Kanjar: Difference between revisions

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia
m (→‎References: Replace {{Source}} tag)
(→‎Urban areas: grammatical errors)
Line 1: Line 1:
The '''Kanjar''' are a nomadic tribe or group of people of North [[India]], [[Kashmir]] and [[Pakistan]].<ref>HA Rose 'Tribes and Castes of Punjab' 1908 reprint, p 475</ref> The [[Mirasi]] tribes are also probably related to them. These people are also sometimes called by the names of '''Nath''', '''Banchra''' and '''Gashtay'''.<ref>Rose aa</ref> These names are not nice ones, they mean to show that these people are inferior.
{{EngvarB|date=November 2018}}
[[File:Kashmir Dancing Girl by Samuel Bourne.jpg|thumb|right|Old photograph of Kashmiri dancing girl of the Kanjar tribe, by Samuel Bourne, 1860s]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{multiple issues|
{{POV|date=August 2018}}
{{confusing|date=August 2018}}
{{undue|date=August 2018}}
{{update|date=August 2018}}
}}


In old times, most of the Kanjar people used to live in jungles or forests. They used to hunt wild animals to eat and also keep some goats, cows and [[Water buffalo]]es for their meat and milk.<ref>Rose</ref> Many of them still live like nomads, moving from place to place but some have started to live in towns and cities. Some of them are [[Hindu]] and some are [[Muslims]]. They are mostly very poor people and do all the dirty jobs that rich people won't do.
{{infobox ethnic group|
|group = Kanjar
|poptime = 
|popplace = India • Pakistan
|langs = [[Kanjari language|Kanjari]] • [[Hindi language|Hindi]] • [[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]] • [[Bhojpuri]] • [[Urdu language|Urdu]] • [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
|rels = [[Hinduism]] • [[Sikhism]] • Islam
|related = [[Patharkat]] • [[Mirasi]]
}}


In [[Lahore]], Pakistan, and in parts of Kashmir, many Kanjar women are sold by their families to  become [[Prostitution|prostitutes]]. They go and live in [[brothel]]s in the [[Heera Mandi]].<ref>[[Fouzia Saeed]], 'Taboo: The Hidden Life of a Red Light Area' pub Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford UP,2001</ref> Many men will go there to have sex with these poor women for money, but no one will marry them. They think they are 'unclean' or bad.<ref>Fouzia Saeed</ref>
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>


==History==
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>


==References==
==Present circumstances==
{{reflist}}
===India===
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 Kanjar speak 4-5 languages along with their native language called Narsi-Parsi. It consists of different sounds of animals and birds, coded words and signs.<ref>Madan Meena: Secret Language of the Kanjar Community, Fellowship from Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research, USA</ref>


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>


===Pakistan===
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}}


====Urban areas====


{{bio-stub}}
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>


====Nomads====
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"/>


==Popular culture==
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.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanjar}}
==See also==
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan]]
*[[Gihara]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]


==References==
{{reflist|2}}


{{simple-Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Denotified tribes of India]]
[[Category:Scheduled Castes of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan]]

Revision as of 12:32, 20 June 2021

Kanjar
Regions with significant populations
India • Pakistan
Languages
Kanjari • Hindi • Rajasthani • Bhojpuri • Urdu • Punjabi
Religion
Hinduism • Sikhism • Islam
Related ethnic groups
Patharkat • Mirasi

The Kanjar speak the Kanjari language, a little-studied Indo Aryan language, but almost all also speak Punjabi and Urdu.[1]

History

In the Colonial period, Kanjars were listed under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, as a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences."[2]

Present circumstances

India

Kanjar were denotified in 1952, when the Criminal Tribes Act was replaced with the Habitual Offenders Act, but the community carries considerable social stigma. Kanjar's are also known as Gihar which is not notified.[citation needed]

The Kanjar speak 4-5 languages along with their native language called Narsi-Parsi. It consists of different sounds of animals and birds, coded words and signs.[3]

The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Kanjar with a population of 115,968.[4]

Pakistan

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 pimp or a person of low moral character than as a reference to the tribe.[5][6][page needed]

Urban areas

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."[7]

Nomads

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.[1]

Popular culture

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

In the Lollywood 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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 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.
  2. ↑ Nanta Village The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908, v. 18, p. 367.
  3. ↑ Madan Meena: Secret Language of the Kanjar Community, Fellowship from Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research, USA
  4. ↑ "A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press ISBN 0195797965
  7. ↑ Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press, page 61
Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kanjar&oldid=126165"