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{{Short description|Ethnic group in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan}}
[[File:Bakitar Gujar, 1984.jpg|thumb|right|Gurjar children, in Afghanistan]]
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
'''Gurjar''' or Gojri are an ethnic group of [[Jammu and Kashmir]] [[India]] and northern and central [[Pakistan]]. Alternative spellings are Gojari  and Gujjari (not Gujrati).
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Gurjar
| native_name =
| flag =
| flag_caption =
| flag_alt =
| image =
| caption =
| regions = [[South Asia]]
|langs = [[Gojri language|Gojri]] • [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] • [[Hindi]] • [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] • [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] • [[Urdu]] • [[Pashto]]  • [[Haryanvi language|Haryanvi]] • [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] • [[Balochi language|Balochi]] • [[Pahari-Pothwari|Pahari]] • [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]] • [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
|rels =  [[Hinduism]] [[file:Om symbol.svg|20x20px]] •  [[Islam]] [[file:Allah-green.svg|20x20px]] •  [[Sikhism]] [[file:Khanda.svg|20x20px]]
|related_groups=[[Jats]] • [[Rajput]]s • [[Ahir]]s and other [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan People]]
}}
'''Gurjar''' or '''Gujjar''' (also transliterated as '''''Gujar''', '''Gurjara'''<ref name="Mayaram 2017">{{cite book |last=Mayaram |first=Shail |chapter=The Story of the Gujars |editor=Vijaya Ramaswamy |title=Migrations in Medieval and Early Colonial India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzcrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-55825-9 |pages=67 |quote=The heterogenous category that is variously called gujar/Gujjar/Gurjara. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Susan Visvanathan |date=31 December 2013 |title=Readings in Indian_Sociology |publisher=SAGE Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZlYlDAAAQBAJ&dq=Gurjars&pg=PT196 |isbn=9788132118435 |pages=  |quote=Jats and Gurjars are internally divided into various clangroups...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Dr. R. Parthasarathy, Sudarshan Iyengar |title=New Development Paradigms and Challenges for Western and Central India Volume 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhhrRMoVHNYC&dq=gurjar+caste&pg=PA505 |publisher= |year=2006 |isbn=9788180693137 |pages=504 |quote=Gurjars are ..}}</ref> and '''Gujjer''''') is an ethnic [[nomadic]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=As seen from the eyes of nomadic tribes |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/political-pulse/jammu-kashmir-delimitation-gujjars-bakarwals-7779985/lite/  |date=18 Feb 2022 |publisher=The Indian Express |access-date=18 Feb 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Welfare measures of nomadic Gujjar and Bakarwal tribes to be taken |url=https://m.tribuneindia.com/news/j-k/bjp-sets-its-eyes-on-gujjar-bakarwal-tribes-in-jammu-and-kashmir-374770 |date=3 Mar 2022 |work=The Tribune |access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Finding identity: Nomadic Gujjar tribes |date=29 Jul 2021 |publisher=Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/photography/kashmir-s-nomadic-tribes-of-gujjar-and-bakarwal-finding-identity-among-the-unidentified-b1892822.html |access-date=29 Jul 2021}}</ref> [[agricultural]] and [[pastoral]] community, residing mainly in [[India]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Afghanistan]],<ref name="Rahi">{{Cite book |editor-last=Rahi |editor-first=Javaid |year=2012 |title=The GUJJARS - A Book Series on History and Culture of Gujjar Tribe |volume=1 |url=https://www.academia.edu/41978043}}</ref> divided internally into various clan groups.<ref name="Rahi"/> They were traditionally involved in agriculture and pastoral and nomadic activities and formed a large heterogeneous group.<ref name="Mayaram 2017"/><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/43050675 |editor-last=Rahi |editor-first=Javaid |year=2016 |title=The GUJJARS - A Book Series on History and Culture of Gujjar Tribe |journal=The Gujjars -Vol: 06- ed Javaid Rahi |volume=6}}</ref> The historical role of Gurjars has been quite diverse in society: at one end they have been founders of several kingdoms and dynasties and, at the other end, some are still nomads with no land of their own.<ref name="Mayaram 2017" />


They are also related to the [[Rajput]] tribe.
The pivotal point in the history of Gurjar identity is often traced back to the emergence of a [[Gurjaradesa|Gurjara kingdom]] in present-day [[Rajasthan]] during the [[Middle Ages]] (around 570 CE).<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |author=Baij Nath Puri |date=1957 |title=The History Of The Gurjara Pratiharas |url=https://archive.org/details/thehistoryofthegurjarapratiharasbaijnathpuri_300_m/mode/2up |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> It is believed that the Gurjars migrated to different parts of the [[Indian subcontinent|Indian Subcontinent]] from the Gurjaratra.<ref>{{harvnb|Chattopadhyaya|1994|p=6}} "we have noted that Gurjaratra or Gurjarabhumi was the base from which several lineages tracing descent from the Gurjaras emerged"</ref>
Gurjari language is close to Rajasthani and Marwari.
 
As per historical accounts parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat were known as ''Gurjar-bhumi'' or ''Gurjaratra'' prior to Mughal period in India<ref>{{cite book|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The classical age|author1=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|author2=Achut Dattatrya Pusalker, A. K. Majumdar, Dilip Kumar Ghose, Vishvanath Govind Dighe, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|year=1977|page=153}}</ref> Gurjar pratiharas acted as barrier to Arabs for around 300 centuries.<ref name = "ref64libuj">{{cite book| last = Keay| first = John| title = India: A History| url = https://books.google.com/?id=3aeQqmcXBhoC&pg=PA195| year = 2000| publisher = Grove Press| isbn = 978-0-8021-3797-5| pages =  95, 2001}}</ref>  However, in later times, circa the 14th century AD onwards, their hold reduced to small principalities.During 15th-16th century there were Gurjar kings in areas of Meerut and Dadri. After this time, they gradually fell into a decline. They became poor nomads and started living in jungles and forests.
The Gurjaras started fading from the forefront of history after the 10th century CE. Thereafter, history records several Gurjar chieftains and upstart warriors, who were rather petty rulers in contrast to their predecessors. "Gujar" and "Gujjar" were quite common during the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] era, and documents dating from the period mention Gujars as a "turbulent" people.
 
