Kanjar
Encyclopedia
Kanjar is a traditionally nomadic
community resident in Madhya Pradesh
, Rajasthan
, Punjab
, Gujarat and parts of Uttar Pradesh
in India
. The community is also known by the names of Nath, Banchra, Marwari Kumar, and Bhantu
. They are reputed to have made a living by kidnapping, theft, prostitution, and other criminal activity. A small number of Kanjar are also found in the Punjab province
of Pakistan
.
kanana-chara, which means wonderer in the jungle. They claim to have originated in Rajasthan
, where they served as servants of the Rajput
s and Jats. The Kanjar then had to flee to the jungles to avoid Mughal
persecution. Since that period, they have been living in the jungle, and make their living by hunting. According to their traditions, they are descended from a Manu Guru and his wife Nathiya Kanjarin. They are divided into four clans, the Callad, Superala, Patharkat
and Rachhband. The Patharkat
are now a distinct sub-group, no longer inter-marrying with the other Kanjar groupings.
A section of the Kanjar of the Punjab
have converted to Islam
. This community is historically associated with prostitution. The Muslim Kanjar of Punjab
might have had nucleus in the Kanjar tribe, but the community has always accepted fresh recruits. Those who have followed the profession for generations are called deradars, and look down upon the latter recruits. The Kanjar also supplied the executioners during the period of Mughal
and Sikh
rule in the Punjab.
In the Colonial period
, Kanjars were listed under the Criminal Tribes Act
, 1871, as being a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences."
in 1952, when the Criminal Tribes Act
was replaced with the Habitual Offenders Act, but the community continues to carry considerable social stigma.
The traditional occupation of the Kanjar was hunting, but over time, many took to agriculture. They are still depending on the forest, extracting roots of the khas grass, and collecting reeds from banks of the rivers. From the stalks of the munji grass and from the roots of the palas tree, they make ropes which they sell in villages. The community is also involved in tanning of skins out of which drums are made and sold. Many urban Kanjar are now wage labourers and involved in rickshaw pulling.
The Kanjar community council is very strong, and exercises a strong hold over the community. This caste council resolves disputes with in the community, and head by a mukhiya or chieftain, who is seen as the leader of the Kanjar. The Kanjar of India
are Hindu
, and their community deity is Mana, who worshiped by all the Kanjars.
In Rajasthan
, the Kanjar are a nomadic community, and said to have been the genealogists of the Jat community. The Kanjar are found mainly in the districts of Bhilwara
, Chittorgarh
, Banswara
and Tonk
. They speak the Mewari
and have been granted Scheduled Caste status. The Kanjar are further divided into twelve exogamous
clans, the Bamnawat, Malvi, Karkhar, Chitrawat, Singhawat, Karmawat, Gudrawat, Jhalawat, Singauri, Suklawat, Nanawat and Singawat. Unlike other Kanjar communities, the Rajasthan
are mainly a community of cultivators and agricultural labourers. The Kanjar are Hindu
and pay special reverence to Mata.
In Bihar
, the Kanjar are a nomadic community who are involved in trapping birds and animals, which they sell on to local traders. As a semi-nomadic community they are perceived as distinct from other settled communities. There camps are often found in the out skirts of villages. The Kanjar speak the Magadhi dialect of Hindi
. They are found mainly in Madhubani and Purnea districts in Bihar.
See the latest work done by Surbhi Dayal on Kanjar community. It is the first sociological, anthropological work done on Kanjars in India.
are an urban community, and have over the centuries become associated with the profession of prostitution. Little is known how this nomadic jungle tribe became urbanized, and converted to Islam
. The neighbourhood of Heera Mandi
, in the walled city of Lahore
, is the main centre of the tribe. The unmarried girls with in the community are prostituted, but wives and son’s wives are kept in strict seclusion. Wives have historically been purchased from other poorer communities. When a girl attains puberty and co-habits with a man for the first time, a feast called shadi missi is giving to the whole community.
The Kanjar are most famously associated with the locality of the Shahi Mohalla, within the walled city of Lahore
. This has to home a large community of Kanjar for centuries. The Kanjar have also been connected with music, and many musicians in Pakistan have their roots in the Kanjar community. A recent study found that:
“A Kanjar hears the music of tabla and ghungroo from the day of her birth and must begin her formal education before her non-Kanjar friends start going to school.”
The community has a symbiotic relationship with another community, the Mirasi
, who are the traditional musicians of North India
and Pakistan
. In Pakistan, the Kanjar are a particularly vulnerable community, with a lifestyle that is deviant to the cultural norm of an orthodox Islamic society such as Pakistan
. Their non-conventional, and often immoral, behaviour makes them subject to discrimination, and unlike India
, there are no affirmative action schemes for the socially disadvantaged. Furthermore, as members of the minority Shia sect, they are additionally disadvantaged.
story Indrajal (English: Magic), by Jaishankar Prasad
.
film Bol
, there is a prominent character Saqa Kanjar (played by Shafqat Cheema
) who financially helps a fanatic hakim after the later has to bribe the police to bury the case of honour killing of his own son Saifi. The hakim in return had to bear a girl child for Saqa Kanjar's daughter Meena (played by Iman Ali
).
