The rights and privileges assigned to rfijfis by treaty and usage are manifold and varied. But all rAjfis are precluded from waging war against an external foe save with the permission of the British Government, and so none can be said to be independent in the fullest sense of the word. At the same time there are several princes in India who titularly hold that status, in so far, that is, as they possess the right to administer their kingdom according to their own notions of justice and equity; but even in these instances, and they are few, British residents are attached to the various courts, charged to advise in the interests of good government and righteous dealing. Such officers seldom fail to secure a powerful influence, and it is not often that their counsel is disregarded or their representations pass unheeded. More than this, when flagrant injustice occurs the British Government is occasionally compelled to interfere, and instances are not wanting when a raja has been deposed, notwithstanding a clause in his treaty forbidding the intervention of the British Government in the affairs of his state. Such cases, which are not frequent, are justified by political necessity. In many instances native chiefs are allowed by treaty to maintain a military force, but at the present time the troops principally serve to gratify the cravings of Eastern potentates for the outward and visible signs of power.

Rdj4s of lesser note retain a semblance of power so far as concerns questions of minor importance, but in grave cases involving issues of life and death the officer attached to the court reviews and, should it be necessary, modifies or reverses the decrees which may be passed. Chieftains in this category do not even enjoy the appearance of independence, though in many instances they are allowed to keep a body of military retainers.

Other r&jds are merely large and wealthy landholders with no sovereign rights or privileges, resembling in many respects the territorial magnates of Great Britain; while in some instances the term is simply a title of distinction unconnected with the possession of land or power.

Scarcely less complex and varied are the conditions which regulate succession to the rAj ships of India: in some instances adoption is admitted, in other cases collateral succession is accepted, while again there are occasions when the customs of the family are a potent factor in the choice of an heir. It might have been supposed perhaps that the salute could be fairly taken as indicative of the status of the chief to whom it is assigned; but in reality such an assumption would be most misleading, for not unfrequently the number of guns was fixed in bygone years, and the lapse of time has made numerous and essential changes in the status of the various chieftains. So much is this the case that it has never been settled authoritatively what chiefs are entitled to claim the Western prefix of “highness.”

The chief rivers of Rajputana are the Loni, the Chambal, and the Banas. The first of these, the only river of any consequence in the north-western division, flows for 200 miles from the Pukar valley, close to Ajmere, to the Runn of Cutch. In the southeastern division the river system is important. The Chambal is by far the largest river in Rajputana, through which it flows for about one-third of its course, while it forms its boundary for another third. The source of the river is in the highlands of the Vindhyas, upwards of 2000 feet above the sea; it enters the province at Chaurasgarh in Mewar and soon becomes a considerable stream, collecting in its course the waters of other rivers, and finally discharging itself into the Jumna after a course of 560 miles. Next in importance ranks the Banas, which rises in the south-west near Kankraoli in Mewar. It collects nearly all the drainage of the Mewar plateau with that of the eastern slopes and hill-tracts of the Aravallis, and joins the Chambal a little beyond the northeastern extremity of the Bundi state, after a course of about 300 miles. Other rivers are the W. Banas and the Sabarmati, which rise among the south-west hills of Mewar and take a south-westerly course. The river Mahi, which passes through the states of Partab-garh and Banswara, receiving the Som, drains the south-west corner of Rajputana through Gujrat into the gulfs of Cutch and Cambay. Rajputana possesses no natural freshwater lakes, but there are several important artificial lakes, all of which have been constructed with the object of storing water. The only basin of any extent is the Sambhar salt lake, of about 50 miles in circuit.

