Rajasthan-facts & figures

Context & History:

History Rājasthān (Hindi: राजस्थान, Rajasthani: राजस्थाण, pronounced [raːdʒəsˈt̪ʰaːn] (listen)) the land of Rajasthanis, ("the land of kings"[1] or "the land of colours"[2]), is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan. The state is bordered by Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers an area of 132,150 sq mi or 342,239 km². The proportion of the state's total area to the total area of the country is 10.41 per cent.

The first mention of word Rajasthan comes from the work of James Tod (Annals) in 1829 A.D. Rajasthan literally means a Land of Kingdoms. George Thomas (Military Memories) was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana. John Keay in his book, India: A History stated that the Rajputana name was coined by the British, but that the word even achieved a retrospective authenticity: in an 1829 translation of Ferishta's history of early Islamic India, John Briggs discarded the phrase Indian princes, as rendered in Dow's earlier version, and substituted Rajpoot princes. Rajasthan was essentially the country of the Gurjars. R. C. Majumdar explained that the region was long known as Gurjaratra that is Country protected or ruled by the Gurjars, early form of Gujarat, before it came to be called Rajputana.

The only difference between erstwhile Rajputana and Rajasthan is that certain portions of what had been British India, in the former province of Ajmer-Merwara, were included. Portions lying geographically outside of Rajputana such as the Sumel-Tappa area were included in Madhya Pradesh.[8]

Demographics

Population Growth

Rajasthan has a mainly Rajasthani population. Hindus account for 88.8% of the population. Muslims make up 8.5%, Sikhs 1.4% and Jains 1.2% of the population. The state of Rajasthan is also populated by Sindhis, who came to Rajasthan from Sindh province (now in Pakistan) during the India-Pakistan separation in 1947.

The mother tongue of the majority of people in Rajasthan is Rajasthani. Rajasthani and Hindi are the most widely used languages in Rajasthan. Rajasthani is used as a medium of instruction, along with Hindi and English, in some schools. Some other languages used in Rajasthan are Gujarati, Sindhi and Punjabi.

Education

Non-formal education center in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Educational program by Seva Mandir, an NGO working for the development of the rural and tribal population in Udaipur and Rajsamand districts of southern Rajasthan

During recent years, Rajasthan has made significant progress in the area of education. The state government has been making sustained efforts to improve the educational standard. In recent decades, the literacy rate of Rajasthan has increased significantly. In 1991, the state's literacy rate was only 38.55% (54.99% male and 20.44% female). In 2001, the literacy rate increased to 60.41% (75.70% male and 43.85% female). This was the highest leap in the percentage of literacy recorded in India (the rise in female literacy being 23%). At the Census 2011, Rajasthan had a literacy rate of 67.06% (80.51% male and 52.66% female). Although Rajasthan's literacy rate is below the national average of 74.04% and although its female literacy rate is the lowest in the country (closely followed by Bihar at 53.33%), the state has been praised for its efforts and achievements in raising both male and female literacy rates.

Key information:

•          Population: 68.6 million (2011 Census, estimated at more than 68 million now)

•          Cities and Towns: 222

•          Major cities: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner Bharatpur, Alwar, Bhilwara, Sri Ganganagar, Sikar and Hanumangarh.

•          Roads: 1,51,914 km. (8,798 km National Highway)

•          National highways crossing Rajasthan: Delhi-Ahmedabad, Agra-Bikaner, Jaipur-Bhopal, Bhatinda-Kandla, Shivpuri-Kota, Kota-Udaipur and Pali-Ambala.

•          Climate: Generally dry with monsoon during July–August

•          Districts: 33

•          Languages: English and Hindi commonly used, as well as indigenous Rajasthani languages, Braj Bhasha etc.

•          Literacy: 67.063%(According to Census2011)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthan