The Chunara are an

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

found in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

in India. A small number are also found in the port city of

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. There are now two communities of Chunara, one Hindu and the other Muslim.

Origin

The word ''chunara'' in Gujarati literally means someone who manufactures chuna (lime). According to their traditions, they were originally

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

s who migrated from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

and joined the army of the

Gaekwar Gaekwads (also spelled as Gaikwads, Guicowars, Gaekwars) (IAST: ''Gāyakavāḍa''), a Hindu Maratha dynasty of the former Maratha Empire and its subsequent (erstwhile) princely state of Baroda in western India from the early 18th century until ...

s of

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

. After having a fall out with their employer, the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

ruler of Baroda, they took to manufacturing lime. A section of the Chunara then converted to Islam, and there are now distinct communities, one Hindu and the other Muslim.Chunara
India's communities, Volume 1 by Kumar Suresh Singh, Anthropological Survey of India.

References

{{Indian Muslim Social groups of Gujarat Muslim communities of Gujarat Indian castes Indian architectural history Indian words and phrases