WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.740 Welcome in, everyone. If you are listening to 00:00:02.740 --> 00:00:05.139 this, you are probably someone who loves to learn. 00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:07.200 You know, you want a thorough way to get well 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:09.400 informed without feeling totally overwhelmed 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:11.679 by information overload. Right, because there's 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:14.660 just so much out there. Exactly. You are in the 00:00:14.660 --> 00:00:16.879 right place. And we are so glad you are joining 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:20.269 us for today's deep dive. We have a sprawling, 00:00:20.690 --> 00:00:23.329 incredibly complex journey mapped out for today. 00:00:23.410 --> 00:00:25.750 We really do. Today's mission is pulling from 00:00:25.750 --> 00:00:29.449 this massive compilation of history, anthropology, 00:00:29.809 --> 00:00:32.310 and modern geopolitical reporting, all centered 00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:35.390 around one specific group of people. The Gurjar 00:00:35.390 --> 00:00:38.270 or Gurjar community. Right. Our goal here is 00:00:38.270 --> 00:00:41.579 to explore a historical paradox. We are looking 00:00:41.579 --> 00:00:44.079 at how a single ethnic group can be simultaneously 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.159 associated with ancient royal kingdoms, fiercely 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:49.619 independent nomadic herdsmen, and modern -day 00:00:49.619 --> 00:00:51.460 political flashpoints across three different 00:00:51.460 --> 00:00:54.259 countries. Okay, let's unpack this. To give you 00:00:54.259 --> 00:00:57.939 a bird's -eye view, the Gurjars are a vast, incredibly 00:00:57.939 --> 00:01:00.880 heterogeneous agricultural and pastoral community. 00:01:00.939 --> 00:01:02.759 Spread out pretty widely today, right? Yeah, 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:05.920 they are spread primarily across India, Pakistan, 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:09.280 and Afghanistan. What makes them so unique to 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:11.500 study is that their historical role in society 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:14.319 is remarkably diverse. I mean, they exist on 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.060 a staggering spectrum. Exactly. On one end of 00:01:17.060 --> 00:01:19.079 the spectrum, you find them intrinsically linked 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:22.060 to several major ruling dynasties in the Indian 00:01:22.060 --> 00:01:23.920 subcontinent. And then on the other end of the 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:27.519 spectrum. Some Girjar communities today are landless 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:31.019 nomads with no fixed property of their own, just 00:01:31.019 --> 00:01:33.780 navigating highly militarized borders. To go 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:35.620 from ruling empires to wandering the mountains 00:01:35.620 --> 00:01:38.840 without a permanent home requires a massive historical 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:40.939 shift. It really does. To really understand them, 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:43.569 we have to start with their name. The Sanskrit 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:46.890 origins of the word gurjar give us a major clue 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:49.370 about their early identity. It breaks down into 00:01:49.370 --> 00:01:52.629 two parts. Boar and ujar. Yeah, gur, which translates 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:55.469 to enemy and ujar, meaning destroyer. So quite 00:01:55.469 --> 00:01:58.329 literally, destroyer of the enemy. It is a formidable 00:01:58.329 --> 00:02:01.030 title, and it aligns perfectly with their early 00:02:01.030 --> 00:02:03.730 history. Historians trace their identity back 00:02:03.730 --> 00:02:05.969 to a powerful presence in the Middle Ages around 00:02:05.969 --> 00:02:09.530 570 CE. They were so influential that entire 00:02:09.530 --> 00:02:11.789 geographic regions were named after them. Yes, 00:02:12.030 --> 00:02:14.930 the modern day Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan 00:02:14.930 --> 00:02:18.069 were actually known as Gursaradesa or Gujaratra 00:02:18.069 --> 00:02:20.650 for centuries. Which translates directly to the 00:02:20.650 --> 00:02:23.610 country ruled or protected by Gujars. Right. 00:02:23.909 --> 00:02:26.750 It paints a picture of a people who were heavily 00:02:26.750 --> 00:02:29.229 entrenched in the power structures of antiquity. 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:32.080 But digging into the historical records. There 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:35.340 is a fascinating ambiguity about who they actually 00:02:35.340 --> 00:02:37.960 were at that time, like a historical chameleon. 00:02:38.180 --> 00:02:40.340 What's fascinating here is the chicken or egg 00:02:40.340 --> 00:02:43.219 debate among historians regarding their origins. 