Kurbanov, Aydogdy. "The Hephthalites: Archaeological and Historical Analysis" (PDF). p. 243. Retrieved 30 April 2013. As a result of the merging of the Hephthalites and the Gujars with population from northwestern India, the Rajputs (from Sanskrit "rajputra" – "son of the rajah") formed. 
  4. ^ a b Barua, Pradeep (2005). The State at War in South Asia. University of Nebraska Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780803213449. 
  5. ^ Rajput procession, Encyclopaedia Britannica
  8. ^ Bhadani, B. L. (1992). "The Profile of Akbar in Contemporary Literature". Social Scientist 20 (9/10): 48–53. JSTOR 3517716. (subscription required (help)). 
  9. ^ Kolff, Dirk H. A. (2002). Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850. Cambridge University Press,. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-52152-305-9. 
  10. ^ Smith, Bonnie G. (2008). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Oxford University Press,. p. 656. ISBN 978-0-19514-890-9. 
  11. ^ Richards, John F. (1995). The Mughal Empire. Cambridge University Press,. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-52156-603-2. 
  12. ^ Lal, Ruby (2005). Domesticity and Power in the Early Mughal World. Cambridge University Press,. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-52185-022-3. 
  13. ^ Vivekanandan, Jayashree (2012). Interrogating International Relations: India's Strategic Practice and the Return of History War and International Politics in South Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-13670-385-0. 
  14. ^ Ramusack, Barbara N. (2003). The Indian Princes and their States. Cambridge University Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-13944-908-3. 
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ Rajputs
  17. ^ Sir Jadunath Sarkar (1994). A History of Jaipur 1503-1938. Orient Longman. ISBN 8-1250-0333-9.
  18. ^
  21. ^ Meister, Michael W. (1981). "Forest and Cave: Temples at Candrabhāgā and Kansuāñ". Archives of Asian Art (Asia Society) 34: 56–73. Retrieved 9 July 2011. (subscription required)
  28. ^ "Dogra dynasty". Encyclopædia Britannica. 
  29. ^ "The Constitution (26 Amendment) Act, 1971", (Government of India), 1971, retrieved 30 October 2014 

Further reading

  • M K A Siddiqui (ed.), Marginal Muslim Communities in India, Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi (2004)
  • Dasharatha Sharma Rajasthan through the Ages a comprehensive and authentic history of Rajasthan, prepared under the orders of the Government of Rajasthan. First published 1966 by Rajasthan Archives.

External links