Rajput (from Sanskrit raja-putra, "son of a king") is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and current eastern Pakistan. They seem to have risen to prominence from the late 6th century CE and governed the majority of princely states in Rajasthan and Surashtra during the period of the British Raj.The Rajput population and the former Rajput states are found spread through much of the subcontinent, particularly in north, west and central India.