Nomadic tribes in India
The word Nomadic Tribes refers to the people who were forced to live a wandering life by the Indian Caste System. The Nomadic and Denotified Tribes consist of about 60 million in India, out of which about five million lives in Maharashtra...
community resident in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, Gujarat and parts of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The community is also known by the names of Nath, Banchra, Marwari Kumar, and Bhantu
Bhantu
The Bhantu are a Hindu caste found in North India, and those in Uttar Pradesh have scheduled caste status .- Origin :The word bhantu in Hindi said to mean different. They were one of the many nomadic groups in found in North India...
. They are reputed to have made a living by kidnapping, theft, prostitution, and other criminal activity. A small number of Kanjar are also found in the Punjab province
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
History
The word kanjar has been derived from the SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
kanana-chara, which means wonderer in the jungle. They claim to have originated in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, where they served as servants of the Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
s and Jats. The Kanjar then had to flee to the jungles to avoid Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
persecution. Since that period, they have been living in the jungle, and make their living by hunting. According to their traditions, they are descended from a Manu Guru and his wife Nathiya Kanjarin. They are divided into four clans, the Callad, Superala, Patharkat
Patharkat
The Patharkat are a Hindu caste found in North India. They are also known as Sangtarash.-Origin:The Patharkat are a sub-group of the larger Kanjar caste. Their name Patharkat in Hindi literally means stone cutters. Having taken up the profession of stone cutting, this particular group of Kanjars...
and Rachhband. The Patharkat
Patharkat
The Patharkat are a Hindu caste found in North India. They are also known as Sangtarash.-Origin:The Patharkat are a sub-group of the larger Kanjar caste. Their name Patharkat in Hindi literally means stone cutters. Having taken up the profession of stone cutting, this particular group of Kanjars...
are now a distinct sub-group, no longer inter-marrying with the other Kanjar groupings.
A section of the Kanjar of the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
have converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. This community is historically associated with prostitution. The Muslim Kanjar of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
might have had nucleus in the Kanjar tribe, but the community has always accepted fresh recruits. Those who have followed the profession for generations are called deradars, and look down upon the latter recruits. The Kanjar also supplied the executioners during the period of Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
and Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
rule in the Punjab.
In the Colonial period
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, Kanjars were listed under the Criminal Tribes Act
Criminal Tribes Act
The term Criminal Tribes Act applies to various successive pieces of legislation enforced in India during British rule; the first enacted in 1871 as applied mostly in North India The Act was extended to Bengal Presidency and other areas in 1876, and finally with the Criminal Tribes Act 1911, it...
, 1871, as being a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences."
In India
After independence, they were denotifiedDenotified tribes of India
Denotified tribes , also known as vimukta jati, are the tribes that were originally listed under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 , as Criminal Tribes and "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences." Once a tribe became "notified" as criminal, all its members were required to...
in 1952, when the Criminal Tribes Act
Criminal Tribes Act
The term Criminal Tribes Act applies to various successive pieces of legislation enforced in India during British rule; the first enacted in 1871 as applied mostly in North India The Act was extended to Bengal Presidency and other areas in 1876, and finally with the Criminal Tribes Act 1911, it...
was replaced with the Habitual Offenders Act, but the community continues to carry considerable social stigma.
The traditional occupation of the Kanjar was hunting, but over time, many took to agriculture. They are still depending on the forest, extracting roots of the khas grass, and collecting reeds from banks of the rivers. From the stalks of the munji grass and from the roots of the palas tree, they make ropes which they sell in villages. The community is also involved in tanning of skins out of which drums are made and sold. Many urban Kanjar are now wage labourers and involved in rickshaw pulling.
The Kanjar community council is very strong, and exercises a strong hold over the community. This caste council resolves disputes with in the community, and head by a mukhiya or chieftain, who is seen as the leader of the Kanjar. The Kanjar of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
are Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
, and their community deity is Mana, who worshiped by all the Kanjars.
In Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, the Kanjar are a nomadic community, and said to have been the genealogists of the Jat community. The Kanjar are found mainly in the districts of Bhilwara
Bhilwara district
Bhilwara District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. The town of Bhilwara is the district headquarters.-Geography and demographics:...
, Chittorgarh
Chittorgarh district
Chittorgarh District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Chittorgarh is the administrative headquarters of the district....
