Bakarwal

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Bakarwal

Bakarwal
A Bakarwal Jirga in Rajouri, Kashmir
Regions with significant populations
India	113,198[citation needed]
Languages
[Gujari]
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Gujjars

The Bakarwal, (also spelled Bakkarwal or Bakrawala) are a nomadic ethnic group who along with Gujjars, have been listed as Scheduled Tribes in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh since 1991.^[1] Bakerwal and Gujjar is the largest Muslim tribe and the third-largest ethnic community in the Indian part of Jammu and Kashmir.^[2][3]

They spread over a large area from Pir Panjal to Zanskar located in the Himalayan mountains of India. They are mainly found in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.^{[4][page needed][5][page needed]}

The Bakarwals are a group of people which emerged as an ethnicity around twentieth century, and are basically a conglomerate of Gujjars and Awans who migrated to Jammu and Kashmir from modern-day Hazara Division, Pakistan.^[6] The Bakarwals and Gujjars in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir sometimes practice inter-tribal marriages as well.^{[7][full citation needed]}

The Bakarwals claim to have traditionally practiced Hinduism,^{[8][better source needed]} before their conversion to Islam.^{[citation needed]}

The term Bakarwal is an occupational one and is derived from the Gojri word bakara meaning goat or sheep, and wal meaning "one who takes care of".^{[4][page needed]}

As sheep and goat rearing transhumants, the Bakarwals alternate with the seasons between high and low altitudes in the hills of the Himalayas. From here, it is clear to see that the Bakarwals mainly follow a migration route through the foothills of the Himalayas as they can be found on the Upper Himalayan Range all the way down into the Lower Himalayan Range.^{[4][page needed]}

As of 1991^[update], the Bakarwal were classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's general reservation program of positive discrimination.^[9][10]

In 1991 the Bakarwals, Gaddis and Gujjar were granted tribal status in Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian government after an exhaustive study. The Bakarwals were entered into revenue records as a separate tribal category according to the Indian constitution. Bakarwals belong to the same ethnic stock as the Gujjars, and inter-tribal marriages take place freely among them.^[11]