Kanjar: Difference between revisions

{{multiple issues|

{{POV|date=August 2018}}

{{confusing|date=August 2018}}

{{undue|date=August 2018}}

{{update|date=August 2018}}

|group = Kanjar

|langs = [[Kanjari language|Kanjari]] • [[Hindi language|Hindi]] • [[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]] • [[Bhojpuri]] • [[Urdu language|Urdu]] • [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]

|related = [[Patharkat]] • [[Mirasi]]

The '''Kanjar''' speak the [[Kanjari language|Kanjari]] language, a little-studied [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo Aryan language]], but almost all also speak [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Urdu]].<ref name="Joseph C Berland' pages247">''Kanjar Social Organization by Joseph C Berland'' in The other nomads : peripatetic minorities in cross-cultural perspective / edited by Aparna Rao pages247 to 268 {{ISBN|3-412-08085-3}} Köln : Böhlau, 1987.</ref>

In the [[British Raj|Colonial period]], Kanjars were listed under the [[Criminal Tribes Act]], 1871, as a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences."<ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V18_373.gif Nanta Village] ''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'', 1908, v. 18, ''p. 367.''</ref>

Kanjar were [[Denotified tribes of India|denotified]] in 1952, when the Criminal Tribes Act was replaced with the [[Habitual_Offender_Laws#India|Habitual Offenders Act]], but the community carries considerable social stigma. Kanjar's are also known as Gihar which is not notified.{{cn|date=February 2017}}

 

The [[2011 Census of India]] for Uttar Pradesh showed the Kanjar with a population of 115,968.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/SC_ST/PCA-A10/SC-0900-PCA-A-10-ddw.xlsx |title= A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh |publisher=Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |accessdate=2017-02-06}}</ref>

In Pakistan, two distinct communities go by the name Kanjar. Over the centuries they became associated with the profession of prostitution and a peripatetic community of craftsmen and entertainers, best known for the [[terracotta]] toys they manufacture and peddle.In Karachi,the urdu speaking community has large numbers of descendants of Kanjars from Northern India. Most of them moved from Delhi and Lucknow to Karachi. The term 'Kanjar' is more generally used to refer to a [[Procuring (prostitution)|pimp]] or a person of low moral character than as a reference to the tribe.<ref>Kanjar Social Organization by Joseph C Berland in The other nomads : peripatetic minorities in cross-cultural perspective / edited by Aparna Rao pages247 to 268 {{ISBN|3-412-08085-3}} Köln : Böhlau, 1987.</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">''Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area'' by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press {{ISBN|0195797965}}</ref>{{pn|date=June 2020}}

 

The Kanjar are sometimes associated with the Lahore neighborhood of Shahi Mohalla. This famous bazaar was inhabited and later flourished under influence of Kanjars of Lucknow and kanjars ofsome other parts of northern India.For centuries lucknow was a hub for prostitution and the so called well to do families would send their children to be educate.It was believed those women carried the roots of urdu speaking cultures and pride.From there many moved to Hira mandi and after partition established in Karachi.In Karachi,such urdu speaking families are well educated but their lineage is easily traceable to Kanjars.This has been home to a large community of Kanjar for centuries. Many musicians in Pakistan have their roots in the Kanjar community. A recent study found that: "A Kanjar hears the music of [[tabla]] and [[ghungroo]] from the day of her birth and must begin her formal education before her non-Kanjar friends start going to school."<ref>''Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area'' by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press, page 61</ref>

Although nomadic, the Kanjar follow a set route, and often maintain a relationship with the villages they visit. Many of the men work as agricultural labourers. Their tents are made from split bamboo or munji grass, and their encampments can be found at the edges of villages, as well as in urban areas such as [[Faisalabad]] and [[Lahore]].<ref name="Joseph C Berland' pages247"/>

They are the subject of the Hindi story ''Indrajal'' (English: Magic), by [[Jaishankar Prasad]].

In the [[Lollywood]] film ''[[Bol (film)|Bol]]'', prominent character Saqa Kanjar financially helps a fanatic hakim after the latter bribes the police to bury the case of honour killing of his own son Saifi. The hakim in return had to bear a girl child for Saqa Kanjar's daughter Meena.