The Indian states of [[Gujarat]] and Rajasthan were known as ''Gurjaradesa'' and ''Gurjaratra'' for centuries prior to the arrival of the British. The [[Gujrat, Pakistan|Gujrat]] and [[Gujranwala]] districts of Pakistani [[Punjab]] have also been associated with Gurjars from as early as the 8th century CE, when there existed a Gurjara kingdom in the same area.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=12}}<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gritli von Mitterwallner |author2=Frederic Salmon Growse |title=Kuṣāṇa Coins and Kuṣāṇa Sculptures from Mathurā |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uufVAAAAMAAJ |year=1986 |publisher=Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Uttar Pradesh |page=47 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Buddha Prakash |title=Aspects of Indian History and Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lKg5AQAAIAAJ |year=1965 |publisher=Shiva Lal Agarwala |page=157 |isbn=9780842616812 }}</ref> The [[Saharanpur]] district of [[Uttar Pradesh]] was also known as Gurjargadh previously, due to the presence of many Gurjar [[zamindar]]s in the area.<ref name="Puri1975">{{cite book |author=Baij Nath Puri |title=The History of the Gurjara-Pratihāras |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=orAJAQAAIAAJ |year=1975 |publisher=Oriental Publishers & Distributors |pages=14–17}}</ref>
 
Gurjars are linguistically and religiously diverse. Although they are able to speak the language of the region and country where they live, Gurjars have their own language, known as [[Gujari]]. They variously follow [[Hinduism]], [[Islam]], and [[Sikhism]].<ref name="nps" />{{sfn|Singh|2012 |pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oscmJoix2IAC&pg=PA51 48 & 51]}}
 
The Hindu Gurjars are mostly found in Indian states of [[Rajasthan]], [[Haryana]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Punjab Plains]] and [[Maharashtra]]. Muslim Gurjars are mostly found in [[Punjab, Pakistan]], mainly concentrated in Northern Punjabi cities of [[Gujranwala]], [[Gujrat, Pakistan|Gujrat]], [[Gujar Khan]], [[Jhelum|Jehlum]] and [[Lahore]], Afghanistan and Indian Himalayan regions such as [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu & Kashmir]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], and Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of [[Uttarakhand]].
 
== Etymology ==
The word ''Gujjar'' represents a  ''[[caste]]'' and a tribe and a group in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, locally referred to as [[Jāti|''jati'']], ''zaat'', ''[[qaum]]'' or [[Baradari (brotherhood)|''biradari'']]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.excellup.com/classnine/sstnine/pastoralist.aspx|title=Pastoralists of the Himalayas Gurjars, Bakarwals|publisher= Excel Org.}}</ref><ref name="Raheja1988">{{cite book|author=Gloria Goodwin Raheja|url=https://archive.org/details/poisoningiftritu0000rahe|url-access=registration|title=The Poison in the Gift: Ritual, Prestation, and the Dominant Caste in a North Indian Village|date=15 September 1988|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-70729-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/poisoningiftritu0000rahe/page/n16 01]–03|quote=This regional dominance and the kingship (rajya) exercised by Gurjar chiefs still figure prominently in oral traditions current among Saharanpur Gurjars and in the depiction of their identity as Ksatriya "kings" in printed histories of the Gujar Jati.}}</ref><ref name="Asghar2016">{{cite book|author=Muhammad Asghar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=utd7DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA10|title=The Sacred and the Secular: Aesthetics in Domestic Spaces of Pakistan/Punjab|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|year=2016|isbn=978-3-643-90836-0|page=10|quote=The main grouping is the biradari, which is a very old established norm of people identifying themselves&nbsp;... A larger and also ancient form of grouping is the caste (qaum). The three main ones are Jaats (farmers), Arains (who traditionally were gardeners) and Gujjars (people who tend livestock and sell milk).}}</ref> The history of the word Gurjar can be confidently traced back to an ancient ethnic and tribal identity called ''Gurjara''{{according to whom|date=May 2022}}, which became prominent after the collapse of the [[Gupta Empire]]. A literal or definitive meaning of the word Gurjara is not available in any of the historical references.
 
It has been suggested by several historians that Gurjara was initially the name of a tribe or clan which later evolved into a geographical and ethnic identity following the establishment of a ''[[janapada]]'' (tribal kingdom) called 'Gurjara'.{{sfn|Chattopadhyaya|1994|p=6}} This understanding has introduced an element of ambiguity regarding ancient royal designations containing the word 'gurjara' such as ''gurjaraeshvara'' or ''gurjararaja'', as now it is debatable whether the kings bearing these epithets were tribal or ethnic Gurjaras.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Sanjay |date=2006 |title=Negotiating Identity and Status |journal=Studies in History |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=181–220 |doi=10.1177/025764300602200202 |s2cid=144128358 |issn=0257-6430}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Shanta Rani |date=2012 |title=Exploding the Myth of the Gūjara Identity of the Imperial Pratihāras |journal=Indian Historical Review |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1177/0376983612449525 |s2cid=145175448 |issn=0376-9836}}</ref>
 
== History ==
 
=== Origin ===
Historians and anthropologists differ on the issue of Gurjar origin. According to one view, circa 1 [[Common Era|CE]], the ancient ancestors of the Gurjars came in multiple waves of migration and were initially accorded status as high-caste warriors in the Hindu fold in the North-Western regions (modern Rajasthan and Gujarat).<ref name=Singh2012p44>{{harvnb|Singh|2012|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oscmJoix2IAC&pg=PA44 44–]}}</ref> [[Aydogdy Kurbanov]] states that some Gurjars, along with people from northwestern India, merged with the [[Alchon Huns|Hephthalites]] to become the [[Rajput]] clan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diss.fu-berlin.de/diss/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/FUDISS_derivate_000000007165/01_Text.pdf |title=The Hephthalites: Archaeological and Historical Analysis |last=Kurbanov |first=Aydogdy |page=243 |year=2010 |access-date=11 January 2013 |quote=As a result of the merging of the Hephthalites and the Gujars with population from northwestern India, the Rajputs (from Sanskrit "rajputra" – "son of the rajah") formed.}}</ref>
 
Previously, it was believed that the Gurjars had migrated earlier on from Central Asia as well, however, this view is generally considered to be speculative.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mayaram |first=Shail |chapter=The Story of the Gujars |editor=Vijaya Ramaswamy |title=Migrations in Medieval and Early Colonial India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzcrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-55825-9 |pages=67}}</ref> According to B.D. Chattopadhyaya, historical references speak of Gurjara warriors and commoners in [[North India]] in the 7th century CE, and mention several Gurjara kingdoms and dynasties.{{sfn|Chattopadhyaya|1994|p=64|ps=. "documents dating from seventh century suggest a wide distribution of Gurjaras as a political power in western India"}}
 
