58-450: The Banjara are nomadic tribes found in India. The Gor usually refer to themselves as Banjaras and outsiders as Kor , but this usage does not extend outside their own community. A related usage is Gor Mati or Gormati , meaning "own people". Motiraj Rathod believes that the community became known as banjara from around the fourteenth century AD and previously had some association with
116-599: A Professor Emeritus . He delivered the Radhakrishnan Lecture at Oxford in 1991. Habib is an Elected Corresponding Fellow of the British Royal Historical Society since 1997. Habib has worked on the historical geography of Ancient India , the history of Indian technology , medieval administrative and economic history , colonialism and its impact on Indian historiography . Amiya Kumar Bagchi describes Habib as "one of
174-581: A pistachio . The seeds are used as a cooking spice, especially in Indian cuisine . Though they can be eaten raw, they are often toasted or roasted before use, as this intensifies the flavor of any nut or seed. They are commonly used in sweets in India, or ground into powders for thickening and flavoring savory sauces, batters and kormas . Charoli seeds are used in the Ayurveda , Unani , and Siddha systems of medicine. A decoction can be prepared from
232-400: A Sanskrit writer who lived in the 6th century, refers to them but, again, not by name. Banjaras were historically pastoralists, traders, breeders, and transporters of goods in the inland regions of India, for which they used boats, carts, camels, oxen, donkeys, and sometimes the relatively scarce horse, hence controlling a large section of trade and economy. The mode of transport depended upon
290-699: A book which rebuts the history of what the former minister calls "Habib & Co". Habib condemned a decision led by the BJP which removed chapters on Muslim rule, including the Mughals , from some school textbooks, along with references to Muslims' contributions to the country's freedom struggle. He argues that these revisions aim to deny Muslims their place in India's history and are part of an Islamophobic agenda. Buchanania cochinchinensis Buchanania cochinchinensis , commonly known as charoli nut , almondette , Cuddapah almond , calumpong , Hamilton mombin ,
348-516: A combined trade operation. They could be huge assemblies, some being recorded as comprising 190,000 beasts, and they also serviced the needs of armies, whose movements naturally followed the same trade and caravan routes. The Duke of Wellington used them for that purpose in his campaign against the Maratha Confederacy around the late 1790s, and Jahangir , a Mughal emperor who reigned in the early seventeenth century, described them as
406-538: A fixed class of people, who possess a thousand oxen, or more or less, varying in numbers. They bring grain from the villages to the towns and also accompany armies. With an army, there may at least be a hundred thousand oxen, or more. Some Banjara subgroups engaged in trading specific goods, but most traded anything that might make them money—the range was vast, encompassing plains produce such as oilseed, sugarcane, opium, fruits and flowers, forest products (for example, gums, chironji , mahua , berries, honey), and items from
464-488: A mainly red material, means that they are worn for months between careful launderings. The practice of paying a bride price to the girl's father traditionally applies on betrothal, which is a community celebration, although the payment of a dowry by the bride's family is becoming evident. The value of this transaction is set by the gor panchayat and is now a monetary figure. It was traditionally eleven rupees and either four bullocks or one bullock and three cattle, unless
522-510: A nomadic lifestyle on a seasonal basis to supplement their income. They also retained common traits among their exogamous clans, including strict tribal endogamy , use of the Gor-Boli language, referencing themselves as Gor , settling in tanda groups, using tribal councils called gor panchayats to resolve disputes and, in the case of women, dressing in traditional clothing. However, the men have largely given up their traditional attire of
580-554: A significant aspect of the Banjara identity. Lambani women specialise in lepo embroidery, which involves stitching pieces of mirror, decorative beads, and coins onto clothes. Sandur Lambani embroidery is a type of textile embroidery unique to the tribe in Sanduru , Bellary district, Karnataka. It has obtained a GI tag . Banjaras celebrate a festival called Seetala , usually during the month of June or July, during which they pray for
638-688: A sustained commitment to secularism . He led the historians at the Indian History Congress of 1998 who moved a resolution against the " saffronisation " of history. He has said that the BJP government at the Centre which was in power from 1998 to 2004, especially the MHRD Minister himself, were responsible for inventing facts and dates to suit their interpretation of Indian history. To counter Irfan Habib, Murli Manohar Joshi released
