Ranghar

Ranghar are a community of Muslims Rajputs who were classified as an "agricultural tribe" by the British Raj administration.^[1] especially in 1st Horse Skinner's Horse.^[2]

2nd Regiment of Skinner's Horse

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. The Ranghars speak a Ranghari, which is a dialect of Haryanvi, and many in Pakistan and India still use the language. Those of Uttar Pradesh speak Khariboli 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[change | change source]

Ranghars were known as Muslim Rajputs. ^[3]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). An example of a chatisa is that of the Chauhan Ranghar of the Agauta pargana of Bulandshahr District.

References[change | change source]

↑ Mazumder, Rajit K. (2003). The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab. Orient Longman. p. 105. ISBN 978-81-7824-059-6.
↑ Sumit Walia (2021). Unbattled Fears: Reckoning the National Security. p. 125. ISBN 9788170623311.
↑ Rangarajan, Mahesh; Sivaramakrishnan, K. (2014-11-06). Shifting Ground: People, Animals, and Mobility in India’s Environmental History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-908937-6.

[1] Mazumder, Rajit K. (2003). The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab. Orient Longman. p. 105. ISBN 978-81-7824-059-6.

[2] Sumit Walia (2021). Unbattled Fears: Reckoning the National Security. p. 125. ISBN 9788170623311.

[3] Rangarajan, Mahesh; Sivaramakrishnan, K. (2014-11-06). Shifting Ground: People, Animals, and Mobility in India’s Environmental History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-908937-6.

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