Bagar region

Map

Historical Region of Rajasthan, India Bagar/बागड़/باگر

Location	Northwestern India 29°58′N 74°32′E / 29.967°N 74.533°E / 29.967; 74.533
Language	Bagri
Dynasties	Yaudheya Established 5th century BCE Disestablished 3rd-4th century CE Bhati Established 255 AD Disestablished 1527 AD at Bhatner Rathore Established – 1488(15th century) in Lower Bagar region Established – 1527 AD in Bhatner Disestablished –1949(20th century)
Historical capitals	Bikaner, Shaikhsar, Hanumangarh

Bagar, also Bagad (बागड़) a term meaning the "dry country",^[1] is a region refers in north-western India in north Rajasthan, West Haryana, south west Punjab, India where the Bagri language is spoken and which is inhabited by Bagri people. The region is characterised by sandy tracks and shifting sand dunes which are now irrigated by canals.^[2]

Etymology

Bagar means the prairie (grazing shrubs and grassland) of northern Rajputana,^[3] which likely comes from eponymous Arabic word "bagar" meaning "cow" (sacred to Hindus),^[4] derived from the Arabic word "cattle".^[5]^[6] Baggara in Arabic means "cattle herders".^[5]^[7] Bagar tract refers to the semi-arid semi-fertile rain-fed sandy shrubby grassland tract at the confluence of arid Thar Desert and fertile bangar and khadir areas of Indo-Gangetic Plain, which as historically inhabited by the cattle herders who remained semi-nomadic until they began to adapt to settled life in the mid to late Medieval Period. Before the adoption of the Arabic name bagar, the area was earlier known as Jangladesh during the Vedic era of Mahabharata and even in early medieval times at least until the end of Hindu reign of Prithviraj Chauhan.

Bagar tracts

Bagar (Hindi: बागड़) region is characterised by Bagar tracts which are long strips of shifting sand dunes called tibba (टिब्बा) and relatively semi-fertile lands and the area between them is called lal (लाळ) in northern districts of Rajasthan and along the northwestern districts of Haryana^[8]

Geography

The Bagar region has potentially very fertile alluvial soil interspersed with highly permeable very sandy tracts in several places with water table more than 100 feet below ground containing brackish water usually unfit for human consumption, where dust storms frequent during the warm summer months from April till the end of July when monsoon arrives.

Previously, the drinking water availability in the Bagar tract was solely based on the rain & wells and irrigation was possible only in the small areas of Ghaggar basin of Bagar region in districts of Fatehabad, Sirsa, Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar and Anupgarh where the seasonal Ghaggar river flows.

Earlier Western Yamuna Canal and after 1963 Bhakra Nangal Dam canal system provides the water for irrigation in most of Haryana including all of the Bagar region falling in Haryana on its western border.

The Ganga canal in 1927 and in 1984 Indira Gandhi Canal irrigation also known as Rajasthan Canal brought the water of Sutlej and Beas rivers to the fields of Rajasthan including its Bagar tract, stabilizing the sand dunes and soil erosion by preventing the expansion of desert.^[9]^[8]

Geographically, the Bagar region lies between the:

Malwa, Punjab to the north,
The Shekhawati region and the Marwar region of Rajasthan to the south.
The Aravali Range to the southeast in the Charkhi Dadri district & Tosham tehsil of Bhiwani district,
Ahirwal region of Haryana also in the southeast.
The eastern border in bounded to the Haryanavi speaking region of haryana.
In the west of Bagar region lies the Rohi(रोई)/Cholistan desert of Punjab (Pakistan) with a few Bagri speakers in the Bahawalpur district & Bahawalnagar district.

