Rajput (rājaputra, "son of a king") is a prominent race and social group of India and Pakistan. They claim descent from the ancient royal dynasties of the region (the 36 royal races of the Rajputs). Rajput dynasties played a prominent role in the history of northern India. They developed an ethos of warlike chivalry that served as the benchmark for other Indian communities as the latter ascended to regional dominance. This martial ethos did not preclude patronage of the arts: distinctive forms of painting and architecture developed under the aegis of Rajput courts, and classical music found support. Thus, the Rajputs have contributed directly and indirectly to many facets of the Indian crasis.

The centuries from the death of Harsha to the Muslim conquest of Northern India, from the middle of the 7th century to the close of the 12th century, is called the Rajput Period. India assumed a new significance during this period in view of the continuous threat of the Persian invasion. Geographically, during this period the Rajputs were the pratiharas, or doorkeepers of India. India remained immune to foreign invasions.

The traditional occupations of the Rajputs are military and agriculture. Definitive origin for every present-day Rajput is widely recognised as being an exercise in futility. The origins of the Rajputs is lost in the past, and several versions appear in literature. However, both traditional legends and some scholarly speculations made by researchers put light on the origin of the Rajputs. The widely belief among the rajputs is their origins are either solar (suraj bansi), lunar (chandra bansi), or agnikula (fire sprung). One version of this history is provided by a leading Rajput historian from Lahore, Sardar Ali Ahmed Khan.

The Punjab Rajputs

The Rajputs of the Punjab are broadly divide into four groups. The Rajputs of the Delhi territory and Jumna valley, belonging to the great tribes of Chauhan and Tunwar which gave Delhi its most famous dynasties. Next come the Rajputs of the river valleys of the western plains belonging for the most part to the Bhatti of Jaiselmer and Bikaner, and their predecessors the Punwar. The third group is the Rajput of the western hills belonging to the Janjua and Mongol Rajputs and descendants of the Yadubansi (Bhatti) dynasty of Kashmir. Finally we have the Rajputs of the Kangra hills, so ancient that their origin and advent to the present abodes are lost in the past.

The most prominent of the Punjab Rajputs are Bhatti, Chauhan, Manj, Janjua, Varya (Brah), Gorewaha, and Khokar. The details on these are provided on linked pages. Others will be added as time permits. If you have an interest in any of the Rajput castes, let me know and I will look up the information from the several historical books on the Punjab (as time would allow).