Question

Write a short note on ‘Banjaras’.

Answer 1

Hint: It is a group traditionally referred to as nomadic individuals from the Indian state of Rajasthan, now distributed across the Indian subcontinent.
One opinion is that they come from Rajasthan, while another says that they come from Afghanistan, with both the province of Gor.

Complete answer: Banjaras -
-The Banjaras are a nomadic group of people from Afghanistan to the state of Rajasthan, located in the northwestern belt of the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Gor, Lambani, Vanjara and Gormati in different forms. Anthropologists have said that banjaras are of Afghan descent.
-Banjara, a traditionally nomadic trading tribe, may have its roots in what is now Rajasthan's Mewar region. Throughout Northwest, Western and Southern India, they are now found.
-The Banjara is a group traditionally referred to as nomadic individuals from the Indian state of Rajasthan, now distributed across the Indian subcontinent.
-It is said that the term Banjara originated in Sanskrit and implies wanderers in the jungle, i.e., Vana Chara.
-The art of banjara revolves around rangoli, embryonic textiles, tattooing and painting. Their music and dance are also distinctive and have been acclaimed. They claim to be Hindus but practise Islam as a sister group known as Dadhis or Gajugonia.
-Banjaras are predominantly found in the states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana, although they are widely distributed today.
-The Banjaras commonly refer to themselves as Gor and Kor as outsiders, but this use does not extend into their own culture. Gor Mati or Gormati, meaning cattle grazers or Own People, is a similar use. Motiraj Rathod claims that from about the fourteenth century CE, the group became known as banjara and historically had some affiliation with the Laman, who has a 3,000-year history.

Note: Historically, Banjaras were pastoralists, merchants and transporters in the inland regions of India, for which vessels, carts, camels, oxen, donkeys were hired, and often the horse was relatively uncommon.
-The mode of transport depended on the terrain; camels and donkeys, for example, were best suited to the highlands which could not be negotiated by carts, while oxen were better able to advance through wet lowland areas.