Ruins of Kuldhara Village, Rajasthan

Kuldhara is village outside Jaisalmer that has been abandoned since early 1800s.

It was the home of Paliwal Brahmins and in caste-conscious Rajasthan, marrying outside one’s caste was unthinkable.

Once, when a ruler who was of a different caste visited this village he saw a young girl and wanted to marry her. As the castes were different the family did not agree, which caused the ruler to threaten the people.

The chief of the village with those of other 84 adjoining villages who were of the same caste decided to abandon and migrate rather than marrying the girl to the ruler Salim Singh.

They migrated overnight without any prior notice and without any forwarding address.

Today, no one knows where the people of these 84 villages resettled.