Mangral

Aerial view of Kotli Mangrallan

The Mangral (alternately Mahngral, "Mungral",Mangarpal, Urdu: مہنگرال، منگرال‎) is a Rajput most elite class of rajput cast and the historical founders and rulers of Kotli, Poonch and Fatehpur. Their ancestor Raja Mangar Pal was the founder of the city of Kotli and Fatehpur in the old and modern Azad Kashmir. The Mangrals ruled Kotli State until 1815, and ruled Poonch State until 1819, following which both of these states were incorporated into the State of Jammu

History

Sikh conquest of Kotli

The Mangrals ruled Kotli, samala and the Fatehpur state for approximately four centuries until they were defeated by the army of the Sikh leader Ranjit Singh. Singh was referred to locally by the derogatory name 'Kaala Kaana' i.e. the black faced boz-eye - a reference to his dark complexion and missing eye. The Mangrals led by Raja Shah Sawar Khan and Raja Sangar Khan initially defeated the Sikh forces in two battles (1812 and 1814), though at very high cost in loss of life.

The Sikh army returned in 1815 with 30,000 soldiers and a final battle ensued. Having lost many fighters, the Mangrals agreed to a compromise, giving up control of their city (then based in Baraali near modern Kotli) to Ranjit Singh. The rural areas remained under the control of various Mangral families as jagirs from Jammu, and they continued to be the landowners and collectors of tax revenues. This arrangement lasted until Pakistan's 1962 Land Reform Act, whereby the ownership of the land was transferred to the tenant farmers without compensation to the landowners.

See also

References

    Sources

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.