Geologically considered the country may be divided into three regions,—a central, and the largest, comprising the whole width of the Aravalli system, formed of very old sub-metamorphic and gneissic rocks; an eastern region, with sharply defined boundary, along which the most ancient formations are abruptly replaced by the great basin of the Vindhyan strata, or are overlaid by the still more extensive spread of the Deccan trap, forming the plateau of Malwa; and a western region, of very ill-defined margin, in which, besides some rocks of undetermined age, it is more or less known or suspected that Tertiary and Secondary strata stretch across from Sind, beneath the sands of the desert, towards the flanks of the Aravallis. Rajputana produces a variety of metals. Ore of cobalt is obtained in no other locality in India, and although zinc blend has been found elsewhere it is known to have been extracted only in this province. Copper and lead are found in several parts of the Aravalli range and of the minor ridges in Ulwur and Shekha-wati, and iron ores abound in several states. Alum and blue vitriol (sulphate of copper) are manufactured from decomposed schists at Khetri in Shekhawati. Good building materials are obtained from many of the rocks of the country, amongst which the Raialo limestone (a fine-grained crystalline marble) and the Jaisalmir (Jeysulmere) limestone stand pre-eminent.

Rajputana is of great archseologic interest, and possesses some fine religious buildings in ruins and others in excellent preservation. Amongst the latter are the mosque at Ajmere and the temples on Abu. But the finest and most characteristic features of architecture in the country are shown in the forts and palaces of the chiefs and in their cenotaphs.

Herds of camels, horses, and sheep are found wherever there is pasturage, and in the desert and in the southern part of the country wild asses, nylghau, and antelopes, besides lions, leopards, tigers, wolves, hyienas, jackals, and foxes, are met with.

The climate throughout Rajputana is very dry and hot during summer; while in the winter it is much colder in the north than in the lower districts, with hard frost and ice on the Bikanir borders. The rainfall is very unequally distributed: in the western part, which comes near to the limits of the rainless region of Asia, it is very scanty, and scarcely averages more than 5 inches; in the south-west the fall is more copious, sometimes exceeding 100 inches at Abu; but, except in the south-west highlands of the Aravallis, rain is most abundant in the south-east. Notwithstanding all its drawbacks, Rajputana is reckoned one of the healthiest countries in India, at least for the native inhabitants.

Population .—The census of 1881, which was the first general enumeration of population in Rajputana since England’s connexion with India, gave a total number (including Ajmere division) of 10,729,114. Of these 166,343 were Bhils; but no accurate census could be taken of these people owing to their repugnance to bo counted. Exclusive of Bhils, the population numbered 10,562,771 (5,710,337 males, 4,852,434 females). The following statement gives the area and population of the several states and of the British division of Ajmere :— [table]

The great mass of the people are Hindus, numbering in 1881 (excluding Bhils) 9,215,272, as against 919,556 Mohammedans and 3519 Christians. Among, the Hindus the paucity of Rajputs is remarkable. It is commonly supposed that, because nearly the whole country is ruled by Rajputs, therefore the population consists mainly of Rajput tribes; but these are merely the dominant race, and the territory is called Rajputana because it is politically possessed by Rajputs. The whole number of this race is roughly estimated at 700,000, and nowhere do they form a majority of the whole population in a state; but they are strongest, numerically, in the northern states and in Mewar. By rigid precedence the Brahmans occupy the first rank; they are numerous and influential, and with them may be classed the peculiar and important caste of Charans or Bhats, the keepers of secular tradition and of the genealogies. Next come the mercantile castes, mostly belonging to the Jaina sect of Hinduism; these are followed by the powerful cultivating tribes, such as the Jats and Gujars, and then come the non-Hindu or so-called aboriginal tribes, chief of whom are the Minas, Bhils, and Mhairs.

The mass of the people are occupied in agriculture. In the large towns banking and commerce flourish to a degree beyond what would be expected for so backward a country. In the north the staple products for export are salt, grain, wool, and cotton, in the south opium and cotton; while the imports consist of sugar, hardware, and piece goods. Rajputana is very poor in industrial production. The principal manufactures are salt, cotton, and woollen goods, carvings in ivory, and working in metals, &c., all of which handicrafts are chiefly carried on in the eastern states. The system of agriculture is very simple; in the country west of the Aravallis only one crop is raised in the year, while in other parts south and east of the Aravallis two crops are raised annually, and various kinds of cereals, pulses, and fibres are grown.

