Ahirwal | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Ahirwal | |
| Coordinates:28°12′N76°36′E / 28.2°N 76.6°E /28.2; 76.6 | |
| Country | India |
| States | |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| • Spoken | Ahirwati |
Ahirwal is a region of southernHaryana, north-easternRajasthan, and South-WesternDelhi[1] The region was once a smallprincipality based from the town ofRewari and controlled by members of theAhir community from around the time when theMughal Empire was in decline.[2]
The name translates as "Land of the Ahirs".[3] J. E. Schwartzberg has described it as a "folk region"[4] and Lucia Michelutti as a "cultural-geographic region ... which includes parts of the districts of Alwar, Bharatpur in Rajasthan andMahendragarh,Rewari,Gurgaon in the state of Haryana."[3] The Ahirwal region in southern Haryana has 11 assembly segments spread over three Lok Sabha seats –Bhiwani-Mahendergarh, Gurgaon andRohtak (one segment only) – having a sizeable presence of Ahir voters.[5]
The main language of the area isAhirwati. It is commonly taken to be a dialect ofMewati and classified within theRajasthani group of languages, but it also has characteristics in common with the neighbouringWestern Hindi varieties.[citation needed] The closely relatedBangru (also known as Haryanvi) andHindi are also spoken in the region.
The events at the battle ofRezang La on 18 November 1962 involved many soldiers from the Ahirwal region, who were greatly outnumbered by their Chinese opponents.[6][7]
