Tonk is the 115th largest Hindi speaking city of India with a total population of 1,65,294. Highest employment in the Tonk district is in the sectors of Agriculture, Textiles, Minerals, Forest, Animal Husbandry and other household industries. 68% of the workforce is employed in the Agricultural Sector, 30% in the Industrial Sector and the remaining 2% are Household workers. The major exportable items are Readymade garments, Slate stone tiles and Sand stone tiles. Tonk lies on the Banas river which is a tributary of the river Chambal. The major crops produced in the Tonk district are Mustard, Sorghum, Kharif Pulses, Sesamum, Wheat, Gram, Barley and fruits like Mango, Guava, Pomegranate, Papaya and Lime. The founding ruler of Tonk was Nawab Muhammad Amir Khan (1769-1834). Tonk was known as Samwad Lakshya in the Mahabharat period. In the Mauryan regime, it was under the Mouryas and then it was merged into Malvas. For most of the period, it was under Harsh Vardhan. According to Huen Tsang, a visitor from China, it was under Bairath State. In the regime of the Rajputs, this state was under Solankis of Toda and later Kachvahs took over when Man Singh defeated the Rao of Toda. Later, it was under the regime of King Holkar and Scindhia. In 1806, Amir Khan conquered it, taking it from Balvant Rao Holkar. The British government captured it next. Under the treaty of 1817, the British government returned it to Amir Khan. Tonk was founded in 1818 by an Afghan military leader who was granted land by the ruler of Indore.