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#1732772976834696-404: A white dhoti (skirt) and a red turban, along with the wearing of earrings, finger rings, and kanadoro (silver strings worn around the waist). Aside from retaining their practice of endogamy, Naik records of Banjara customs in 1990s Andhra Pradesh that they follow forms of marriage that include monogamy . Widows are allowed to remarry, and divorce is accepted, provided it has the consent of
754-607: Is a deciduous tree of the cashew family . The charoli tree is native to the Indian subcontinent , South Central China , and much of Southeast Asia . The charoli tree produces fruit that is edible to humans. The seeds are used as a cooking spice , especially in India. Charoli seeds are also used in the Ayurveda , Unani , and Siddha systems of medicine. The tree grows to about 20 metres (66 feet). Young branches are covered with dense, matted, woolly hairs . The leaves are 10–20 by 6–9 centimetres (3.9–7.9 by 2.4–3.5 inches), broadly oblong with emarginate (slightly indented at
812-611: Is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He is known for his strong stance against Hindutva and Islamic fundamentalism . He has authored a number of books, notably the Agrarian System of Mughal India, 1556–1707 , an Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detailed Notes , and an Atlas of Ancient Indian History (with Faiz Habib). As
870-518: Is located in the present-day Indian state of Bihar . According to the Great Chronicle of Buddhas , he spent one week at each of seven successive locations there. During these seven weeks, he did not eat or drink, wash or excrete, or lie down. The specific locations were: The seventh week was passed while sitting under a rājāyatana ( B. cochinchinensis ) tree, where the Buddha enjoyed
928-434: Is made, before her father agrees to the advice given by his naik and village elders. Horoscopes are consulted and information gleaned regarding the boy's prospects. Sometimes, the arrangement is made earlier and may even be solemnised with a betrothal ceremony, called a sagai , but the girl will remain in the household until she attains puberty. When agreement is reached and both sides make a promise to that effect in front of
986-494: Is named for Francis Buchanan (1762–1829), a Scottish botanist , explorer, naturalist, and surgeon in the British East India Company . B. cochinchinensis is one of 25 currently accepted species in genus Buchanania . The species was first described as Toluifera cochinchinensis in 1790 by João de Loureiro , a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and botanist. Initially placed in genus Toluifera ,
1044-400: Is then consumed by the men in the form of liquor. The one religious function in which the women are paramount is the preparations for marriage, a ceremony that usually takes place in the house of the bride's family. It is the men who also perform political functions, settling disputes, and dealing with other problems through the gor panchayat . Any matter that involves a woman is dealt with by
1102-654: The Bhopa , Domba , and Kalbelia , they are sometimes called the "gypsies of India". D. B. Naik has said that "There are so many cultural similarities in the Roma Gypsies and the Banjara Lambanis". Author B. G. Halbar has stated that most nomadic communities believe that they are descended from Rajput ancestry. They claim that during the Mughal empire , they retreated to the forests and vowed to return only when
1160-765: The Central Provinces , the Banjaras had a monopoly on the movement of salt prior to the arrival of the East India Company . More generally, they also traded in cattle, moving the beasts around the country's bazaars, and they rented out their carts. Although some older sources have suggested that they did not use credit, Habib's analysis of historic sources suggests that they did and that some were reliant on it. The peripatetic nature of Banjara life significantly affected their societal behaviours. Satya states that it generated tremendous diversity within
1218-547: The Denotified Tribes . As the Banjara language has no script, it is either written in Devanagari or in the script of the local language, such as Telugu or Kannada . Many Banjaras today are bilingual or multilingual, adopting the predominant language of their surroundings, but those that continue to live in areas of dense Banjara population continue to use their traditional language. There have been calls for
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#17327729768341276-650: The Laman , who claim a 3,000-year history. Irfan Habib believes the origin of banjara lies in the Sanskrit word variously rendered as vanij , vanik , and banik , as does the name of the Bania caste , which historically was India's "pre-eminent" trading community. However, according to B. G. Halbar, the word banjara is derived from the Sanskrit vana chara . The group is known by different names in different parts of
1334-487: The arrival of the railways and improved roads. Some tried to work the forests for wood and produce, some settled as farmers, and others turned to crime. Earlier than this, there had been British people who considered them to be undesirable because of their role in passing messages and weapons to armies as they went about their travels, and there was also a general trend among the British to treat criminality as something that