However, according to Tanuja Kothiyal, the historical image of Gurjars is that of 'ignorant' herders, though historical claims of Gurjar past also associate them with [[Gurjara-Pratihara]]s. She cites a myth that any Rajput claim Gurjars may have comes through a Rajput marrying a Brahmin woman, and not through older Kshatriya clan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kothiyal |first=Tanuja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=be-7CwAAQBAJ&q=tanuja+kothiyal+book |title=Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert |date=14 March 2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-08031-7 |pages=249–250 |language=en |quote=The cultural image of the Gujar is of an ignorant herder though the historical claims of Gujar past also associate them with Gurjara-Pratiharas, with long migrations through Thar. However, as the Devnarayan epic reveals, any Rajput link that the Gujars may claim, comes from multi-caste marriages that are contracted in the course of the epic rather than any other claim to descent from the older kshatriya clan. The original ancestor of the Gujars is a Rajput, who marries a Brahmin woman.}}</ref> However, she states that the historical process suggests the opposite: that Rajputs emerged from other communities, such as Gurjars, [[Jats]], [[Raikas]] etc.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kothiyal |first=Tanuja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=be-7CwAAQBAJ&q=tanuja+kothiyal+book |title=Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert |date=14 March 2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-08031-7 |pages=265 |language=en |quote=from gradual transformation of mobile pastoral and tribal groups into landed sedentary ones. The process of settlement involved both control over mobile resources through raids, battles and trade as well as channelizing of these resources into agrarian expansion. Kinship structures as well as marital and martial alliances were instrumental in this transformation.&nbsp;... In the colonial ethnographic accounts rather than referring to Rajputs as having emerged from other communities, Bhils, Mers, Minas, Gujars, Jats, Raikas, all lay a claim to a Rajput past from where they claim to have 'fallen'. Historical processes, however, suggest just the opposite.}}</ref>
 
The oldest reference to the word Gurjara is found in the book called ''[[Harshacharita]]'' (Harsha's Deeds), a biography of king ''[[Harsha]]vardhana'' written around 630 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Puri |first=Baij Nath |author-link=Baij Nath Puri |title=The History of the Gurjara-Pratiharas |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |location=Delhi |year=1986 |page=9}}</ref> ''[[Bāṇabhaṭṭa|Banabhatta]]'', the author of Harshacharita, mentions that Harsha's father [[Prabhakaravardhana|''Prabhakravardhana'']] (560-580 CE) was "a constant threat to the sleep of Gurjara"''—''apparently a reference to the Gurjara king or kingdom. Inscriptions from a collateral branch of Gurjaras, known as ''[[Gurjaras of Lata]]'', claim that their family was ruling ''Bharakucha'' ([[Bharuch district|Bharuch]]) as early as 450 CE from their capital at ''Nandipuri''. Based on these early dates, it has been proposed by some authors that Gurjara identity might have been present in India as early as the 3rd century CE, but it became prominent only after the fall of Guptas.
 
According to scholars such as [[Baij Nath Puri]], the [[Mount Abu]] (ancient Arbuda Mountain) region of present-day [[Rajasthan]] had been an abode of the Gurjars during the medieval period.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gurjars of Jammu and Kashmir|author=Kulbhushan Warikoo|author2=Sujit Som|publisher=Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya|quote=Dr. B. N. Puri who wrote a thesis Gurjar Pratihar at oxford university states that the Gurjars were local people}}</ref> The association of the Gurjars with the mountain is noticed in many inscriptions and epigraphs including ''Tilakamanjari of Dhanpala''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Tilakamañjarī of Dhanapāla: a critical and cultural study|author=Sudarśana Śarmā|publisher=Parimal Publications|year=2002|page=214}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2020}} These Gurjars migrated from the [[Arbuda Mountains|Arbuda mountain]] region and as early as in the 6th century A.D., they set up one or more principalities in Rajasthan and [[Gujarat]]. The whole or a larger part of Rajasthan and Gujarat had been long known as ''Gurjaratra'' (country ruled or protected by the Gurjars) or ''Gurjarabhumi'' (land of the Gurjars) for centuries prior to the Mughal period.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The classical age|author=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|author2=Achut Dattatrya Pusalker |author3=A. K. Majumdar |author4=Dilip Kumar Ghose |author5=Vishvanath Govind Dighe |author6=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|year=1977|page=153}}</ref>
 
In [[Sanskrit]] texts, the [[ethnonym]] has sometimes been [[false etymology|interpreted]] as "destroyer of the enemy": ''gur'' meaning "enemy" and ''ujjar'' meaning "destroyer").<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Warikoo |first1=Kulbhushan |last2=Som |first2=Sujit |title=Gurjars of Jammu and Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zxtuAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya |page=4 |quote="Gurjar" is a Sanskrit word which has been explained thus: Gur+Ujjar;'Gur' means 'enemy' and 'ujjar' means 'destroyer'. The word means "Destroyer of the enemy". |date=2000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Gurjara aura Unakā Itihāsa meṃ Yogadāna Vishaya para Prathama …, Volume 2 |first=Bhāratīya Gurjara |last=Parishada |year=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9kwIAAAAIAAJ |publisher=Bharatiya Gurjar Parisha |page=27 |quote=Sanskrit Dictionary Compiled by Pandit Radha Kant (Shakabada 1181) explains: Gurjar=Gur (enemy)+Ujar(destroyer)}}</ref>
 
In its survey of ''[[The People of India]]'', the [[Anthropological Survey of India]] (AnSI) – a government-sponsored organisation – noted that {{blockquote|The Gurjars/Gujjars were no doubt a remarkable people spread from Kashmir to Gujarat and Maharashtra, who gave an identity to Gujarat, established kingdoms, entered the Rajput groups as the dominant lineage of Badgujar, and survive today as a pastoral and a tribal group with both Hindu and Muslim segments.<ref name="Kumar Suresh Singh 2004">{{Cite book|title=People of India: Maharashtra|author=Kumar Suresh Singh|author2=B. V. Bhanu |author3=Anthropological Survey of India |publisher=Popular Prakashan|year=2004|page=xxviii|isbn=978-81-7991-101-3|author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh}}</ref>}}
 
[[Irawati Karve]], an indologist and historian, believed that the Gurjars' position in society and the caste system generally varied from one linguistic area of India to another. In Maharashtra, Karve thought that they were probably absorbed by the Rajputs and Marathas but retained some of their distinct identity. She based her theories on analysis of clan names and tradition, noting that while most Rajputs claim their origins to lie in the mythological [[Lunar Dynasty|Chandravansh]] or [[Solar Dynasty|Suryavansh dynasties]], at least two of the communities in the region claimed instead to be descended from the [[Agnivanshi|Agnivansh]].<ref name="Kumar Suresh Singh 2004" />{{efn|AnSI cites I. Karve's ''Hindu Society – An Interpretation'', page 64.<ref name="Kumar Suresh Singh 2004" />}}
 