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:46.099 The tribe versus geography debate. Exactly. There 00:02:46.099 --> 00:02:48.280 is a deep scholarly discussion about whether 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:51.199 Gurujara initially started as the name of a specific 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:54.400 nomadic tribe that eventually established a kingdom, 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:57.460 Ajanapada, which was essentially an ancient realm 00:02:57.460 --> 00:03:00.379 or republic and gave its name to the geography. 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:03.620 Or Conversely, if it was a geographical identity 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:05.919 that people later adopted as an ethnic label. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.780 It creates a complex puzzle for historians looking 00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:13.900 at ancient royal titles like Udrashvara or Gujarajah. 00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:16.060 It becomes highly debatable whether those kings 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:19.000 were ethnically Gujarah or simply the rulers 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:21.960 of the Gujarah territory. Even with that ambiguity, 00:03:22.379 --> 00:03:24.620 the records make it clear they were a major force. 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:28.000 There is a specific really memorable detail from 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.120 a text called the Harsha Charita. Ah, the biography 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:34.120 of a king written around 630 CE. Yes, by the 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:36.860 author Banapada. He describes the king's father 00:03:36.860 --> 00:03:39.300 as being a constant threat to the sleep of Gurjara. 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:42.699 That phrase alone speaks volumes. Right. It proves 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:45.460 that even in antiquity, the Gurjara were a known 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:48.659 powerful presence that rival kings actively worried 00:03:48.659 --> 00:03:51.120 about and campaigned against. We see records 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:53.460 from collateral branches, like the Gurjaras of 00:03:53.460 --> 00:03:55.840 Lada, who claimed their family was ruling Baruch 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:58.520 from their capital at Nandipuri as early as 450 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:01.460 CE. Documents from the 7th century suggest a 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:04.159 very wide distribution of Gujaras as a central 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:06.780 political power in western India. But over time, 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:09.180 that central power begins to fracture. By the 00:04:09.180 --> 00:04:11.919 10th century, the massive Gujara empire started 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.080 fading from the forefront. They are recorded 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:17.480 more as local chieftains, warriors, or as later 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:20.639 Mughal documents describe them, a turbulent people. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:23.920 The turbulence, the constant movement and adaptation 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:27.079 leads directly to the tapestry of faiths and 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:29.269 borders that define the community today. The 00:04:29.269 --> 00:04:31.449 geographic and demographic spread of the Gujar 00:04:31.449 --> 00:04:34.410 people in the modern era is immense. In Pakistan 00:04:34.410 --> 00:04:37.310 alone, major cities in the Punjab province like 00:04:37.310 --> 00:04:40.370 Gujranwala, Gujar Khan, and Gujarat bear their 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:43.189 name. Demographic estimates suggest Gujars comprise 00:04:43.189 --> 00:04:45.810 up to 20 percent of Pakistan's total population. 00:04:45.990 --> 00:04:48.509 It is a massive group. I was looking at demographic 00:04:48.509 --> 00:04:51.209 data from a 1988 estimate that looked at the 00:04:51.209 --> 00:04:53.910 total Gujar population across the entire subcontinent, 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:56.649 and it will blow your mind. The religious diversity 00:04:56.649 --> 00:04:59.240 is striking. Out of the total population, about 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:03.319 53 % followed Islam. While almost 46 .8 % were 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:05.839 adherents of Hinduism. Alongside a tiny fraction, 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:08.680 about 0 .2 % who were Sikh. If we connect this 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:10.500 to the bigger picture, why does this matter? 