RAJPUTANA

also called Rajwar, former group of princely states chiefly comprising what is now Rajasthan state, India. The name means land of the Rajputs. The area, 132,559 square miles (343,328 square km), consisted of two geographic divisions: the area northwest of the Aravalli Range, this being mostly sandy and unproductive and including part of the Great Indian (Thar) Desert; and the area southeast of the range, which is generally higher and more fertile. The whole area thus formed a compact block occupying the hill and plateau country between the north Indian plains and the main plateau of peninsular India. Rajputana consisted of 23 states, one chiefdom, one estate, and the British district of Ajmer-Merwara. The majority of ruling princes were Rajputs, warrior rulers of the historic region of Rajputana, who began to enter the area in the 7th century. The largest states were Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, and Udaipur. In 1947 the consolidation of states began by stages, as a result of which the state of Rajasthan came into being. Some of Rajputana's former territory in the southeast is now part of Madhya Pradesh, and some in the southwest is now part of Gujarat.