=== Medieval period ===
Babur, in the context of revolt, wrote that Jats and Gujjars poured down from hills in vast numbers in order to carry off oxen and buffaloes and that they were guilty of the severest oppression in the country.<ref name="Mayaram2004">{{cite book|author=Shail Mayaram|title=Against History, Against State: Counterperspectives from the Margins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zL-7m2MDp2EC|year=2004|publisher=Permanent Black|isbn=978-81-7824-096-1| pages = 94}}</ref>
Many Gurjars were converted to Islam at various times, dating back to Mahmud of Ghazni's raid in Gujarat in 1026. Gurjars of [[Awadh]] and Meerut date their conversion to [[Tamerlane]], when he sacked Delhi and forcibly converted them. By 1525, when Babur invaded India, he saw that the Gurjars of northern Punjab were already Muslims. Until the 1700s, conversions continued under [[Aurangzeb]], who converted the Gurjars of Himachal Pradesh by force. Pathans and Balochis drove Gurjar converts out of their land, forcing them into vagrancy.<ref>Sharma, J. C., (1984). "Gujars". In {{cite book
| title = Muslim Peoples: A World Ethnographic Survey
| volume = 1
| pages = 298–301}} edited by Richard V. Weekes. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.</ref><ref>Rose, H. A. (1911). "Gujar". in {{cite book
| title = A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Provinces.
| volume = 1
| pages = 306–318}} Lahore: Superintendent, Government Printing. Reprint. 1970. Patiala: Languages Department, Punjab.
</ref><ref>Russell, R. V. and Hira Lal (1916). "Gūjar". in {{cite book
| title = The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
| volume = 3
| pages = 166–174
| publisher = Government Printing Press
| location = Nagpur}} Reprint 1975. Oosterhaut: Anthropological Publications.
</ref>
 
=== British rule ===
[[File:Two Gurjar (also transliterated as Gujjar, Gujar, Gurjara, & Gujjer) Men on a Pavement and a Woman in a Doorway in Delhi, Shepherd & Robertson (possibly), ca.1859–69.png|thumb|Two Gurjar (also transliterated as Gujjar, Gujar, Gurjara, & Gujjer) Men on a Pavement and a Woman in a Doorway in Delhi, Shepherd & Robertson (possibly), ca.1859–69]]
In the 18th century, several Gurjar chieftains and small kings were in power. During the reign of [[Rohilla]] [[Nawab]] [[Najib-ul-Daula]], [[Rao Dargahi Singh Bhati]], the Gurjar chieftain of [[Dadri]] possessed 133 villages at a fixed revenue of Rs. 29,000.<ref>{{Cite book
|title = Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers
|publisher =Govternment of Uttar Pradesh
|year=1993
| page =152
}}</ref> A fort in [[Parikshitgarh]] in [[Meerut district]], also known as Qila Parikishatgarh, is ascribed to a Gujar king [[Nain Singh Nagar]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://meerut.nic.in/tourist.htm
|title=Tourist Places
|publisher=District Administration Meerut
|access-date=31 May 2007
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619074812/http://meerut.nic.in/tourist.htm
|archive-date=19 June 2009 }}</ref> Morena, Samthar, Dholpur, Saharanpur and Roorkee were also some of the places ruled by Gurjar Kings.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.rajras.in/rajasthan/districts/dholpur/ |title = Dholpur: History, Geography, Place to see |access-date = 2 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="cite">{{cite web |url = https://roorkee.cantt.gov.in/history/ |title = Roorkee Cantonment Board - History |access-date = 2 September 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://chambaldivisionmp.nic.in/en/culture-heritage/  |title = Culture & Heritage |access-date = 20 September 2021}}</ref>
 
In [[Delhi]], the [[Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet|Metcalfe House]] was sacked by Gurjar villagers from whom the land had been taken to erect the building.<ref>{{Cite book
| last =Sen
| first =Geeti
|author2=Ashis Banerjee
| title =The Human Landscape
| publisher =Orient Longman
|year=2001
|isbn=978-81-250-2045-5
| page =236
}}</ref> The British records claim that the Gurjars carried out several robberies. Twenty Gurjars were reported to have been beheaded by [[Rao Tula Ram]] for committing dacoities in July 1857.<ref name="munshi_jeewan_lal">{{Cite web
|last        = Jivanlala (Jeewan Lal)
|first        = Munshi
|author2      = Mu‘in al-Din Hasan Khan
|title      = Narrative of Munshi Jeewan Lal
|url  = http://www.kapadia.com/NativeNarrative/NarrativeofMunshiJeewanLal.htm
|access-date = 31 May 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231205/http://www.kapadia.com/NativeNarrative/NarrativeofMunshiJeewanLal.htm
|archive-date = 26 September 2007
|url-status = dead
}} in {{Cite book
|editor-last  = Metcalfe
|editor-first = Charles
|editor-link  = Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe
|title        = Two Native Narratives of the Mutiny in Delhi
|orig-year    = 1898
|url          = http://www.kapadia.com/NativeNarrative/TwoNativeNarratives.html
|access-date  = 31 May 2007
|year        = 1974
|publisher    = Seema Publications [original publisher: A. Constable & Co]
|pages        = 10–27
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070618064132/http://www.kapadia.com/NativeNarrative/TwoNativeNarratives.html
|archive-date = 18 June 2007
|url-status    = dead
}}</ref> In September 1857, the British were able to enlist the support of many Gurjars at [[Meerut]].<ref>{{Cite book
|title=The Adivasis of India – A History of Discrimination, Conflict, and Resistance
|author=C.R. Bijoy
|work=PUCL Bulletin
|publisher=People's Union for Civil Liberties
|date=February 2003
}}</ref> A British administrator, [[William Crooke]], stated that Gurjars seriously impeded the operations of British forces before they captured Delhi.<ref>Everyday life in South Asia By Diane P. Mines, Sarah Lamb, Published by Indiana University Press, 2002, pp.206</ref>
 
The colonial authors always used the code word "turbulent" for the castes who were generally hostile to British rule. They cited proverbs that appear to evaluate the caste in an unfavorable light. Reporter Meena Radhakrishna believes that the colonial authorities classified the Gurjars along with others as "criminal tribes" because of their active participation in the revolt of 1857 and also because they considered these tribes to be prone to criminality in the absence of legitimate means of livelihood.<ref>{{cite web
|url        = http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0007/00070240.htm
|title      = Dishonoured by history
|author      = Meena Radhakrishna
|work        = The Hindu folio: Special issue with the Sunday Magazine
|date        = 16 July 2006
|access-date  = 31 May 2007
|url-status  = dead
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110424193315/http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0007/00070240.htm
|archive-date = 24 April 2011
}}</ref>
 
== Culture ==
=== Afghanistan ===
[[File:Bakitar Gujar, 1984.jpg|thumb|right|Gujar children in Afghanistan, 1984]]
The Gujar people are a tribal group who have lived in [[Afghanistan]] for centuries. According to the [[Afghanistan]] news agency [[Pajhwok Afghan News|Pajwok Afghan News]], there are currently an estimated 1.5 million Gujar people residing in the country.<ref name=govt-has-long-ignored-our-problems-needs-gujars>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/04/govt-has-long-ignored-our-problems-needs-gujars/ |title=Govt has long ignored our problems, needs: Gujars
|date=January 2021 |access-date=15 March 2023|last1=Afghan News
|first1=Pajhwok
}}</ref><ref name=pajhwok.com>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2021/01/13/gujars-use-andak-meat-for-coronavirus-treatment/ |title=Gujars use Andak meat for coronavirus treatment
|date=January 2021 |access-date=15 March 2023|last1=Hamdard
|first1=Azizullah
}}</ref> The Gujar people are predominantly found in the northeastern regions of [[Afghanistan]], including [[Kapisa Province|Kapisa]], [[Baghlan Province|Baghlan]], [[Balkh Province|Balkh]], [[Kunduz Province|Kunduz]], [[Takhar Province|Takhar]], [[Badakhshan Province|Badakhshan]], [[Nuristan Province|Nuristan]], [[Laghman Province|Laghman]], [[Nangarhar Province|Nangarhar]], and [[Khost Province|Khost]]. They have a distinct culture and way of life.<ref name="govt-has-long-ignored-our-problems-needs-gujars"/><ref name="pajhwok.com"/>
 
There are an estimated 3,000 families living in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district. The Gujar in Afghanistan are also found in small pockets of [[Afghanistan]]'s northeastern region, particularly in and around the [[Nuristan Province|Nuristan province]].<ref name="nps">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.edu/programs/ccs/Nuristan.html |title=Nuristan |work=Program for Culture & Conflict Studies |publisher=Naval Postgraduate School |date=October 2009 |access-date=4 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="govt-has-long-ignored-our-problems-needs-gujars"/> The old [[Afghanistan Constitution|Afghanistan constitution]] recognised 14 ethnic groups officially with the Gujar ethnic group being one of them.<ref name="govt-has-long-ignored-our-problems-needs-gujars"/><ref name="https://www.rferl.org">{{cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-recognizes-long-forgotten-ethnic-tatar-community/31180205.html |title=Afghanistan Recognizes Long Forgotten Ethnic Tatar Community |newspaper=Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty |date=March 2021 |access-date=15 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="pajhwok.com"/>[[File:Gujar Afghan tribal elders meeting Hamid Karzai.jpg|thumb|right|Gujar tribal elders meeting president Hamid Karzai in 2013]]
 
Many Gujar tribal people in [[Afghanistan]] are deprived of their rights and their living conditions are poor. The Gujar in [[Afghanistan]] have sometimes been internally displaced in the past by illegal [[militia]]s, during 2018 around 200 Gujar families were [[Displaced people|displaced]] from their homes in [[Farkhar District|Farkhar district]] in [[Takhar Province|Takhar]] province.<ref name="govt-has-long-ignored-our-problems-needs-gujars"/><ref name="gujar-tribesmen-forcibly-evicted-takhar-homes">{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2018/02/06/gujar-tribesmen-forcibly-evicted-takhar-homes/ |title=Gujar tribesmen forcibly evicted from Takhar homes
|date=February 2018 |access-date=20 March 2023
}}</ref>
 
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic|corona virus pandemic]], the Gujar people in the northeastern province of [[Badakhshan Province|Badakhshan]] used Andak meat to treat the corona virus, due to lack of clinics and other [[Health facility|health facilities]] in their areas. The  Gujar Tribe Council deemed the meat of the Andak animal as [[Haram]], however many Gujar people in the area said they had no choice.<ref name="pajhwok.com"/>
 
In the past Gujar tribal leaders have met with the  previous [[President of Afghanistan|president]] of [[Afghanistan]], [[Hamid Karzai]]. The Gujar elders demanded schools and hospitals to be built in their areas and the [[Government of Afghanistan|Afghan government]] give scholarships to Gujar students to study abroad.<ref name="karzai-assures-consider-gujar-tribe-demands">{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2013/09/11/karzai-assures-consider-gujar-tribe-demands/
|title=Karzai assures to consider Gujar tribe demands
|date=September 2013 |access-date=15 March 2023
}}</ref>
 
=== India ===
In India Gurjars are one of the prominent castes besides Jats and Rajputs.
 
Today, the Gurjars are classified under the Other Backward Class category in some states in India.<ref name=article2608724>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article2608724.ece |title=India's Gujjar caste fight for a downgrade |first=Jeremy |last=Page |work=[[The Times]] |date=30 May 2008 |access-date=1 December 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131104003944/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article2608724.ece |archive-date=4 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, in Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Himachal Pradesh, they are designated as a Scheduled Tribe under the [[Reservation in India|Indian government's reservation program]] of [[positive discrimination]]. [[Hinduism|Hindu]] Gurjars were assimilated into several varnas.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sharma|first=R. S.|title=Early medieval Indian society: a study in feudalisation|publisher=Orient Longman Private Limited|year=2003|page=207|quote=It would be wrong to think that all foreigners were accepted as kshatriya and Rajputs for, in course of time, the Gujar people broke up into brahmans, banias, potters, goldsmiths, not to speak of herdsmen and cultivators (kunbis), who were looked upon as sudras. |isbn=978-81-250-2523-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i_sIE1sO5kwC&pg=PA207|access-date=30 November 2009}}</ref>
 
====Delhi====
Gurjars form an important component of Delhi. They have combined their traditional occupation of pastoralism and marginal cultivation over a large area in and around Delhi.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Demographic Study of Gujjars of Delhi: Population Structure and Socio-cultural Profile|year=2004 |doi=10.1080/09709274.2004.11905710|last1=Dabral|first1=Shweta|last2=Malik|first2=S.L.|journal=Journal of Human Ecology|volume=16|pages=17–24 |s2cid=55355163}}</ref> Currently there is one Gurjar Member of Parliament, [[Ramesh Bidhuri]], and six Gurjar MLAs, including the Leader of the Opposition in the [[Delhi Legislative Assembly]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.news18.com/amp/news/politics/in-kurukshetra-of-gujjar-rivals-how-this-dogged-defector-outsmarted-old-challengers-and-pretenders-2500629.html|title = How Ramvir Bidhuri, the New LoP in Delhi Assembly, Outfoxed Challengers in Kurukshetra of Gujjar Rivals}}</ref> [[Ramvir Singh Bidhuri]], [[Madan Lal]], [[Sahi Ram]], [[Kartar Singh Tanwar]], Dhanwanti Chandila and 26 Councillors in the MCD. A part of National Highway 24 was named after Gurjar Samrat Mihir Bhoja Marg by then Chief Minister [[Sahib Singh Verma]].
 
