Rajasthan is the Largest Steate in the Republic of India

Rajasthan is the largest state in the Republic of India; its name means "the Land of Kings". This state of India was formed and moved into the Republic on March 30 1949, previously it had been ruled by Rajputs as a princely state, but shifted under the Republic's control once India gained independence from Great Britain.

The state covers most of the Thar Desert and shares borders with 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.

The total area of the state is 132,150 square miles, and takes up about 10% of India. Jaipur is the capital of this state, which displays some of India's interesting geography .

The state sports both desert areas at lower elevations, and more fertile areas at higher elevations. These two very different features of the state are essentially separated by the Aravali Mountain Range, which contains Mount Abu. Mount Abu is famous for its sacred Jain temples, known as the Dilwara Temples.

It also boasts Keoladeo National Park, which is a World Heritage Park, and it has two famous Tiger Reserves called Ranthambore and Sariska within its borders as well. In addition to the tigers, the state is well known for the many species of birds that are found in the land as well. The region's climate is dry desert 9 months of the year and monsoons three months of the year.

The famous Indus Valley Civilization was located in parts of present day Rajasthan. The Indian tribes of the Meenas, Yadavs, Jats, Bhils, Gurjars, Bishnois and other tribes made contributions to building and protecting the state. One of the greatest ruling tribes was the Gurjars. They protected the region and controlled most of North India for some time. It is widely believed that the protection of the Gurjars prevented wider Muslim spread into the region during India's Medieval Period .

The economy is mostly supported by pastoral agriculture. The region produces wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, oil seeds, cotton, polyester, opium and tobacco. It is India's biggest wool producing state, which is it is famous for textiles and why so many beautiful rugs and clothing items come from this state.

In addition, it does well in the mining mining salts, zinc, copper, marble and other precious stones. The Taj Mahal was actually built from white marble that was mined from this state's town of Makrana. It is also India's biggest destination for IT companies.

It is also famous for is its tourist destinations! It's home of Jaipur Palace, Forts of Jodhpur, Lakes of Udaipur and much more. It is famous for majestic forts and intricately carved temples, which were built by various kings of the past.

Palaces in the state include Jantar Mantar, Dilwara Temples, Chittorgarh Fort, the Lake Palace, City Palaces, Jaisalmer Havelis, which all boast gorgeous architecture.

Rajasthan is also well known for excellent shopping. It's famous for textiles, semi-precious stones and hand-crafted art. Even the furniture here is carefully carved for artistic appeal and a rich Indian culture feeds the artistic designs that we see all over Rajasthan.

The religion that is most widely followed by the people is Hinduism ; more than eighty-eight percent of the population is Hindu. The most common languages spoken are Rajasthani, and Hindi. English is also spoken quite often as a second or third language for Rajasthanis.

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