Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/278

Rh 260 RAJPUTANA feet high, with few wells and streams, and almost destitute of vegetation. The south-eastern division is considerably more elevated and fertile, is diversified in character, and contains extensive hill-ranges and long stretches of rocky wold and woodland ; it is watered by the drainage of the Vindhyas, carried north-east by the Chambal and Banas rivers. In many parts there are wide vales, fertile plateaus, and great stretches of excellent soil, with forests and arti- ficial lakes ; but even in this division the surface, for the most part, is stony, rugged, under jungle, and infertile, except close to the river banks. The chief rivers of Rajputana are the Loni, the Chambal, and the Banas. The first of these, the only river of any consequence in the north-western division, flows for 200 miles from the Pukar 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 feet above the sea ; it enters the province at Cnaurasgarh in Mewar and soon becomes a considerable stream, collecting in its course the waters of other rivers, and finally dis- charging itself into the Jumna after a course of 560 miles. Next in importance ranks the Banas, which rises in the south-west near Kankraoli in Mewar. It collects nearly all the drainage of the Mewar 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 miles. Other rivers are the W. Banas and the Sabarmati, which rise among the south-west hills of Mewar and take a south-westerly course. The river Mahi, which passes through the states of Partab- garh and Banswara, receiving the Som, drains the south-west corner of Rajputana through Gujrat into the gulfs of Cutch and 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 miles in circuit. 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 flanks of the Aravallis. Rajputana produces a variety of metals. Ore of cobalt is obtained in no other locality in India, and although zinc blend has been found elsewhere it is known to have been extracted only in this province. Copper and lead are found in several parts of the Aravalli range and of the minor ridges in Ulwur and Shekha- wati, and iron ores abound in several states. Alum and blue vitriol (sulphate of copper) are manufactured from decomposed schists at Khetri in Shekhawati. Good building materials are obtained from many of the rocks of the country, amongst which the Raialo limestone (a fine-grained crystalline marble) and the Jaisalmir (Jeysulmere) limestone stand pre-eminent. Rajputina is of great archaeologic interest, and possesses some fine religious buildings in ruins and others in excellent preserva- tion. Amongst the latter are the mosque at Ajmere and the temples on Abu. But the finest and most characteristic features of architecture in the country are shown in the forts and palaces of the chiefs and in their cenotaphs. Herds of camels, horses, and sheep are found wherever there is pasturage, and in the desert and in the southern part of the country wild asses, nylghau, and antelopes, besides lions, leopards, tigers, wolves, hyaenas, jackals, and foxes, are met with. The climate throughout Rajputana is very dry and hot during 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 inches ; in the south-west the fall is more copious, sometimes exceeding 100 inches at Abu ; but, except in the south-west highlands of the Aravallis, rain is most abundant in the south-east. Notwith- standing all its drawbacks, Rajputana is reckoned one of the healthiest countries in India, at least for the native inhabitants. Popukition. The census of 1881, which was the first general enumeration of population in Rajputana since England's connexion with India, gave a total number (including Ajmere division) of 10,729,114. Of these 166,343 were Bhils ; but no accurate census could be taken of these people owing to their repugnance to bo counted. Exclusive of Bhils, the population numbered 10,562,771 (5,710,337 males, 4,852,434 females). The following statcim-nt S'ves the area and population of the several states and of the ritish division of Ajmere : States. Area in square miles. Popula- tion. States. Area in square miles. Popula- tion. Ajmere-Mhair- wara (British) 2,711 460,722 Kishengnrh Kotah 724 3 797 112,633 517 275 1,500 152,045 18 2 082 Bhurtpur 1,974 645,540 Marwar or Jodh- Bikanir 22,340 509,021 pur 37 000 1 750 403 Bundi 2,300 254,701 Mewar or Udaipur 12 670 1 494 90 1,200 249,657 1 460 70 568 Dungarpur .... 1,000 153,381 Shahpura 400 51 750 Jaipur 14,465 2,534,357 Sirohi 3 020 142 903 Jaisalmir (Jey- Tonk 2,509 338 029 16,447 108,143 Ulwur (Alwar) 3 024 682 926 Karauli 1,208 148,670 Total 132 461 10 720 114 The great mass of the people are Hindus, numbering in 1881 (excluding Bhils) 9,215,272, as against 919,556 Mohammedans and 3519 Christians. Among, the Hindus the paucity of Rajputs is remarkable. 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 pos- sessed by Rajputs. The whole number of this race is roughly estimated at 700,000, and nowhere do they form a majority of tho whole population in a state ; but they are strongest, numerically, in the northern states and in Mewar. 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 Charans or Bhats, the keepers of secular tradition and of the genealogies. Next come the mercantile castes, mostly belonging to the Jaina sect of Hinduism ; these are followed by the powerful cultivating tribes, such as the Jats and Gujars, and then come the non-Hindu or so-called aboriginal tribes, chief of whom are the Minas, Bhils, and Mhairs. The mass of the people are occupied in agriculture. In the large towns banking and commerce flourish to a degree beyond what would be expected for so backward a country. In the north the staple products for export are salt, grain, wool, and cotton, in tho south opium and cotton ; while the imports consist of sugar, hard- ware, and piece goods. Rajputana is very poor in industrial pro- duction. The principal manufactures are salt, 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 very simple ; in the country west of the Aravallis only one crop is raised in the year, while in other parts south and east of the Aravallis two crops are raised annually, and various kinds of cereals, pulses, and fibres are grown. History. Only faint outlines can be traced of the condition of Rajputana previous to the invasion of Upper India by the Moham- medans, and these indicate that the country was subject for the most part to two or three veiy powerful tribal dynasties. Chief of these were the Rahtors, who ruled at Kanauj ; the Chauhans of Ajmere ; the Solankhyas of Anhilwara, in Gujrat ; the Gehlots with the Sesodia sept, still in Mewar or Udaipur ; and the Kachwaha clan, still in Jaipur. These tribal dynasties of Rajputs were gradually supplanted by the Moslem invaders of the llth century and weakened by internal feuds. At the beginning of the 16th century the Rajput power began to revive, but only to be overthrown by Baber at Fatehpur Sikri in 1527. The clans were finally either conquered, overawed, or conciliated by Akbar all except the distant Sesodia clan, which, however, submitted to Jahangir in 1616. From Akbar's accession to Aurangzeb's death, a period of 151 years, the mogul was India's master. Aurangzeb's death and the invasion of Nadir Shah led to a triple alliance among the three leading chiefs, which internal jealousy so weakened that the Mahrattas, liaving been called in by the Rahtors to aid them, took possession of Ajmere about 1756; thenceforward Rajputana became involved in the general disorganization of India. By 1803 nearly the whole of Rajputana had been virtually subdued by the Mahrattas. The victories of Generals Wellesley and Lake, how- ever, saved the Rajputs ; but on Wellington's departure from India the floodgates of anarchy were reopened for ten years. On the out- break of the Pindari War in 1817 the British Government offered its protection. The Pindaris were put down, Amir Khan sub- mitting and signing a treaty which constituted him the first ruler of the existing state of Tonk. By the end of 1818 similar treaties had been executed by the other Rajput states with the paramount power. Sindhia gave up the district of Ajmere to the British, and the pressure of the great Mahratta powers upon Rajputana was Ermanently withdrawn. Since then the political history of ijputana has been comparatively uneventful. The great storm of the mutinies of 1857, though dangerous while it lasted, was