Rajasthan GK: Geography, History, Culture and Economy

Rajasthan is the largest state of India by area, covering about 342,239 square kilometres, and it is the state examiners reach for whenever they want a question on deserts, forts, folk culture or the Aravallis. Its capital is Jaipur, its high court sits at Jodhpur with a bench at Jaipur, and it shares the longest stretch of India's border with Pakistan. Rajasthan Day is observed on 30 March, marking the formation of Greater Rajasthan in 1949, and the state took its present shape in the reorganisation of 1956. The notes below cover the geography, history, culture and economy that papers ask about.

Land, hills and rivers

The Aravalli range, the oldest fold mountain system in India, runs across the state from the south west to the north east and divides it in two. West of the Aravallis lies the Thar, the Great Indian Desert; east of them lie the more fertile plains and plateaus. The highest point is Guru Shikhar, about 1,722 metres, on Mount Abu in Sirohi district, and Mount Abu is the only hill station in the state. The Chambal is the longest and the only perennial river of Rajasthan, flowing north from Madhya Pradesh through deep ravines. The Luni rises in the Aravallis near Ajmer, turns saline as it crosses the desert and ends in the Rann of Kutch without reaching the sea. The Banas rises in the Khamnor hills and flows entirely within the state before joining the Chambal.

Protected areas

• Ranthambore in Sawai Madhopur and Sariska in Alwar are the state's tiger reserves, Sariska being the first in the world to have tigers relocated into it.
• Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, once the Ghana bird sanctuary, is both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Ramsar site.
• The Desert National Park near Jaisalmer protects the godawan, the Great Indian Bustard.
• Sambhar Lake, the largest inland saline lake in the country, is a Ramsar site and a salt producing area.
• The Tal Chhapar sanctuary in Churu is known for its blackbuck, and Mukundra Hills near Kota is a newer tiger reserve.

History and heritage

Rajasthan's recorded past begins at Kalibangan in Hanumangarh district, a Harappan town on the dry bed of the Ghaggar where a ploughed field and rows of fire altars were found. In the medieval period the land was held by Rajput houses: the Sisodias of Mewar, the Rathores of Marwar, the Kachhwahas of Amber and Jaipur, the Hadas of Hadoti and the Bhattis of Jaisalmer. Rana Kumbha built Kumbhalgarh and raised the Vijay Stambha at Chittorgarh; Rana Sanga fought Babur at Khanwa in 1527; and Maharana Pratap fought the Mughal army at Haldighati in 1576. Sawai Jai Singh II founded Jaipur in 1727 on a grid plan drawn by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya and built the Jantar Mantar observatory. The Hill Forts of Rajasthan, namely Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Amber, Jaisalmer and Gagron, are inscribed together by UNESCO, and Chittorgarh is the largest fort in India. Jaipur's walled city and the Jantar Mantar are separately inscribed.

Culture

Ghoomar, danced in a circle with the veil held low, is the best known dance of the state, and Kalbelia, the dance of the snake charmer community, is on the UNESCO list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Gair of the Bhils, Terah Taali with its manjiras, Bhavai with pots balanced on the head, Chari with a lighted lamp and Kachhi Ghodi with dummy horses are the other forms. The ravanhatha, the algoza, the morchang and the kamayacha are the instruments. Among fairs, the Pushkar camel fair in the month of Kartik and the Nagaur cattle fair are the largest, and the Desert Festival at Jaisalmer, Gangaur and Teej fill the calendar. Rajasthani is spoken as Marwari, Mewari, Dhundhari, Hadoti and Mewati, while Hindi is the official language.

Economy, minerals and firsts

• Rajasthan leads in mining zinc and lead at Zawar in Udaipur, copper at Khetri in Jhunjhunu and marble at Makrana in Nagaur.
• The Indira Gandhi Canal, one of the longest canals in the world, carries water from the Harike barrage at the meeting of the Satluj and the Beas into the desert districts.
• Rajasthan was the first state in India to put Panchayati Raj into effect, inaugurated at Nagaur on 2 October 1959.
• India's nuclear tests of 1974 and 1998 were carried out at Pokhran in Jaisalmer district, and the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station stands at Rawatbhata near Kota.
• Bajra, mustard, barley and gram are its main crops, and it is a leading producer of wool and of guar.