History of Gujjar Cast : Cast History In Pakistan

The Gurjars (Sanskrit:  Gurjars a,, Gujar i: , گُرجر) or Gujjar ( Prakrit: , گجر) are an ethnic group in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Alternative spellings include Gurjars a, Gujar and Gujur.

While the origin of the Gujjars is uncertain, the Gurjars clan appeared in ancient northern India about the time of the Huna invasions of the region. In the 6th to 12th Century, they were primarily classed as Kshatriya and Brahmin, and many of them later converted to Islam during the Muslim rule in South Asia. Today, the Gujjars are classified under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in some states in India. The HinduGujjars today are assimilated into several varnas of Hinduism.

History

The origin of the Gujjars is uncertain. There are various references talking about their origin. Most of the Gurjars s claim descent from Suryavanshi Kshatriyas (Sun Dynasty) and connect themselves with Shri Ram Chandra. Historically, the Gurjars s were Sun-worshipers and are described as devoted to the feet of the Sun-god (God Surya).Their copper-plate grants bear an emblem of the Sun and on their seals too, this symbol is depicted. Also the Gurjars title of honor is Mihir which means Sun. Ancient Sanskrit Poet Rajasekhara in his plays styled Gurjarsrulers as Raghu-kula-tilaka (Ornament of the race of Raghu), Raghu-gramani (the leader of the Raghus)and so forth.

In Ramayana, it is described that a war was fought among demons and gods.Gurjars s fought against demons under the leadership of King Dasharatha. There is also references of Gurjarswidows in Yoga Vasistha, whose husbands laid down their lives in the battlefield, having their heads tonsured as a mark of their bravement. In Mahabharata war also Gurjars s fought and later on along with lord Krishna migrated from Mathura to Dwarka, Gujar at.

The Gurjars clan appeared in northern India about the time of the Huna invasions of northern India. Some scholars, such as V. A. Smith, believed that the Gurjars s were foreign immigrants, possibly a branch of Hephthalites ("White Huns"). Mr. Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar (D. B. Bhandarkar) (1875–1950) believed that Gurjars s came into India with the Hunas, and the name was sanskritized to "Gurjars a". He also believed that several places in Central Asia, such as "Gurjistan", are named after the Gujar s and that the reminiscences of Gujar migration is preserved in these names. General Cunningham identified the Gurjars s with Yuezhi or Tocharians.

General Cunningham and A. H. Bingley consider the Gurjars s as descendants of Kushan/Yueh-chi or Tocharians of Indo-Scythian stock. In the past, Gurjars s have also been hypothesized to be descended from the nomadic Khazar tribes, although the history of Khazars shows an entirely different politico-cultural ethos In Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency, the British civil servant James M. Campbell identified Gujar s with Khazars. Scott Cameron Levi, in his The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and its Trade, 1550-1900, mentions Kazar (Khazar, could also refer to Kassar) and Kujar (Gujar ) as two different tribes with links to Central Asia.

Some others claim that the Gurjars caste is related to the Chechens and the Georgians, and argue that Georgia was traditionally called "Gujar istan" (actually Gorjestan). However, there is little evidence for such claims. The word "Georgia" derived from the Arabic and Persian word Gurj, and not Gujjar or Gurjars .

A 2009 study conducted by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, under the supervision ofGurjars scholar Dr.Javaid Rahi, claimed that the word "Gujar " has a Central Asian Turkic origin, written in romanized Turkish as Göçer. Study claimed that according to the new research, theGurjars race "remained one of the most vibrant identity of Central Asia in BC era and later ruled over many princely states in northern India for hundred of years".

According to Scholars such as Baijnath puri, Mount Abu (ancient Arbuda Mountain) region of present day Rajasthan had been abode of the Gurjars s during medieval period. The association of the Gurjars s with the mountain is noticed in many inscriptions and epigraphs including Tilakamanjari of Dhanpala. These Gurjars s migrated from Arbuda mountain region and as eatly as sixth century A.D, they set up one or more principalities in Rajasthan and Gujarat.Whole or a larger part of Rajasthan and Gujar at had been long known as Gurjars atra (country ruled or protected by the Gurjars s) or Gurjars abhumi (land of the Gurjars s) for centuries prior to Mughal period.