History .—Only faint outlines can be traced of the condition of Rajputana previous to the invasion of Upper India by the Mohammedans, and these indicate that the country was subject for the most part to two or three very powerful tribal dynasties. Chief of these were the Ralitors, who ruled at Kanauj; the Cliauhans of Ajmere; the Solankhyas of Anhilwara, in Gujrat; the Gehlots with the Sesodia sept, still in Mewar or Udaipur; and the Kachwaha clan, still in Jaipur. These tribal dynasties of Rajputs were gradually supplanted by the Moslem invaders of the 11th century and weakened by internal feuds. At the beginning of the 16th century the Rajput power began to revive, but only to be overthrown by Baber at Fatelipur Sikri in 1527. The clans were finally either conquered, overawed, or conciliated by Akbar—all except the distant Sesodia clan, which, however, submitted to Jahangir in 1616. From Akbar’s accession to Aurangzeb’s death, a period of 151 years, the mogul was India’s master. Aurangzeb’s death and the invasion of Nadir Shah led to a triple alliance among the three leading chiefs, which internal jealousy so weakened that the Mahrattas, having been called in by the Rahtors to aid them, took possession of Ajmere about 1756; thenceforward Rajputana became involved in the general disorganization of India. By 1803 nearly the whole of Rajputana had been virtually subdued by the Mahrattas. The victories of Generals Wellesley and Lake, however, saved the Rajputs; but on Wellington’s departure from India the floodgates of anarchy were reopened for ten years. On the outbreak of the Pindari War in 1817 the British Government offered its protection. The Pindaris were put down, Amir Khan submitting and signing a treaty which constituted him the first ruler of the existing state of Tonk. By the end of 1818 similar treaties had been executed by the other Rajput states with the paramount power. Sindhia gave up the district of Ajmere to the British, and the pressure of the great Mahratta powers upon Rajputana was permanently withdrawn. Since then the political history of Rajputana has been comparatively uneventful. The great storm of the mutinies of 1857, though dangerous while it lasted, was short. The capture of the town of Kotah, which had been held by the mutineers of that state, in March 1858, marked the extinction of armed rebellion in the province.

Population .—The census of 1881 gave a population, almost entirely rural, of 1,338,638 (males 660,226, females 678,412). Of this number 288,749 were returned as Hindus, 1,049,700 as Mohammedans, and only 121 as Christians. The only town with over 10,000 inhabitants was Rampur Beauleah (19,228), which is the chief town and administrative headquarters of the district. This town is situated on the north bank of the Ganges in 24° 22' N. lat. and 88° 39' E. long.; it is of modern growth and is built for the most part on river alluvia. It was formerly the seat of the Dutch and East India Company’s factories, and is still a centre of the silk and indigo trade.

Rice is the staple crop of the district; other cereal crops are wheat, barley, and Indian corn, which are grown to a small extent; among miscellaneous crops are indigo, sugar-cane, mulberry, and tobacco. Ganja is also grown in a small tract to the north of the district. Silk spinning and weaving and the preparation of indigo are the chief manufactures, but these are now both declining. The total revenue of Rajshahi in 1883-84 amounted to £123,098, towards which the land-tax contributed £88,584.

History .—When the East India Company took over the administration of Bengal in 1765 Rajshahi was one of the largest and most important districts in the province. It appears to have extended from Bhagulpur on the west to Dacca on the east, and to have included an important subdivision called Nij-Chakla Rajshahi on the south of the Ganges, which extended over a great portion of what now lies within the districts of Murshidabad, Nuddea, Jessore, Birbhum, and Burdwan. The total area was estimated at 12,909 square miles, or more than five times the size of the present district. Having been found much too large to be effectually administered by one central authority, Rajshahi was stripped by Government in 1793 of a considerable portion of its outlying territory, and a natural boundary-line was drawn to the west, south, and east along the Ganges and Brahmaputra. Its north-western limits were reduced in 1813, when the present district of Maldah was constituted. The erection of Bogra into a separate jurisdiction in 1821 still further reduced its area; and in 1832 the limits of Rajshahi were finally fixed very much at their present lines by the constitution of Pabna into an independent jurisdiction.