Timeline of 12th-century conversion of Hindu clans to Islam
Janjua
Raja Dhrupet Dev was the father of a Janjua Sardar Raja Ajmal Dev Janjua who embraced Islam in the 12th century and rose to become the next rising force of the Janjua Rajput. He followed the Islamic tradition of change of name after conversion and was then known as Raja Mal Khan.
Khakha
The Khakha Rajputs are a branch of the Janjua Rajputs, the dynasty that has ruled western Punjab since the 13th century in a powerful and warlike fashion.[1][2]
The Janjua Rajputs claim to be the descendants of Maharaja Janamejaya, the king of Hastinapur in the Mahabharata in the Hindu mythology.[3]
Raja Hatim Khan
Raja Dhrupet Dev, the king of Mathura, was exiled from his kingdom by the general Kutub-ud-Din Aibak in 1195 AD. The Raja and his brother Shripat Dev conquered Chakwal region of Rajghar and settled there.
But it was son Raja Mal who established the fortune of the royal house. He was the first Muslim convert from the Janjua Rajput dynasty. He conquered the entire region of Rajghar and renamed it Malluki ki Dhani with its capital at Malot, where he built a large famous fort.[4]
Raja Mal Khan's young son, Raja Khakha Khan is the apical ancestor of the Khakha Rajputs. His elder brothers included Raja Jodh Khan of Makhiala (Jhelum), Raja Bhir Khan of Malot (Chakwal), Raja Kala Khan of Kahuta and Raja Tanoli of Amb (Hazara).
| “ | Raja Mal left five sons...Wir (Bhir), Jodh, Kahla, Tanoli, and Khaka...Khaka's offspring inhabit Muzafferabad, Kot Khakha and other villages near the Jammu frontier | ” | |
| — From The Punjab Chiefs [5] | |||
Minhas and Manhas
Minhas Rajputs are Suryavanshis and claim descent from Sri Rama of Ayodhya.
In Punjab (Pakistan), the main concentration of Minhas Rajputs is in Jhelum and in Chakwal, a town sixty miles south-east of the federal capital, Islamabad. In Chakwal, the Minhas Rajputs are called Mair-Minhas after their ancestor, Raja Mair, a Jamwal prince who converted to Islam in 1190 C.E. According to the legend, Raja Mair (whose name before conversion was Raja Bhagir Dev) was son of the Raja of Jammu and had come to the Dhanni area (present day Chakwal) for hunting. He fell in love with a local Muslim Gujjar woman, converted to Islam and married her.
Mair Minhas Rajputs number around six thousand at present. The 'Chaudhrials' or the Talukdars reside in Kot Sarfraz Khan, Kot Chaudhrian and the old-Chakwal city; whereas other members of the tribe, the Zamindars occupy eighty four villages in the Chakwal tehsil including Murid (Chakwal) Dhudyhal, Badsahan, Bhon, Sarkal-Mair, Chakral, Dab, Sutwal, Karhan, Chak Malouk, Chak Norang, Bhagwal etc.
The city of Chakwal is named after their chief, Chaku Khan, who ruled the area at the time of Mughal king Babar's invasion. The Mughal emperor Zaheerudin Babur conferred upon him the title of Chaudhry and made him the Taluqdar (area administrator) over 84 villages of the Dhani country, which since then has been known as Dhan 84. The Mair-Minhas tribe rose to further prominence during the short rule of Sher Shah Suri who handed them the control over the adjoining territories, as far as Swan River in Potohar and Kahoon in the South.
However, after the Mughal King Humayun returned to India with the help of the Persians, he handed over the entire Potohar including Dhani to the Gakhars, who had helped him escape from India during Sher Shah's revolt.
As written in the history of the Gakhars, Kaigor Nama, the Mair-Minhas tribe proved to be notorious subjects for the Gakhars and almost never paid their revenue, killed the Ghakkar 'kardars' repeatedly and escaped in the mountains whenever military operations were launched against them. Sir Denzil Ibbetson in his Punjab census report of 1881 describes them as "ever masterful and always retaining their independence in a singular degree".
