Pastoral Communities in India
PASTORAL COMMUNITIES
Gujars
The Gujar are an ethnic group in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Today, the Gujars are classified under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category in some states in India. However, in Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Himachal Pradesh, they are designated as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's reservation program of discrimination. Hindu Gujars today are assimilated into several varnas.
The origin of the Gujars is uncertain. Many Gujars claim descent from Suryavanshi Kshatriyas (Sun Dynasty) and connect themselves with the Hindu deity Rama. Historically, the Gujars 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 Gujar title of honor is Mihir which means Sun. Ancient Sanskrit Poet Rajasekhara in his plays styled Gujar rulers as Raghu-kula-tilaka (Ornament of the race of Raghu), Raghu-gramani (the leader of the Raghus) and so forth.[9]
The Gujar 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 Gujars were foreign immigrants, possibly a branch of Hephthalites ("White Huns"). In the past, Gujars have also been hypothesized to be descended from the nomadic Khazar tribes, although the history of Khazars shows an entirely different politico-cultural ethos 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.
According to some historical accounts, the kingdom with capital at Bhinmal (or Srimal) was established by the Gujars. 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 Gujara)
Gujars
The Gujar are an ethnic group in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Today, the Gujars are classified under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category in some states in India. However, in Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Himachal Pradesh, they are designated as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's reservation program of discrimination. Hindu Gujars today are assimilated into several varnas.
The origin of the Gujars is uncertain. Many Gujars claim descent from Suryavanshi Kshatriyas (Sun Dynasty) and connect themselves with the Hindu deity Rama. Historically, the Gujars 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 Gujar title of honor is Mihir which means Sun. Ancient Sanskrit Poet Rajasekhara in his plays styled Gujar rulers as Raghu-kula-tilaka (Ornament of the race of Raghu), Raghu-gramani (the leader of the Raghus) and so forth.[9]
The Gujar 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 Gujars were foreign immigrants, possibly a branch of Hephthalites ("White Huns"). In the past, Gujars have also been hypothesized to be descended from the nomadic Khazar tribes, although the history of Khazars shows an entirely different politico-cultural ethos 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.
According to some historical accounts, the kingdom with capital at Bhinmal (or Srimal) was established by the Gujars. 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 Gujara)