The Bakarwal are traditionally pastoral nomads, known for seasonally migrating with their livestock in search of suitable grazing pastures.[3] Their annual transhumance involves moving between high-altitude meadows in the summer and lower-altitude areas during the winter. They were officially enumerated as a distinct group for the first time during the 2001 Census of India.[3]
The Bakarwal community is not limited to India; they are also found in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Significant populations of Bakarwals reside in some areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. These areas serve as important seasonal and permanent settlements for the community, reflecting their traditional patterns of transhumance and pastoralism.[7]
Despite these commonalities, Gujjars and Bakarwals are often distinguished by their traditional modes of livelihood.[3][13][14] Bakarwals are primarily a nomadic pastoralist group who migrate seasonally with their herds of sheep and goats in search of grazing pastures in the Himalayan highlands during summer and lower-altitude regions in winter.[14]
One view suggests that the Bakarwals emerged in the twentieth century as a mix of Gujjars, Awans, and others from present-day Hazara, Pakistan.[15] However, this view is not recognized by the Bakarwals themselves, and there is no historical or traditional evidence supporting such an origin.[3][13][14]
The term Bakarwal is an occupational one and is derived from the Gojri/Punjabi or Dogri word Bakari or Bakra meaning goat or sheep, and wal meaning "one who takes care of".[18][19][11]
Religion
The Bakarwals are completely Muslim and adhere to the Sunni sect of Islam, similar to other Muslim Gujjar communities.[20][21]
Subgroups
The Bakarwal Gujjars are primarily divided into two major subgroups: Kunhari Bakarwal and Illahiwal Bakarwal.[22] Moreover, Bakarwals, like other Gujjar communities, are also subdivided into numerous sub-clans.[23]
Kunhari
The Kunhari is a subgroup of Bakarwals who claimed their origin from the Kunar province of Afghanistan.[24]
Illahiwal
The Illahiwal are those who claimed their origin from the Illahiwal region in the Kohistan and Swat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[25]
The Bakarwal, often counted alongside the Gujjars, constitute a significant portion of the tribal population.[13] The Gujjar and Bakarwal are estimated to be around 20% of Jammu and Kashmir.[14]
Ladakh
The Muslim Gujjars and Bakarwal communities in Ladakh are traditionally pastoralists, grazing livestock in areas like Rangdum. Recently, disputes over land encroachment and unauthorized construction have arisen. In 2024, the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh intervened to address these issues, including the illegal occupation of grazing land and the ongoing legal dispute over land rights in the region.[26][27][28]
In Pakistan, the Bakarwal are primarily found in some areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where they continue their nomadic traditions across mountainous and highland regions.[7][32]
Azad Kashmir
In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the Bakarwal are a nomadic pastoralist community traditionally engaged in the seasonal herding of goats and sheep. They migrate annually across the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountain ranges in search of grazing pastures, often traveling long distances by foot. Their routes typically span from lowland areas such as Kharian to high-altitude plateaus like Deosai in Gilgit-Baltistan, passing through regions including Muzaffarabad, Garhi Dupatta, and the Neelum Valley.[32]
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.[11][pageneeded]
↑Bose, Sumantra (7 December 2021). Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-Century Conflict. Yale University Press. p.237. ISBN978-0-300-26271-1. The Gujjars and their sub-group Bakerwals (literally: livestock-herders) are mostly poor people who inhabit remote highland areas and have an ethnolinguistic identity that is distinct from that of the much more numerous Kashmiri-speaking Muslims.
1234Khatana, Ram Parshad (1992). Tribal Migration in Himalayan Frontiers: Study of Gujjar Bakarwal Transhumance Economy. Gurgaon, India: South Asia Books (Vintage Books). ISBN978-81-85326-46-7.
12Sharma, Anita (2009). The Bakkarwals Of Jammu And Kashmir: Navigating Through Nomadism. Delhi, India: Niyogi Books. ISBN978-81-89738-48-8.
↑Raha, Manish Kumar; Basu, Debashis (1994). "Ecology and Transhumance in the Himalaya". In Kapoor, Anuk K.; Kapoor, Satwanti (eds.). Ecology and Man in the Himalayas. New Delhi: M. D. Publications. pp.33–48, pages 43–44. ISBN978-81-85880-16-7. citing an unpublished paper by Negi, R. S. et al. "Socio-Economic Aspirations of Guijjara and Bakerwal"
↑Manglik, Mr Rohit (23 January 2023). Tribes of India Identity, Culture and Lore: [9789369069101]. EduGorilla Publication. p.92. ISBN978-93-6906-910-1. Etymologically the word Bakarwal is derived from the Hindi/Urdu/Punjabi/Kashmiri/Dogri terms, Bakri or Bakar meaning "goat or sheep", and Wal meaning "one who takes care of".
