Dogra

The Dogras (Dogri, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu: ڈوگرا / डोगरा / ਡੋਗਰਾ / dogra; Tibetan, Ladakhi: སྀན་པ / sin-pa or ཤྀན་པ / shin-pa; Chinese: 森巴; pinyin: Sēnbā) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group in South Asia. Being a diversified group, the Dogras include both Savarnas such as Brahmins, Rajputs and Non-savarnas. The Dogras also incluide merchant castes (Vaishyas) such as Mahajans. Rajput Dogras are believed to be Suryavanshi along with chandravanshi Rajputs of Chattari origin, migrating many centuries ago from Rajputana (now called Rajasthan) to the hilly areas of Jammu and lower altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh (Una, Kangra, Mandi, Bilaspur and Hamirpur). They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir but also in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and northeastern Pakistan. They speak their own language, Dogri, which was recognized as one of the national languages of India in 2003. Most dogras are Hindus, but some are Muslims and Sikhs.