Gurjars in Maharashtra are an ethnic community native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. They are descended from Gurjars who moved into this region during medieval times. They are mainly found in the Nashik, Pune, Amravati and Konkan divisions and scattered across eastern, western, and northern districts of Maharashtra. They are densely populated in Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar, Nagpur, Amravati, Bhandara, Kolhapur, Satara districts, while Ratnagiri and Chandrapur districts have the smallest Gurjar population.
Almost all Gurjars in Maharashtra are followers of Hinduism and are part of the larger Marathi speaking community. They mostly follow Maharashtrian culture and festivals.Jats and Gujars Origin, History and Culture By Rahul Khari (2007) p.93.
According to the 1931 census of British India, which was the last census to systematically count caste, the Gurjar population in the Maharashtra region was 7,115. Gurjars in Maharashtra belong to the land owning, agricultural and industrialist communities of the state.
History According to Romila Thapar, the Gurjars likely have origin from India. Place names in the Punjab region like Gujrat and Gujranwala districts, suggest they settled there. We also see Gurjar communities living in Kashmir. The presence of the Gurjar community in Maharashtra shows that they moved further south.
In Maharashtra, they are not original inhabitants of the region and they mostly came from the Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat in the 14th or the 15th century.Patil, A. M. (2018). "Demographic Study of Dode Gurjar Community of Khandesh A Geographical Perspective (Chapter:6)". University. Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University.
According to Bishakha Datta, Gurjars in Maharashtra have distinct culture tied to Rajasthan and Gujarat states.
During British rule and before the partition of India, the Chopda area in the Khandesh region of Maharashtra was under the rule of the Dode clan of Gujjars.Warikoo, Kulbhushan; Som, Sujit (2000). Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir. Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya. p. 8. The Desh Mukhas of Chopada are one of the chief Dor Gujar families in Khan-desh.
In Khandesh region good governance and low land taxes attracted many Gurjar farmers from Gujarat and Marwar (Rajasthan) to the region. Cotton farming grew fast, so they started farming more land that their families could manage. Migration was slow before 1850, but it increased a lot by 1864 because of the cotton boom during the American Civil War. The government's policy of settling Bhils led them to occupy land north of the Tapi Basin. While the Tapi plains were turned into cotton fields. These were actually fertile lands with bushes and trees. The Bhils live off the land and, unlike Gurjar farmers did not have the resources to turn land into a commodity. As commercial farming of wheat, cotton, and sugarcane grew, Gurjars expanded the land market. More land under cultivation created a shortage of farm labour.
In the 1860s, Nandurbar had a cotton boom. The British ryotwari system let farmers own land and pay tax directly to the state, so peasants benefited and landlords stayed weak. The first farming boom in Khandesh was also tied to Gurjars migrating from Gujarat from the 1830s onward. They took over most farmland in Shahada taluka and Nandurbar. Gurjars already lived in eastern Khandesh, but this new wave settled the northwest. Business communities like Parsis from Gujarat and Marwaris from Rajasthan also arrived around the same time.
1850s British records only mentioned that more land was being plowed. After Gurjars migrants settled and took over land in Khandesh region of Maharashtra, the British records began to mention a lack of workers. Gurjars took advantage of British laws and the fact that Adivasi did not understand Land ownership. By using lies, very high interest loans, and outright cheating, they pushed Adivasis into a state almost like slavery. For Bhil farmers in northwest Khandesh, things were different. The Land there was mostly owned by Gurjar landlords, not by small farmers. Earlier, Build were willing to work for them if they got clothing, food and little money. Even though Bhil farmers were earning more for working Gurjar landlords. Gurjar landlords used debt and legal loopholes to keep them dependent. By adding heavy charges to loans and controlling the accounts, landlords took the entire harvest and left Bhils with only basic food and clothes. Caste was very important in Khandhesh's history because it shaped how people worked and produced things before modern capitalism. The practice of tying labour to debt first started and became common between Gurjar landlords and Adivasis.
It is believed that Gurjars in Ratnagiri district and settled there almost a century ago. The Gurjars originally moved to Dhule district during the 1830s to 1880s from Gujarat state.
Before the arrival of Gurjars, Dhule was a Bhil-dominanted area. Over the next hundred years, the Gurjars slowly took over the Bhils' land and forced many of them into labour. The British land and tax laws helped them do this. In West and South India, the British made a deal directly with each farmer, called a 'Ryot'. They set a tax that each 'Ryot' had to pay in cash. This was how Adhivasi farmers first started using money. The village headman, called the Patil, collected the tax and basically became the government's revenue officer. The Gurjars were originally farmers. They settled in the Dhule district after British rule in the area.
Later Gurjars became village Patils and we're put in charge of collecting taxes. They were initially poor farmers but later became wealthy. They charged farmers higher rents than the British required and kept the extra for themselves. Over time, they lent money to Adivasi farmers who had to pay their rent in cash. When Adhivasi couldn't pay back the loans, the Gurjar Patils took their land. Adivasi ended up as sharecroppers or yearly contract laborers working for the Gurjars.
