List of Gurjars explained

Gurjar are an ethnic group in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Notable people from the community include:

India

Historical figures

• Prataprao Gujar, military leader of Shivaji Maharaj's Army.^[1]
• Nain Singh Nagar of Parichhatgarh was a notable Gurjar king of Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the 18th century.^[2]
• Vijay Singh Pathik, was among the first Indian revolutionaries who lit the torch of freedom movement against British rule ^[3]
• Dhan Singh, played an important role during the Indian Rebellion of 1857^[4]

Education and social reform

• Masud Choudhary, was the founding Vice Chancellor of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University in Rajouri and Chief Patron of the Gurjar Desh Charitable Trust, Jammu.^[5]

Gurjar writers

• Javaid Rahi, is a Gurjar researcher of India. He has authored 12 books in Gujari/Gojri Urdu and English and edited more than 300 books/magazines highlighting the history, culture, and literature related to indigenous communities such as Gurjar and Bakarwals.^[6]

Armed forces

• Kirori Singh Bainsla, a retired officer of the Indian Army and leader of a Gurjar reservation movement in Rajasthan^[7]
• Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, retired officer of the Indian Army who was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his actions at the Battle of Longewala.^[8]

Indian independence movement

• Ram Chandra Vikal, freedom fighter, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.^[9]
• Kadam Singh, Raja of Parikshitgarh and Mawana, led Gurjar fight against the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.^[10]

Politics

• Rajesh Pilot, politician of the Indian National Congress party who represented the Dausa in Lok Sabha^[11]
• Pranav Singh, former MLA of Khanpur^[12]
• Malook Nagar, MP of Bijnor
• Govind Singh Gurjar, (9 March 1932 – 6 April 2009) was a Gujjar from Rajasthan who served as Lt. Governor of Puducherry in India.
• Mian Bashir Ahmed, (born November 1923) is a politician and a Caliph of Islamic Sufi order (Naqshbandi, Majadadi, Larvi). He is the first Gurjar from Jammu and Kashmir who was awarded the Padma Bhushan (the third highest civilian award), by the government of India on 26 January 2008 for his contribution to the society.^[13]
• Hukum Singh, former Member of Parliament from Kairana constituency of Uttar Pradesh^[14]
• Yashpal Singh, former member of Parliament from Saharanpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh
• Narayan Singh, former deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
• Virendra Singh, former member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh
• Sanjay Singh Chauhan, former member of Parliament from Bijnor constituency of Uttar Pradesh^[15]
• Ashok Katariya, Indian BJP politician from Uttar Pradesh^[16]

Criminals

• Nirbhay Singh Gurjar^[17]

Pakistan

Early modern period

• Kandu, was a prominent Gujjar at the time when emperor Akbar inhabited Gujrat City, headquarters of the present day Gujrat District. An administrative unit was named after him called Tappa of Kandu in Pargana of Gujrat.^[18]

Pakistan Independence Movement

• Choudhry Rahmat Ali, was a Pakistani nationalist who is credited with creating the name "Pakistan" for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia and is generally known as the originator of the Pakistan Movement.^{[19] [20]}

Government

• Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, was a Pakistani politician and lawyer who served as the Speaker of National Assembly and President of Pakistan.^[21]

Sports

• Shoaib Akhtar, is a former cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he was the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, a feat he achieved twice in his career.^[22]
• Mohammad Asif, is a former Pakistani cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team between 2005 and 2010.^[23]

Social and Welfare

• Hafiz Saeed, Pakistani Islamist and founder of many religious and welfare organisations^[24]

Literature

• Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, was a renowned Punjabi poet and Sufi scholar for the people of Punjab and Kashmir.^[25]

See also

• List of Gurjar clans

Notes and References

1. Book: Shrivastavya, Vidayanand Swami. Are Rajput-Maratha Marriages Morganatic?. 1952. D.K. Shrivastavya. en.
2. Book: Dirk H.A. Kolff . Dirk H. A. Kolff . Grass in their Mouths: The Upper Doab of India under the Company's Magna Charta, 1793-1830. 13 August 2010. BRILL. 978-90-04-18802-0. 451–.
3. Book: Sushma Suresh . Mohan B. Daryanani . Who's who on Indian stamps . 1999 . 978-84-931101-0-9 . 288 .
4. Book: Wagner, Kim A. . The great fear of 1857: rumours, conspiracies and the making of the Indian Mutiny . Peter Lang . 2010 . 9781906165277 . 162–165 .
5. Web site: 11 January 2011, Daily Excelsior. Dailyexcelsior.com. 5 July 2022.
6. News: Gujjars campaign for national recognition of Gojri . 4 March 2018 . . Press Trust of India.
7. News: Raje govt, Gujjar leaders agree to hold talks . 8 June 2008 . The Times of India . Press Trust of India . 23 April 2017.
8. News: Retelling The Tale Of Brigadier Kuldip Singh. . 16 December 2020 . 11 April 2021.
9. News: Former UP deputy CM Ram Chander Vikal dies . 27 June 2011 . Ayurveda.zeenews.com . 23 April 2017.
10. Book: Stokes, Eric . Eric Thomas Stokes