00:05:10.660 --> 00:05:12.699 If we connect this to the bigger picture, that 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:15.740 near 50 -50 split between Islam and Hinduism 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:18.240 is the direct result of centuries of regional 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:20.879 turbulence and shifting empires. The historical 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:24.060 texts objectively recount how different segments 00:05:24.060 --> 00:05:27.279 of the population converted to Islam during successive 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:30.199 waves of invasions. The earliest major wave dates 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:33.139 back to Mahmud of Ghazni's rays in Gujarat in 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:37.300 1026. Later, the Gurjars of Awadh and Meerut 00:05:37.300 --> 00:05:39.959 trace their conversion to the late 1300s when 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:42.839 Tamerlane sacked Delhi. By the time Babur invaded 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.199 India in 1525, he noted that the Gurjars of northern 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:49.100 Punjab were already practicing Muslims. And those 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:52.399 conversions continued into the 1700s, with Aurangzeb 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:54.720 forcing the conversion of Gujars in Himachal 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.100 Pradesh. The critical turning point for their 00:05:57.100 --> 00:06:00.120 socioeconomic status is tied directly to these 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.759 invasions. Because when successive empires sweep 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:05.139 through a region, they naturally claim the best. 00:06:05.370 --> 00:06:08.790 most arable agricultural land. Many Gurjar communities 00:06:08.790 --> 00:06:11.389 who are previously settled farmers or local rulers 00:06:11.389 --> 00:06:13.810 were systematically pushed off their ancestral 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:16.410 lands by groups like the Pathans and Balochis. 00:06:16.509 --> 00:06:19.370 To survive losing their farmland, an agricultural 00:06:19.370 --> 00:06:22.209 society has to adapt. They were forced into vagrancy 00:06:22.209 --> 00:06:24.550 and nomadic lifestyles, moving into the forests 00:06:24.550 --> 00:06:27.550 and mountains. And relying entirely on livestock 00:06:27.550 --> 00:06:30.129 because animals can be moved when borders change 00:06:30.129 --> 00:06:32.970 or armies approach. That transition from settled 00:06:32.970 --> 00:06:36.050 rulers to displaced nomads sets up an entirely 00:06:36.050 --> 00:06:38.970 new chapter of their story. Because out of that 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:41.250 displacement, some of these communities developed 00:06:41.250 --> 00:06:44.209 incredibly complex specialized ways of life. 00:06:44.509 --> 00:06:47.009 Here's where it gets really interesting. Let's 00:06:47.009 --> 00:06:50.089 talk about the Van Gujars. The forest gujars 00:06:50.089 --> 00:06:54.069 of Uttarakhand, India. These folks are a pastoral, 00:06:54.269 --> 00:06:56.490 semi -nomadic community living in the Shivalik 00:06:56.490 --> 00:06:59.550 Hills area, and they practice transhumance. In 00:06:59.550 --> 00:07:01.569 the winter, they live down in the foothills of 00:07:01.569 --> 00:07:03.769 the Himalayas with their herds. When the summer 00:07:03.769 --> 00:07:06.170 heat hits, they migrate all the way up to alpine 00:07:06.170 --> 00:07:08.370 pastures higher in the mountains. The relationship 00:07:08.370 --> 00:07:11.209 they have with their animals is profound. They 00:07:11.209 --> 00:07:14.110 herd semi -wild water buffalo and they make their 00:07:14.110 --> 00:07:16.490 living entirely by selling milk to local towns. 00:07:16.750 --> 00:07:19.269 They strictly never eat their animals and they 00:07:19.269 --> 00:07:21.670 never sell them for meat. It is a remarkable, 00:07:21.769 --> 00:07:25.009 highly specialized agrarian lifestyle. Going 00:07:25.009 --> 00:07:26.829 back to that religious tapestry we mentioned, 00:07:27.069 --> 00:07:30.269 the Van Gujjars follow Islam. Yet their social 00:07:30.269 --> 00:07:32.850 structure includes their own distinct clans. 00:07:33.110 --> 00:07:35.670 Which function a lot like Hindu Gotras. Exactly. 00:07:36.269 --> 00:07:39.110 Meaning they are strict, exogamous lineages where 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:42.050 people trace their descent back to a common ancestor. 