RAJASTHAN

RAJASTHAN
"the
land
of
colours"
the largest state of the republic of india by area. It
encompasses most of the area of the large,
inhospitable Great Indian Desert (thar desert), which
has an edge paralleling the satluj-indus river valley
along its border with pakistan. The state is bordered
by Pakistan to the west, Gujrat to the
southwest,madhaya paradesh to the southeast, uttar
pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to
the north. Rajasthan covers an area of 132,150 sq.
m or 342,239 km. The proportion of the state's total
area to the total area of the country is 10.41 per cent.

ETYMOLOGY
The first mention of word Rajasthan comes
from the work of James Tod (Annals) in
1829 A.D.[4] Rajasthan literally means
a Land of Kingdoms.George Thomas
(Military Memories) was the first in 1800
A.D., to term this region as Rajputana.[4]
John Keay in his book,India: A History stated that
the Rajputana name was coined by the
British, but that the word even achieved a
retrospective authenticity: in an 1829
translation of Ferishta's history of early
Islamic India, John Briggs discarded the
phrase Indian princes, as rendered in Dow's
earlier version, and substituted Rajpoot
princes.[5]Rajasthan was essentially the
country of the Gurjars.[6]R. C. Majumdar explained
that the region was long known
as Gurjaratra that is Country protected or
ruled by the Gurjars, early form of Gujarat,
before it came to be called Rajputana.[7]

HISTORY
The Indus Valley Civilization, one of the
world's first and oldest civilizations, was
located in parts of what is now Rajas
than. Kalibanganin
Hanumangarh district, Rajas than was a
major provincial capital of the Indus
Valley Civilization.[9] It is believed that
Western Kshatrapas (35405 BC) were
Saka rulers of the western part of India
(Saurashtra and Malwa: modern
Gujarat, Southern Sindh, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan). They were successors to
the Indo-Scythians, and were
contemporaneous with the Kushans who
ruled the northern part of the Indian
subcontinent. The Indo-Scythians
invaded the area of Ujjain and establish
the Saka era (with Saka calendar),
marking the beginning of the long-lived
Saka Western Satraps state.[10]

GEOGRAPHY

The main geographic features of Rajasthan are the Thar Desert and the Aravalli
Range, which runs through the state from southwest to northeast, almost from one
end to the other, for more than 850 km. Mount Abu is at the southwestern end of the
range, separated from the main ranges by theWest Banas River, although a series
of broken ridges continues into Haryana in the direction ofDelhi where it can be
seen as outcrops in the form of the Raisina Hill and the ridges farther north. About
three-fifths of Rajasthan lies northwest of the Aravallis, leaving two-fifths on the east
and south.

ECONOMY
Rajasthan's economy is
primarily agricultural and
pastoral. Wheat and barley are
cultivated over large areas, as
are pulses, sugarcane, and
oilseeds. Cotton and tobacco
are the state's cash crops.
Rajasthan is among the largest
producers of edible oils in India
and the second largest producer
of oilseeds. Rajasthan is also
the biggest wool-producing state
in India and the main opium
producer and consumer. There
are mainly two crop seasons.
The water for irrigation comes
from wells and tanks. The
Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates
northwestern Rajasthan.

EDUCATION

During recent years, Rajasthan has made

significant progress in the area of education. The
state government has been making sustained
efforts to improve the educational standard. In
recent decades, the literacy rate of Rajasthan has
increased significantly. In 1991, the state's literacy
rate was only 38.55% (54.99% male and 20.44%
female). In 2001, the literacy rate increased to
60.41% (75.70% male and 43.85% female). This
was the highest leap in the percentage of literacy
recorded in India (the rise in female literacy being
23%).[21] At the Census 2011, Rajasthan had a
literacy rate of 67.06% (80.51% male and 52.66%
female). Although Rajasthan's literacy rate is below
the national average of 74.04% and although its
female literacy rate is the lowest in the country
(closely followed by Bihar at 53.33%), the state has
been praised for its efforts and achievements in
raising both male and female literacy rates. [22][23]

FLORA AND FAUNA

Though a large percentage of the total
area is desert, and even though there is
little forest cover, Rajasthan has a rich
and varied flora and fauna. The natural
vegetation is classed as Northern Desert
Thorn Forest (Champion 1936). These
occur in small clumps scattered in a
more or less open forms. Density and
size of patches increase from west to
east following the increase in rainfall.
Some wildlife species, which are fast
vanishing in other parts of India, are
found in the desert in large numbers
such as the Great Indian Bustard
(Ardeotis nigriceps), the Blackbuck
(Antilope cervicapra), the Indian Gazelle
(Gazella bennettii) and the
Indian Wild Ass.

WILDLIFE
Rajasthan is also noted for National Parks and Wildlife
Sanctuaries. There are four national park and wildlife
sanctuaries named the Keoladeo National Park of Bharatpur,
Sariska Tiger Reserve of Alwar, Ranthambore National Park of
Sawai Madhopur, and Desert National Park of
Jaisalmer.Ranthambore National Park and Sariska Wildlife
Sanctuary are both known worldwide for their tiger population
and considered by both wilderness lovers and photographers as
the best places in India to spot tigers. At one point, due to
poaching and negligence, tigers became extinct here, but
recently 5 tigers have been shifted here[citation needed] . Prominent
among the wildlife sanctuaries are Mount Abu Sanctuary,
Bhensrod Garh Sanctuary, Darrah Sanctuary, Jaisamand
Sanctuary, Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Jawahar Sagar
sanctuary and Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary.