TRIBE IN TRANSITION: HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES OF GUJJAR TRIBE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH (Pages 163-174) by Ms. Neelam Kumari* and Prof. Kamal Manohar Sharma** in THE INTERNATIONAL MANAGER / ISSN: 2348-9413 (Online); 2348-9405 (Print)

In Himalayan regions, Gujjar is considered as an important and ancient tribe. This tribe has ruled over many princely states in Northern India for hundred years and left their imprints in the Himalayan ranges. The present study focuses on historical evolution of Gujjar tribe, their origin and socio- cultural reflection of their life and transformation among them with special reference to the State of Himachal Pradesh in India. As Gujjars known to the notable tribe of Himachal Pradesh and amongst all the tribes in Himachal Pradesh the Gujjars have been held in high esteem. There is a two-fold division observed within these tribes, one is Hindu and the other is Muslim by religions. While, Hindu Gujjar leading a settled life, whereas, Muslims are mainly pastoral and having no permanent settlement. They are easily noticeable by their distinct life style. They are always found moving one place to another. They have their own culture and traditions which they mainly follow. The history of the Gujjar tribe is quite interesting; though there is uncertainty in terms of unanimous thought regarding the origin of the Gujjar as various historians have given different views over their origin. On the basis of available literature, it has been found that they basically belong to a warrior class. Many historians believe that Gujjars are a Rajput Community. Etymologically the very word ‘Gujjar’ has been derived from ‘gurjara’, which means a Warrior class of Rajputs (Sing, 1996: 253). Here an attempt has been made to consolidate the different views regarding their origin, their historical facts such as, how they came to Himachal Pradesh and became an important part of the state and their present status in the State. Keywords: Historical Evolution, Origin, Custom, Tradition, Changing Lifestyle.