The Loniya are a Hindu Rajput caste, found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India .[1] They are traditionally salt makers, and also known as Nuvra, Sambhri, Sambhri Chauhan and Jhumana Parmar.
Originally, the Loniyas rajput belong to Rajasthan where they were engaged in this profession of salt making[2] particularly in Ajmer, Pushkar, Luni, Pulera, Jhuman, Dausa, Bewar and Sambhar.
The traditional occupation of the community was making of salt, agriculture and they were soldiers in the time of the Chauhan rulers of Ajmer, Ranthambore, Bundi, Kota and Udaipur. They are now engaged in agriculture, and are a community of farmers having big & in some places moderate farmland. Some of them are also prosperous business people.
Their main concentrations are in the districts of Kanpur, Lukhnow, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Pratapgarh, Varanasi Azamgarh, Mau, Sultanpur, Amethi, Chandauli, Ballia. Apart from Utter Pradesh, Lonia Rajput caste is also found in Vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh in the district of Rewa, Satna, Shahdol and Sidhi.In Punjab they are known as Loniwal, Dhariwal Janjuva,Rajwar, Chauhan,Bais and Lunawat.Their one branch is in Pakistan known as Luni/Loni.Loni is a warrior branch of Durrani Pashtoons and are related to Qarabagh of Afghanistan. They came to the sub-continent in the era of the Afghan emperor Ahmad Shah Durrani. They were then called as "OX" due to their warrior nature. They moved through Kashmir, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, and Musa Khel to Khan Muhammad Kot and from there they attacked Alambar, Lakhi, Samaolang (Chamalung) and Thal Chutiali and got hold of the vast area, which then got a single name “LONI”. The boundaries of Loni are extended to Kohlu, Musa Khel, Barkhan, Loralai and Dukki.They have fought several decisive wars against neighboring castes like MARRI, KAKAR and other tribes of the area.In India community are Hindu community a huge population of Luni Rajput tribe still exists in the Uttar Pradesh District of India., and worship Kuldevi such as Shakumbaradevi, Ambamai, Assadevi,Durgamaa,Kalimata and Marimaa. They still practice bali pratha(Sacrifice Goat & Bull) which they offer to their kuldevi. The luni rajput have a caste association, the Rajput Maryada Sabha, headquartered in Kanpur. In 1883 people of this community has started Akhilbhartiya Shree Rajput Dharmpracharniya Mahasabha under the leadership of Thakur Lalamathura Prasad Singh and they have found their lost glory after some time they have change the name of this Mahasabha to Shree Rajput Heetkarni Mahasabha.In 1984 Shree Rajput Heetkarni Mahasabha merger in Akhail Bharti Kshtariya Mahasabha at Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Now they r known as Chauhan rajput of Eastern Uttar Pradesh.[3]