Other Spellings : Haryanvis, Hariyanavi

Religion : Hindu

Language : Hariyanavi, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu Hariyanavi or Jatu or Bangaru is a dialect of Hindi language. It has lot of similarities with Hindi, and has plenty of Urdu words in it. It can be considered as a variation of the early Khadiboli. Haryanvi dialects have lots of variation and sometimes the dialects vary from village to village.

Regional Spread : Haryana, Punjab and Delhi

Traditional Occupation : Farming, Cattle Rearing

Population : More than 2 crore (in Haryana)

Food Habits : Fresh vegetables are the main stay of Haryanvi cuisine which is primarily vegetarian. Dals are not consumed daily and vegetables seasoned lightly are preferred. People are fond of eating different kinds of rotis here. Wheat rotis are common and so are baajre ki roti. Milk and dairy products are used in abundance by people of Haryana.

Marriage Preference : Prefer intra-caste arranged marriages within their own caste.

Famous Personalities: Ved Vyasa, Harsh Vardhan, Rao Tula Ram, Pt. Deen Dayal Sharma, Lala Lajpat Rai, Dr Gopichand Bhargav, Chaudhary Devi Lal, Pt. Bhagwad Dayal Sharma, Kapil Dev, Kalpana Chawla, Mallika Sehrawat

History and Origin : The people of Haryana belong to the Indo-Aryan type and in parts to the Indo-Dravidian type. Haryana's population is divided into a number of castes or jatis. The main classes of people in Haryana are the Brahmins, the Rajputs, the Jats, the Ahirs and the allied agricultural communities. From the ancient past to the present, religion provides the main basis of the structure of the Haryanavi society. In earlier times the society was uni-religious as everyone professed Hinduism. After some times two reformed forms of the old religion namely Jainism and Buddhism came to have their hold on the people. In the medieval times there came the Islam, followed by Sikhism and Christianity.

About Harayanavi : The people of Haryana are simple, straight-forward, enterprising and hard-working. They are still conservative and continue to follow old practices as a matter of routine and custom. The women still observe purdah, at least among certain communities. In former days, purdah was observed quite rigidly. It is now considerably relaxed mainly due to economic causes.