Origin

The Shorgir are a community of Kumhar

Kumhar

Kumhar or Kumbhar ; also known as Prajapati, is a caste or community of India, mainly belonging to the Hindu religion. The word "Kumhar" literally means "potter" in Indian languages, pottery being the traditional occupation of the Kumhars....

 ancestry, who have taken to salt-making. They get their name from the Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 word shora, which means salt. The Shorgir are said to have originated in Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, and over time spread to Haryana

Haryana

Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

 and Punjab

Punjab (India)

Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

. They now speak Haryanvi, and are found in the districts of Rohtak

Rohtak

Rohtak City is a Municipal Corporation in Rohtak district that styles itself as the "Heart of Haryana". It is located 70 km Northwest of New Delhi and 210 km South of the state capital Chandigarh at the NH 10...

, Hissar

Hissar

Hissar means Fort or Castle in Arabic. Many forts in Ottoman, Safavi and Mughal empires are named Hissar. Hissar could refer to:*Hisar, India, a city in Haryana state in India.*Hisar District in Haryana state in India...

, Karnal

Karnal

Karnal is an important city and the headquarters of Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana.Karnal is said to have been founded by the Kauravas in the Mahabharata era for the king Karna, a mythological hero and a key figure in the epic tale...

, Jind

Jind

Jind is a town in Jind District, Harayana state, India.It is one of the oldest districts of Harayana. It is one of the first Sikh Kingdoms. It lies in central Haryana and is the fourth district of the Jat belt .The city is beautiful...

 and Sirsa

Sirsa

Sirsa is a city and a municipal council in Sirsa district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is a town in the westernmost region of the state, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. Its history dates back to the time of Mahabharata...

.

Present Circumstances

The Shorgir community consists of a number of exogamous clans. Their main clans are the Kumati, Saria, Chabria, Sungatia, Puchmare, Eaxsele, Salote, Sarde and Naile. They are strictly endogamous. The Shorgir are a landless community, whose traditional occupation was salt making. Like other artisan groups in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, the Shorgir have seen a decline in their traditional occupation. The community are now mainly wage labourers.A small number rent out of land from the Bania

Bania (caste)

Bania is an occupational caste of bankers, money-lenders, dealers in grains, spices and in modern times numerous commercial enterprises. Baniya is a distinct caste mostly coming from Western India and Central India but spread now all over India...

community for extracting shora or rock salt.