Kanjar

Kanjar is a tribe with significant populations in India and Pakistan.

The Kanjari language is spoken mostly by the Kanjari people living mostly in Punjab. Kanjari is a lesser-known Indo Aryan language, but almost all also speak Punjabi.''Kanjar Social Organization by Joseph C Berland'' in The other nomads: peripatetic minorities in cross-cultural perspective / edited by Aparna Rao pages247 to 268 Köln : Böhlau, 1987. The Kanjari speak 4-5 languages along with their native language, called Narsi.It consists of different sounds of animals and birds, coded words, and signs.

History

In the Colonial period, Kanjaris were listed under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, as a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offenses."

Present circumstances

India

The Kanjari were denotified in 1952, when the Criminal Tribes Act was replaced by the Habitual Offenders Act, but the community carries considerable social stigma, mainly due to the association of their culture with traditions distinct from mainstream Indian culture. Kanjaris are also known as Gihar which is not notified.

The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Kanjari with a population of 115,968.

Pakistan

In Pakistan, two distinct communities go by the name Kanjari. Over the centuries they became associated with the profession of peripatetic craftsmen and entertainers, best known for the terracotta toys they produce. In Karachi, the Urdu-speaking community has large numbers of descendants of Kanjaris from Northern India. Most of them moved from Delhi and Lucknow to Karachi. The term 'Kanjar' is more generally used to refer to a person of low moral character than as a reference to the tribe.''Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area'' by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press

The Kanjaris are sometimes associated with the Lahore neighborhood.They are originally a hindu tribe later some converted to sikh and muslim and his famous bazaar was inhabited and later flourished under influence of Kanjaris of Lucknow and Kanjaris of other parts of northern India. For centuries Lucknow was a hub for affluent families would send their children to be educated in Lucknow. It was believed those women carried the roots of Urdu speaking cultures and pride. From there many moved after partition established in Karachi. In Karachi, such Urdu-speaking families are well educated but their lineage is easily traceable to Kanjaris. This has been home to a large community of Kanjari for centurie. A recent study found that: "A Kanjari hears the music of tabla and ghungroo from the day of her birth and must begin her formal education before her non-Kanjari friends start going to school."''Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area'' by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press, page 61

Although nomadic, the Kanjari follow a set route and often maintain a relationship with the villages they visit. Many of the men work as agricultural labourers. Their tents are made from split bamboo or munji grass, and their encampments can be found at the edges of villages, as well as in urban areas such as Faisalabad and Lahore.

Popular culture

They are the subject of the Hindi story ''Indrajal'' (Magic in English), by Jaishankar Prasad.

In the Lollywood film '' Bol'', prominent character Saqa Kanjari, financially helps a fanatic ''hakim'' after the latter bribes the police to bury the honour killing of his son. The ''hakim'' in return had to bear a daughter for Saqa Kanjar's daughter Meena.

See also

* Gihara

References

{{reflist, 2

Denotified tribes of India
Scheduled Castes of Rajasthan
Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh
Social groups of Bihar
Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan