Haryana was part of the Kuru Kingdom during the Vedic era during 1200 BCE.
Haryana has been inhabited since the pre-historic period. Haryana was part of the Indus Valley civilization during the Bronze Age period. The ancient sites of Rakhigarhi and Bhirrana are some of the oldest Indus Valley civilization sites.(5) Haryana was part of the Kuru Kingdom during the Vedic era during 1200 BCE.(6)(7)(8) The area now Haryana has been ruled by some of the major empires of India. The Pushyabhuti dynasty ruled the region in the 7th century, with its capital at Thanesar. Harsha was a prominent king of the dynasty.(9) The Tomara dynasty ruled the region from 8th to 12th century. The Chahamanas of Shakambhari defeated them in the 12th century.(10)
Harsha Ka Tila mound, ruins from the reign of 7th century ruler Harsha.
Lal kot built by Anangpal Tomar in 1052
Portrait of Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, who fought and won across North India from the Punjab to Bengal, winning 22 straight battles.(11)
In 1192, Chahamanas were defeated by Ghurids in Second Battle of Tarain.(10) In 1398, Timur attacked and sacked the cities of Sirsa, Fatehabad, Sunam, Kaithal and Panipat.(12)(13) In the First Battle of Panipat (1526), Babur defeated the Lodis. Hem Chandra Vikramaditya claimed royal status after defeating Akbar's Mughal forces on 7 October 1556 in the Battle of Delhi. In the Second Battle of Panipat (1556), Akbar defeated the local Haryanvi Hindu Emperor of Delhi, who belonged to Rewari. Hem Chandra Vikramaditya had won 22 battles across India from Punjab to Bengal, defeating the Mughals and Afghans. Hemu had defeated Akbar's forces twice at Agra and the Battle of Delhi in 1556 to become the last Hindu Emperor of India with a formal coronation at Purana Quila in Delhi on 7 October 1556. In the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas.(14)
In 1966, the Punjab Reorganisation Act (1966) came into effect, resulting in the creation of the state of Haryana on 1 November 1966.(15)
See also: Demography of Haryana
The main communities in Haryana are Gujjar, Jat, Brahmin, Agarwal, Ahir, Chamar, Nai, Ror,Rajput, Saini, Kumhar, Bishnoi etc.(16) Punjabi khatri and Sindhi refugees who migrated from Pakistan had settled in large numbers in Haryana and delhi.
Haryanvi diaspora overseas
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See also: Indian disaspora overseas
There is increasingly large diaspora of Haryanvis in Australia, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, USA, etc.
In Australia, the community lives mainly in Sydney and Melbourne, has set up Association of Haryanvis in Australia (AHA) which organise events.(17)
In Singapore, the community has set up the Singapore Haryanvi Kunba organisation in 2012 which also has a Facebook group of same name. Singapore has Arya Samaj and several Hindu temples.
Main article: Haryanvi culture
Main article: Haryanvi language
Haryanvi, like Khariboli and Braj is a branch of the Western Hindi dialect, and it is written in Devanagari script.(18)
Main article: Music of Haryana
Folk music is integral part of Haryanvi culture. Folk song are sung during occasion of child birth, wedding, festival, and Satsang (singing religious songs).(2) Some haryanvi folk songs which are sung by young woman and girls are Phagan, katak, Samman, Jatki, Jachcha, Bande-Bandee, Santhene. Some songs which are sung by older women are Mangal geet, Bhajan, Sagai, bhat, Kuan pujan, Sanjhi and Holi. Folk songs are sung in Tar or Mandra stan.(19) Some dances are Khoriya, Chaupaiya, Loor, Been, Ghoomar, Dhamal, Phaag, Sawan and Gugga.(19)
Haryana is agricultural state known for producing foodgrains such as wheat, barley, pearl millet, maize, rice and high-quality dairy. Daily village meal in Haryana consist of a simple thali of roti, paired with a leafy stir-fry (saag in dishes such as gajar methi or aloo palak), condiments such as chaas, chutney, pickles. Some known Haryanvi dishes are green choliya (green chickpeas), bathua yogurt, bajre ki roti, sangri ki sabzi (beans), kachri ki chutney (wild cucumber) and bajre ki khichdi. Some sweets are panjiri and pinni prepared by unrefined sugar like bura and shakkar and diary. Malpua are popular during festivals.(20)
See also: History of clothing in the Indian subcontinent and History of Textile industry in India
Traditional attire for men is turban, shirt, dhoti, jutti and cotton or woollen shawl. Traditional attire for female is typically an orhna (veil), shirt or angia (short blouse), ghagri (heavy long skirt) and Jitti. Saris are also worn. Traditionally the Khaddar (coarse cotton weave cloth) is a frequently used as the fabric.(21)(22)
See also: Haryanvi cinema and List of Haryanvi-language films
The First movie of Haryanvi cinema is Dharti which was released in 1968. The first financially successful Haryanvi movie was Chandrawal (1984) which spurted the continuing production of Haryanvi films, although none have been as successful.(23) Other films such as Phool Badan and Chora Haryane Ka followed with only about one out of twelve films being profitable at the box office.(23) In 2000, Aswini Chowdhary won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director at the National Film Awards for the Haryanvi film Laddo.(24) In 2010 the government of Haryana announced they were considering establishing a film board to promote Haryanvi-language films.(25)
