Nomadic Gurjar two
groups have been identified - one the Bakarwals and the other group is that of the
Van Gurjar. In contrast to the Bakarwals who herd the goat the Van Gurjars in
India herd a small, tough and
hybrid variety of the buffalo. Right now we only talk about one Gujjar The Van Gurjars are vegetarian and depend
entirely on the forest produce and the milk or milk products of the hybrid
buffalo. The buffalo is an extremely prized animal for the Van Gujjars in India.
They consider the buffalo an individual in its own right with appropriate name
by which it is called as well as known.
The Van Gurjars in India spend the
autumn (that is approximately October to April) in the Shivalik hills and the
summer and the rainy season (May to September) in the higher pastures of the
Himalayas. Migrations between these grazing zones take up to three months. They
are completely dependent on the forests for their needs of fodder, fuel wood,
thatching material and timber for their huts. The Van Gujjars are also known as
`forest Gujjars`. They are mostly found in the Shivalik hills area of the
northern region of India. They basically follow Islam. Van Gujjars have their
own clans that are quite similar to the gotras in Hinduism. They are considered
as a rural semi-nomadic community. The Van Gurjars in India have had numerous conflicts with
the forest authorities, who banned livestock populations inside the Rajaji
National Park (RNP). The forest authorities also blamed the Van Gurjars for poaching as
well as timber smuggling. After the creation of this
park, they were asked to shift their base to a resettlement colony near
Haridwar. The Van Gurjars are like any other wild animal
of the forests and know how to protect themselves against attacks from
carnivorous animals. They have their own warning sounds
and all of them gather together in a circle to fend off any attack. The
Van Gurjars of the Rajaji National Park (RNP) live in homesteads called the
`deras`. Each house is built from the forest material on a clearing in the
forests. The van Gurjars live and move in joint family groups set up temporary
settlements where the grazing is good. Men graze the animals and sell the milk
and the women do the other household chores. The men wear a turban, a lose
tahmet (sarong) and generally have a flowing long beard. Some wear embroidered
waistcoats. The women wear a long kurta (shirt), churidar (tight pyjamas), and
jackets. Van Gurjars speak Gurjari or Gojri, a dialect of Hindi language. Many
speak Urdu language, Kashmiri language, Pahari or Dogri as well. They are a
monogamy and patriarchal society. Milk and cornmeal are their staple food and
they are strict vegetarians. The Van Gurjars in India relate the
Judeo-Christian and traditional Islamic story of Esau as their justification
for forest dwelling and vegetarianism.
With regard
Choudhary
jitender Gurjar Budheda
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