    . The Peasant and the Raj: Studies in Agrarian Society and Peasant Rebellion in Colonial India . Eric Thomas Stokes . Cambridge University Press . 1980 . 978-0-52129-770-7 . 131.

11. News: BJP seeking to thwart Pilot on non-Gujjar votes . R. R. . Nair . Rediff.com . 14 February 1998 . 23 April 2017.
12. News: 27 August 2020. Krishnan. Revathi. MLA Pranav Singh Champion — lover of guns, expensive liquor & perfume who’s back in BJP. But I was not made a minister because I am a Gujjar from the OBC community,” claimed Champion.. ThePrint. 5 August 2022.
13. Web site: Padma Awards . Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India . 2015 . 21 July 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf . 15 October 2015 .
14. News: Fareed . Faisal . LS polls: SP wooing Gurjars for strong hold in western UP . . 28 April 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160325113845/http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/ls-polls-sp-wooing-gurjars-for-strong-hold-in-western-up/ . 25 March 2016 . subscription . In the past, Gurjars had political stalwarts from their community. Former MP Choudhary Yashpal Singh of Saharanpur held sway in his region. ... Babu Narain Singh, who hailed from Muzaffarnagar was deputy CM under Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna. Presently, his son Sanjay Chauhan is MP from Bijnor on RLD ticket. Hukum Singh of BJP and Virender Singh of SP are the other two Gurjar leaders who still hold clout over Gurjars..
15. News: Gujjar leader Sanjay Chauhan passes away . . . 3 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141214162959/http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/gujjar-leader-sanjay-chauhan-passes-away-114100300292_1.html . 14 December 2014 . live . Former Bijnore MP and Gujjar leader Sanjay Chauhan passed away at a hospital in Delhi due to heart failure..
16. Web site: UP के परिवहन मंत्री अशोक कटारिया (Ashok Katariya) की मेहनत और त्याग ने उन्हें पहुँचाया यहॉ तक ! - YouTube. 2020-08-19. www.youtube.com.
17. https://primarysources.brillonline.com/browse/human-rights-documents-online/tv-journalist-shot-dead-in-northern-city-islamist-group-claims-responsibility;hrdhrd42380169
18. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315660394/early-nineteenth-century-panjab-grewal-indu-banga pp.52-53
19. Web site: All but Forgotten: Choudhary Rahmat Ali, the Inventor and First Champion of Pakistan . 2022-12-20 . The Wire . When Now or Never was published, Ali was 36 years old. Born in a Gujjar Muslim family in Balachaur in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab in 1897..
20. Web site: 2022-11-16 . Chaudhry Rehmat Ali remembered on his 125th birth anniversary . 2022-12-20 . The Nation . en . Chaudhry Rehmat Ali was born in a Muslim Gujjar family in Hoshiarpur District of Indian Punjab on November 16, in 1897..
21. Web site: Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry PrideOfPakistan.com . 2022-12-21 . www.prideofpakistan.com/ . Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was born in a Gujjar family in Marala village, near the city of Kharian, district Gujrat in Punjab province on January 1, 1904..
22. Shoaib Akhtar; Anshu Dogra, Controversially Yours: An Autobiography, HarperCollins (2011), pp. 6–7
23. News: Mehmood, F., Haroon, O., & Riaz, Z. (2021). It’s Just Not Cricket! Asian Journal of Management Cases, 18(1), 80–97. "Mohammad Asif was born in December 1982 in Sheikhupura, Pakistan. He belonged to a Gujjar family [...]".
24. News: My Story by Hafiz Saeed . The Indian Express . 8 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140604101916/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/my-story-by-hafiz-saeed/933846/0 . 4 June 2014 . live . I belonged to a Gujjar family..
25. Web site: 2017-08-30 . Mian Muhammad Bakhsh – A great Punjabi Sufi Poet . 2022-12-21 . The Nation . en . Mian Sahib’s great grandfather belonged to a clan Paswal Gujjar. He came to Khari Sharif from village Chak-Behram of Gujrat, Punjab. Gujrat is an adjoining district to Mirpur, Kashmir..