history of rajasthan in own words...200 words...plss tell its URGENT..
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A popular Indian saying is that the state of Rajasthan alone has more history than the rest of the country put together. Given that its name literally translates as ‘the land of kings’, perhaps the idea holds some truth. From war-ravaged forts to elaborate palaces, Rajasthan is a landscape strewn with the legacies of human endeavour, tenacity, skill and ruthlessness.
Back Where It All Began
The desert and arid areas of Rajasthan have been home to humans for several thousand years. Excavations in Kalibangan, near Ganganagar in northern Rajasthan, have unearthed terracotta pottery and jewellery dating back to around 3000 BC – evidence of the region's earliest known settlements. Some of these urban centres were presumably absorbed into the Harappan segment of the Indus Valley civilisation, where they flourished until the settlement was mysteriously abandoned 3700 years ago. The mass exodus, possibly triggered by flooding or a severe climatic change, rendered the region devoid of human settlement for some time, until indigenous tribes such as the Bhils and the Minas moved in to set up their own squabbling small kingdoms, thereby commencing the long history of argumentative neighbours in the region.
But even as the tribes tore away at each other, another civilisation was sprouting in the fertile plains to the east of Rajasthan, between the rivers Yamuna and Ganga (Ganges), out of the seminomadic Indo-European race known as Aryans or ‘noblemen’. It was in this civilisation that Hinduism first evolved as a religious tradition and a way of life, along with a complex patriarchal social structure and the tiered caste system that the greater Indian society adheres to even today. By 1000 BC, the province had seen the establishment of at least two prominent kingdoms: the Matsya territory of Viratnagar encompassing Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli; and Indraprastha, the earliest-known incarnation of Delhi, which was successively built on by several dynasties to come.
Little is known of Rajasthan’s development at this time, as the mighty empires that were then strengthening their hold on the subcontinent largely chose to pass over the state. Alexander the Great, who reached as far as Punjab on his epic campaign to conquer the 'known world', was forced to return when his troops, homesick and weary after the campaign, convinced him to retreat. The Mauryan empire (323–185 BC) had minimal impact too, largely due to its most renowned emperor, Ashoka, taking to nonviolent ways after he converted to Buddhism. In stark contrast to the atrocities he had inflicted on the eastern Indian kingdom of Kalinga, the only evidence Ashoka left of his reign in Rajasthan were Buddhist caves and stupas (Buddhist shrines) near Jhalawar, rock-cut edicts at Bairat, and an ancient Buddhist site near Sariska Tiger Reserve & National Park. Plus there's a 13m-high pillar he inscribed in Delhi.
Marauding Huns & the Advent of Kings
The insulation that Rajasthan enjoyed through its early years came to an abrupt end during the 5th century AD, when armies of fierce Hun warriors rode in from Central Asia to carry out a series of pillaging raids across North India. These raids were to alter the course of the region’s history in two major ways. To begin with, they resulted in the disintegration of the Gupta dynasty, which had taken over from the Mauryas as a central power and had reigned over the country from 320 to 550. But, more importantly, they triggered a parallel invasion, as the Rajputs finally came to make Rajasthan their home and, in the absence of an overarching monarchy, grew from strength to strength to usher in the golden age of Rajasthan.
Historical evidence suggests that the Rajputs (their name meaning ‘children of kings’) fled their homelands in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to settle in Rajasthan, primarily to escape the wrath of the White Huns (and later the Arabs), who had begun to storm in from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Once they had arrived in Rajasthan, the Rajputs trampled over the Bhils and Minas and set up their own small fiefdoms in the face of mounting local chaos. Though they largely belonged to the lower rungs of Hindu society, volatile circumstances demanded that the Rajputs don the role of warriors, if only to fend off further advances by foreign invaders. So in spite of rigid social norms, which didn’t allow for any kind of self-promotion, early Rajput clans such as the Gurjara Pratiharas crossed the caste barriers to proclaim themselves Kshatriyas, members of the warrior class, who came second only to the Brahmins (priests) in the caste hierarchy.
Explanation:
Answer:
The state of Rajasthan in India has a history dating thousands of years. It was the site of the Indus Valley Civilization. The early medieval period saw the rise of the Mughal Empire. The Mughals granted high positions to Rajput rulers who allied with them. However, some Rajput kingdoms did not accept Mughal suzerainty and were constantly at war with them. The Mughal rule effectively ended in the 18th century, when the Maratha Empire conquered much of the subcontinent.
Maratha rule was soon replaced by British rule in India. The British also made allies out of local rulers, who were allowed to rule their princely states. This period was marked by famines and economic exploitation. However, the British period also saw the growth of railways, telegraph and modern industry in the region. After Indian Independence in 1947, the various princely states of Rajasthan were integrated into India.