Culture and ethos

The Rajputs were designated by the British as a "Martial Race." The martial race was a designation created by officials of British India to describe "races" (ethnic groups) that were thought to be naturally warlike and aggressive in battle and to possess qualities like courage, loyalty, self sufficiency, physical strength, resilience, orderliness, a hard working nature, a fighting tenacity, and military strategy. The British recruited heavily from these "martial races" for service in the colonial army.^[10][11]

[edit] Jauhar and Saka

Two distinctive practices of the Rajput, when faced with defeat by an invaders, were jauhar, the ritual self-immolation of women to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy, and saka, a ride into battle by the Rajput men with the expectation of inevitable death.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Rajput lifestyle

The Rajput lifestyle was designed to foster a martial spirit, with men even forging a bond with their sword.^[12] The double-edged scimitar known as the khanda was a popular weapon among the Rajputs of that era. On special occasions, a primary chief would break up a meeting of his vassal chiefs with khanda nariyal, the distribution of daggers and coconuts. Another affirmation of the Rajput's reverence for his sword was the Karga Shapna ("adoration of the sword") ritual, performed during the annual Navaratri festival, after which a Rajput is considered "free to indulge his passion for rapine and revenge".^[13]

By the late 19th century, there was a shift of focus among Rajputs from politics to a concern with kinship.^[14] Many Rajputs of Rajasthan are nostalgic about their past and keenly conscious of their genealogy, emphasizing a Rajput ethos that is martial in spirit, with a fierce pride in lineage and tradition.^[15]

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The tradition of common ancestry permits a poor Rajput yeoman to consider himself as well born as any powerful landholder of his clan, and superior to any high official of the professional classes. No race in India can boast of finer feats of arms or brighter deeds of chivalry, and they form one of the main recruiting fields for the Indian army of the day. They consider any occupation other than that of arms or government derogatory to their dignity, and consequently during the long period of peace which has followed the establishment of the British rule in India, they have been content to stay idle at home instead of taking up any of the other professions in which they might have come to the front.