, Banswara
Banswara district
Banswara District has an area of 5,037 km², 1.47% of Rajasthan state, India. The city of Banswara is the district headquarters. It is bounded on the north by Udaipur District, on the northeast by Chittorgarh District, on the east and southeast by Madhya Pradesh state, on the southwest by...
and Tonk
Tonk District
Tonk District is a district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. The city of Tonk is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district is bounded on the north by Jaipur district, on the east by Sawai Madhopur district, on the southeast by Kota district, on the south by Bundi...
. They speak the Mewari
Mewari language
Mewari is one of the major dialects of Rajasthani language of Indo-Aryan languages family. It is spoken by about five million speakers in Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Udaipur, and Chittorgarh districts of Rajasthan state of India. It has SOV word order....
and have been granted Scheduled Caste status. The Kanjar are further divided into twelve exogamous
Exogamy
Exogamy is a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group. The social groups define the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. In social studies, exogamy is viewed as a combination of two related aspects:...
clans, the Bamnawat, Malvi, Karkhar, Chitrawat, Singhawat, Karmawat, Gudrawat, Jhalawat, Singauri, Suklawat, Nanawat and Singawat. Unlike other Kanjar communities, the Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
are mainly a community of cultivators and agricultural labourers. The Kanjar are Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and pay special reverence to Mata.
In Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, the Kanjar are a nomadic community who are involved in trapping birds and animals, which they sell on to local traders. As a semi-nomadic community they are perceived as distinct from other settled communities. There camps are often found in the out skirts of villages. The Kanjar speak the Magadhi dialect of Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. They are found mainly in Madhubani and Purnea districts in Bihar.
See the latest work done by Surbhi Dayal on Kanjar community. It is the first sociological, anthropological work done on Kanjars in India.
In Pakistan
The Kanjar in PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
are an urban community, and have over the centuries become associated with the profession of prostitution. Little is known how this nomadic jungle tribe became urbanized, and converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The neighbourhood of Heera Mandi
Heera Mandi
Heera Mandi meaning "Diamond Market", also known as Shahi Mohalla is a red-light district and a bazaar located in Taxali Gate, Lahore , Pakistan. The women here offer traditional and classical dances and was originally the center of the city's tawaif culture in the Mughal era...
, in the walled city of Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, is the main centre of the tribe. The unmarried girls with in the community are prostituted, but wives and son’s wives are kept in strict seclusion. Wives have historically been purchased from other poorer communities. When a girl attains puberty and co-habits with a man for the first time, a feast called shadi missi is giving to the whole community.
The Kanjar are most famously associated with the locality of the Shahi Mohalla, within the walled city of Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. This has to home a large community of Kanjar for centuries. The Kanjar have also been connected with music, and many musicians in Pakistan have their roots in the Kanjar community. A recent study found that:
“A Kanjar hears the music of tabla and ghungroo from the day of her birth and must begin her formal education before her non-Kanjar friends start going to school.”
The community has a symbiotic relationship with another community, the Mirasi
Mirasi
The Mirasi are a Muslim or Sikh caste, found in Northern India and Pakistan. They are also known as Pakhwaji, Kalawart and Qawwal.The Mirasi community are the genealogists of a number of communities in Northern India and Pakistan. Most Mirasis are Muslim, but Rababi and Dhadi sub-groups are...
, who are the traditional musicians of North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. In Pakistan, the Kanjar are a particularly vulnerable community, with a lifestyle that is deviant to the cultural norm of an orthodox Islamic society such as Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Their non-conventional, and often immoral, behaviour makes them subject to discrimination, and unlike India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, there are no affirmative action schemes for the socially disadvantaged. Furthermore, as members of the minority Shia sect, they are additionally disadvantaged.
In literature
They are the subject of the well known HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
story Indrajal (English: Magic), by Jaishankar Prasad
Jaishankar Prasad
Jaishankar Prasad , one of the most famous figures in modern Hindi literature as well as Hindi theatre.- Biography :...
.
In films
In the LollywoodLollywood
Lollywood refers to the Pakistani film industry based in the city of Lahore. The word "Lollywood" was first coined in the summer of 1989 in the now defunct magazine "Glamour" published from Karachi by a gossip columnist Saleem Nasir. The film industry in Lahore started in 1929 with the opening of...
film Bol
Bol
Boľ is a village and municipality in the Trebišov District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia....
, there is a prominent character Saqa Kanjar (played by Shafqat Cheema
Shafqat Cheema
Shafqat Cheema is a well-known Pakistani film actor and director who has acted roles in many Urdu and Punjabi-language Lollywood films. He is notably known to have played the role of an antagonist in the 2011 blockbuster film Bol.-Filmography:...
) who financially helps a fanatic hakim after the later has to bribe the police to bury the case of honour killing of his own son Saifi. The hakim in return had to bear a girl child for Saqa Kanjar's daughter Meena (played by Iman Ali
Iman Ali
Iman Ali is a Pakistani actress and model.She is the second daughter of television/film actor Abid Ali with his first wife, Humaira Ali. She has two sisters, Maryam and Rahma Ali and both are actresses....
).