Khokhar

The Khokhar or Khokar are a people of Punjab region of Pakistan and north-western India. According to H. A. Rose they are the gotra (clan) of Rajput, Jat, Arain, Nai, and Churah. According to Denzil Ibbetson, they are also a gotra of the Tarkhan and Khatri tribes. The Khokhars were designated as an agricultural tribe.

Origins

H. A. Rose finds early references to the Khokhars in the Taj-ul-Ma'asir, the Tabaqat-i-Nasir and the Ain-i-Akbari, with the earliest certain record being in the first of these, written in 1205 AD. These ancient texts recount a rebellion against the Muslim governor of Sangwan that occurred during the rule of Muhammad of Ghor. There had been incorrect rumours that the Sultan had died and these led to uprisings, among which was that of the Khokhars. They joined in rebellion with Rai Sal, the ruler of the Salt Range, but were heavily defeated. Rose makes it clear that there is uncertainty regarding whether Rai Sal was himself a Khokhar.

Rose believe that the origin of the Khokhar lay probably in a Hindu community but that they are "obscure" and some of their traditions of origin do not stand scrutiny. The tribal folklore claims a connection to the Awan community through a son of Qutb Shah, but Rose dismisses it as "this pedigree probably merely records the fact that the Awans and Khokhars owe their conversion to Islam to the saint Qutb Shah or his disciples, or that they both accepted his teachings." Rose is unconvinced by the Awan traditional lore regarding Qutb Shah which states that he ruled Herat and came to India to fight with several of his sons, including one called Khokhar, when Mahmud of Ghazni was invading an area which nowadays forms part of Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India. Rose believes that the names of the descendants of Qutb Shah who came to settle in India are clearly not of Arabic origin and therefore the connection between those people and their alleged ancestor are unlikely.

Ahmed Abdulla has summarised this situation more recently

... the Awans, Khokhars and Khatars claim common ancestry from Qutb Shah, who is said to have come from Ghazni with Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, [but] scholars hold the view that they were most probably converted by Qutb Shah during Mahmud Ghaznnavi's reign and were not his descendants. This tendency of claiming foreign origin by some of the local tribes is not uncommon. "Even admittedly Rajput tribes of famous ancestry such as the Khokhar, have begun to follow the example of claiming connection with the Mughal conquerors of India or the Qureshi cousins of the prophet".

Relationship to the Gakkhars

Aside from his work with the ancient texts, Rose also refers to an event of 1009 AD in which an infidel community known as the Gakkhars joined with Hindus to resist a Muslim invasion. He believes that these Gakkhars "in all probability" were the Khokhars.

Similarly, many campaigns were undertaken against the Khokhars by Sultan Shahabuddin Ghori in the Punjab and ultimately he was killed by the Khokhars of the Salt Range in March 1206. Any confusion which may once have existed regarding which tribe did what appears to have it origins in the works of Firishta. Rose points out that historians prior to Firishta were in agreement that it was the Khokkars who had killed Ghori, that Sheika and Jasrat were not Gakkhars and that, generally, Firishta confused the two tribes on several occasions. He noted that Firishta plagiarised some content of an earlier historian - Ibn-i-Asir - but applied it to the wrong tribe, and he speculated that Firishta may even have had some grudge against the Gakkhars because of their ill treatment of one of Firishta's relatives.

Historical figures such as Sheikha and Jasrat are nowadays regarded as being Khokhar.

An 1876 engraving of Khokar rajputs, from the Illustrated London News.

The Jhelum River in Punjab, Pakistan

Historical records

Coin of Mu'izzuddin Muhammad Bin Sam (Sultan Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori), circa 1173-1206 , Issued from Delhi following coin typology of Prithviraja.

In 1240 AD, Razia, the daughter of Shams-ud-din Iltutmish marched with her husband Altunia to recapture the throne from her brother Muizuddin Bahram Shah, she is reported to have headed an army composed mostly of mercenaries from the Khokhar tribe of the Punjab.

"In 1246-7 Balban mounted an expedition as far as the Salt Range to chastise the Khokhars". "His last campaign was undertaken with the object of subjugating the turbulent Khokhars of the Salt Range."

According to Rose, "The Khokhran section [of the Khatri caste] is said to consist of the descendants of certain Khatris who joined the Khokhars in rebellion against Ala-ud-din Khilji who ascended the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in AD 1296; and with whom other Khatri families were afraid to intermarry".

Although Lahore was reoccupied by Dehli, for the next twenty years Lahore remained in ruined condition, being sacked on several occasion by the Mongols or by their Khokhar allies. Around the same time a Mongol commander named Hulechu occupied Lahore in alliance with Khokhar chief Gulchand, the one time ally of Muhammad's father.