1392-541: The gor panchayat , the boy's family distributes liquor, betel leaves, and nuts for the tanda and the girl's family. She is presented with a full set of traditional dress upon marriage, which is made by her mother. Women's dress varies according to marital status, as does their ornamentation. Although the ornamentation was once made of ivory and silver, reduced economic circumstances have caused it to be made of plastic and aluminium. The extremely elaborate nature of their dresses, comprising glass pieces, beads, and seashells on
1450-409: The gor panchayat . Marriages are usually between people who live fairly close together, within the same taluka , or, occasionally, district . The exception to this is the relatively rare occasion when the man has some education, in which case it is becoming more common to see them making arrangements that involve a longer distance. It is the boys' fathers who initiate marriage proposals, usually when
1508-426: The wet tropical and tropical rainforest biomes . Though sometimes referred to as the "chironji nut" or "charoli nut", the fruit is actually a type of drupe rather than a true botanical nut . After the hard shell of the drupe is cracked, the stubby seed within is similar in texture to a pine nut . The charoli seed is around 0.6 centimetres (0.24 inches) in length, with a flavor resembling an almond or
1566-549: The Banjara community has been listed as a Scheduled Tribe in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha. They were designated as an Other Backward Class in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, and as a Scheduled Caste in Karnataka, Delhi, and Punjab. Notes Citations Bibliography Irfan Habib Padma Bhushan (2005) Irfan Habib (born 10 August 1931)
1624-468: The Banjara society in terms of language, customs, beliefs and practices. It developed in them a rather casual, unorthodox, and open attitude towards religion, family, and women. Many of the practices which were prohibited in the mainstream orthodox Hindu society were freely practised in the Banjara community. Movement of goods around the country meant that the Banjaras had to be, and were, trusted by merchants, moneylenders, and traders. Any disruption caused by
1682-487: The Banjaras were also resistant to improvement through education, which the British felt left no recourse other than tight control through policing. Their reputation for misdeeds persisted into the early twentieth century. The status of the Banjaras as a designated criminal tribe continued until after the independence of India , when the repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act caused them to be classified as one of
1740-637: The Banjaras. Colonial British administrators quote his stories, place him in the 19th century, and identify his original name as Siva Rathor. Although the Banjaras were traditionally a migratory people, each year, they historically settled in fixed-village accommodations during the monsoon months of June—August. Although the introduction of modern modes of transport largely made the community redundant from their traditional occupation, forcing them into economic distress from which they sought relief by turning to agriculture and other unskilled labour, according to V. Sarveswara Naik, as recently as 1996, many still retained
1798-526: The Chief Justice of the High Court of Baroda princely state , and noted follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Habib's wife Sayera Habib (née Siddiqui) was Professor of Economics at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The couple have three sons and a daughter. After returning from Oxford, Habib joined AMU as a member of the faculty; he was Professor of History at Aligarh from 1969 to 1991 and is presently
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1856-651: The General President of the Indian History Congress (1981). Habib uses Marxist historiography in his work. Habib has also written books about Vedas and Vedic age , and he considers the Vedas to be a good historical source, which describes transmission in a priestly culture, that valued faithfulness. He further lays out the reasons that the texts were orally transmitted for hundreds of years, then they were finally written down. Habib has
1914-409: The bark of the stem or the leaves, to be used as a treatment for indigestion , mumps , impotence , spermatorrhea , heavy menstrual bleeding , diarrhea , or snakebite . This can also be used as an expectorant , aphrodisiac , or a laxative . The leaves can be crushed and applied to burns and wounds. The species is not commercially cultivated in India. The fruit is collected by local people from
1972-650: The bliss of his newly attained buddhahood . Upon the completion of this sattasattāha , several important "firsts" in Buddhism took place at the rājāyatana tree at Bodh Gaya, including: According to Burmese folklore, Tapussa and Bhallika (the two passing merchants who became the Buddha's first lay disciples) later returned to their home in Okkalapa ( Lower Burma ), where they built a cetiya on Singuttara Hill (the Shwedagon Pagoda ), where they enshrined
