1 184 PANJAB CASTES.
2 of the Province still retain more of their Hindu customs than do the majority
3 of their converted neighbours, their women, for instance, wearing petticoats
4 instead of drawers;, and red instead of blue. It is noticeable that Gajrat is
5 to the Gujars what Bhatner and Bhattiana are to the Bhatti, a place to which
6 there is a traditional tendency to refer their origin.
7 481. TheGujarisa fine stalwart fellow, of precisely the same physical
8 type as the Jat ; and the theory of aboriginal descent which has sometimes
9 been propounded, is to my mind conclusively negatived by his cast of counten-
10 ance. He is of the same social standing as the Jat, or perhaps slightly in-
11 ferior ; but the two eat and drink in common without any scruple and the proverb
12 says : " Tiie Jat, Gujar, Alar, and Gola are all four hail fellows well met.'"
13 But he is far inferior in both personal character and repute to the Jat. He is lazy
14 to a degree, and a wretched cultivator ; his women, though not secluded, will
15 not do held-work save of the liglitest kind ; while his fondness for cattle ex-
16 tends to those of other people. The difference between a Giijar and a Rajput
17 cattle-thief was once explained to mc thus by a Jat : " The Iliijput will steal
18 " your buffalo. But he will not send his father to say he knows where it is
19 " and will get it back for Rs. ilO, and then keep tlie Rs. 20 and the buffalo too.
20 The Giijar will." The Gujars have been turbulent throughout the history of
21 the Panjab, they were a constant thorn in the side of the Dehli Emperors,
22 and are still ever ready to take advantage of any loosening of the
23 bonds of discipline to attack and plunder their neighbours. Their character
24 as expressed in the proverbial wisdom of the countryside is not a high
25 one : " A desert is better than a Gujar : wherever you see a Giijar, hit
26 " him." Again : " The dog and the cat two, the Rangar and the Giijar
27 " two ; if it were not for these four one might sleep with one's door
28 " open :" so " The dog, the monkey, and the Gujur change their minds
29 " at every step ; " and " When all other castes are dead make friends with a
30 " Giijar." As Mr. Maconachie remarks : " Though the Giijar possesses two
31 " qualifications of a highlander, a hilly home and a constant desire for
32 " other people's cattle, he never seems to have had the love of fighting and
33 " the character for manly independence which distinguishes tliis class elsewhere.
34 " On the contrary he is generally a mean sneaking cowardy fellow ; and I
35 " do not know that he improves much with the march of civilization, though
36 " of course there are exceptions ; men who have given up the traditions of
37 " the tribe so far as to recognize the advantage of being honest —
38 " generally.-"
39 Such is the Giijar of the Jamma districts.' But fiirther west his
40 character would seem to be higher. Major Wace describes the Gujars of
41 Hazara as " a simple all-enduring race, thrifty and industrious, with no
42 " ambition but to be left alone in peace with their cattle and fields ; " and
43 " many of them are line men in every way." Mr. Thomson says that
44 the Giijars of Jahlam are the best farmers in the district (perhaps not exces-
45 sive praise in a district held by Gakkhars, Awans, and Rajputs), though
46 the Maliar or Arain is a better market gardener ; and that they are
47 quiet and industrious, more likeable than (Salt-range) Jats, but with few
48 attractive qualities. My. Steedinan gives a similar account of the Gujars of
49 ' Mr. Wilson, however, writes : The Giijar villages in Gurgaon ihave on the whole stood
50 " the lato bad times better than those of almost other caste — better than the Jats, and almost aa
51 "well as the Ahn's. Our Gargaon Giijars are very little given to thieving, and I have rather
52 '■' a high opinion of them."