Shepherd's

The Gujjars and Bakarwals are the cattle rearing transhumants (people practicing seasonal migration) who oscillate to the different altitudes of mountain with their herds in the valleys of Jammu and Kashmir. However, they migrate in the pasture of Great Himalaya but more localised in the JK. Their habitat is in the hill terrain of North-Western Himalayas. Scholars have different views regarding their origin, some are of the view that they are the pastoral nomads of Central Asia, while some consider them the descendant of the Kushan and the Yuchi tribes of Eastern Tatars (Russia). Some scholars hold the view that they are of Indian origin. Recent archeological, linguistic and geographical evidences trace their migration from a territory between Black Sea and Caspian Sea and proved them the descendant of Gurjis. It is believed that originally residing in Gujarat, part of the tribe migrated towards JK after the outbreak of a serious famine in Gujarat and Rajasthan.