page_title: Thar Desert
section_title: People
hierarchical_section_title: Thar Desert / People
caption_attribution_description: English: A house in the Thar desert.
context_page_description: The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of 200,000 km² and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 17th largest desert, and the world's 9th largest subtropical desert.
  About 85% of the Thar Desert is located within India, with the remaining 15% in Pakistan. In India, it covers about 170,000 km², and the remaining 30,000 km² of the desert is within Pakistan. The Thar desert forms approximately 5% of the total geographic area of India. More than 60% of the desert lies in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and it extends into the states of Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana, and the Pakistani province of Sindh. Within Pakistan's Punjab province, the Thar continues as the Cholistan Desert. The desert comprises a very dry part, the Marusthali region in the west, and a semidesert region in the east with fewer sand dunes and slightly more precipitation.
context_section_description: The Thar Desert is the most widely populated desert in the world, with a population density of 83 people per km². In India, the inhabitants comprise Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Muslims. In Pakistan, inhabitants also include both Muslims and Hindus.
  About 40% of the total population of Rajasthan live in the Thar Desert. The main occupation of the people is agriculture and animal husbandry. A colourful culture rich in tradition prevails in this desert. The people have a great passion for folk music and folk poetry.
  Jodhpur, the largest city in the region, lies in the scrub forest zone. Bikaner and Jaisalmer are located in the desert proper.
  A large irrigation and power project has reclaimed areas of the northern and western desert for agriculture. The small population is mostly pastoral, and hide and wool industries are prominent.
  The desert's part in Pakistan also has a rich multifaceted culture, heritage, traditions, folk tales, dances and music due to its inhabitants who belong to different religions, sects and castes.
  In the years 1965 and 1971, population exchanges took place in the Thar between India and Pakistan. 3,500 Muslims shifted from the Indian section of the Thar to Pakistani Thar whilst thousands of Hindu families also migrated from Pakistani Thar to the Indian section of the Thar.
caption: Huts in the Thar Desert
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