Geographical extent of Bagar region.
States	Districts
Rajasthan	Anupgarh district, Sri Ganganagar district, Hanumangarh district, Khajuwala, Chhatargarh, Loonkaransar, Pugal, Sri Dungargarh and Bikaner tehsils of Bikaner district, Taranagar, Sardarshahar, Rajgarh, Sidhmukh, Bhanipura, Ratangarh and Churu tehsils in Churu district.^[10]^[8]
Punjab	Abohar & Fazilka tehsils of Fazilka district, Southern villages of Sri Muktsar Sahib district.^[10]^[11]^[12]
Haryana	Sirsa district, Fatehabad district,^[13] Barwala, Adampur and Hisar tehsils of Hisar district.^[10]^[11]^[8] Siwani, Loharu and Tosham tehsils of Bhiwani district^[13] Badhra tehsil of Charkhi Dadri district ^[13]

Bagri language

A Bagri speaker.

Bagri (बागड़ी), a dialect of overlapping Rajasthani language, Haryanvi language and Punjabi language of the Indo-Aryan family, spoken by about five million speakers residing in Bagar region of Rajasthan,Haryana and Punjab states in India^[10]^[11]

Politics of Bagar Region(Constituencies and MLA)

There are 40 Constituencies of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan legislative assemblies where Bagri language is spoken by majority of the population.

In Punjab, there 4 constituencies of Fazilka and Sri Muktsar Sahib in South Punjab where Bagri speakers decides the fate of elections. Out of 4 constituencies only 1 constituency is reserved for SC candidate.
In Haryana, there are 15 constituencies in north west haryana which comes under the Bagar region out of which 2 constituencies are reserved for SC candidates.
In Rajasthan, there are 21 constituencies of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly which comes under the Bagar region in North Rajasthan. Meanwhile, 4 constituencies out of 21 constituencies are reserved for SC candidates.

Rajasthan

Following is the list of the constituencies and the candidates from Bhartiya Janata Party,^[14] Congress party ^[15] and the Independent candidates ^[16] appeared in 2023 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election^[17] from the Bagri speaking region of Rajasthan.

Bagar Region (बागड़)
Year	Seats	Indian National Congress		Bharatiya Janata Party		Others
2023	21	10	1	9	0	2
2018	21	9	8	9	7	3
2013	21	1	10	16	8	4

Source:^[18]^[19]
Constituency		Winner					Runner Up					Margin
#	Name	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Margin
Sri Ganganagar district
1	Sadulshahar (1)	Gurveer Singh Brar		BJP	74,433	37.58	Om Bishnoi		IND	58,973	29.77	15,460
2	Ganganagar (2)	Jaydeep Bihani		BJP	81,001	44.66	Karuna Ashok Chandak		IND	51,222	28.24	29,779
3	Karanpur (3)	Rupinder Singh Kooner		INC	94,950	48.55	Surender Pal Singh		BJP	83,667	42.78	11,283
4	Suratgarh (4)	Dungar Ram Gedar		INC	1,16,841	55.87	Rampratap Kasania		BJP	66,382	31.74	50,459
Anupgarh district
5	Raisinghnagar (SC- 5)	Sohan Lal Nayak		INC	79,586	37.08	Balvir Singh Luthra		BJP	65,561	30.54	14,025
6	Anupgarh (SC-6)	Shimla Devi		INC	1,02,746	53.18	Santosh Bawri		BJP	64,865	33.58	37,881
Hanumangarh district
7	Sangaria (7)	Abhimanyu Poonia		INC	98,341	47.40	Gurdeep Singh		BJP	56,331	27.15	42,010
8	Hanumangarh (8)	Ganesh Raj Bansal		IND	89,323	37.03	Amit Sahu		BJP	79,625	33.01	9,698
9	Pilibanga (SC-9)	Vinod Kumar		INC	1,43,091	57.84	Dharmendra Kumar		BJP	87,818	35.50	55,273
10	Nohar (10)	Amit Chachan		INC	1,03,623	43.22	Abhishek Matoria		BJP	1,02,728	42.85	895
11	Bhadra (11)	Sanjeev Kumar Beniwal		BJP	1,02,748	44.68	Balwan Poonia		CPI(M)	1,01,616	44.19	1,132
Bikaner district
12	Khajuwala (SC-12)	Vishwanath Meghwal		BJP	91,276	51.47	Govind Ram Meghwal		INC	73,902	41.67	17,374
13	Bikaner West (13)	Jethanand Vyas		BJP	98,648	54.51	Bulaki Das Kalla		INC	78,454	43.35	20,194
14	Bikaner East (14)	Siddhi Kumari		BJP	89,917	53.07	Yashpal Gehlot		INC	70,614	41.68	19,303
15	Lunkaransar (16)	Sumit Godara		BJP	60452	29.98	Rajendra Moond		INC	51583	25.58	8869
16	Dungargarh(17)	Tarachand Saraswat		BJP	65,690	32.55	Manglaram Godara		INC	57,565	28.52	8,125
Churu district
17	Sadulpur (19)	Manoj kumar		BSP	64,368	32.92	Krishna Poonia		INC	61,794	31.60	2,574
18	Taranagar (20)	Narendra Budania		INC	1,08,236	49.52	Rajendra Rathore		BJP	97,891	44.78	10,345
19	Sardarshahar(21)	Anil Kumar Sharma		INC	99,582	42.27	Rajakaran Choudhary		IND	77,250	32.79	22,332
20	Churu (22)	Harlal Saharan		BJP	99,432	50.05	Rafique Mandelia		INC	92,558	46.59	6,874
21	Ratangarh (23)	Poosaram Godara		INC	1,09,383	53.69	Abhinesh Maharshi		BJP	79,720	39.13	29,663

