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Rājasthān (Devanāgarī:
राजस्थान) pronunciation (help·info) is the largest
state of the Republic of India in terms of area but
encompasses most of the area of the large
inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert) which
has an edge parallels the Sutlej-Indus river valley
along it's border with Pakistan. The region borders
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.
Rajasthan covers an area of 342,239 km² (132,139
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mi²). The state
capital is Jaipur. Geographical features include the
Thar Desert along north-western Rajasthan and the
termination of the Ghaggar River near the
archeological ruins at Kalibanga, which are the
oldest in the subcontinent discovered so far.
One of the world's oldest mountain ranges, the
Aravalli Range, cradles the only hill station of
Rajasthan, Mount Abu, and its world famous Dilwara
Temples. Eastern Rajasthan has two national tiger
reserves, Ranthambore and Sariska, as well as
Keoladeo National Park near Bharatpur, famous for
its bird life.Rajasthan was formed on 30th March
1949, when all erstwhile princely states merged into
India. The only difference between earstwhile
Rajputana and Rajasthan is that certain portions
governed directly by British Government
Ajmer-Merwara were included and portions lying
geographically out of Rajputana and belonging to
Tonk state were given to Madhya Pradesh. |
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