2030-408: The child reaches the age of 18 and is considered capable of running an independent household. Women and girls, including the prospective bride, have no say in the matter, but the father takes advice from the naik of his tanda and from close relatives. The girls are usually prepared for this arranged marriage from the onset of puberty, and their parents will make a show of resistance when a proposal
2088-752: The class". In the 19th century, and despite some British officials such as Thurston praising their trustworthiness as carriers, the British colonial authorities brought the community under the purview of the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 . Edward Balfour wrote in his On the migratory tribes of natives in Central India (1843) that the reduction in the number of wars by that time had contributed to their economic deprivation, while East India Company encroachment on monopolies such as salt also affected them. Many also lost their work as carriers due to
2146-647: The country, including Gor Banjara, Baladiya, Gor, Gour Rajput, Rajput Banjara, Ladaniya, Labana, Nayak, etc.Despite the community adopting a multitude of languages, banjara is used throughout India, although in Karnataka , the name is altered to banijagaru . A survey conducted in 1968 by the All India Banjara Seva Sangh, a caste association, recorded 27 synonyms and 17 subgroups. According to author J. J. Roy Burman, Banjaras have settled across Rajasthan and other parts of India. Together with
2204-412: The family and community. She should not refer to her husband by name but with a respectful word Gharwalo who leads the family. Her speech is low and submissive in front of their men in the community. Women consider the men as wise because they have the ability to learn many things. It is the responsibility of men to learn many skills. The women have to follow the path as directed by their men. As of 2008,
2262-409: The family's cattle and with work in the crop fields. A Banjara wife is subservient to her husband and is expected to perform daily tasks for her parents-in-law. While she and her husband live with her parents-in-law, she is also subservient to her mother-in-law. This period of co-habitation with the extended family usually lasts until the husband has helped to arrange the marriages of his brothers. Once
2320-432: The foreign influence had gone. According to Halbar, they appear to be of mixed ethnicity, possibly originating in north-central India. Irfan Habib writes that their constituent groups may not in fact share a common origin, with the theories that suggest otherwise reflecting the systemic bias of 19th-century British ethnographers who were keen to create simple classifications. Laxman Satya states that "Their status as Banjaras
2378-537: The forests and sold directly to the local markets. With a potential annual production of 5000 metric tonnes, Chhattisgarh is the highest-producing state in India for charoli fruit. Leafhoppers , mealybugs , and bark-eating caterpillars ( Indarbela spp.) are important pests of B. cochinchinensis , while gummosis and powdery mildew represent important pathogens. Circa 588 BCE, the 35-year-old Siddhartha Gautama stayed for seven weeks (7x7 days = 49 days = 1 sattasattāha ) at Uruvela (modern Bodh Gaya ), which
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2436-469: The general editor, he is also the driving force behind the A People's History of India series, volumes of which continue to be released. Habib was born into an Indian Muslim family. He was the son of Mohammad Habib and Sohaila Habib (née Tyabji). His paternal grandfather was Mohammad Naseem, a wealthy barrister and member of the Congress party , and his maternal grandfather was Abbas Tyabji , sometime
2494-467: The grazing of their livestock along the trade routes was tolerated, because the same beasts provided manure to fertilise the land. However, many Europeans historically thought the Banjaras to be similar to Gypsies , although this was unjustified, as there were significant differences. Habib writes that "Superstitions of all kinds, including suspected witch killings and sacrifices, reinforced the Gypsy image of
2552-412: The groom's family was particularly wealthy. The marriage is usually arranged for a time when there is little work, so the months of April and May are common, as they fall just after the harvest period. Banjara families prefer to have both sons and daughters. The son is considered necessary, because they are a patrilineal society, while at least one daughter is deemed desirable, because she can look after
2610-571: The hills, including tobacco and grass. Some traded in specific goods, such as the Labana (salt), Multani (grain), and Mukeri (wood and timber). One common Banjara practice in Berar before the British colonial period was the movement of cotton out of the region and then a return journey with produce, salt, spices, and similar consumptibles into the region. In that area, the Deccan Plateau and
2668-405: The husband is free of his obligation to his brothers, his wife will apply pressure to achieve a separation from the joint household, which grants her a measure of independence, although she remains economically reliant upon her husband. The separating of the households leads to the husband receiving some property from his parents, such as land, livestock, and money, but as it is a patrilineal society,