Haryana

Following is the list of constituencies and Members of Legislative Assembly from the Bagri speaking region of North Western Haryana.

District	No.	Constituency	Name			Remarks	Reservation
Fatehabad	1	Tohana -(39)	Paramvir Singh	Indian National Congress	INDIA
	2	Fatehabad – (40)	Dura Ram	Bharatiya Janata Party	NDA
	3	Ratia – (41)	Lakshman Napa	Bharatiya Janata Party	NDA		SC
Sirsa	4	Kalanwali – (42)	Shishpal Singh	Indian National Congress	INDIA		SC
	5	Dabwali – (43)	Aditya Devilal	Indian National Lok Dal	None
	6	Rania – (44)	Arjun Chautala	INLD	None
	7	Sirsa – (45)	Gokul Setia	Indian National Congress	INDIA
	8	Ellenabad – (46)	Bharat Singh Beniwal	Indian National Congress	INDIA
Hisar	9	Adampur (46)	Chander Parkash	Indian National Congress	INDIA
	10	Uklana (48)	Naresh Selwal	Indian National Congress	INDIA
	11	Barwala (51)	Ranbir Singh Gangwa	Bhartiya Janata Party	NDA
	12	Hisar – (52)	Savitri Jindal	Independent	NDA
Bhiwani	13	Loharu (54)	Jai Parkash Dalal	Bharatiya Janata Party	NDA	Cabinet Minister For Agriculture
Bhiwani	14	Tosham (58)	Shruti Choudhry	Bhartiya Janata Party	NDA
Charkhi Dadri	15	Badhra (55)	Umed Singh	Bharatiya Janata Party	NDA

Punjab

Following is the list of constituencies and MLA in the Punjab Legislative Assembly from Fazilka district and southern part of Sri Muktsar Sahib district with the significant presence of Bagri Speakers in South Punjab,India.

District	No.	Constituency	Name		Bench
Fazilka	1	Fazilka – (80)	Narinderpal Singh Sawna	Aam Aadmi Party	Government
	2	Abohar – (81)	Sandeep Jakhar	Indian National Congress	Opposition
	3	Balluana – (82) (SC)	Amandeep Singh ‘Goldy’ Musafir	Aam Aadmi Party	Government
Sri Muktsar Sahib	4	Lambi – (83)	Gurmeet Singh Khudian	Aam Aadmi Party	Government

Gallery

Sirsa district
Fatehabad district
Hisar district
Bhiwani district
Charkhi Dadri district
Bagar tract through Ganganagar district, Anupgarh district, Hanumangarh district, Churu district and Bikaner district in Rajasthan
Bagar tract through Fazilka district and southern villages of Muktsar district of Punjab (India)
Bagri as minor language is spoken in Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar district of Punjab, Pakistan, though not considered parts of Bagar tract.