In Maharashtra, especially in Jalgaon and Dhule districts, there are still some caste-related conflicts between the Adivasi and landlord Gurjar communities in the areas. In 1969, a centre for the upliftment of the Adivasi in these areas was set up, called Adhivasi Bhil Seva Mandal. But as they started building as office, the rich Gurjar farmers destroyed around forty homes of the Adhivasi community in Suratwanti village.
The take over of Adivasi land got much worse around 1970-72. Because of the 'Green Revolution', the Gurjars started growing much more sugarcane. Since Gurjars controlled the local government loans support for Co-ops, fertiliser, machine , and seeds to themselves. All sugarcane factories in the Dhule district were owned by the Gurjars. Leaders of the Adivasi community believed court cases would not solve the conflict with landlord Gurjars. They felt the only way forward was to build large people's groups and carry out strong protest actions. The next phase of the struggle started on 30 January 1972. That day in Shahada, a large meeting of Bhil farmers took place. It was called the "Bhu Mukti Conference", which means "Conference for freeing the land". Later, in 1972 Bhil landless farmers started the Shahada movement against landlord Gurjars in Khandesh region at mass level.
Ambarsingh was an Adivasi, a Bhajan singer and Secretary of the Sarvodaya office in Shahada. One day his parents said that a boy had stolen cow dung cakes from a rich Gurjar farmer. The Gurjar farmers beat the Adivasi for this act and many Adivasi fled the village. That made Ambarsingh decide to act. Ambarsingh asked the Deputy superintendent of police for protection for Adivasis. Later he reached the S.P and asked him to investigate his village after the investigation. In investigation Eight Gurjars found guilty of harassing Adivasis and expelled, but Shahada court acquitted them. Ambarsingh saw these all and started to take meetings on his own in the village. He complained to the villagers. They all planned to build an office on government land in Shahada for filing their complaints. In retaliation 61 huts in Ambarsingh's village were burned. He spent one year seeking help from government officials and police but failed.
After the conference, strikes ran 17–27 April. Unlike 1973, in 1974 the Gurjar landlords ignored worker demands and vowed to crush the Shramik Sangathna. They lured leader Kumar Siralkar to talk, then attacked him. A fight followed - 20 Gurjars hurt, fewer Adivasis. Police arrested Siralkar and 138 Adivasis. After the fight, Gurjars asked Chief Minister of Maharashtra to ban the Shramik Sangathna and replace local people. Police forces in Shahada and Taloda doubled, with armed units added to forests. Backed by police, Gurjars rejected workers demands, told strikers "work on our terms or leave", and brought in outside labour, leaving local workers jobless. The government played both sides: it promised Adivasis it would fix land problems, but also backed the Gurjars who supported the Congress Party. The Maharashtra Home Minister visited Dhule district's Adivasi area in summer 1974. Sharmik Sangathana later help landless bhils. Their agitation got 4,000 acres of land taken by Gurjar landlords returned to tribal control.
The history of village Mankheda also has a common story from Shahada Taluka — Gurjars dominating and Bhils being oppressed.The story starts in the early 1900s with two Bhil brothers, Lakira and Fakira. They were said to have received a lot of land from the British Government, but most of it was not fertile. Around the same time, two Gurjar brothers, Ramu and Shyamu, moved to Mankheda with their widowed mother after their father died. They came to farm 5 partans (about 15 acres) of land that belonged to their grandfather. Shyamu, the younger brother born in 1911, studied till 4th grade while living with his grandfather. Over the years, the two brothers used their savings and help from relatives to buy 45 acres more partans (about 135 acres).
They also dug a well to irrigate much of their land. Ramu died without any children. When Shyamu died, his six sons inherited all his land. Each son got about 25 acres. For many years, Bhils worked for them as saldara. Jaysing Sonawene Bhil's grandfather, Ripa Bhil, worked for them for 25 years from 1945 - 1970. After that, Jaysing's father worked for them from 1970-1979. In 1979, the Government of Maharashtra gave 14 acres from Shyamu's large land to Ripa Bhil and his family members. By then, Shyamu's land had already been divided among his Three sons and his second wife.
After the National Emergency imposed by prime minister Indira Gandhi, from 1975 to 1977, the Progressive Democratic Alliance (Bihar) came to power in Maharashtra. This government has strong socialist views. It banned the saldari system. It also appointed special officers called mamledars to take action on their own against land grabbing. This included cases where Bhils took land from other Bhils, and cases where household goods were taken to pay off old debts. These cases were taken to court and solved within days. From the mid-1980s , the Sharmik Sangathana began losing support among the Bhils. This happened because the power of the Gurjars and other groups that exploited them had recused a lot.
Demographics Gurjars are mostly found in five divisions of Maharashtra: Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Amravati divisions. They are densely populated in the Khandesh region of Nashik division. Most Gurjar settlements are found in Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar, Nagpur, Amravati, Bhandara, Kolhapur, Satara, and Ratnagiri districts.
They are major landlords in different districts of the Khandesh region, especially in districts like Nashik, Nandurbar, Jalgaon and Dhule. In Dhule district alone they almost own 70 to 80% Land.