Bagar region

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 ( Hindi: बागङ) 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]

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 tract was solely based on the rain and irrigation was possible only in the small area of Bagar region in districts of Fatehabad, Sirsa, Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar 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 Rajathan 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]

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]

In Punjab, Pakistan, Bagri as minor language is spoken in Bahawalpur district and Bahawalnagar district, though these are not considered parts of Bagar region.[10][11][13]

Mani Ram Bagri with Rajiv Gandhi.

The term Bagri people was originally applied to Ethenic Jats,[14][15] Gurjars[16]Rajput and Bishnois living in Bagar Region and who speaks Bagri language[1][17][18][14][19][20][15]

There are also sections of Kumhar, Suthar, Nai, Agarwal Banias and Maheshwari banias as well as Badhik ("butcher"), Pardhi ("hunter"), Bawariya (semi-nomads) castes who are referred as Bagri living in the region.[18][20] Prominent bagri people are politician from Haryana Mani Ram Bagri (1 January 1920 – 31 March 2012, a politician from Haryana), Raj Bagri, Baron Bagri (24 August 1930 – 26 April 2017, India-born British businessman and a Conservative member of the House of Lords from 1997 to 2010, who was made a life peer in 1997).[21]

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