User:Mihir Bhoja/sandbox

Gurjar (also spelled Gujjar, Gujar, Goojer, and Gojar) is the name of an ethnic group found in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The Gujjars have traditionally been associated with pastoralism and agriculture. They are especially known for cattle-breeding and dairy-farming.

The history of the Gurjar ethnicity is usually traced back to an ancient people called Gurjaras, who were first noticed to have been living in modern day Rajasthan (a region which at the time was known by several variations of the term Gurjara, such as Gurjara-desa, Gurjara-tra, Gurjara-bhumiar, Gurjara-mandala etc).

It is believed that while Gurjara might have been a tribal or clan name in the beginning, eventually a confederation of several castes, tribes, and clans used the same name to identify themselves. Some historians ascribe the encompassing of different groups under Gurjara identity to the fact that for a long period of time it was the name of a geographical region. It is indeed true that people belonging to Gurjara country were known as Gurjaras when they traveled outside of their land as mentioned by an Arab historian.

While others mention that the original Gurjara tribe was of a highly enterprising nature, and they enrolled other castes, tribes and clans within their fold through feudal and matrimonial relationships.

It is not certain how and when the Gurjara identity came to being, however its origination is usually traced back to the medieval times, an era when North-western India was ravaged by Huna (White Hun) invasions. Due to this fact, many historians have been propelled to suggest that Gurjaras were originally a foreign people, who came to India alongside the invading groups. While, an equally strong number of historians reject these foreign origin theories of Gurjaras.