2726-475: The men, and it is a man who represents her interests, an example being the dealings for marriage proposals, which always require the consent of the gor panchayat . If a woman leaves her husband and the marital abode, then that, too, is a matter to be judged by the men. V. Sarveswara Naik, herself a Banjara, wrote in 1983 that for Banjara women in Andhra Pradesh, Her activities are restricted within
2784-424: The parents in their old age if the son is too preoccupied in his marriage. Daughters also contribute greatly to the running of the family unit prior to their own marriage and are prized by their mothers for that reason, being trained in various domestic tasks that benefit both the unit and their future married life. Aside from strictly domestic tasks, they are an economic boon, because they help with herding and grazing
2842-415: The protection of their cattle. During the month of August, they celebrate the festival of Teej , in which young, unmarried girls pray for a good groom. They sow seeds in bamboo bowls and water it three times a day for nine days, and if the sprouts grow "thick and high", it is considered a good omen. During Teej, girls sing and dance around the seedling baskets. Fire dance, Ghumar dance, and Chari dance are
2900-508: The species was later included in multiple other genera, including Glycosmis , Lanzana , Loureira , Lundia , Mangifera , and Spondias . The species was most recently reclassified as Buchanania cochinchinensis in 1996. The charoli tree is native to Bangladesh , Cambodia , China (south-central and Hainan ), India , Laos , Myanmar , Nepal , Thailand , Vietnam , and the Western Himalayas . It grows primarily in
2958-490: The terrain. For example, camels and donkeys were better suited to the highlands, which carts could not negotiate, while oxen were able to progress better through wet lowland areas. Their prowess in negotiating thick forests was particularly prized. They often travelled in groups for protection, this tanda being led by an elected headman, variously described as a muqaddam , nayak , or naik . Such tandas usually comprised carriage of one specific product and thus were essentially
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#17327729768343016-420: The tip) apices and rounded bases. The flowers are white and 0.3–0.4 centimetres (0.12–0.16 inches) in diameter. The drupes are 0.4–1 centimetre (0.16–0.39 inches) in diameter and subglobose (inflated, but not quite spherical) in shape. When ripe, they are stone hard and reddish-purple in color. Flowering occurs March–April, and the fruit is generally harvested in the months of April to June. Genus Buchanania
3074-406: The traditional dance forms of the Banjaras. Banjaras have a sister community of singers known as Dadhis, or Gajugonia. They traditionally travelled from village to village, singing songs to the accompaniment of sarangi . Banjara people are known to worship deities such as Balaji and Jagadamba . They also hold Guru Nanak in great respect. Sevalal , or Sevabhaya, is the most important saint of
3132-469: The traditional language to be recognised in the Constitution of India ; the state of Telangana has introduced two textbooks in the language for primary school children. Banjara art includes performance arts, such as dance and music, as well as folk and plastic arts, such as rangoli , textile embroidery, tattooing , and painting. Banjara embroidery and tattooing are especially prized and also form
3190-494: The two most prominent Marxist historians of India today and at the same time, one of the greatest living Marxist historians of India between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries." He was Coordinator/Chairman of the Centre for Advanced Studies, AMU from 1975 to 1977 and from 1984 to 1994. He was Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research during 1986–90. He was the general secretary, Sectional President, and then
3248-415: The wife has nothing. Banjara men take the lead in religious festivals, with women playing a subsidiary role. The men sing the devotional songs and perform the temple rituals, but it is the women who do most of the singing and dancing. Women are also expected to work with men when groups enact performances in front of non-Banjara audiences to raise money for the celebration of festivals, but most of that money
3306-609: Was circumscribed by the colonial state disregarding the rich diversity that existed among various groups". Although not referred to as Banjara until the 16th century, Habib believes that the royal court chroniclers Ziauddin Barani and Shaikh Nasiruddin documented them operating in the Delhi Sultanate some centuries earlier, around the time of the rule of Alauddin Khalji . Halbar dates things earlier, suggesting that Dandin ,
3364-532: Was normal among communities without fixed abode. They were sometimes associated by the British with the Thugee and by the 1830s had gained some notoriety for committing crimes such as roadside robbery, cattle lifting, and theft of grain or other property. The women took a leading role in such criminality, led by the headman of the gang, and if someone was convicted, then the other members of the gang would take care of their families. Poor, mostly illiterate and unskilled,
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