Rajputana

Rajasthan was known as Rajputana before its formation in 1949. The maps illustrate the difference between 1909 and 1949.

Districts of Rajasthan. Present Day Rajasthan

Rājputāna, also called Rājwār, was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area.

It was ruled by the Rajputs, from the seventh and eighth century - and hence its name which literally means “land of the Rājputs”. Rājasthān, meaning “The Abode of the Rajas,” was formerly called Rājputānā, “The Country of the Rājpūts” (sons of rajas).

Geography

The area of Rajputana is estimated to be 132,559 square miles (343,328 square km) and breaks down into two geographic divisions:

• An area northwest of the Arāvalli Range including part of the Great Indian (Thar) Desert, with characteristics of being sandy and unproductive.
• An higher area southeast of the range, which is fertile by comparison.

The whole area forms the hill and plateau country between the north Indian plains and the main plateau of peninsular India.

References

1. Low, Sir Francis (ed.) The Indian Year Book & Who’s Who 1945-46, The Times of India Press, Bombay.
2. Sharma, Nidhi Transition from Feudalism to Democracy, Aalekh Publishers, Jaipur, 2000 ISBN 81-87359-06-4.
3. Tod, James Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (in two volumes), Rupa, New Delhi, 1997 ISBN 81-7167-366-X (set).
4. Webb, William Wilfrid The Currencies of the Hindu States of Rajputana, Archibald Constable & Co., Westminster, 1893.
5. Rajputana, Encyclopædia Britannica.

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