Gujjar Rulers in India

Gujjar Rulers in India established a huge kingdom in the country with its capital in Bhinmal. They had their rule mainly in the northern part of the country.

According to several historical accounts, the kingdom with capital at Bhinmal (or Srimal) was founded by the Gujjar rulers in India. A small kingdom of Bharuch was the offshoot of this Kingdom. In 640-641 CE, the Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hieun Tsahg) elaborately described the kingdoms of Su-la-cha (identified with Saurashtra) and Kiu-che-lo (identified with Gurjara) in his writings. He mentioned that the Gujjar rulers ruled a rich and populous kingdom with capital at Bhinmal. Further, it is stated in the historical records that the country of the Gujjars represents the region between the Indus River and Anhilwara. It is also said that the Pratihara dynasty that ruled a huge kingdom in the northern part of the country from the 6th to the 11th centuries, and has been mentioned as 'Gurjara-Pratiharas' in an inscription, was certainly of Gurjara origin. It is also stated that the Pratihara clan of Rajputs descended from the Gurjars and this 'raises a strong assumption that the other Rajput races also are the descendants from the Gurjaras or the allied foreign immigrants'. It is also believed that Pratiharas were a clan of Gujjar community.

Interestingly, some other historians are of the opinion that although some sections of the Pratihara Empire (like for instance the one to which Mathanadeva belonged) were Gurjars by caste, the imperial Pratiharas of Kannauj were not Gujjars and there was Gurjara Empire in Northern India. However, some historians believe that there is no conclusive proof that the Agnikula Rajput clans are of Gurjara origin; they also believed that there is possibility of the indigenous tribes adopting names of Gujjar tribe, when their founders were influenced by Gujjar rulers. Over the years, the Gurjars were assimilated mainly into the castes of Kshatriya varna, although some Gujjar groups of central India are classified as Brahmins.

According to many historians, the Gujjars originated in Central Asia and they came into India through Afghanistan and founded a kingdom in Rajasthan until they were defeated by the Muhammadans. They settled in the state of Gujarat. They are first referred to in the 7th century as warriors, who later migrated to the mountains for pasture for the animals. They speak Gurjari language that is close to Pahari and Urdu language. They had established a Kingdom of their own at the time of Thaneswar around 640 AD. It is alleged that about 750 AD, the Chapa dynasty of the Gujjars that had been in power for about 200 years, was displaced by the Pratiharas who seem to have carried on till about 1000 AD.

The kingdom of the Gujjar rulers in India ceased to exist by the time of Akbar when their country was captured. The migration of a part of the tribe to Jammu and Kashmir is attributed to the outbreak of a serious famine in the region inhabited by the tribe, now known as Rajputana, Gujarat and Kathiawar. It is also stated in the historical records that some part of the migrating tribes moved to the Punjab whereas others moved further north to the areas now known as Kaghan, Swat, Kashmir and Gilgit.

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