==== Haryana ====
 
The Gurjar community in Haryana has set elaborate guidelines for solemnizing marriages and holding other functions.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030803/ncr1.htm#4
|title=Anti-dowry campaign renewed before marriage season
|author=Chattar Pal Tanwar
|work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |location=[[Chandigarh]]
|date=3 August 2003
|access-date=31 May 2007
}}</ref> In a ''mahapanchayat'' ("the great [[panchayat]]"), the Gujjar community decided that those who sought dowry would be excommunicated from the society.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030630/ncr1.htm#5
|title=No band, no dhol, and just 11 baratis
|author=Parmindar Singh
|work=The Tribune |location=Chandigarh
|date=29 June 2003
|access-date=31 May 2007
}}</ref>
 
==== Rajasthan ====
 
[[File:Shri Devnarayan BhagwanVeerGurjar.JPG|thumb|right|Fairs of [[Shri Devnarayan Bhagwan]] are organized two times in a year at Demali, Maalasheri, [[Asind]] and [[Jodhpuriya]]]]
[[File:SawaibhojGurjar.jpg|thumb|right|Statue of [[Devnarayan#Bagaravat Bharat|Sri Sawai Bhoj Bagaravat]], one of the 24 Gujar brothers collectively known as Bagaravats, at [[Dev Dham Jodhpuriya]] temple.]]
 
The Rajasthani Gurjars worship [[Surya]], [[Devnarayan]] (an [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]]), [[Shiva]] and [[Durga|Bhavani]].<ref name=neuman>{{cite book|title=Bards, ballads and boundaries: an ethnographic atlas of music traditions in West Rajasthan|author=Daniel Neuman|author2=Shubha Chaudhuri|author3=Komal Kothari|publisher=Seagull|year=2007|quote=Devnarayan is worshipped as an avatar or incarnation of Vishnu. This epic is associated with the Gujar caste|isbn=978-1905422074|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bardsballadsboun00neum}}</ref><ref name=vol11>{{cite book|title=Indian studies: past & present, Volume 11|publisher=Today & Tomorrow's Printers & Publishers|year=1970|page=385|quote=The Gujars of Punjab, North Gujarat and Western Rajasthan worship Sitala and Bhavani}}</ref>
 
In Rajasthan, some members of the Gurjar community resorted to violent protests over the issue of [[Reservation in India|reservation]] in 2006 and 2007. During the 2003 election to the Rajasthan assembly, the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) promised them Scheduled Tribe status.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.countercurrents.org/rahi060608.htm
|title= Gujjar of Rajasthan and ST Status
|publisher=[[Countercurrents.org]]
|date=6 June 2008
|access-date=24 June 2009
}}</ref> However, the party failed to keep its promise after coming to the power, resulting in protests by the Gurjars in September 2006.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/060905/139/67ale.html
|title=Gujjar community goes berserk in Rajasthan
|publisher=Yahoo! News
|date=5 September 2006
|access-date=31 May 2007
}} {{dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>
 
In May 2007, during violent protests over the reservation issue, members of the Gurjar community clashed with the police.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200705301541.htm |title=Gujjar unrest: CPI(M) demands judicial probe |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=30 May 2007 |access-date=31 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215605/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200705301541.htm |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, the Gurjar protested violently, under various groups including the Gurjar Sangarsh Samiti,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=374252&sid=REG&ssid= |title= Talks between Rajasthan Government, Gujjars collapse |publisher=[[Zee News]] |date=30 May 2007 |access-date=31 May 2007 }}</ref> Gurjar Mahasabha<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/May302007/national200705304597.asp?section=updatenews |title=Gujjars seek resignation of Minister Kalulal Gujjar |work=[[Deccan Herald]]|date=30 May 2007
|access-date=31 May 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929131756/http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/May302007/national200705304597.asp?section=updatenews <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 29 September 2007}}</ref> and the Gurjar Action Committee.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Four_dead_in_Gujjar-police_clash/articleshow/2082202.cms |title=Four dead in Gujjar-police clash in Rajasthan |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=29 May 2007 |access-date=31 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113193527/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Four_dead_in_Gujjar-police_clash/articleshow/2082202.cms |archive-date=13 January 2009 }}</ref> The protestors blocked roads and set fire to two police stations and some vehicles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.pravda.ru/news/hotspots/30-05-2007/92454-clash_india-0
|title=Impoverished villagers burn police stations, vehicles in India |publisher=[[Pravda.ru]] |date=29 May 2007 |access-date=31 May 2007 }}</ref> Presently, the Gurjars in Rajasthan are classified as Other Backward Classes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ncbc.nic.in/backward-classes/rajasthan.htm |title=Central List of Other Backward Classes: Rajasthan |publisher=National Commission for Backward Classes |access-date=31 May 2007}}</ref>
 
On 5 June 2007, Gurjars rioted over their desire to be added to the central list of tribes who are given preference in India government job selection as well as placement in the schools sponsored by the states of India. This preference is given under a system designed to help India's poor and disadvantaged citizens. However, other tribes on the list oppose this request, as it would make it harder to obtain the few positions already set aside.<ref>{{Cite magazine|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=5 June 2007 |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1628192,00.html?xid=rss-world&iid=sphere-inline-bottom |access-date=26 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001004511/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1628192,00.html?xid=rss-world&iid=sphere-inline-bottom |title=The Race to the Bottom of India's Ladder}}</ref>
 
In December 2007, the Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Mahasabha ("All-India Gurjar Council") stated that the community would boycott BJP, which was in power in Rajasthan.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Gurjar community 'threatens' to boycott BJP |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/004200712311013.htm |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=31 December 2007 |access-date=31 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112093120/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/004200712311013.htm |archive-date=12 January 2009}}</ref> But in 2009 the Gurjar community was supporting BJP so that they could be politically benefitted. [[Kirori Singh Bainsla]] fought and lost on the BJP ticket. In early 2000s (decade), the Gurjar community in Dang region of Rajasthan was also in news for the falling [[sex ratio]], unavailability of brides, and the resulting [[polyandry]].<ref>{{Cite news
|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2003/08/31/stories/2003083100250400.htm
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040321101203/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2003/08/31/stories/2003083100250400.htm
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=21 March 2004
|title=Men without women
|author=Manipadma Jena
|work=[[The Hindu]]
|date=3 August 2003
|access-date=31 May 2007
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/globalpers/gp021505.htm
|title=Diminishing returns
|author=Astrid Lobo Gajiwala
|work=[[National Catholic Reporter]]
|date=7 February 2005
|access-date=31 May 2007
}}</ref>
 
