Camel Caravan of India
North America is where camels originated. Early Pleistocene or Pliocene camel migration succeeded in leaving North America 44 million years ago. North India is home to the oldest fossils discovered outside of North America, which are related to Camelus Siwalensis and Antiq. Camels have developed numerous environmental adaptations. Their first known progenitor was barely larger than a rabbit over 60 million years ago, and it is now known to have grown into a tall beast with numerous physiological adaptations. It can grow up to 8 feet and it has a maximum weight of 700 kg. Sandstorms are a common occurrence in the desert where camels dwell, therefore their long, thick eyelashes help prevent dust and sand from getting in their eyes and allow them to walk normally even under these conditions. They can also close their nostrils for the same effect. Therefore, they are also known as the ship of the desert.
It is due to their capacity to withstand desert environments and severe weather, camels have been an integral part of a number of communities' existence in the northwestern regions of India where we have the Thar Desert, covered in alluvium and eolian sands. The Thar desert is shared between India and Pakistan. Rajasthan is home to a sizable portion of the Great Indian Desert, also known as the Thar Desert. The Thar desert contains the salt marshland Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. It is referred to as the Thar or Pat Desert in the province of Sindh and the Cholistan or Rohi in Bahawalpur in Punjab province of Pakistan.
To protect India's western border, the Border Security Force (BSF), the biggest border guarding force in the world, deploys camels in the Thar desert, which is mostly located in Rajasthan and also extends into Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana. In World Wars, the BSF fought for the Allied Armies. Their camel turns out to be one of their most valuable assets in difficult terrains. Because they can carry more than 500 kg and walk continuously for more than 6 hours in intense heat in the desert, camels are useful as beasts of burden. They can survive for a very long time without water. Only the BSF has the camel mounted regiment in the world.
It should be noted that India has two different types of deserts: cold desert (found in Ladakh) and hot desert (found in the northwest) and there are two distinct species of camels in these two types of deserts. The Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) are the two different species of camels found in India. The Bactrian camel, which has two humps, is only found in small quantities in the frigid Nubra valley near Leh, the capital city of Ladakh whereas the dromedary camel, which has one hump, is more common throughout the northwestern part of India. Bactrian camels originated in the Gobi Desert and were used as a mode of transportation to conduct trade along the Silk Road in antiquity. These double-humped camels have an average height of seven feet.
In the north-west region of India, there a number of camel breeds. For example, Jaisalmeri, Bikaneri, Kachchhi, Mewari, Mewati, Jalori, Kharai, Nagori, Malawi, etc. Jaisalmeri camels are bigger than the other breeds. The Kharai camel is distinct because it has successfully adapted to swim to islands in search of food. The Kuchchh coastal region in Gujarat is home to this camel breed. Here, mangroves thrive in large quantities in the salty sea. These camels' primary food sources are the mangroves and saline pants. Because of this, they are considered an eco-tonal breed, which implies that, unlike other camel species, they are also ships of the sea. They go by the name dariyataru, which means "sea-swimmer" (dariya means sea in Farsi). Despite coming from Gujarat originally, the Kachchhi and Kharai camels have different morphological characteristics. While the body of a Kharai camel is larger than that of a Kachchhi, the head of a Kachchhi camel is relatively smaller than that of a Kharai camel. Kharai camels walk more naturally because of their shorter chest pads. Regretfully, they are becoming fewer in number.
There are several commercial uses for camels. They are useful for transportation, particularly in places with difficult terrain where using other forms of transportation might not be feasible. Thousands of camels are exhibited, purchased, and sold during the well-known Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan. These events offer an exciting exhibition for traditional culture in addition to acting as a forum for trade. By enabling tourists to go on camel safaris through Rajasthan's deserts, camels also support the travel and tourism sector. These trips let visitors enjoy the splendor of the dry landscapes while offering a glimpse into the nomadic way of life.
In the past, camels were used in combats. The Rajput rulers and the Mughals used them in battles as well as a means of entertainment in the form of camel wrestling. And later, the British would use the animal resources of the areas they controlled in an effort to increase the extent of their colonial domains. Theo. F. Rodenbough in Afghanistan and the Anglo-Russian Dispute mentions that camels were primarily brought into service for military transport in Afghanistan during the 19th century by the British, who mostly obtained them from India. Afghanistan's native camels were of the Arabian species and suited to the harsh climate and topography of the country. The poisoning of the imported camels from India resulted from their ingestion of some poisonous plants and bushes, such the oleander bush, which the locals avoided. During Elphinstone's military mission against Afghanistan in 1841, 800 camels were poisoned out of a total of 2500.
Even though they are tough animals, camels have challenges navigating the modern world. The survival of camel populations is threatened by shifting agricultural techniques, urbanization, and a decline in traditional lifestyles. In an effort to protect these rare species and their cultural importance, conservation initiatives are being made. National Research Center on Camel (NRCC) lies 8 km away from Bikaner city in Rajasthan where camels are integral to the local culture and economy. It's a breeding and research facility for camels.
The main objective of the NRCC is to carry out research on camels, covering matters involving breeding, diet, health, and general welfare. The center's mission is to create tools and strategies that will increase camel farming's sustainability and production. The NRCC is well-known for its camel milk research studies, and it focuses on strategies to support camel milk production, processing, and marketing since camel milk has become more and more popular due to its nutritious worth. It is considered to be good for diabetic patients.
Speaking of camel milk, Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) in his memoirs Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri or Jahangirnama, a valuable primary source for collating information on the flora and fauna of medieval India describes that the emperor had a liking for a certain camel's milk because it tasted sweeter than regular camel milk, which tends to taste a little salty. Asaf Khan, one of Jahangir's nobles owned a Persian camel that was nursing. After tasting some of it's milk, Jahangir discovered that it was sweet and pleasant in contrast to other camels' milk, which were little salty. He continued to have the milk. He discovered that, in order to make its milk delicious and sweet, the camel's diet consisted of four seers of cow's milk, five seers of wheat, one seer of black sugar, and one seer of fennel. He instructed that other camels who were lactating to receive the same diet in order to determine if the camel's inherent sweetness or the result of consuming a healthy diet was the cause of its sweetness. We are not, however, informed of the experiment's outcome.
The NRCC also has a small museum which provides a historical background on the utilization of camels in multiple ways during different historical periods of India. It also has an interesting display of a range of commodities that are made from the camel hide, milk, dung, etc.
There is also a small shop in the vicinity of the NRCC that offers food products made of camel milk such as kulfi, ice-cream, coffee and camel milk. The NRCC maintains a small souvenir shop too which has a number of items made from camel bones and leather.
In India, camels are essentially more than just animals—they are living representations of resiliency, adaptability, and cultural legacy. Their existence is woven into the history and everyday existence of the people living in the desert areas.
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