Banjara

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Banjara is a community in India spread in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. They are also spread in other states of India. Basically they are from Rajasthan and Gujarat Locally they are known by different names such as Vanzara, Banjara, Lambadi, Sugali, Ghor etc. They live in settlements called Tandas. They have a unique culture and dance form. The women wear colorful and beautiful costumes and have tattoos on their hands. They are classified as Scheduled Tribes in Andhra Pradesh. They speak the Lambadi language of the Indo-European language family. Their traditional occupation is agriculture and trade. Banjaras are also a group of nomadic cattle herders.

The traditional food of Lambadis is Bati which is Roti. Their customs, language and dress indicate they originated from Rajasthan. Their traditional occupation is agriculture and trade. The accurate history of Lambanis or Lambadis or Banjaras is not known but the general opinion among them is that they fought for Prithivi Raj against Mohammad Ghazni. The trail of the Lambadi/Banjara can be verified from their language, Lambadi borrows words from Rajasthani, Gujarathi, Marathi and the local language of the area they belong to.

1 Notable Banjara people
- 1.1 Vasantrao Naik
- 1.2 Sudhakarrao Naik
2 See also
3 External links

[edit] Notable Banjara people

[edit] Vasantrao Naik

Vasantrao Naik was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1963 until 1975. He was born in Gavli, Pusad in 1913. He died in 1979. His experience in Grass-roots politics made him a responsible legislator. He was a staunch supporter of Yashwantrao Chavan. After the death of Mr. M. Kannamwar, he was elected Chief Minister of Maharashtra, a post which he handled successfully for more than 11 years. He was the father of the Green Revolution in Maharashtra. During his regime, Maharashtra became a more developed state. His nephew Sudhakarrao Naik later became Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

[edit] Sudhakarrao Naik

Sudhakarrao Naik (1934 2001) was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1991 until 1993. Born at the remote Gavli village in the Vidarbha region, he was nephew of Mr Vasantrao Naik who was Chief Minister of Maharashtra for 11 years. He started his political career from his rural base as Sarpanch or village head.

He started his larger political career from Pusad. His role as Education Minister of Maharashtra is still held with high importance. Mr. Sharad Pawar gave him the post of Chief Minister when he became a Minister at the Center.He served as governor of Himachal Pradesh from 1994 to 1995. He is also remembered for his work in water conservation.