The Mair-Minhas tribe again rose to power after King Aurangzeb's death. They had supported his son Moazzam in his quest for power and in return he re-appointed their chief Gadabeg Khan as the taluqdar and chaudhry of 'Dhan Chaurasi'. Their rule over Dhani continued during the Sikh era as one of their chiefs Chaudhry Ghulam Mehdi had invited Sirdar Maha Singh to this side of river Jhellum. Also, their Dogra cousins Raja Gulab Singh and Dhian Singh were very powerful in the Lahore Durbar, so the influence of Chakwal Chaudhrials during the Sikh era was considerable and they were considered one of the biggest Muslim land holders of the era.
It was during that era that Dhani breed of horses became very popular and even Maharaja Ranjeet Singh's personal horses were kept in the stables of the 'Chakwal Chaudhials'.
In the Second Anglo-Sikh War at Chaillianwala in 1849, the Chakwal Chaudhrials were among the very few Muslim feudal families who supported the Sikhs. Consequently, after the defeat of the Sikhs all Jagirs and titles of the 'Chakwal Chaudhrials' were confiscated. They further disgraced themselves by making over a British Lady, Lady George Lawrence. As a result, they lost proprietary rights over one hundred and seventy thousand acres (690 km²) of cultivated land which they had colonised and owned for many centuries.
Due to their general good conduct in the mutiny of 1857, some of their rights were restored and small Jagirs were granted to their chiefs in Chakwal. Chief of the tribe Jehan Khan and later his son Aurangzeb Khan were conferred an 'inam' of Rs.312/- per annum and the title of "Raja Sahib" as a mark of hereditary distinction. The Chaudhrials of Kot Chaudhrian were able to get more concessions with the aid of Maharaja Gulab Singh and almost half of their original lands were regranted.
The Mair-Minhas tribe is almost entirely confined to the Chakwal District. However, besides Chakwal, there are quite a few other Minhas villages scattered all over the province including the village of Rohtas in Jhelum, Sagri in Rawalpindi, and in Gujar Khan, Kahuta, Sargodha and Faisalabad. Some villages are also located in the state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
There is also a considerable population of Minhas families in Sialkot in the districts of Rangpura and Heerawalapura. They are descendants of Hashim Minhas (1781), and his son Ghulam Mui-Din Minhas. However, in Sailkot, they were largely engaged in the tailoring and clothing trades. Many of their descendants emigrated for economic reasons from Sialkot to the Middle East, UK and the US.
Chadhars
Chadhars claim descent from Chandarh, the son of Raja Ravilan of the lineage of king Pandu of the Mahabharata. They are Chandra Vanshis. It is widely believed that they are a branch of the Tomaras as it has been confirmed by the claim of the Chadhars of Jhang that they are the descendants of Raja Toor and that they migrated into the Punjab from Rajputana and also that their throne is Tahli Mangeeni.
In 1193 AD, when Muhammad Ghori invaded India, the clan moved from Rajasthan to the Punjab. Some went to Bahawalpur, where they were converted to Islam by Pir Shershah (Jalaluddin Surkh Bukhari) of Uch Sharif. From Bahawalpur, they migrated north, along the course of the rivers Ravi and Chenab. Over the possession of essential water resources, they clashed many times with Kharal and Sial tribesmen in the beginning but their march could not be stopped. The Chadhars were heavily built and also outnumbered others.
See also
References
- ↑ The Imperial Gazetteer of Kashmir and Jammu Sang-e-Meel, 2002, p 34
- ↑ History of Mediaeval Hindu India by Chintaman Vinayak Vaidya, Cosmo Publ. 1979, p129
- ↑ Punjab Chiefs by Lepel H. Griffin, Lahore Press, 1909, p 214
- ↑ The History of the Muhiyals: The Militant Brahman Race of India By T P Russell Stracey, General Muhiyal Sabha, Lahore, p77
- ↑ Punjab Chiefs by Lepel H. Griffin, Lahore Press, 1909, p 214