Exploring Pre-Colonial Rajasthan from Ecological Perspective: A Study of Mughul Suba of Ajmer

Abstract

Pre-colonial Rajasthan studies have primarily focused on the grandeur of the Rajput monarchy at one level and the study of Rajasthan's feudal culture at the other. However, whether the history of Rajasthan should be read and understood as the history of Rajput glorification or simply as the history of its desert, needs further debate. Further, this dominant characterization of historical writings has been responsible for neglecting the significance of the inherent ecological and cultural diversity of Rajasthan. Whatever ecological diversity has been undertaken earlier is usually related to regional politics or dynastic-centric narratives. However, the fact is that a significant portion of the environmental diversity of Rajasthan is epistemologically untenable. The present paper will bridge the gap by focusing on contemporary sources. This paper has been split into two parts; in the first part, an attempt has been made to study the physiographical features of the region; besides that, the present paper will venture to explore the landform, climate, vegetation, and their engagement with the human. Furthermore, our analysis indicates a different set of questions to further examine human-nature relation in Rajasthan.