Kanjar facts for kids

The Kanjar are a nomadic tribe or group of people of North India, Kashmir and Pakistan. The Mirasi tribes are also probably related to them. These people are also sometimes called by the names of Nath, Banchra and Gashtay. These names are not nice ones, they mean to show that these people are inferior.

Old photograph of Kashmiri dancing girl of the Kanjar tribe, by Samuel Bourne, 1860s

In old times, most of the Kanjar people used to live in jungles or forests. They used to hunt wild animals to eat and also keep some goats, cows and Water buffaloes for their meat and milk. Many of them still live like nomads, moving from place to place but some have started to live in towns and cities. Some of them are Hindu and some are Muslims. They are mostly very poor people and do all the dirty jobs that rich people won't do.