Banjara (Muslim)

The Muslim Banjara are Muslim converts of the larger Banjara community of India. In Gujarat = Modasa,Balashinor, Zankhvav, Santrampur, & Banswara (Rajasthan) the community consists of twelve gotras, the Chhedi,Tikhan,12 Miyye, Ekki Miyye, 13 Miyye,Juni, being the main ones. While in Madhya Pradesh, they have two sub-divisions, the Landh and the Hundhe.[3] They are said to have immigrated from Rajasthan about 300 to 350 years, and still speak a dialect of Rajasthani.[1]

The community in North India are mainly cattle traders and breeders. Before the start of the agriculture season, they sell their cattle on credit, and are largely landless. The only exception being the Banjara Muslims of Rohilkhand, where the community were substantial landowners, particularly in Bareilly and Pilibhit districts, and are generally small to medium-sized farmers. They are strictly endogamous, but no longer practice clan exogamy. Some Muslim banjara lives in city hasanpur dist. Amroha mostly of them are landowner and do work kinda agriculture some days ago they were the second most landowner in city after pathan. While in Gujarat, the community are small scale farmers and agricultural labourers. A small number are also involved in the selling of milk.[2]

The Banjara Muslim have a caste council (biradari panchayat), which settles criminal offences like adultery and rape. The caste council is headed by a naik, and consists of fifteen members. They also have set up the All India Banjara Muslim Federation, which is an India wide caste association. The community has been campaigning to obtain scheduled tribe status, a privilege already granted to the Hindu Banjara.[4] Other North Indian Muslim communities, their practices incorporate a number of folk beliefs. They pay homage to the local idol, Gurgaon wali Mata . The Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Banjara speak Urdu, while those of Gujarat speak Gujarati.[5]

In Uttar Pradesh, they are concentrated in Saharanpur, Bijnor, Pilibhit, Bareilly, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar, Etawah, Moradabad, Tanda [Rampur],amroha[Hasanpur], Mathura, Etah and Agra districts. A few are also found in the Nainital District of Uttarakhand.[1] In Madhya Pradesh, they are found in the districts of Jabalpur, Chhindwara and Mandla. While in Gujarat, they are found in the districts of Panchmahal, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Sabarkantha. Many members of this community migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and have settled in Karachi and Hyderabad in Sindh.

The Banjara community is concentrated in the Rohilkhand region of western Uttar Pradesh. There settlements are generally known as tandas, which means camp, reflecting their nomadic background. In Pilibhit District, the main villages are Neoria Hussainpur and Bhikaripur, Barat Bojh, Nisra, Nagaria, Sardarnagar, Amkhera, Dang, harraipur and the Naiks or headmen of these villages were substantial landowners at one time. In neighboring Bareilly District, the community are found mainly in Baheri tehsil, where they were at one time substantial landowners. The main villages in Bareilly District include Town Richha,Baheri,Nawabganj,Faridpur,Dhora,Tanda,Jokhanpur,Girdharpur,Shheshgarh,Tanda Dayanatpur, Tanda Chhanga and Tanda and Tanda Sadat.

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