By Archana Sharma

Jaipur, May 17 (IANS): As Bollywood flick 'Prithviraj' is slated to release on June 3, the Gujjars in Rajasthan have once again claimed that the erstwhile warrior was not a Rajput but a Gujjar royal while the Rajputs have invited the Gujjars for an open debate in Delhi on the subject.

Narendra Gujjar, convenor of the Akhil Bharatiya Veer Gujjar Mahasabha, has recently sent a RTI to the CBSE asking it a flurry of questions on who according to them was Prithviraj Chauhan, and also sought to know that as per the CBSE records, was he a Gujjar or a Rajput. He asked the CBSE to share facts that show Prithviraj's caste.

In fact, a letter was also sent to the ICHR, However, Narendra Gujjar claimed that he did not receive any decent reply from either of the two.

As per one segment of Gujjars, Prithviraj Raso was written in the Pingal style, which is a form of Braj Bhasha in which Rajasthani is mixed. Its author is Chandrabardai, who is considered to be the first poet of Hindi Braj Bhasha. Prithviraj Raso is the first epic of Braj Bhasha written around 1400 Vikram Samvat.

"In verse 613 of Adi Parv of Prithviraj Raso Part 1, Prithviraj Chauhan's father Someshwar has been mentioned as Gurjar... just think that if the father is a Gurjar, then what will be the son," said a member from the community.

"Prithviraj Chauhan did not kill Muhammad Ghori, Prithviraj was killed in 1193 AD and Ghori was killed by Khokkar on the night of 14 March 1206, Muhammad Ghori's tomb is in Sohawa Jhelum, Pakistan and he was buried there," said members of the Akhil Bharatiya Veer Gujjar Mahasabha.

Meanwhile, Virendra Singh Kalyanwat, national spokesperson, Shri Rajput Karni Sena, said: "The descendants of Prithviraj are staying in Ajmer. They have complete proof of their lineage. In India, tracing genealogy is not tough as age old records of generations are preserved in Gaya, Haridwar and Pushkar. Even governments accept them as valid records."

He invited all those who have doubts over Prithviraj to Delhi for an open debate, and said: "At least people will come to know what is your history."

Kalyanwat said: "The Gujjar word had come from Gauchar and these were people who resided in Sindhu valley. It's the same way as Rajput word comes from Rajputana and as per caste, we are Kshatriyas."

Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Veer Gujjar Mahasabha members have called a press conference on May 20 in this context at the Press Club in Jaipur which will be addressed by Dr Jitesh Gujjar, historian, Narendra Gurjar and Acharya Virendra Vikram where they will speak on the topic -- evidence of Maharaj Prithviraj Chauhan belonging to the Gurjar clan.

However, other groups from the Gujjar community have shrugged aside these claims.

This shall be washed away soon, said a senior member from the Gujjar community on the condition of anonymity.