References

^ Nonica Datta, "Forming an identity", The Tribune, 3 July 1999.
^ "Revised Land and Revenue Settlement of Hisar District 9006-9011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
^ Elaine King,1998, Tales & legends of India, Page 61.
^ 2002, Abubakar Garba, "State, city and society: processes of urbanisation", University of Maiduguri – Centre for Trans Saharan Studies, Archaeological Association of Nigeria, Page 82.
^ ^a ^b Deepak Kumar Behera, Georg Pfeffer, 2002, The concept of tribal society, Page 284.
^ Mohamet Lawan, 1997, No travel is little, Page 66.
^ Jemera Rone, Brian Owsley, Human Rights Watch/Africa, 1996, Behind the Red Line: Political Repression in Sudan, Page 274.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d India District Census Handboook, 1961
^ E. Walter Coward, 1980, "Irrigation and Agricultural Development in Asia: Perspectives from the social sciences", Cornell University press, page 302, ISBN 0801498716.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gusain, Lakhan: Reflexives in Bagri. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1994
^ ^a ^b ^c Gusain, Lakhan: Limitations of Literacy in Bagri. Nicholas Ostler & Blair Rudes (eds.). Endangered Languages and Literacy. Proceedings of the Fourth FEL Conference. University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 21–24 September 2000
^ Census India 2001
^ ^a ^b ^c https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-map-shows-study-area-and-the-Eco-cultural-regions-of-Haryana-Modified-after-Singh_fig2_364830044 ^{[bare URL]}
^ "Election Commission of India".
^ "Election Commission of India".
^ "Election Commission of India".
^ "Election".
^ India Today (4 December 2023). "Rajasthan Election Results 2023: Full list of winners". Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
^ India TV (3 December 2023). "Rajasthan Election Result 2023: Constituency-wise full list of BJP, Congress, BSP and RLP winners". Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.

[bagartribune1-1] Nonica Datta, "Forming an identity", The Tribune, 3 July 1999.

[HarRev-2] "Revised Land and Revenue Settlement of Hisar District 9006-9011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2016.

[etymology1-3] Elaine King,1998, Tales & legends of India, Page 61.

[etymology3-4] 2002, Abubakar Garba, "State, city and society: processes of urbanisation", University of Maiduguri – Centre for Trans Saharan Studies, Archaeological Association of Nigeria, Page 82.

[etymology5-5] Deepak Kumar Behera, Georg Pfeffer, 2002, The concept of tribal society, Page 284.

[etymology2-6] Mohamet Lawan, 1997, No travel is little, Page 66.

[etymology4-7] Jemera Rone, Brian Owsley, Human Rights Watch/Africa, 1996, Behind the Red Line: Political Repression in Sudan, Page 274.

[Census1961-8] India District Census Handboook, 1961

[bag1-9] E. Walter Coward, 1980, "Irrigation and Agricultural Development in Asia: Perspectives from the social sciences", Cornell University press, page 302, ISBN 0801498716.

[GL1-10] Gusain, Lakhan: Reflexives in Bagri. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1994

[GL2-11] Gusain, Lakhan: Limitations of Literacy in Bagri. Nicholas Ostler & Blair Rudes (eds.). Endangered Languages and Literacy. Proceedings of the Fourth FEL Conference. University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 21–24 September 2000

[12] Census India 2001

[researchgate.net-13] ttps://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-map-shows-study-area-and-the-Eco-cultural-regions-of-Haryana-Modified-after-Singh_fig2_364830044 ^{[bare URL]}

[14] "Election Commission of India".

[15] "Election Commission of India".

[16] "Election Commission of India".

[17] "Election".

[Rajasthan_Election_Results_2023:_Full_list_of_winners2-18] India Today (4 December 2023). "Rajasthan Election Results 2023: Full list of winners". Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.

[Rajasthan_Election_Result_2023:_Constituency-wise_full_list_of_BJP,_Congress,_BSP_and_RLP_winners2-19] India TV (3 December 2023). "Rajasthan Election Result 2023: Constituency-wise full list of BJP, Congress, BSP and RLP winners". Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.

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