The Kanjari are a tribe with significant populations in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

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# ...

. The Kanjari language is spoken mostly by the Kanjari people living 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.

History

British India

In the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, the Kanjaris were listed under the 1871

Criminal Tribes Act Since the 1870s, various pieces of colonialism, colonial legislation in India during British Raj, British rule were collectively called the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA). This criminalised entire communities by designating them as habitual criminals ...

as a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offenses."

India

The Kanjari were denotified in 1952 when the Criminal Tribes Act was replaced by the Habitual Offenders Act. However, the community carries considerable

social stigma Stigma, originally referring to the visible marking of people considered inferior, has evolved to mean a negative perception or sense of disapproval that a society places on a group or individual based on certain characteristics such as their ...

, mainly due to the association of their culture with traditions distinct from mainstream

Indian culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse nation of India, pertaining to the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and the Republic of India post-1947. ...

. Kanjaris are also known as Gihar which is not a notified tribe. The 2011 Indian census showed a Kanjari population of 115,968 in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. For centuries, Lucknow was a hub for affluent families would send their children to be educated in Lucknow. This has been home to a large community of Kanjari for centuries. A recent study found that: "A Kanjari hears the music of

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

and ghungroo from the day of her birth and must begin her formal education before her non-Kanjari friends start going to school."

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 Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

toys they produce. The term 'Kanjar' is a slur generally used to refer to a person of low moral character than as a reference to the tribe.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.''Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area'' by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press The Kanjaris associated with

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

are a

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

' tribe that converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

. 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 Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

and Lahore.

Popular culture

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

Lollywood Lollywood is Pakistan's film industry, which has served as the base for both Urdu- and Punjabi-language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since independence in 1947. However, with the Urdu film hub largel ...

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

References