00:07:42.610 --> 00:07:45.209 It is a vivid example of how ancient cultural 00:07:45.209 --> 00:07:47.850 traditions survive and blend over centuries, 00:07:48.329 --> 00:07:50.370 regardless of broader religious shifts in the 00:07:50.370 --> 00:07:52.569 region. But that thousand -year -old way of life 00:07:52.569 --> 00:07:55.269 is currently running headfirst into modern state 00:07:55.269 --> 00:07:58.819 bureaucracy. The sources detail an intense ongoing 00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:01.399 conflict between the Van Gogh Jars and local 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:03.920 forest authorities regarding land use. It is 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:06.300 a foundational clash between modern environmental 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:09.600 conservation and indigenous traditions. Local 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:11.939 forest authorities have increasingly prohibited 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:14.660 human and livestock populations from living inside 00:08:14.660 --> 00:08:17.899 certain reserve parks. Their stated goal is strictly 00:08:17.899 --> 00:08:20.579 wildlife conservation and protecting fragile 00:08:20.579 --> 00:08:23.290 ecosystems. The Vangujars, however, are relying 00:08:23.290 --> 00:08:27.230 on India's Forest Rights Act of 2006. This specific 00:08:27.230 --> 00:08:29.629 legislation was designed to grant formal land 00:08:29.629 --> 00:08:32.009 rights to traditional forest dwellers. Essentially 00:08:32.009 --> 00:08:34.730 legally protecting their access to the very lands 00:08:34.730 --> 00:08:36.990 and migratory routes they have relied on for 00:08:36.990 --> 00:08:39.330 generations. You have state officials trying 00:08:39.330 --> 00:08:42.610 to maintain pristine, newly created national 00:08:42.610 --> 00:08:45.289 parks on one side. And the nomadic people trying 00:08:45.289 --> 00:08:47.690 to maintain a symbiotic relationship with that 00:08:47.690 --> 00:08:50.470 exact same land on the other. It forces a very 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:53.309 real conversation about who gets to decide how 00:08:53.309 --> 00:08:55.870 natural resources are used and what happens to 00:08:55.870 --> 00:08:58.789 people whose entire identity is tied to moving 00:08:58.789 --> 00:09:02.029 across landscapes that suddenly have rigid bureaucratic 00:09:02.029 --> 00:09:04.570 boundaries drawn over them. It highlights a severe 00:09:04.570 --> 00:09:07.169 livelihood crisis. That crisis is not isolated 00:09:07.169 --> 00:09:09.950 to the forests of Uttarakhand. Across the subcontinent, 00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:11.870 different segments of the Gujar community are 00:09:11.870 --> 00:09:14.350 fighting for survival, political recognition, 00:09:14.850 --> 00:09:17.110 and basic economic rights in highly volatile 00:09:17.110 --> 00:09:20.090 ways. So what does this all mean? Navigating 00:09:20.090 --> 00:09:22.389 democracy in modern political systems has led 00:09:22.389 --> 00:09:25.450 to some intense flashpoints. The protests in 00:09:25.450 --> 00:09:28.830 Rajasthan, India, between 2006 and 2007 are a 00:09:28.830 --> 00:09:31.149 stark example of this. The Rajasthan protests 00:09:31.149 --> 00:09:33.629 objectively illustrate the sheer complexity of 00:09:33.629 --> 00:09:36.049 India's reservation system. This system is a 00:09:36.049 --> 00:09:38.350 form of positive discrimination designed to help 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:41.230 historically marginalized groups access government 00:09:41.230 --> 00:09:44.649 jobs and higher education. At the time, the Gurdjars 00:09:44.649 --> 00:09:47.529 in Rajasthan were classified as an Other Backward 00:09:47.529 --> 00:09:51.080 Class, or OBC. Feeling increasingly marginalized 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:54.000 and facing economic hardship, they demanded a 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:56.480 formal change in their status to Scheduled Tribe, 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:00.419 or ST, which comes with its own specific, highly 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:03.519 coveted quotas. Politics played a massive role 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:05.919 in setting the stage for this conflict. During 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:09.000 the 2003 elections, the political party in power 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.700 had actually promised the Girjars the Scheduled 00:10:11.700 --> 00:10:14.500 Tribe status in exchange for their support. The 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:16.720 historical record shows that promise was a major 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.580 catalyst. After coming to power, the party failed 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:22.059 to deliver on the status change. This broken 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:25.019 promise led to massive protests starting in September 00:10:25.019 --> 00:10:28.120 2006, which eventually escalated into severe, 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:31.299 sometimes fatal clashes with police by May 2007. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.419 The pushback did not just come from the state 00:10:33.419 --> 00:10:35.440 either. There was heavy opposition from other 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:38.059 citizens. The situation was highly combustible 00:10:38.059 --> 00:10:39.960 because other tribes who were already on the 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:42.159 central list for scheduled tribe status actively 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:44.679 opposed adding the gurjars. Their reasoning was 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:48.220 based entirely on economic survival. Adding a 00:10:48.220 --> 00:10:50.779 massive demographic like the Gurjars to the ST 00:10:50.779 --> 00:10:53.840 list would drastically increase competition for 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:56.460 the very few protected government positions and 00:10:56.460 --> 00:10:59.440 educational resources already set aside. It was 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:02.279 a fight over incredibly scarce resources. Ultimately, 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:05.320 despite the scale of the protests, current classifications 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:08.200 note that the Gurjars and Rajasthan remain categorized 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:11.679 as other backward class. It is a sharp reminder 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:14.200 of how ancient, powerful identities struggle 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:16.720 to translate into modern political capital. If 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:18.799 the Rajasthan protests were about navigating 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:21.440 the red tape of democracy and resource allocation, 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.220 the modern struggles in Pakistan and Afghanistan 00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:27.399 are about raw life and death survival in conflict 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:29.840 zones. The Swat Valley resistance in Pakistan 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:32.559 in 2008 demonstrates the extreme measures these 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:34.840 communities sometimes have to take. In Pakistan's 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:36.860 Swat Valley, the Grijars are a distinct group 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:39.139 from the dominant Pashtun tribal confederations 00:11:39.139 --> 00:11:42.299 in the area. In 2008, a good jar community leader 00:11:42.299 --> 00:11:45.000 named Piersamullah did something that completely 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:47.320 reframes how you think about local resistance. 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:50.139 He raised a private tribal army around 10 ,000 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:53.440 men to actively oppose the Pakistani Taliban 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.019 and protect 20 of their villages. Samalu was 00:11:56.019 --> 00:11:59.179 the first tribal leader in SWAT to raise a lash 00:11:59.179 --> 00:12:02.639 car or tribal militia against the Taliban. It 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:05.779 was a monumental stand for a community trying 00:12:05.779 --> 00:12:08.519 to hold its ground against heavily armed militants. 00:12:09.160 --> 00:12:11.559 Tragically, Samula and his forces were eventually 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:14.200 overwhelmed and defeated. The Taliban executed 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:16.820 him and desecrated his body by hanging it publicly 00:12:16.820 --> 00:12:19.220 in the town square. Samula's resistance in Swat 00:12:19.220 --> 00:12:21.360 Valley shows a community trying to hold its ground. 00:12:21.940 --> 00:12:24.519 But just across the border in Afghanistan, we 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:26.240 see what happens when that ground is taken away 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:28.879 entirely. The Gujar population there faces a 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:31.120 completely different but equally devastating 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:33.860 set of challenges. Demographic reporting indicates 00:12:33.860 --> 00:12:37.399 there are an estimated 1 .5 million Gujar people 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:39.809 residing in Afghanistan. They are predominantly 00:12:39.809 --> 00:12:42.509 located in northeastern regions like Kapisa, 00:12:42.830 --> 00:12:46.730 Baghlan, Balkh, Kunduz, Takhar, Badakhshan, and 00:12:46.730 --> 00:12:49.629 Nuristan. Under the old Afghanistan constitution, 00:12:50.110 --> 00:12:52.049 they were officially recognized as one of the 00:12:52.049 --> 00:12:55.590 country's 14 ethnic groups. They even had delegations 00:12:55.590 --> 00:12:58.669 meet with former president Hamid Karzai to formally 00:12:58.669 --> 00:13:01.809 demand basic infrastructure, schools, hospitals, 00:13:02.110 --> 00:13:05.029 and scholarships for their students. The reality 00:13:05.029 --> 00:13:07.350 on the ground, however, is that many are severely 00:13:07.350 --> 00:13:10.210 deprived of basic rights and live in extreme 00:13:10.210 --> 00:13:12.970 poverty. They have faced significant internal 00:13:12.970 --> 00:13:15.889 displacement. Reports from 2018 show that around 00:13:15.889 --> 00:13:19.149 200 grujar families were forcibly evicted from 00:13:19.149 --> 00:13:21.690 their homes in the Farkar district of Takkar 00:13:21.690 --> 00:13:24.529 province by illegal local militias. Pushing them 00:13:24.529 --> 00:13:27.110 further into the margins, that marginalization 00:13:27.110 --> 