Relegion and Culture of Haryana

The People

Haryana constitues about 2% of the total population of India. A major part of its people live in rural areas and are Hindus.
The Jats are the largest segment of the poulation and are concentrated in Rohtak, Bhiwani, Hisar, Karnal, Gurgaon and nearby areas.
The Ahirs, Rajputs, Gujjars, Bania, Khatris and Sikhs make up for the rest.
The Scheduled Castes are rare, while the artisan castes such as Sunars (goldsmiths), Lohars (blacksmiths), Telis (oil traders) Nais (barbers) and dhobis (launderers) are found throughout the state and especially in villages.
The Schedules castes, normally looked down by the higher castes like the Brahmins and the Rajputs, but in recent times they have been able to progress through reservation in jobs although the basic occupation is agriculture.

Religion

The majority of people in Haryana follow Hinduism and observe traditional Hindu beliefs. The main gods worshipped are Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Hanuman and Kali, apart from others.

Most of the temples are built for Vishnu and Shiva, with the former being more popular as Rama and Narayan.
Muslims make up about 5% of the total population. Although Islam does not preach casteism, there are three categories of Muslims in Haryana. The Asharf or Sharaf (noble) form the higher caste, and the Ajlaf (base or mean) is the middle with Arzal (lowest of all) coming at the end. There are Muslim Rajputs as well as converted Muslims. Christians, Jains and Buddhists are few and scattered across the state, while Sikhs are in large numbers in central and west Haryana.

Rituals

Rituals abound in India, and consequently in Haryana. Simply because without rituals Hinduism would be a damp squib. Marriages, deaths, births, anything and everything - they’re all subjected to a thousand rituals.

Languages

With Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu forming the main languages, there are numerous dialects which are spoken throughout the length and breadth of Haryana.
However, almost all of them have their base in Hindi with a smattering of Urdu and Punjabi thrown in for good measure. In towns and cities, English is still to be adopted as the household lingo, but is spoken in a hazy mixture of Hindi.

The most striking feature of Haryana is its language itself; or rather, the manner in which it is spoken. Popularly known as Haryanavi (also known as Bangru or Jutu).
Trying to speak Haryanavi can be fairly simple for those who speaks Hindi.

The Suraj Kund Crafts Mela

This is one of the best in Haryana if you’re looking for local goodies, ranging from pottery to weaves to stone and wood work.
The standard is rather good, and if you’re here in early February (when the mela happens), you must buy.
The prices are relatively low compared to emporia, and some of the stuff can be amazing. The mela offers a huge variety and additional knowhow can be elicited from the real makers of the goodies instead of bored shopkeepers. Oh yes, the venue is Suraj Kund.