Ranghar - History and Origin

History and Origin

Different communities of Ranghar had different accounts of their conversion to Islam. Thus in Jind, the local Ranghar claimed descent from a Firuz, who converted to Islam during the rule of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. These converted Rajputs kept many Hindu practices, such as keeping Brahmin priests, and practicing clan exogamy. The Chauhan Ranghar of Bulandshahr District have a tradition that their ancestor murdered a Muslim governor, and saved himself by converting to Islam. While the Moradabad District Chauhan claim they converted to Islam, after they had adopted the custom of widow remarriage, an activity proscribed in Hinduism.

The Ranghar were pastoralists, and as such came into conflict with the British imperial authorities, as the British colonial policy favoured settled agricultural communities such as the Ror and Jat, at the expense of these pastoralists. But they were also actively recruited by the British in the Indian army, and were classified by them as a Martial Race.

The Ranghar can be roughly divided into sub-groups, conveniently divided by the Yamuna river. Those to the west of the river remained as pastoralists much longer than the Yamuna Ranghar, who were all settled agriculturist by the start of the 19th century. The partition of India further divided these two groups, with the trans Yamuna Ranghar emigrating to Pakistan, while those of the Doab region remaining in India. They comprise a large numbered of dispersed intermarrying clans. These exogamous groups are made up of myriad landholding patrilineages of varying genealogical depth, ritual, and social status called biradaries or brotherhoods scattered in the various districts of western Uttar Pradesh. The biradari, or lineage is one of the principal point of reference for the Ranghars, and all biradaris claim descent from a common ancestor. Often biradaris inhabit a cluster of villages called chaurasis (84 villages), chatisis (36 villages) and chabisis (26 villages). The Chauhan, Bhatti and Panwar form the principal biradaris of the Ranghar, with large communities in Chauhan and Bhatti predominating in Uttar Pradesh and the Tomar and Panwar being found among the western Ranghar.