| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 India,  Pakistan | |
| Languages | |
| Hindi • Urdu • Punjabi | |
| Religion | |
 Islam |
Garha (also spelled Gaud, Gada ) are a Muslim community in the subcontinent. They live pre-dominantly in the states of Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
The Garha have 51 sub-divisions, [1] known as biradari. Some of these are based on territorial groupings and some on the sects and castes they belonged prior to their conversion to Islam. Their main biradari is the Gaur Brahmin. Some Garha sub-groups descent from the Gaur (Clan) of Rajput. But most of Gada groups are descent from the Gaur Brahmin community, and Garha is the khadi boli transformation of the original Sanskrit word "Gauda" which means "fair one" an allusion to the learnedness and high status.
Some Garha Biradari sub-groups also descent from the tribe of Muhammad Ghouri or Muhammad of Ghor. They merged with the Gaur Muslims through marriage and political alliance and use surname Ghouri or Gouri and Ghazi. Although as per Historical evidences, Muhammad Ghori didn't had any sons, his only child was his daughter who died in his lifetime.
Thus it can be concluded that Gaur Muslims are a mixed community of Gaur Brahmin (major and the main part), Rajput and Gauri Turk.
The Garha have a caste association, called the Anjuman Garha (Garha association), whose primary purpose is to look after their socio-economic welfare. The association runs schools imparting education and making arrangements of boarding house for poors. They live in multi-caste villages, occupying their own quarters and they are landlords and well educated as well as powerful. They are upper caste and Swarn or Ashraaf. [2]
The community comprises mostly peasants called Lambardaar, Gour, Padhaan, Zamindaar, Jagirdar, Chaudhary, Gauri and Ghazi concentrated in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Haridwar District of Uttarakhand and Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana. Each of their settlements contains a village-based caste council, known as a biradari panchayat, which acts as an instrument of social control and resolves intra-community disputes. In terms of religion, they are fairly orthodox Sunni Muslims, and have customs similar to other neighbouring Muslim peasant castes such as Muslim Tagas, Muslim Jats, Ranghars and Rohillas. The Garha speak Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and the local Khari boli dialect. [2]
The Bangali may refer to a Scheduled Caste found in northern India. They are distinct from the Bengali ethnic group of West Bengal and Bangladesh. The Bangali are one of the many nomadic groupings found in India, and have customs similar to other nomadic communities such as the Kanjar.
Bazigar, or Goaars, are an ethnic group of north-western India. They are primarily found in Punjab and in Pakistan's Punjab, but there are also communities in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Rajasthan. They were previously nomadic with their main occupation the performance of acrobatics and other forms of entertainment, but they are now settled and engaged mainly in agricultural and similar forms of labour.
Nomads are known as a group of communities who travel from place to place for their livelihood. Some are salt traders, fortune-tellers, conjurers, ayurvedic healers, jugglers, acrobats, actors, storytellers, snake charmers, animal doctors, tattooists, grindstone makers, or basketmakers. Some anthropologists have identified about 8 nomadic groups in India, numbering perhaps 1 million people—around 0.12 percent of the country's billion-plus population. Aparna Rao and Michael Casimir estimated that nomads make up around 7% of the population of India.
The Sunar is a caste in India and Nepal.The Sunar community work as traders of gold or as goldsmiths. The community is primarily Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and found all over India and Nepal.
The demographics of Uttar Pradesh is a complex topic, which is undergoing dynamic change. Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state, and the largest subdivision in the world. It has a population of about 199,812,341 as per the 2011 census. If it were a separate country, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous nation, next only to China, the rest of India, the United States of America and Indonesia. Uttar Pradesh has a population more than that of Pakistan. There is an average population density of 828 persons per km2 i.e. 2,146 per sq mi. The capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow, and Prayagraj serves as the state’s judicial capital. Hindus and Muslims both consider the state as a holy place.
The Muslim Gaddi are a Muslim Rajput community found mainly in northern India. After the partition of India in 1947, many of the Gaddi in the states of Haryana and Delhi migrated to Pakistan and are now found in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. In Pakistan and North India, community members are called Ghazi.
The Sapera are a Hindu caste found in North India. They are also known as Barwa Sampheriya in West Bengal, Sapela in Punjab and Sparera in Madhya Pradesh.
The Nat are a caste found in northern India. Their traditional occupation has been that of entertainers and dancers.
Muslim in Uttar Pradesh is the second largest religion in the state with 38,483,967 adherents in 2011, forming 19.26% of the total population. Muslims of Uttar Pradesh have also been referred to as Hindustani Musalman. They do not form a unified ethnic community, but are differentiated by sectarian and Baradari divisions, as well as by language and geography. Nevertheless, the community shares some unifying cultural factors. Uttar Pradesh has more Muslims than any Muslim-majority country in the world except Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Lakhera are a Hindu caste found in North India. In Uttarakhand, Lakhera caste is found among Sarola Brahmins and are not considered OBC. They are a community traditionally associated with bangle making.
The Bandhmati are a Hindu caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They are also known as Banbasi.
The Badhik, or sometimes pronounced Badhak a Hindu caste engages in the profession of butcher are found in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana in India. They have been granted scheduled caste status in Uttar Pradesh.
The Balahar are a Hindu caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. They are also known as chatriya and have OBC status.
The Boria, also known as Baurasi, are a Hindu caste found in North India.
The Bot are a Hindu caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They are distinct from the Bhotiya ethnic group of the Indian Terai, although like the Bhotiya claim a Nepali origin.
The Gandhila sometimes pronounced as Gandhil and Gandola, are a Hindu caste found in North India. They have scheduled caste status in Punjab and Haryana.
The Kuta are a Hindu caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They are also known as Dhankuta.
The Kalabaz are a Hindu caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They have Scheduled Caste status.
The Hurkiya are a caste found in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India. They have been granted Scheduled Caste status in both these states. In fact, there are two distinct communities that go by the name Hurkiya, those of Uttarakhand, who are Hindu by religion, and those found in western Uttar Pradesh, who are Muslim. Both Hurkiya are of common origin, being a sub-group within the Dom ethnic group, and are one of the many gypsy like grouping found in North India.
Gaur also known as "Gour" is a Hindu Rajput clan of India. They have ancient ancestry and find mention by James Tod as one of 36 royal races in his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan The Gaur Rajputs once held a prominent position in Ajmer till the time of Prithviraj Chauhan. Gorwar region gets its name from this clan. In later years they lost the territories ruled by them. In 15th century, they fought at least 13 battles with Shekhawats were defeated and were reduced to feudetory or jagirdars in Shekhawati region. The Rajgarh territory was one of the last bastion of Gaur Rajputs during the times of Mughal Emperors, Humayun and Akber, which was lost to Kishan Singh in 17th century. Gaur Rajputs remained allies to Mughal till the time of Aurangzeb, whose political decisions, alienated Rathods, Sisodias, Hadas and Gaur Rajput from Mughals.