Gurjar

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Gujjars
ClassificationBrahmin / Kshatriya
ReligionsHinduism, Sikhism and Islam
LanguagesHindi and its dialects, Punjabi and its dialects, Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Marathi, Gujarati, Farsi, Pashto and Gojri.
Populated statesNorthern India, Western India, Central India and Pakistan
Subdivisions-

A Gujjar (also Gujar, Gurjar, or Gurjara, is a member of an ethnic group mainly inhabiting Punjab (Pakistan), Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab (India) and Gujarat, with some groups in Rajasthan and Haryana. Gujjars belonged to the Kshatriya and Brahmin castes, while they formerly ruled the Gurjara-Pratihara Kingdom, which included much of Northern India during the 6th and 12th centuries and represent the main stock from which many royal Rajput clans claim descent, a view supported by Lieutenant James Tod. A royal Gujjar origin is claimed both by nomadic and pastoral tribes in North Pakistan, North India and Kashmir regions and by all higher caste Muslim Rajputs with name changing to reflect conversion to Islam.

History

Gujjars are hypothesized to be the partial descendents of a number of aristocratic Eurasian peoples, including the Indo-Scythians, who took part in the Scythian invasions of South Asia from the 5th century BCE to the 1st century CE or some other Turko-Iranian tribes that merged with local Indo-Aryan groups, mainly settling in the Gujarat, Punjab and Kashmir regions. These sun-worshipping, tribes ruled kingdoms covering much of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northwestern India.

The presence of the Gujjars in India is first attested to after the 5th century invasion of India by the Hunas (Huns). Dadda, the founder of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, established a kingdom at Nandipur (Nandol) in the 7th century.

With the decline of Buddhism in the 8th-10th centuries in parts of northwest India, and the rise of Brahmanism, Gujjars were mainly assimilated either into the Kshatriya or Brahmin castes. While the majority of Gujjars are classified as Kshatriya, evidently from their clan/caste/family names such as Chauhan, there are others who have been classified as very high Brahmins. The Gujjars once ruled over a large area of Northern India under the name of the royal Gurjara-Pratihara kingdom. With Arab Muslim conquests in the 8th century and the rise of Sufism in the 11th century, many Gujjars came under the influence of Islam. But, they retained their clan names as a form of tribal recognition. Place names such as Gujranwala, Gujar Kot, Gujar Khan and Gujrat in Pakistan and the state of Gujarat in India are a testament to the Gujar influence in the past.

Theory of Georgian origin

Dr Huthi of Georgia paid a visit to India in 1967 and studied the Gujjars living in Northern India.[citation needed] He has stated that there are Georgian tribes among the Indian Gujars, because their accent, their dress, and their bullock carts resemble those of aristocratic Georgians. Oral traditions of the group, and some archaeological evidence (particularly cultural and phonetic) suggest that the word Gujjar is a derivation of Gurjara and sounds like "Gurjiya/Georgia" (Gurjiya or Gurjistan being the Persian name for Georgia) - indicating that the origins of the Gujjar tribe can be partially traced to the Caucasus and Central Asia (Georgia, Chechnya, Armenia, Azerbaijan etc).[citation needed] Dr. Huthi is of the view that during the reign of Timur(who ruled from the Caucasus to Samarqand), the Gujjars arrived in South Asia in a series of migratory waves. Here they were referred to as the "Gurjis" (Persian for Georgians)- the present day Gujjar is presumably a corruption of "Gurji" or "Gurjar".[citation needed]

Maharashtrian /Maratha Gujjars

A community using Gurjar as their surname resides in the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra, inhabiting Pangre, Hasol, and other villages in Ratnagiri District. Originally bearing the name GurjarPadhye, many now prefer to call themselves Gurjar. The community may have been living in the Konkan region for at least three centuries, although this estimate may be inaccurate. This community belongs to the Brahmin caste and these people call themselves Karhade Brahmins. They speak the Marathi language. This community might be a part of the bigger Gujjar community. However it is difficult to explain why and how they settled down in the Konkan region of Maharashtra and are Brahmins rather than Kshatriyas. Local pandits claim that the Gurjars are essentially a priestly community and that it is only the subcastes that assumed Kshatriya status in order to earn a livlihood in other more practical professions.

Among the ninety-six Maratha clans, there is a clan called "Gujar" alongwith Pratihara. Prataprao Gujar was a famous Maratha general during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Gujjars today

Ethnicity

The majority of Gujjars are found in what is today Pakistan, numbering thirty-three million, while India has the second largest Gujjar population, numbering thirty million. Gujjars are also found as minorities in Afghanistan and Iran.

The Gujjars of today are mainly a combination of local South Asian peoples who have absorbed Central Asian elements over time. Many Gujjars are well represented in agriculture, the urban professions, civil service and the higher officer class. They are now settled on large tracts of lands and some are avid farmers.

Language

The mother tongue of the Gujjars is Gujari/Gojri, which is very similar to Marwari/ Rajasthani and Gujarati. The Gujjars of South Asia, regardless of their religion or region speak this language. However, they also speak the languages of the various regions they inhabit including Hindi and its dialects, Punjabi and its dialects, Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Gujarati and Marathi.

Religion

A majority of Gujjars are Muslims, while others are Hindus and Sikhs.

Caste

It appears that the Gujjar population was quickly absorbed into Hindu society and they belonged to the "Varna" of their profession. Dr Dashrath Sharma (Rajsthan Through the Ages, pp 105), ascribes the origin of the Solankis, Parmars, the Guhil/Gohils and Chauhans (Rajput clans) to the Brahmins. However, we know from the works of other scholars that the Solanki and Parmar were actually descendants of the Gujjars who came to India from pre-Islamic Persia in large numbers. However, it is interesting to note that in Rajasthan there is a caste called "Gurjar Brahmana" which is considered a very high caste of Brahmins. They are also referred to as Zamindar "holders of real estate" owing, in part, to their acquisition of land under the British Zamindari system.

Clans

There are currently about 1200 clans/subcastes/subtribes/gotras within the Gurjars. The better-known of them are:

(Note: some subcastes maybe related to an ancient place of origin, a profession or both). Also see Indo-Greek Kingdom/Greco-Buddhism.

Famous Gujjars in history

Further reading

For an explanation of ancient names of Central Asia (pre-Turko-Mongolian era.) see the 'Buddhist Records of the Western Countries,' written by Hsien-tsang (Xuanzang), circa 650 AD, taken from translations by Thomas Watters (1904) and Samuel Beal (1884), [1]

Note

Note the following ancient town names:

  • Kasanna (Kasan, now part of modern Uzbekistan)
  • Che-Shih/Cheshi/Chach (Tashkent)
  • Ku-chih (Kutchi), see Kuchean, Kucha

References

External links


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