Main data
The population of Rajasthan is estimated at 82.4 million, as the decennial census could not be held in 2021 due to the Covid epidemic. This represents 5.89% of India's population and Rajasthan is the seventh most populous state. 75% of the population lives in rural areas and the most populous district is Jaipur, with 4 million people living in the state capital. Rajasthan's population is growing at about 2.5% per year. Nearly 15% of the population belongs to a scheduled tribe, making Rajasthan the 6th largest state in terms of tribal populations - the state with the most tribes being Madhya Pradesh. Nearly 85% of Rajasthan's population is Hindu, while Muslims make up about 10% of the population, Sikhs 1.3% and Jains 1%. The lingua franca is Hindi, but many dialects are spoken in the different regions. For example, Dhundari is spoken in Jaipur, Marwari in Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, Mewari around Udaipur and Harauti in Kota. None of these dialects has a distinct alphabet.
The caste system
Around 1500 B.C., a people from the Iranian plateau settled in northern India and established a new religious and social order. This is the beginning of the Vedic era, which will consecrate the founding texts of Hinduism and set up a caste system. The society is organized in 4 main categories, the varna, which means "rank" or "color" in Sanskrit. The Brahmins ensure the religious functions and intellectual professions are attached to them; the Kshatriyas are in charge of making war and ensuring the security of the territories; the Vaishyas are landowners or traders; the Shudras gather small farmers and breeders. The untouchables, also called dalit or harijan, form groups that do not fit into this stratification. They are considered impure by the members of the castes. The jati, which means "birth" or "species", correspond to professional activities (weavers, potters, shoemakers, etc.) or sometimes to ethnic groups. They form sub-castes. The surnames of Rajasthan refer to membership in the varna or jati. Thus, the name Chauhan evokes the Kshatriya caste or that of Prajapat the durry weaver's trade. The term caste appeared with the Portuguese who colonized Goa from the 16th century. They identified the organization of the society attached to a ritual purity, which they named casta, which means "race" or "species". In the nineteenth century, the British relied on the caste system to govern the people and passed laws applying to Indians based on their religion or caste identification. The Criminal Tribes Act passed in 1871 listed members of certain castes as hereditary criminals. Castes suspected of rebelling against colonial authority or whose ancestors had fought against the Mughals or the British were registered and restricted in their movements. The application of this law resulted in the exclusion of many communities considered criminal by birth. This was the case for the Jat in Rajasthan, the Gurjar in the Himalayas and the Maravar in southern India. The Indian constitution promulgated in 1950 forbids any discrimination based on the caste system, but it persists in people's minds. Seventy years of democracy have not abolished these age-old social rites. The urban middle classes, however, seem to attach less importance to purity and fall back on a socio-economic stratification in arranged marriages. The level of purity, while inducing great respect and a high place in society, is not linked to economic rank. Thus, many Brahmins live very poorly, their ritual obligations forbidding them any trade with other groups. Some untouchables have made a fortune by engaging in activities considered impure by others, such as leather work.
At the very bottom of the social ladder are the tribal populations called adivasi. These aborigines of India are considered the oldest inhabitants and were present before the Aryans or Dravidians. Affected by strong discrimination and a very high illiteracy rate, they struggle to preserve their ancestral ways of life. In order to promote the socio-economic development of untouchables and tribals, the Indian government reserves places for them in administrations and schools, thus confirming the survival of the caste system.
The tribes of Rajasthan
Sections 341 and 342 of the constitution define the concept of " scheduled tribes " and list them. A tribe can only be scheduled if it meets a list of criteria such as primitive characteristics, distinct culture, refusal to mix with other groups, geographical and social isolation... Twelve tribes have been listed in Rajasthan, some of which are subdivided into smaller groups.
The Meena. This sedentary tribe from the east of Rajasthan lives mainly from agriculture. They claim to be direct descendants of Matsya, the fish avatar of Vishnu, as meen
means "fish" in Sanskrit. It occupied the site of Amber before the Kachhwaha took it over. The approximately 4 million people who make up this community are considered the aborigines of the "land of princes". Today they are especially present in Shekhawati.The Bhil. The largest tribe of Rajasthan is settled in the south of the state. Its members were renowned for their archery skills and were faithful allies of the rulers of Mewar, the rana of Chittorgarh, in countering Mughal attacks. The Bhil have preserved animist rites. A big gathering is held every year in Baneshwar in January or February, the occasion to practice the ghoomar
, the traditional dance.The Damor.
This tribe of the south of Rajasthan traces its origins to the Rajputs. They live mainly from agriculture and manual work. They have their own language, Vagri, a derivative of Indo-Aryan. The Damor practice polygamy and pay a dowry to the bride's family at the time of the wedding.The Kathodi. This tribe considered to be on the verge of extinction is settled in the district of Udaipur. Originally from Maharashtra, they have their own pantheon of gods such as Dungar dev, Bagh dev, Bhari mata or Kansari mata. The name of the tribe is derived from their profession, which consisted of harvesting katha
(leaves and shoots) from khers, a shrub of the acacia family common in Rajasthan. The women do not wear jewelry, but they tattoo their bodies to beautify them.The Kanjar. The origin of the name of the tribe comes from the word " kananchar
" which means the one who wanders in the jungle. Its population is scattered between Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Alwar and Ajmer. The tribe has a bad reputation and was listed in the Criminal Tribes Act by the British in 1871. Considered as criminals and thieves, it is claimed that they have no door to their house but a window at the back to escape. The Kanjar are famous for their traditional dances and songs.The Sansi.
The members of this tribe live mainly around Bharatpur and Ajmer. They earn their living by making small handicrafts and poaching. As adults, they take an oath to their god Bhakar Bawaji, which forbids them to lie afterwards. Widows and widowers cannot remarry.The Banjara.
This tribe lives from itinerant trade in the Mewar region. However, Banjara can be found in Andra Pradesh, in the east of India. Their status as peddlers earned them the respect of the inhabitants of the isolated villages, who thanks to them could get supplies of cloth or salt. The tribe also played a media role in the desert regions by spreading the news.The Gadias Lohar.
These itinerant blacksmiths still travel the roads of Rajasthan with their large wooden carts. In the 11th century, they led a similar existence. Some of them would have settled in Mewar, where they were the appointed armourers of the Sisodya rulers. In 1568, they vowed not to have a house until the fortress of Chittorgarh was freed from the Mughal yoke. In the 1950's, Nehru would have proposed them to settle down after having symbolically taken them into the fortress.The Bawaria.
This community of hunters lost all source of activity following the prohibition of hunting promulgated in a law of protection of the wild life in 1972. Since then, this community wanders from town to town, with a reputation of thieves and criminals, poaching partridges or snakes which they exchange for a few rupees. The sedentarization of this tribe is made all the more difficult as they do not own any land and the established rural people refuse any coexistence with them. In several villages in Rajasthan where the Bawaria have tried to settle, huts have been burned down, water supplies have been denied, goat herds have been decimated, and finally the community has been driven out. Although several complaints were filed with the local authorities, few decisions were made in favor of the Bawaria.The Rabari. This community of nomadic herders lead their herds of camels and goats across the Thar Desert between Rajasthan and Gujarat. Their women are recognizable by their colorful clothing and massive silver jewelry.
