Bargujar

Bargujar
Population Location:	India, Nepal and Pakistan
Subdivisions:	Hindustani and Himachali
Languages:	Rajasthani, Hindi, Haryanvi, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Bhojpuri, Braj Bhasa & Awadhi

The Bargujar or Badgujars is one of the Rajput, Gurjar, and Maratha clans of India.

History

In its survey of The People of India, the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) - a government-sponsored organisation - noted that

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.

AnSI record that I. Karve, the Indologist and historian, noted that the Gurjars position in society and the caste system generally varied from one linguistic area of India to another. In Maharashtra, according to AnSI, Karve believes 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 Chandravansh or Suryavansh dynasties, at least two of the communities in the region claimed instead to be descended from the Agnivansh.

Prataprao was the third royal Sarnaubat (Commander-in-chief) of Maratha ruler Shivaji's army.^{citation needed} Sidhoji Bargujar was a notable admiral in Shivaji's navy.^{citation needed} The Khandesh region in Maharashtra has a sizable Gujar population, the major sub-castes being Dode Gujar, Leva Gujar, Bargujar.^{citation needed}

During the Medieval period, one emperor demanded in marriage the daughter of Ishwar Das (Raja of Alwar), and on his refusal many Bargujars were slaughtered. Others fled, with one faction arriving at Fatehpur Sikri, where they obtained asylum by agreeing to change their clan name to Sikarwar. The Sikarwar are a branch of Bargujar Rajputs.

See also

• Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan Chhatari
• Lalkhani

References

Notes

Citations

Further reading

• Harlan, Lindsey (1992). Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protection in Contemporary Narratives. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07339-8. 
• Kasturi, Malavika (2002). Embattled Identities Rajput Lineages. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-565787-X. 
• Dasharatha Sharma Rajasthan through the Ages a comprehensive and authentic history of Rajasthan, prepared under the orders of the Government of Rajasthan. First published 1966 by Rajasthan Archives.
• Vishnu Purana P-348