1 158-
2 JAT, EAJPUT, AND ALLIED CASTES. 157
3 '^ carious pursuit tlian submit to the disgrace. Some lounge away tteir time on tie tops of the
4 • hemes and on game aeculentally entangled iu, their nets; at last when fortune ^ant°
5 them success they despatch the prize to their friends helow, ^ho tame and instruct the bM
6 for the purpose of sale. Others will stay at home, and pas, their time in sporting either
7 wnth a hawk or, ,f they can afford it, with a gun : one Raiput beats the bush^ and the
8 of /hVdlv'-f f.' 'T'^ T''^ '° ""^ ^P/r^.''"" "--^ ^^■'">- *'-* "^-^^ t" the vi- At 'the clo'e
9 of the day, if they have been successful, they exchange the ^ame for a little meal, and thus pro!
10 long existence over another span. The marksman armed with a gun will sit u^ for wild p[l
11 returmngfrom the fields, and in the same manner barter their fleTh fcr other necessiS of [if?
12 However the prospect of stan-ation has already driven many to take the plough, and tl e ntunbe^-
13 of seceders da.ly increases. Our administration, though .iust and liberal, has a levell'nrten.
14 dency ; service is no longer to he procured ; and to many the stern alternative has arrived of tak-
15 ing to agriculture and securing comparative comfort, or enduring the pangs of hunger and death
16 f° l°°g a^ «".y resource remains the fatal step will be postponed, but it is easy to foresee that
17 the struggle cannot he long protracted ; necessity is a hard task-master, and sooner or iter the
18 press^e of want «-ill eventually overcome the scruples of the most bigoted
19 J^ext to the royal clans in social importance are those races with whom thev are connected
20 by marriage. The honour of the alliance draws them also «^thin the exclusive circle It if not
21 knL^° Sn^hprn V'T, "'^''^ ,^eparates the Rajputs from the clans immediately below hi and
22 known m the hills by the appellation of Rathi; the Muln would restrict the tei-ni (Ra pdt^
23 to those of roya descent ; the Rath i naturally seeks a broader definition, so as to include Ms o^
24 hetT'°.n^-tV *''^?"' I am nclined to think that the limit I have fi.;ed will be admitted^
25 < W^f 'n^ n " -^ "' l«'g't™ately entitled to rank as Rajputs who are themselves the mem^
26 bers of a roj-^1 clan, or are connected n marriage ,,^th them.' Among these (second-class) tribw
27 ^Uln^l?: f^'^n "' *^'-i^?^''' -^"r^^- "°'l ^""'^'^ I'^.iP"*^- The two former are indeed
28 branches of the Jammuwal clan to which they are considered but little inferior. They occasional-
29 of ^^^7;,? *'^\^^l"t?t'°" °f J_?.' Dya and very few of them engage in agriculture, inother clis
30 of Rajputs who enjoy great distinction in the hills are the descendants of ancient pettv chiefs or
31 Ranas whose title and tenui-e generally preceded even the Rajas themselves. These petty chiefs
32 have long since been dispossessed, and their holdings absorbed in the larger principaliti-es wh'eh
33 < for t^ • i fr ■' *"'*'"' "5*^"* ""'* °^ *'^« ^"^*°"' "f R'ijP'it'- They select secluded spoS
34 for their dwellings, immure their women, are very particular with whom thev marry or betroth
35 " ti^crxiVhe's.^?""'"-^- '"''''' '° "^™^*"- ''^ '"^'^ p-*-''- --'^^^ ^'^^ ^^
36 .1, u^,V^i'-^^''"' W,l°*'*''' ^''^* t^"*' ^1'^ now-a-days not many even of
37 the better Kajput families who do not themselves do evei'y kind of field work
38 other than ploughing. He also points out that the EaWts of the second
39 grade might more properly be caUcd Thakars of the first grade. For the ab-
40 sence of any definite line of demarcation between Rajput and Thakar, see the
41 extracts quoted under the head Thakar (section 459). Finally I may state
42 that thioughout^the Hill States, the Eajputs of proximate descent fi'om ruling
43 chiefs entered themselves in the present Census as Kshatriyas, to distinguish
44 themselvTs from mere Rajputs. I have taken two figures together. The Raj-
45 puts of the sub-montane of Hushyarpur, Jalandhar, and Ambala differ little if
46 at all from those of the Eastern Plains who have already been described. The
47 tollowmg Kangra proverbs illustmte Mr. Barnes' description of the Hill Raj-
48 puts . It is bad to deal with a Rajput ; sometimes you get double value,
49 ^^ and some imes nothing at aU : " and « A Rajput's wedding is like a fire of
50 maize stalks ; great rolling of drams, and veiy little to eat."
51 Abstract No 82 on the next page* gives the figures for the several tribes
52 roughly grouped by locality, those of the higher hiUs coming first, then those
53 ot HushyaiTur, and then those of Jalandhar and Ambala. Many of these are
54 mere local clans named after their principal seats. It is probable that all these
55 royal families sprang from a common stock, but all traces of what that stock
56 was seem to be lost in obscm-ity. Unfortunately the Settlement Reports give
57 httle or no mfomation regarding these tiibes or clans ; while Mr. Coldstream's
58 report, from which I had hoped for much information, is whoUy silent on the