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Partition
The Rajput castes (a subset of the Kshatriya varna, or social class) were historically warriors; by the 1950s, when Lakshmi lives and works in Jaipur, Rajputs were associated with economic wealth and political power. Indira, Latika and the other rulers of Jaipur are all members of the Rajput castes, as are Parvati and Samir Singh. Even though Rajputs are technically lower in the caste system than members of the Brahmin varna, Lakshmi notes that they control much of Jaipur society.
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Rajput Term Timeline in The Henna Artist
The timeline below shows where the term Rajput appears in The Henna Artist. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...takes in the marble floors and luscious vines, she notes that the Singhs—part of a Rajput caste of rajas, princes, and army officers—have had power “before, during, and even after” British...
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Chapter 3
Muslims—like the Rajput Singhs—eat meat, which the pious landlady does not approve of. To patch things up with...
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Chapter 7
...to overthrow him. So, Madho Singh never gave her a baby. Instead, he adopted another Rajput boy to become his heir—and now, this young man has done the same thing, sending...
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Malik also has to learn what details he can share. For example, he can tell Rajput families about the paintings of hunts, but not Brahmins (because they are vegetarian). For her...
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Chapter 14
Lakshmi makes the case for Radha’s baby: Ravi is Rajput, and Radha is Brahmin, plus the first in her class at Latika’s school. Indira expresses...
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