Gujjar or Gurjar is an ethnic group found primarily in India and Pakistan, with some populations in Afghanistan. They are traditionally a pastoral community but now engage in various professions like agriculture, teaching, and mining. There is uncertainty around their origins, but many claim descent from Hindu dynasties and worship the sun god Surya. Historically, Gurjar kingdoms ruled parts of India and Pakistan. Under British rule in the 18th century, several Gurjar chieftains held power. Today, small populations of Gurjars remain in Afghanistan while Gurjars comprise as much as 20% of Pakistan's population.

1. Gurjar Culture
Gujjar or Gurjar is an ethnic group with populations in India and Pakistan.
Small number of Gujjars are also found in
northeastern Afghanistan]Alternative spellings
include Gurjara, Gojar, Goojar, Gurjjara and Gūrjara. They are traditionally
a pastoral community. In recent times they have added some new and
different professions, including work that deals with agriculture or animal
husbandry as well as teaching or mining, law or transport industry.

2. Origin
• The origin of the Gurjars is uncertain. Many Gurjars
claim descent from Suryavanshi Kshatriyas (Sun
Dynasty) and connect themselves with the Hindu
deity Rama. Historically, the Gurjars were Sunworshipers 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 Gurjar title of honor
is Mihir which means Sun.Ancient Sanskrit
Poet Rajasekhara in his plays styled Gurjar rulers
as Raghu-kula-tilaka (Ornament of the race
of Raghu), Raghu-gramani (the leader of the Raghus)
and so forth.

3. Gurjar rulers
• According to some historical accounts, the kingdom with
capital at Bhinmal (or Srimal) was established by the
Gurjars. 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-chelo (identified with Gurjara) in his writings. He stated that
the Gurjaras 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 Gujarat, and Kiu-che-lo (Gurjjara), "the country of
the Gujars", represents the region between Anhilwara and
the Indus River, i.e. Sindh region.[

6. British rule
• In the eighteenth century, several Gurjar
chieftains and small kings were in power. During
the reign of Rohilla Nawab Najib-ul-Daula,
Dargahi Singh, the Gurjar chieftain
of Dadri possessed 133 villages at a fixed revenue
of Rs.29,000. A fort at Parlchhatgarh in Meerut
District, also known as Qila Parikishatgarh, is
ascribed to a Gurjar Raja Nain Singh. According to
a legend, the fort was built by Parikshit and
restored by Nain Singh in the eighteenth century.
The fort was dismantled in 1857, to be used as a
police station.

7. Van Gujjars
• The Van Gujjars ("forest Gujjars") are found in the Shivalik hills area of
North India. The Van Gujjars follow Islam, and they have their own clans,
similar to the Hindu gotras. They are a pastoral semi-nomadic community,
practising transhumance. In the winter season, the Van Gujjars migrate
with their herds to the Shiwalik foothills, and in summer, they migrate to
pastures high up in the mountains. The Van Gujjars have had conflicts with
the forest authorities, who prohibited human and livestock populations
inside a reserved park, and blamed the Van Gujjar community for
poaching and timber smuggling. After the creation of the Rajaji National
Park (RNP), the Van Gujjars in Deharadun were asked to shift to a
resettlement colony at Pathari near Hardwar. In 1992, when the Van
Gujjars returned to the foothills, the RNP authorities tried to block them
from the park area.

8. Afghanistan
• Small pockets of Gujjars are found in Afghanistan's
northeastern region, paricularly in and around the Nuristan
province. According to Naval Postgraduate School, "They
roam with their herds, usually of cows, from the high
Himalayas in India to the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan,
although rarely are they seen in Afghanistan anymore, as
Pakistan has hindered their passage through its territory
and most preferred to stay within India. Some in India
remain Hindu, although further west many are Muslim.
Often they can be recognized by their avoidance of others,
and their brightly hennaed beards. They are proud, fierce,
and loyal.

9. Pakistan
• The Muslim Gurjars are considered
to be a major tribe in Pakistan; in
fact, they compromise as much as
twenty percent of the country's
entire populaion.

10. Made by
• Sourav Choudhary
• Aashish Bhati
• Abhishek Bansal