Rajput caste is surname of many people in southern India. Rajput caste meaning is The Rajputs (Sanskrit, raja-putra, son of a king) have been defined2 as the warrior and land-owning race of Northern India, who are also known as Thakur, lord, or Chhatri, the modern representative of the ancient Kshatriya. At the Madras census, 1891 and 1901, the number of individuals, who returned themselves as Rajputs, was 13,754 and 15,273. It needs, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,3 but a cursory examination of the sub-divisions returned under the head Rajput to show that many of these individuals have no claim whatever to the title of Rajput. The number of pure Rajputs in this Presidency must be very small indeed, and I only mention the caste in order to explain that the number of persons returning it is far in excess of the actual number of Rajputs. Mr. Stuart writes further4 concerning the Rajputs of the North Arcot district that there are but few of this caste in the district, and they chiefly reside in Vellore; a few families are also found in Chittoor and Tirupati. They assert that they are true Kshatriyas who came from Rajputana [242]with the Muhammadan armies, and they, more than any other claimants to a Kshatriya descent, have maintained their fondness for military service. Almost all are sepoys or military pensioners. Their names always end with Singh, and in many of their customs they resemble the Muhammadans, speaking Hindustani, and invariably keeping their wives gosha. They are often erroneously spoken of by the people as Bondilis, a term which is applicable only to the Vaisya and Sudra immigrants from Northern India; but doubtless many of these lower classes have taken the title Singh, and called themselves Rajputs. Members of the caste are, therefore, very suspicious of strangers professing to be Rajputs. Their cooking apartment, called chowka, is kept most religiously private, and a line is drawn round it, beyond which none but members of the family itself may pass. At marriages and feasts, for the same reason, cooked food is never offered to the guests, but raw grain is distributed, which each cooks in a separate and private place.
It is noted,5 in connection with the battle of Padmanabham in the Vizagapatam district, in 1794, that no correct list of the wounded was ever procured, but no less than three hundred and nine were killed. Of these two hundred and eight were Rajputs, and the bodies of forty Rajputs, of the first rank in the country, formed a rampart round the corpse of Viziarama Razu. Padmanabham will long be remembered as the Flodden of the Rajputs of Vizianagram.
Rajput caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Rajput caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Rajput caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Rajput caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Rajput caste is also known as Rajput Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don?t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.