R’jputર’જપૂત

The account

The R’jputs of Saurashtra form a caste distinct from the Rajputs — the name is written with an apostrophe precisely to keep the two apart. In older records they appear as “degraded” or “low” Rajputs; the R’jputs are the aggregate of such groups, who over time acquired this separate name.

They were formed mostly of Rajputs who lost their land and, with it, the means to keep the old customs. The line between the two is drawn by practice: R’jputs allow widow remarriage, their women work in the fields and are not secluded, and divorce and levirate are permitted — all forbidden to the Rajputs. Rajputs would interdine and share the hookah with them, but would not, traditionally, give or take daughters in marriage.

Among themselves the R’jputs are further divided into the Jadi Pachhedi (‘coarse-clothing’) and Jeeni Pachhedi (‘fine-clothing’) groups, each tending to marry within itself. The five groups below form a loosely graded order.