{{See also|2008 caste violence in Rajasthan}}
 
==== Madhya Pradesh ====
 
{{as of|2022}}, the Gurjars in [[Madhya Pradesh]] are classified as Other Backward Classes.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ncbc.nic.in/user_panel/GazetteResolution.aspx?Value=mPICjsL1aLuPAiTDwaBMRTkcitPtwFoYM%2fvPkOo88fWK%2fs%2fLWkaxMKHeos%2fc%2fKys
|title=Central List of Other Backward Classes: Madhya Pradesh
|publisher=National Commission for Backward Classes
|access-date=22 January 2023
}}</ref>
 
==== Maharashtra ====
In Maharashtra, Gurjars are in very good numbers in Jalgaon District. Dode Gurjars and Dore Gurjars are listed as [[Other Backward Classes]] in Maharashtra.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://ncbc.nic.in/backward-classes/maharashtra.html
|title=Central List of Other Backward Classes
|publisher=National Commission for Backward Classes
|access-date=31 May 2007
}}</ref>
 
==== Gujarat ====
The State took its name from the Gurjara, the land of the Gurjars, who ruled the area during the 700s and 800s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Gujarat|url=https://gujaratindia.gov.in/about-gujarat/history-1.htm|website=Gujrat State Portal}}</ref>
 
They are listed among the [[Other Backward Classes]] of Gujarat.<ref name="goi">{{cite web|title=Central List of OBCs For the State of Gujarat|url=http://www.bcmbcmw.tn.gov.in/obc/faq/gujarat.pdf|publisher=[[Government of India]]}}</ref>
 
The [[Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya]] (also known as Mistri) and [[Gurjar Kshatriya Kadias|Gurjar Kshatriya Kadia]] are minority communities of Gujarat which are listed among the [[Other Backward Classes]] of Gujarat.<ref name=goi/>
 
A few scholars believe that the [[Leva Patil|Leva]] [[Kunbi]]s (or Kambis) of Gujarat, a section of the [[Patidar]]s, are possibly of Gurjar origin.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/BULDHANA/people_castes.html
|title=Buldhana: Castes
|work=Buldhana District Gazetteer
|publisher=Gazetteers Department, Cultural Affairs Department of Government of Maharashtra
|access-date=31 May 2007
}}</ref><ref name="indomitable_sardar">{{Cite book
|last=Panjabi
|first=Kewalram Lalchand
|title =The Indomitable Sardar
|year =1977
|publisher =Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
|page=4
|quote=Vallabhbhai Patel belonged to the famous clan of Leva Gujar Patidars who played a notable role in the history of Gujarat. They were Gujars who came from Punjab and had occupied the rich charotar land between Mahi and Tapi rivers.
}}</ref> However, several others state that the Patidars are [[Kurmi]]s or [[Kunbi]]s (Kanbis);<ref name="patidarsamaj.org">{{cite web
|url=http://www.patidarsamaj.org/culture-traditions.htm
|title=Culture and Traditions
|publisher=Patidar Samaj
|access-date=31 May 2007
}}</ref><ref name="Pocock 1972">{{Cite book
|last=Pocock
|first=David Francis
|title=Kanbi and Patidar: A Study of the Patidar Community of Gujarat
|year=1972
|publisher=Clarendon Press
|isbn=978-0-19-823175-2
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/kanbipatidarstud0000poco
}}</ref> Gurjars are included in the OBC list in Gujarat but Patidars are not.<ref name=goi/>
 
The Gurjars are a subtype of [[Kumhar]] and [[Prajapati]] community of Gujarat and are listed among the Other Backward Classes of Gujarat.<ref name=goi/>
 
Gurjars of [[North Gujarat]], along with those of Western [[Rajasthan]] and [[Punjab]], worship [[Shitala|Sitala]] and [[Bhavani]].<ref name=vol11/>
 
==== Himachal Pradesh ====
{{As of|2001}}, the Gurjars in parts of Himachal Pradesh were classified as a Scheduled Tribe.<ref name="census2001">{{cite web|publisher=Census of India: Government of India |url=http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/scst_main.html |date=7 March 2007 |title=List of Scheduled Tribes |access-date=27 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605042409/http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/scst_main.html |archive-date=5 June 2010}}</ref> They are mostly found in the [[Chamba district]] of the state and are predominantly Muslim. They are closely related to the Gurjars and Bakarwals of neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir.
 
==== Jammu and Kashmir ====
[[File:BAKARWALS_RAJOURI.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Bakarwals from Jammu and Kashmir]]
   
The Gurjars and Bakerwals tribes of Jammu and Kashmir were declared a Scheduled Tribe (ST) in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tribal.nic.in/DivisionsFiles/clm/17.pdf|title= Scheduled Tribe Order |publisher= Government of India, Tribal Affairs Department }}</ref> In the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the concentration of Gurjars is observed in all but largely found in [[Rajouri District|Rajouri]], [[Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir|Poonch]], [[Reasi District|Reasi]], [[Kishtwar district]] and, followed by, [[Anantnag District|Anantnag]], [[Udhampur District|Udhampur]] and [[Doda District|Doda]] districts.<ref name="census2001_jk_st">{{cite web
|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/
|title=Jammu & Kashmir Data Highlights: The Scheduled Tribes
|work=[[Census of India]] 2001
|publisher=Office of the Registrar General, India
|access-date=31 May 2007
}}</ref> It is believed that Gurjars migrated to Jammu and Kashmir from Gujarat (via Rajasthan) and Hazara district of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref>{{Cite book
| last =Kapoor
| first =A. K.
|author2=M. K. Raha |author3=D. Basu |author4=Satwanti Kapoor
  | title =Ecology and man in the Himalayas
| year =1994
| publisher =M. D. Publications
| isbn =978-81-85880-16-7
| pages =43–44
}}</ref>
 
{{As of|2011}}, the Gurjars and the Bakarwals in Jammu and Kashmir were classified as Scheduled Tribes constitute 12% of the total population of Jammu and Kashmir. However, they claim that they constitute more than 20% of the population, and allege undercounting because of their [[transhumance|nomadic]] lifestyle, saying that when the censuses were held in 2001 and 2011, half of their population had been in the upper reaches of the Himalaya.<ref name="census2001" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/gujjars-bakerwals-seek-special-census-373095|title= Gujjars, Bakerwals seek special census |work=The Tribune |location=New Delhi}}</ref> According to the [[2011 Census of India]], Gurjars are the most populous scheduled tribe in Jammu and Kashmir, having a population of nearly 1.5 million. Nearly all of them follow Islam.<ref name="census2001_jk_st" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://tribalaffairs.jk.gov.in/StPopu.pdf|title= Tribal Population of Gujjars, Bakerwals|publisher= Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Tribal Affairs Department }}</ref>
 
