write short note on medieval rajput men and women
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The past looms large in the self-understanding of Rajputs living in all parts of Rajasthan. Most experience a persistent nostalgia for their former lifestyle and its privileges. Thus in Mewar when Rajput men gather together to sip scotch and socialize, they often speak of those days in which they ruled and hunted or those more remote times in which their ancestors ruled and waged war against one another.[1] Continually stirring memories of bygone days are the tiger skins and other hunting trophies on their walls, the coats of arms above their entryways, the hand-colored photographs of royalty in their parlors, and their various heirlooms—ivory-inlaid swords, elaborate bridles, the occasional silver throne.
Doubtless intensifying this nostalgia are the particular circumstances of Rajasthan's recent history. In 1947, when the princely states of Rajasthan were combined into a single political unit, the state of Rajasthan, Rajputs were simply not prepared for democracy.[2] In 1818, when the Rajput rulers signed treaties with the British, they had been able to continue as heads of their respective states. Their power to govern was often ambiguous, but it was by no means nominal. When 1947 arrived,
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the institutional changes that had taken over a century to evolve elsewhere in India where there was direct British rule, now were implemented by the central Indian government immediately. To an overwhelming extent, the Rajputs had no part in the process of political transformation.[3] Hence Independence was for them a sudden and bewildering shock. They saw their way of life radically transformed in a very short time. Now, over forty years later, many still speak of themselves as hereditary rulers and so implicitly (or even explicitly) claim that they are the rightful rulers. In short, they are still adjusting.
Nevertheless, Rajput nostalgia has not always resulted in merely reactionary attitudes toward change. Many Rajputs say that their aristocratic and martial heritage has inspired them to adapt to the privations brought about by their loss of legal title and power. They feel that facing the future requires holding on to the values that helped their forebears face defeat in former days.[4] To take account of current Rajput constructions of caste and gender duties, it will be useful to become acquainted with the Rajput past and the ethos it has bequeathed.
Genealogy and Identity
Rajputs are keenly conscious of their genealogy, certain divisions within which are highly important features in the construction of personal identity. These segmentary kinship units locate the Rajput in contexts of family history and locality. The largest kinship unit within the Rajput jati (caste; literally, type or genus) is the vamsh (very roughly translatable as family in its broadest sense). In Rajasthan there are three great vamsh : sun, moon, and fire.[5] Rajputs understand themselves to be descended from these sacred phenomena, The vamsh to which the ruling family of Mewar belongs is the solar family, this identification being succinctly made in the Udaipur coat of arms, in which appears a great sun with a stern mustached visage. It is prominently displayed above the great central entrance to the City Palace.
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