The sociologist G. S. Ghurye believes that the name Gujjar is derived from the principal profession followed by the tribe: cattle-breeding (the Sanskrit word for cow is gau and the old Hindi word for sheep is gadar).,[33] though "Gujjar" has come from "Gurjars " which is a sanskrit word which according to Sanskrit Dictionary (Shakabada1181), has been explained thus: Gur+jar; 'Gur' means 'enemy' and 'jar' means 'destroyer'. The word means "Destroyer of the enemy" . The word "Gurjars " predicts the qualities of a warrior community.

Gurjars rulers

According to some historical accounts, the kingdom with capital at Bhinmal (or Srimal) was established by the Gurjars s. A minor kingdom of Bharuch was the offshoot of this Kingdom. In 640-41 CE, the Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hieun Tsang) described the kingdoms of Su-la-cha (identified with Saurashtra) and Kiu-che-lo (identified with Gurjars a) in his writings. He stated that the Gurjars as ruled a rich and populous kingdom with capital at Bhinmal (Pilo-mo-lo). According to his expositor, M. Vivien de St. Martin, Su-la-cha represents the modern Gujar at, and Kiu-che-lo (Gurjjara), "the country of the Gujar s", represents the region between Anhilwara and the Indus River, i.e. Sindh region.

Vincent Smith believed that the Pratihara dynasty, which ruled a large kingdom in northern India from the 6th to the 11th centuries, and has been mentioned as "Gurjars a-Pratiharas" in an inscription, was certainly of Gurjars a origin. Smith also stated that there is possibility of other Agnikula Kshatriya clans being of same origin. Dr. K. Jamanadas also states that the Pratihara clan descended from the Gurjars s, and this "raises a strong presumption that the other Rajput clans also are the descendants from the Gurjars as or the allied foreign immigrants". D. B. Bhandarkar also believed that Pratiharas were a clan of Gurjars s. In his book The Glory that was Gujar desh (1943), Gurjars writer K. M. Munshi stated that the Pratiharas, the Paramaras and the Solankis were imperial Gujjars .

According a number of scholars Chauhan was a prominent clan of Gurjars s.

H. A. Rose and Denzil Ibbetson stated that there is no conclusive proof that the Agnikula Rajput clans are of Gurjars a origin; they believed that there is possibility of the indigenous tribes adopting Gurjars a names, when their founders were enfiefed by Gurjars a rulers. Some other historians believe that although some sections of the Pratiharas (e.g. the one to which Mathanadeva belonged) were Gurjars s by caste, the Pratiharas of Kannauj were not Gurjars s and there was no Gurjars a empire in Northern India in 8th and 9th century., though from the work of other historians it has been known that Kannauj was capital of Gurjars a-Pratihara.

Historian Sir Jervoise Athelstane Baines also stated Gurjars s as forefathers of Sisodiyas, chauhan, Parmar, Parihar and Chalukya.

Chavdas, also known as Gurjars Chapas was also one of the ruling clans of Gurjars s, who extended the power of the race in the south.

The pratiharas belonged to the same clan that of Gurjars as was proved by the "Rajor inscription".From the phrase "Gurjars a Pratiharanvayah" inscribed in the "Rajor inscription".It is known that the Pratiharas belonged to the Gurjars a clan.The Rashtrakuta records and the Arabian chronicles also identify the Pariharas with Gurjars as.

Over the years, the Gurjars s were assimilated mainly into the castes of Kshatriya varna, although some Gurjars groups (such as Gaur Gurjars s of central India) are classified as Brahmins.During the Muslim rule, many of the Gurjars s converted to Islam. With the rise of Islam, Muslim Gujjars no longer adhered to their Kshatriya or Brahmin classification but retained clan names as a form of tribal recognition.Places such as Gujranwala, Gujar Khan, Gujar Kot, Gujrat in Pakistan and the state of Gujar at in India are a testament to the Gurjars influence in the past.