Gurjars in Punjab or Punjabi Gujjars, are an ethnic community native to the larger region of Punjab now divided into Punjab, Pakistan and Punjab, India. They are descended from Gurjars who moved into this region during medieval times. They are scattered across almost all districts of Pakistani and Indian Punjab; They are densely populated in Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Jhelum, Faislabad, Bhakkar, Attock, Murree, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali, Multan, Okara, Hoshiarpure, Pathankot, Ludhiana, Rupnagar (Ropar), Nawanshahr, Amritsar, Firozpur, Jalandhar, Patiala, Kapurthala, Faridkot, and Malerkotla districts, while Barnala and Rajanpur have the smallest Gujjar population. They adopted Islam in the medieval period, mostly through the influence of Sufism, from the 11th century to the 16th century. Now in Punjab the majority of Gurjars are Muslims, with Hindu and Sikh Gurjars as minority ethnoreligious groups.
They accounted among the largest ethnic group in Pakistani Punjab, and in 1961 census of India, they were the 8th largest ethnic group in Indian Punjab. Gurjars make up majority in the western parts (West Punjab) and Jats make up majority in the eastern part (East Punjab) of the Punjab region.
In historical era they ruled and gave names to several places in Punjab region: these places include Gujrat, Gujranwala, Gujar Khan, Gojra and Dera Gujran.
In Indian Punjab, Muslim Gurjars live in isolation and have not maintained marital relationships with Sikh and Hindu Gurjars, whereas Sikh and Hindu Gurjars often have marital ties with each other.
Gurjar is a major landholding and agricultural ethnic group of the Punjab region along with Arain, Rajput, Jat, and other Punjabi communities.
According to the 1931 census of British India, which was the last census to systematically count caste, the Gurjar population in the Punjab region was 6,96,442. Breaking down the population by religion, Muslim Gurjars made up about 75% (5,21,347), Hindu Gurjars accounted for around 24.5% (1,70,439), and Sikh Gurjars totalled about 0.5% (4,446).
In Punjab, they are part of the larger Punjabi community, holding a similar social standing to Rajputs, Jats, and other Punjabi communities, with no inherent hierarchy placing one above the others.
History Gurjars live in central and North Punjab, such as Gujrat and Gujranwala in Punjab, Pakistan. They are found from India to Afghanistan, traveling through Sindh and Punjab. They see themselves as a group of high status and respect. However, their way of life changes by location.
According to Romila Thapar, the Gurjars likely have origin from north India. Place names in the Punjab region, like Gujrat and Gujranwala districts, suggest they settled there. We also see Gurjar communities living in Kashmir. The presence of the Gurjar community in Maharashtra shows that they moved further south. The wide distance between these areas shows how much they migrated over time. Historian Richard V. Weekes, said that, Gurjars made their homes in Punjab, Kashmir, and parts of northwestern India. Places likes Gujranwala and Gujrat, now located in Punjab, Pakistan, still carry names that reflect the Gurjars's early presence in these regions, serving as evidence of their historical settlements.
According to Acharya S. K., the northern Indian communities including the Gurjars along with Jats and Ahirs mainly contributed to the formation of Punjabis of Punjab, Pakistan and Punjab, India and Haryanvis.
Some accounts suggest that the town of Gujrat was rebuilt by Gurjar rulers during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century.
During the 1857 unrest, Sultan Ali, a Gujjar leader of the Kalas clan in Ajnala, Gujrat, kept his area safe from looters. The British government rewarded him with land and the title of Safed Posh for his bravery. His son, Fazal-e-Ali, continued doing good work by building schools, hospitals, and banks. People loved and respected him so much that the British government gave him the title of Nawab. He was popularly known as Sir Syed of the Punjab region. Nawab Fazal Ali had two sons Nawab Mehdi Ali and Nawab Asghar Ali. Nawab Mehdi Ali died in 1958. Nawab Asghar Ali held several positions, including chairman of the District Board and Central Co-operative Bank. He also contributes to education by developing Zamindara High school into a degree college.
Chiefs of Jhelum In the 17th century in Punjab, Gurjars cleared the Chahal forest areas and established some settlements. Two Gurjar brothers of Poswal clan names Akbar and Shakar, arrived in Gujrat from the Jhelum area and founded two villages, Akbarpur and Shakarpur. Queen Sada Kaur wife of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya merged these villages naming combined area "Kala", a term used in early Punjabi language to describe a large settlement. In Later years, Suleman Poswal, a Gurjar from the same family, established his power in the areas of "Kala" in present-day Gujrat and Jhelum cities. Suleman Poswal had seven sons: Jalal, Jamal, Handhal, Mubarak, Essa, Musa, and Habib.
According to scholar Mehakraj, Suleman Poswal Gurjar was a brave ruler of the Kala Gujran area, and he fought against the Gakhars of Jhelum and Janjuas for a long period. He ruled Kala Gujran, and areas near the Rohtas Fort were also under his control. It's said that when Ahmad Shah Abdali came to Punjab, one of Suleman Poswal 's elders, Abdul Rahim Poswal and Raja Himat Khan Gakhar attended Abdali's court. He was by their influence in their areas and he appointed Abdul Rahim and Himat Khan as his servants, assigning them some duties in Punjab.
