Hindko and Gujari. c - SIL International

Gujari 95
Ephthalites (or White Huns) on their invasion of India in the fifth
century. (Grierson dates it sixth century, LSI IX:6.) The
Ephthalites came from Mongolia where they served as vassals
and auxiliaries to the Avars in the fourth century. “The Avars
probably spoke a Mongol language and their ruler assumed the
title of Khagan or Khan, a title which the Ephthalites brought
with them on their travels from Central Asia” (Caroe 1958:82).
These invading tribes were very powerful. They made their
primary settlements in Rajputana and the Panjab (Smith quoted
in Caroe 1958:85). The ruling families were identified with the
Kshatriyas and were called Rajputs by the Brahmans. The
subordinate agricultural castes were called Jats, and the pastoral
castes were called Gurjaras or, in more modern terms, Gujars
(Grierson LSI IX:9, Smith in Grierson LSI IX:11, Smith in Caroe
1958:86).
Manku (1986:3) cites several authors who oppose the theory
of Central Asian origin. They argue that Gurjaras were of Indian
origin and Aryan stock. They inhabited the area around Mount
Abu in Rajasthan and migrated out from there. For an in-depth
presentation of this point of view, see Temple and Bhandarkar
1914.
Grierson presents two theories to explain the presence of a
Rajasthani dialect similar to Mewati in such a distant place as
Swat Valley. One theory is that some of the Gurjaras, who came
into India with the Huns, stayed behind in the Swat region where
they retained their language. The others continued on into
Rajputana, bringing this same language with them (LSI IX:10).
The other theory, espoused by Smith and Grierson, is that the
Gujars emigrated west from Rajputana, probably during the ninth
century when the Gurjara-Rajput rule extended across northern
and northwestern India. They carried with them the Rajasthani
language which was the language of the court and capital (Smith
in Grierson LSI IX:12). Grierson (LSI IX:15) proposes how this
language developed:
The Gurjaras settled among a people speaking an
Indo-Aryan language of the Inner Group akin to Western
Hindi. They adopted this language, retaining at the same
time many forms of their own speech. The result was