Rajasthani people
| राजस्थाणी लोग | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 70 Million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|
Primary populations in: Rajasthan, India. |
|
| Languages | |
| Rajasthani language, Hindi-Urdu | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity, Zorastrianism, Judaism, Bahá'í |
Primary populations in:
The Rajasthani people are the native inhabitants of Rajasthan ("the land of kings") region of India. Their language Rajasthani is a part of the western group of Indo-Aryan languages.
The first mention of word Rajasthan comes from the works of George Thomas (Military Memories) and James Tod (Annals). Rajasthan literally means a Land of Kingdoms. However, western Rajasthan with eastern Gujarat were part of "Gurjaratra" or Gurjarabhumi, land of Gurjars. The local dialects of the time use the expression Rājwār, the place or land of kings, later corrupted by the British to Rajputana.
Although history of Rajasthan goes back as far as Indus Valley Civilization, the foundation of Rajasthani community took shape with the rise of Western Middle Kingdoms such as Western Kshatrapas. Western Kshatrapas (35-405 BC) were rulers of the western part of India (Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Southern Sindh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan). They were successors to the Indo-Scythians who invaded the area of Ujjain and established the Saka era (with Saka calendar), marking the beginning of the long-lived Saka Western Satraps kingdom.Saka calendar (also been adopted as Indian national calendar) is used by Rajasthani community and adjoining areas such as Punjab and Haryana. With time their social structures got stronger reorganizations giving birth to several martial sub ethnic groups (previously called as Martial race but now obsolete term). Rajasthanis emerged as major merchants during medieval India. Rajasthan was among the important centers of trade with Rome, eastern Mediterranean and southeast Asia.
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