Ranghar
Ranghar are a community of Muslim Yaduvanshi Ahirs[1][2] which is found in Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan and Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh states of India. Ranghar were native to Indian state of Haryana and also found in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, as well as Delhi in India. Presently, the Haryana Ranghar are now found in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab of Pakistan, while those of western Uttar Pradesh remain in India. The Ranghar use the titles of Rana, Rao, and Kunwar, prefixed to their given names, and use Khan as a surname. In Haryana, the Ranghar spoke a dialect of their own, called Ranghari, which is itself a dialect of Haryanvi, and many in Pakistan still use the language. Those of Uttar Pradesh speak Khari Boli among themselves, and Urdu with outsiders. After independence of Pakistan in 1947, many Uttar Pradesh Ranghars also migrated to Sindh in Pakistan and mostly settling in Karachi. They are entirely Sunni Hanafi Muslims and follow Deobandi and Barelvi schools of South Asia.
The term Ranghar has also been used for closely related Muslim communities, the Pachhada and the Muslim Tagas of Haryana and the Muley Jats. In addition, the Odh community in Pakistan are also often known as Ranghar.
History and origin
The Ranghar were pastoralists (Ahirs), Yaduvanshi Ahirs who were converted to Islam are also known as Ranghars.[3][4]
according to Sir H.M. Elliot, many of the Kankauiya and Naigauiya Ahirs were converted to Islam and are known as Ranghars (Crooke, 1896 : 228).[5]
The Ranghar can be roughly divided into sub-groups, conveniently divided by the Yamuna river. Those to the west of the river remained as pastoralists much longer than the Yamuna Ranghar, who were all settled agriculturist by the start of the 19th century. The partition of India further divided these two groups, with the trans Yamuna Ranghar emigrating to Pakistan, while those of the Doab region remaining in India. They comprise a large numbered of dispersed intermarrying clans. These exogamous groups are made up of myriad landholding patrilineages of varying genealogical depth, ritual, and social status called biradaries or brotherhoods scattered in the various districts of western Uttar Pradesh. The biradari, or lineage is one of the principal point of reference for the Ranghars, and all biradaris claim descent from a common ancestor. Often biradaris inhabit a cluster of villages called chaurasis (84 villages), chatisis (36 villages) and chabisis (26 villages).[10] [ An example of a chatisa is that of the Chauhan Ranghar of the Agauta pargana of Bulandshahr District.
Ranghar Media
Sumneus Khan, Ranghur Mahomedans, Formerly Rajpoots, Hissar (NYPL b13409080-1125417)
2nd Regiment of Skinner's Horse
References
- ↑ Watson, John Forbes; Kaye, Sir John William (1868). The People of India: A Series of Photographic Illustrations, with Descriptive Letterpress, of the Races and Tribes of Hindustan, Originally Prepared Under the Authority of the Government of India, and Reproduced by Order of the Secretary of State for India in Council. India Museum.
- ↑ Balfour, Edward (1871). Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial, Industrial and Scientific: Products of the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. Printed at the Scottish & Adelphi presses.
- ↑ Watson, John Forbes; Kaye, Sir John William (1868). The People of India: A Series of Photographic Illustrations, with Descriptive Letterpress, of the Races and Tribes of Hindustan, Originally Prepared Under the Authority of the Government of India, and Reproduced by Order of the Secretary of State for India in Council. India Museum.
- ↑ Balfour, Edward (1871). Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial, Industrial and Scientific: Products of the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. Printed at the Scottish & Adelphi presses.
- ↑ India, Anthropological Survey of (1996). Himachal Pradesh. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-7304-094-8.
according to Sir H.M. Elliot, many of the Kankauiya and Naigauiya Ahirs were converted to Islam and are known as Ranghars (Crooke, 1896 : 228).