Thar Desert 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 Muslim families shifted from the Indian section of the Thar to Pakistani Thar whilst thousands of Hindus also migrated from Pakistani Thar to the Indian section of the Thar. The Sarasvati River is one of the chief Rigvedic rivers mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. The Nadistuti
Thar Desert and water erosion, mining and other industries have resulted in serious land degradation. Agricultural production is mainly from kharif crops, which are grown in the summer season and seeded in June and July. These are then harvested in September and October and include bajra, pulses such as guar, jowar ("Sorghum vulgare"), maize ("zea mays"), sesame and groundnuts. Over the past few decades the development of irrigation features including canals and tube wells have changed the crop pattern with desert districts in Rajasthan now producing rabi crops including wheat, mustard and cumin seed along with cash crops. The Thar region of