00:13:29.190 reached a breaking point during the COVID -19 00:13:29.190 --> 00:13:32.139 pandemic. There is a deeply unsettling reality 00:13:32.139 --> 00:13:34.379 documented in the Badakhshan province during 00:13:34.379 --> 00:13:36.299 the height of the outbreak. The Gujar people 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:38.879 there had absolutely zero access to clinics, 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:41.559 doctors or any health facilities. Out of sheer 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:44.120 desperation to treat the coronavirus, they resorted 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:46.480 to using the meat of a local animal called the 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:49.659 Andak. The use of Andak meat is incredibly significant. 00:13:49.820 --> 00:13:52.600 Within their specific cultural context, the local 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:55.399 Gurjar tribe council had explicitly deemed the 00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:58.120 Andak as a protected or unconventional animal, 00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:01.919 making its meat strictly harem or forbidden to 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:04.580 consume under Islamic law. Yet the people stated 00:14:04.580 --> 00:14:07.679 they simply had no other choice. It is a harrowing 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:10.759 illustration of a community pushed to the absolute 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:13.879 brink, forced to compromise their own deeply 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:17.179 held religious laws just to survive a global 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:20.279 medical crisis in total isolation. Yeah. When 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:22.320 you take a step back and look at the sheer scope 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:25.360 of this journey. We started with ancient kings 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.120 whose very name meant destroyer of the enemy. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:31.299 We traced their path from ruling vast swaths 00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:34.039 of the Indian subcontinent to being displaced 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:37.460 by shifting empires. We saw them adapt into specialized 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:40.980 nomadic pastoralists herding buffalo in the Himalayas. 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:44.100 And we see them today navigating incredibly complex 00:14:44.100 --> 00:14:46.799 reservation systems in India, fighting militant 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.879 groups in Pakistan, and surviving extreme isolation 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:52.509 in Afghanistan. For you listening, Understanding 00:14:52.509 --> 00:14:55.269 the Girjars provides a brilliant shortcut to 00:14:55.269 --> 00:14:57.269 understanding the broader complexities of South 00:14:57.269 --> 00:14:59.529 Asian history and identity. They are a mirror 00:14:59.529 --> 00:15:02.490 reflecting centuries of empires rising and falling, 00:15:02.950 --> 00:15:04.370 borders shifting, and people doing whatever it 00:15:04.370 --> 00:15:07.169 takes to survive the crushing weight of history. 00:15:07.529 --> 00:15:09.490 This raises an important question for you to 00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:12.490 mull over. In our sources, there is a concept 00:15:12.490 --> 00:15:14.590 put forward by British anthropologist Stephen 00:15:14.590 --> 00:15:17.809 Lynn in 1999. The concept of Gujarism. Right. 00:15:18.129 --> 00:15:21.389 Analyzing the massive Gujar population in Pakistan, 00:15:21.690 --> 00:15:24.429 he theorized this notion of Gujarism, which he 00:15:24.429 --> 00:15:27.529 defines as kin network activism. It is the phenomenon 00:15:27.529 --> 00:15:30.769 where Gujars are deeply conscious of their shared 00:15:30.769 --> 00:15:34.129 ancient identity, and they actively use that 00:15:34.129 --> 00:15:36.809 tribal consciousness as the foundation for their 00:15:36.809 --> 00:15:39.009 modern social and political participation. They 00:15:39.009 --> 00:15:41.629 activate thousands of years old kinship networks 00:15:41.629 --> 00:15:44.009 to navigate contemporary political landscapes 00:15:44.009 --> 00:15:46.750 and protect their interests. So as modern borders 00:15:46.750 --> 00:15:49.490 become increasingly rigid, and as urbanization 00:15:49.490 --> 00:15:52.009 accelerates globally, will cross -border kin 00:15:52.009 --> 00:15:55.269 network activism, like Gujarism, become the ultimate 00:15:55.269 --> 00:15:57.929 political survival tool for marginalized groups? 00:15:58.149 --> 00:16:00.570 Or will these ancient transnational identities 00:16:00.570 --> 00:16:02.629 eventually dissolve entirely into the modern 00:16:02.629 --> 00:16:04.990 nation state? It's something to deeply think 00:16:04.990 --> 00:16:07.009 about the next time you look at a map and simply 00:16:07.009 --> 00:16:09.350 assume that the borders define the people inside 00:16:09.350 --> 00:16:09.629 them.