The Gurjars of Jammu and Kashmir in 2007 demanded that this tribal community be treated as a [[Linguistic minorities|linguistic minority]] in the erstwhile state and provided with constitutional safeguards for their language [[Gojri]]. They also pressured the state government to urge the central government to include [[Gojri]] in the list of [[official languages of India]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=128044|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904180135/http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=128044|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 September 2012|title=Meri News|publisher=Meri News|access-date=16 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showarticles.php?subaction=showfull&id=1223720396&archive=&start_from=&ucat=3&var0news=value0news|title=Kashmir Watch|publisher=Kashmir Watch|access-date=16 April 2009}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
 
In 2002, some Gurjars and [[Bakarwal]]s in Jammu and Kashmir demanded a separate state called Gujaristan for Gujjar and Bakarwal communities, under the banner of All India Gurjar Parishad.<ref>{{cite web
|url        = http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=13233
|title      = Gujjars, Bakerwals demand Gujaristan in J&K
|work  = [[Indian Express]]
|date        = 29 July 2002
|access-date  = 31 May 2007
|url-status    = dead
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20050220224316/http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=13233
|archive-date = 20 February 2005
}}</ref> Gurjars and Bakarwals have at times been targeted by militants of the insurgency in the territory, such as during the [[2001 Kot Charwal massacre|Kot Charwal]] and [[2004 Teli Katha massacre|Teli Katha massacre]]s.
 
==== Uttarakhand ====
 
The Van Gujjars ("forest Gurjars") are found in the [[Shivalik Hills]] area of Uttarakhand. The Van Gujjars follow Islam, and they have their own clans, similar to the Hindu [[gotra]]s.<ref name="businessline_outside_jungle">{{cite web
|url        = http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/2000/09/04/stories/100444m8.htm
|title      = Outside the jungle book
|author      = Radhakrishna Rao
|website    = [[The Hindu Business Line]]
|date        = 4 September 2000
|access-date  = 31 May 2007
|url-status    = dead
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070528103747/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/2000/09/04/stories/100444m8.htm
|archive-date = 28 May 2007
}}</ref> They are a pastoral semi-nomadic community, practising [[transhumance]]. In the winter season, the Van Gujjars migrate with herds of semi-wild [[water buffalo]] to the Shivalik Hills at the foot of the Himalayas, and in summer, they migrate to alpine pastures higher up the Himalayas. The Gurjars sell milk to local peoples as their primary source of income.<ref name="Bound">{{cite book |title=Himalaya Bound: One Family's Quest to Save Their Animals - and an Ancient Way of Life |publisher=Pegasus Books |author=Michael Benanav |year=2018 }}</ref> They treat their animals with great care and do not eat them nor sell them for meat.<ref name="Bound" />
 
The Van Gujjars have had conflicts with forest authorities, who prohibited human and livestock populations inside reserved parks.<ref name="businessline_outside_jungle" /> However, India's [[Forest Rights Act]] of 2006 granted rights to "traditional forest dwellers" to the lands they have relied on for generations.<ref name="Bound" /> The conflict between local forest officials, who claim rights over the newly created parks, and the thousand year nomadic traditions of the Van Gujjars has been ongoing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2009/0731/p17s07-wosc.html |title=Is there room for India's nomads?  |work=Christian Science Monitor |author=Michael Benanav |date=31 July 2009 |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="Bound" />
 
=== Pakistan ===
Several cities in [[Punjab, Pakistan]] are named after the Gurjars, including [[Gujranwala]] (district headquarters), [[Gujrat, Pakistan|Gujrat]] (district headquarters), [[Gujar Khan]], (tehsil headquarters), and [[Gojra]] (tehsil headquarters) {{citation needed|date=October 2020}}. Due to migrations, large Gujjar population can also be found in [[Islamabad]], [[Sialkot]], [[Lahore]] and [[Faisalabad]]. The majority of Gurjars in Pakistan speak Punjabi. Punjabi, Kashmiri and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gurjars typically use the prefixes [[Chaudhry]], [[Malik]], [[Rana (title)|Rana]], [[Khan (title)|Khan]], [[Nawab]], [[Mehar (name)|Mehar]], [[Rajput]], [[Sardar]] and [[Nawabzada]], as courtesy titles.
 
== See also ==
* [[Gurjaradesa]]
* [[Gurjaras of Lata]]
* [[Pratiharas of Mandavyapura|Gurjaras of Mandavyapura]]
* [[Gurjara-Pratihara]]
* [[Bhadanakas]]
* [[List of Gurjar clans]]
* [[Notable Gurjar Personalities]]


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
'''Notes'''
{{notelist}}
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}


=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book |first=Brajadulal |last=Chattopadhyaya |title=The Making of Early Medieval India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AmVuAAAAMAAJ |year=1994 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780195634150}}
* {{cite book|last=Singh|first=David Emmanuel|title=Islamization in Modern South Asia: Deobandi Reform and the Gujjar Response|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=upk5AgAAQBAJ|year=2012|location=Boston|publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-1-61451-185-4}}


[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
== Further reading ==
* {{citation|last=Rawat|first=Ajay Singh|title=Man and Forests: The Khatta and Gujjar Settlements of Sub-Himalayan Tarai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XvNQU4VFrbgC|year=1993|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=978-81-85182-97-1}}
* {{citation |last=Hāṇḍā  |first=Omacanda |title=Textiles, Costumes, and Ornaments of the Western Himalaya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JFPnh9B5zncC&pg=PA257 |year=1998 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-076-7 |pages=257–}}
 
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LrXuWoKunwA&feature=youtu.be Report of NDTV on Baisoya Gurjars of Kalka Garhi (a village in central Delhi) and their traditions including their ruling monarchs]
 
{{Gurjar clans}}{{Social groups of Rajasthan}}{{Social groups of Maharashtra}}{{Ethnic groups in Afghanistan}}
{{Ethnic groups, tribes and clans of the Punjab}}


{{Authority control}}


{{simple-Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Gurjar| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Social groups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]
[[Category:Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Kunar Province]]
[[Category:Hindu dynasties]]
[[Category:Punjabi tribes]]
[[Category:Hindkowan tribes]]
[[Category:Demographic history of India]]
[[Category:Pastoralists]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
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