Rajput (from Sanskrit rājaputra, meaning "son of a king"), also referred to as Thakur, is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups originating from the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The community shares a common social status and an ideology of genealogical descent. While the derivation from rājaputra suggests royal lineage, this characterisation is somewhat misleading: although many Rajputs belonged to ruling clans, the majority were common agricultural cultivators whose primary livelihood came from farming.
The term Rajput encompasses various patrilineal clans historically associated with warriorhood. Several clans claim Rajput status, though not all such claims are universally accepted. According to modern scholarship, almost all Rajput clans trace their origins to peasant or pastoral communities. Over time, Rajputs emerged as a social class drawing from a variety of ethnic and geographical backgrounds. Between the 12th and 16th centuries, membership of this class became largely hereditary, although fresh claims to Rajput status continued to be advanced in subsequent centuries.
Several Rajput-ruled kingdoms played a notable role across many regions of central and northern India from the seventh century onwards. The Rajput population and the territories of former Rajput states are spread across northern, western, central and eastern India, as well as southern and eastern Pakistan. These regions include Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Eastern Punjab, Western Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Sindh and Azad Kashmir.
In terms of religious affiliation, an estimate from 1988 placed the total Rajput population in the Indian subcontinent at approximately 38 million. Of these, around 30 million (about 79%) were Hindus, nearly 8 million (about 19.9%) were Muslims—mostly concentrated in Pakistan—while slightly under 200,000 (about 0.5%) were Sikhs. The community thus straddles multiple religious tradit