Nawab of Dera Ghazi Khan In the 18th century, Mahmud Khan Gujjar (or Mehmood) served as the de facto ruler and governor of the Dera Ghazi Khan from around 1738 to 1772. He was the son of Yusuf Khan. Previously he served as a grand wazir under Mirranis. He teamed up with the Durranis to overthrow Mirranis and then initiated a project to build and restore canals in D.G Khan. Punjab Government Gazetteer credit him with founding the settlement of Mahmud Kot and initiating canal works in the region.
Mughal period It is believed that Gurjars in the Sutlej, Beas, and Kandi regions of Indian Punjab came from Delhi during the Mughal rule in India, when Delhi was part of the Punjab region.
In 1519, Babar Mughal, during his Punjab campaign, captured Bhera and the next year (1520) he invaded again, taking control of the territory up to Sialkot. He also forced the Gakhars and Gurjars to submission.
According to some historical accounts, when first Mughal emperor Babur invaded India in 1525, he found that the Gurjars of Punjab, especially in the northern parts, had already embraced Islam religion. The conversion of Gurjars to Islam in Punjab region continued until the 1700s, during the reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, suggesting a prolonged period of religious transitions in the region.Encyclopedia of World Cultures: South Asia by David Levinson· (1991) p.89
Babur's own account in the Babarnama of 1525, highlights the challenges he faced in Punjab. He noted that the Gurjars and Jats continued to resist even after he captured Sialkot district, targeting people affiliated with his camp. According to Babur, these groups would attack and loot travelers including the vulnerable, as they moved towards his camp. He wrote:
In 1526, Babur arrived in Lahore and then headed towards Delhi in Punjab region. Although he faced significant challenges, including Ibrahim Khan Lodi's large army of 1,000 elephant and 100,000 soldiers, Babur's focus remained on reaching Delhi. Meanwhile, he received news of Uzbek attacks on Kabul and other rebellions in his Afghan territories. Additionally, his army was constantly harassed by "Gurjars of the Punjab" region. Babur prioritized his Delhi campaign, deciding not to Get sidetracked these problems right away, since he knew it would ruin his whole plan.
A Mughal-era historian, Abul Fazl, writes that Gurjars lived along the route through Sialkot (now Sialkot district of Punjab, Pakistan). Records from that era also show people in Bhimber and Sialkot districts complained about the Gurjars in these areas.
The rebellious Gujjars and Kharals of Rachna Doab region of Punjab, along with the defiant landowners near Multan, often threatened Mughal rule in Punjab. By 1714-15, the Mughals had lost control over at least part of Khushab pargana in Sindh Sagar Doab. Their disobedience was so strong that even Mughal government villages in Bahlolpur pargana were affected. In areas outside Mughal's Punjab, many landowners refused to help Banda Singh Bahadur, even though they also had conflicts with the Mughals. Banda also failed to join forces with the large Gujjar uprisings, even through they were happening at the same time as his attacks in the region. In Sikh stronghold areas, Gujjar and Rajput landowners, and most Afghan landowners, regularly backed the Mughal army's campaigns against Banda Singh Bahadur.
Conflict with Sikh gurus
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Muslim Gurjars of eastern Punjab, along with the Ranghar Rajputs, were involved in a major conflict with the Sikh Gurus. They formed alliances with the hill chiefs of the Hill States in northern Punjab and the Mughal army. The Gurjars were led by a prominent leader named Azmatullah in this conflict. During the emergences of Sikhism in the Punjab region, there were Muslim Gurjars and Ranghars who often clashed with Sikh nobles. In the 17th century Ajmer Chand, the ruler of the Bilaspur state, got Gurjars and Rangars to join his army to fight against the Sikhs. These groups were Muslim by faith and loved in villages near present-day Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, India in his territory. They were organized into various clans, each with a leader, and had a history of causing trouble and robbing Sikhs traveling to Anandpur area. Ajmer Chand likely appealed to their communal feelings and tendency to cause trouble to get them to work together again the Sikhs.
Thereafter, the Mughal troops returned to Sirhind with unsure satisfaction of achieving although at a great cost, the limited objective of expelling the Khalsa from the territory of Ajmer Chand on the Eastern side of the River Sutlej. The Hill Rajas also withdrew to their respective states. Once Guru Gobind Singh and his family put up at the residence of the Raja while beautiful canopies were pitched in the suburb of the town for accommodating the Khalsa soldiers. The Guru stayed at Basoli for some days, resting and enjoying hunting and other sports. Soon, the Guru took initiative against Ajmer Chand leading incursions into his territory on the North of River Sutlej. He reached towards Anandpur. Later Guru Gobind Singh and his family stayed at the Raja's place, while fancy tents were set up outside the town for the Khalsa soldiers. The Gobind hung out in Basoli for a bit, chilling and doing some hunting and stuff. Before long, he started raiding Ajmer Chand's territory north of the Sutlej River.