This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
The Muslim Gujjars or Musalmān Gujjars are the descendants of Gujjars in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period onwards.[1] Today, Muslim Gujjars can be found mostly in present-day Northern India and Pakistan. They are further divided into different clans.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 India,  Pakistan,  Afghanistan | |
| Languages | |
| Hindi, Urdu, Panjabi, Gujari, Pahari-Pothwari | |
| Religion | |
 Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Muslim Rajputs, Jat Muslim |
History edit
Most Gujjars, along with Panjāb's other tribes such as Rājpūts, Jats, Gakhars and others, accepted Islam during the Delhi Sultanate era through Sufi missionaries.[2] There are several cities named after Gujars in Panjāb e.g., Gujrānwālā, Gujrāt, Gūjar Khān etc. Gujrat District is the strong-hold of the Gujars.[3] In the 9th century, the region was ruled by Alakhāna (Alkhān) of the Gujar kingdom. This may be the Alī Khān Gujar whom the Gujars of Gujrat hail as their elder and founder of Gujrat.[4] The area around Dera Ghazi Khan was once ruled by Mahmud Khan of the Khatana branch of Gujars from 1769 (according to some sources 1739[5]) till the assassination of his grandson Badkhurdar in 1779.
The Gujjars of KPK and Hazara region's conversion dates back to the same era. In the 16th century, Nuruddin, the son of the Ismaili heretic preacher Bayazid Ansari (commonly known as ‘Pir Roshan’ and for inventing the Pashto alphabet) and successor to his Roshani movement was killed by the Gujjars of Hashtnagar.[6] In the 19th century, a Gujjar Abd al-Ghafūr (commonly known as Akhund of Swāt) became the ruler of the Swat valley and the nearby areas. Being the most powerful figure in the region, he would later lead the local tribes against the British in the Ambela campaign. The city Saidu Sharif in Swat is named in his honour where his tomb is situated. His dynasty, with a slight intermission, would rule Swat (& some neighbouring districts of Buner, Dir, & Shangla) for almost a century. In 1947, their princely state was subsumed into Pakistan.[7]
The area of Poonch in Jammu was ruled a Sangu Gujars from 1798 to 1818. It's ruler Ruhullah Khan repelled Sikh and Afghan attacks.[8]
Notable people edit
- Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, renowned Sufi poet of the 19th century[9]
References edit
- ^ Gandhi, Rajmohan. Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten.
- ^ Gandhi, Rajmohan. Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten.
- ^ "Census of India, 1911".
- ^ Ibbetson. "Panjab Castes".
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India.
- ^ Asiatick Researches; Or, Transactions. Vol. 11. Calcutta, India: Asiatic Society.
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India. 1908.
- ^ "History | District Poonch, Government of Jammu and Kashmir | India".
- ^ "Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, a great Punjabi Sufi poet".
 | This article about an Indian ethnicity or social group is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |