Bakarwal

Bakarwal

Bakarwal
A Bakarwal man in Kashmir.
Regions with significant populations
India	113,198
Pakistan	Unknown
Afghanistan	Unknown
Languages
Gojri and varieties of Pashto, Hindko, Pahari and Kashmiri
Religion
Majority: Islam (98.7%) Minority: Hinduism (2.3%)
Related ethnic groups
Gujjars

The Bakarwal (also Bakharwal, Bakrawala and Bakerwal) are a mostly Muslim nomadic tribe based in the Pir Panjal Range and the Himalayan mountains of South Asia. They are traditionally, and still mainly, goatherders and shepherds. They reside in the entire Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, and in the Nuristan Province of northeast Afghanistan.

History

The Gujjar-Bakarwals claim a common ancestry from the Gujjars and Bakarwals are one tribe popularly known as Gujjar or Gurjars in South Asia. Gujjars have many names like Ajjadh, Dohdhi, Banhara, and Vanvasi. Gujjars who rear goats and sheep are called Bakarwals. Gujjars and Bakarwals share the same history, culture, language, sub-castes and racial identity. Even all anthropological and genetic studies conducted on Gujjars-Bakarwals say that they are not separate identities in any way. In 1991 the Gujjar-Bakarwals were granted tribal status in Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian government after conducting a study. The study revealed that Bakarwal is another name of Gujjars entered in revenue records which is why both the names (Gujjars and Bakarwals) were included while the community was enlisted in tribal category in Indian constitutions. Bakarwals belong to the same ethnic stock as the Gujjars, and inter-marriages freely take place among them. There are a number of examples where one brother's name was entered in revenue record as Bakarwal and other's as Gujjar.

Etymology

'Bakarwal' is derived from the Indic language terms, bakara meaning goat or sheep, and wal meaning "one who takes care of". Essentially, the name "Bakarwal" implies "high-altitude goatherds/shepherds".

Society

The Bakarwals belong to the same ethnicity as the Gujjars, and inter-marriages take place among them. Bakarwals have clans (gotra) like Gujjars; however, "bakarwal" is also occasionally used indiscriminately to refer to any nomadic shephard group in the foothills, even those who may not belong to a Bakarwal community (qafila group). The Gadaria-Bakarwals have divided themselves into three principal kinship groups:

(i) The dera (household),

(ii) Dada-Potre (lineage),

(iii) the gotra (clan).

The Gujars are also very prideful about their land which they own to graze their livestock which has lead to some land conflicts between the Gujars and their neighbouring groups such as the Nuristanis. The Nuristanis believe that the Gujars are encroaching on their land meanwhile the Gujars believe that they need more land for their livestock since they are nomads so conflicts between the two groups have risen from time to time. The conflicts between the Gujars and the Nuristanis date back to the 19th century. In 1997, the Gujar villagers of Kunar Province also had a disagreement with the Taliban about their land and weapons (It is a tradition for Gujar villagers to keep weapons with them) being confiscated and taken away to which fighting between the tribal Gujars and the Taliban militants started in which the Taliban were driven out of the capital of the Kunar province, Asadabad, by the tribal Gujar militants. Eventually however, an agreement was signed between the Taliban government and the Gujars in which the Gujars were allowed to keep their land and weapons but had to remain loyal to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Economy

As sheep and goat rearing transhumants, the Bakarwals alternate with the seasons between high and low altitudes in the hills of the Himalayas. This is why the Bakarwals as a singular tribe are stretched from the hills of the Hindu Kush in Nuristan to the hills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand. They are mainly found in the following areas of Nuristan Province, Kunar Province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. From here, it is clear to see that the Bakarwals mainly follow a migration route through the foothills of the Himalayas as they can be found on the Upper Himalayan Range all the way down into the Lower Himalayan Range.

Legal status

In 1991 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Bakarwals were first recognized as an Indian Scheduled Tribe. As of 2001, the Bakarwal were classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's general reservation program of positive discrimination.

They are mentioned in the Afghan National Anthem as one of the integral tribes present in Afghanistan.