Shaikha Khokhar and Tamerlane

Shaikha Khokhar (sometimes Sheikha or Shuja) was a chief of the Khokhars in the 14th and early 15th centuries and a contemporary of Tamerlane's invasions into Punjab. Shaikha occupied Lahore in 1393, and five years later Nusrat Khokhar was defeated by Tamerlane.

Jasrath Khokhar

Jasrath Khokhar (sometimes Jasrat or Dashrath) was the son of Shaikha Khokhar. He became leader of the Khokhars upon the death of Tamerlane, escaping prison in order to do so. He supported Shahi Khan in the war for control of Kashmir against Ali Shah, and was rewarded when victory was achieved. Later, he attempted to conquer Delhi, taking advantage of the death of Khizr Khan. The scheme met with partial success, as he won campaigns at Talwandi and Jullundur but was hampered by the seasonal rains in his attempt to take over Sirhind.

Samarkand in Uzbekistan. Jasrath was captured and brought here after Shaikha Khokhar's defeat in 1398 AD

In 1428 AD , The Mughal armies, under Shaikh Ali of Kabul, invaded and a contingent of Khokhars headed by 'Ain-ud-din and Malik abu-l-khair joined them at Talwara to guide them onwards.

He did not, however, live to see the fruition of his plan, for, in A.D. 1442, he was murdered by his queen to avenge the death of her Father, Rai Bhilam.

Grand-nephew of Jasrath Khokhar aligned with Mughal Emperor Akbar

In the time of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, the Khokhars held portions of the Bari Doab, the Jullunder and Rachna Doabs, Multan and portions of Jammu and Sialkot, with a population estimated at 200,000.^{[citation needed]}

In March 1557, Akbar was at Delhi when the news reached that an instigation of Mulla Abdulla Sultanpuri and Sikandar Sur had descended upon the plains of Jalandhar Doab and had started collecting the revenue. In consequence, Akbar was sent in charge of Bairam Khan to the Punjab and advanced by way of Sirhind, Sultanpur and Hariana on Kalanaur, while Sikandar Sur withdrew to Mankot. The imperial forces immediately advanced through Jalandhar to the Shivalik Hills and encamped at Dasuya. The hill Rajas, who had sided with Sikandar Sur deserted him and submitted to Akbar. After receiving the submission of the Raja of Kangra, Akbar took up his residence at Jalandhar, where among others, Kamal Khan, a grandnephew of Jasrath Khokhar before mentioned, waited on him and was well received. Akbar was now called to the east to meet Hemu, and during his absence Sikandar Sur defeated Khizr Khan, Governor of Lahore, at Chamiari, which may be the village of that name in the extreme north of the Jalandhar District. This disaster necessitated the return of Akbar, who had defeated Hemu at Panipat.

From the 1882 census

Rose says that:

:"On the other hand in Shahpur the Bhat are divided into Bunjahis and Khokhars, the latter suggesting the Khokhrain group of the Khatris thus

Section of Khokhars - Gotra

Sigarre ------------ Kushab

Nadhipotre ---------- Bhardwaj

Apat -------------- Balash

Jain --------------- Vashisht".

Titles

Malik is used by Khokhars and Khokhran, and refers to chiefs, primarily by those Khokhars who claim to be descendants of Qutb Shah. Chaudhry is used by Khokhars in parts of Punjab. Raja is used by many Khokhars, and is commonly used by Rajputs in Punjab.^{[citation needed]} Rana is also commonly used by Rajputs in Punjab, and is used by Khokhars in central and eastern Punjab. Rai is also used.

The Punjab and it's surrounding areas in 1903. The historical home of the Khokhar clan.

List of Khokhar towns and villages

• Pind Dadan Khan (Jhelum)
• Khokhar (Azad Kashmir)
• Tahli (Hoshiarpur, East Punjab, India)

Notable Khokhars

• Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan Khokhar - Former Minister of Food, Agriculture and Health, Ambassador to Iran 1948-1952, to Turkey 1952-1953, to India 1954-1956 and to Italy 1956-1957.
• Riaz Khokhar - Former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, High Commissioner to India 1992–1997, Ambassador to the United States 1997–1999 and to China 1999–2002.
• M. Nawaz Khokhar - Former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
• Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar - Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan

See also

• Muslim Rajput
• Punjabi Rajput
• Muslim Jat of Punjab

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Allan, J.; Haig, Sir T. Wolseley; Dodwell, H. H. (1900). The Cambridge Shorter History of India. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=egY9AAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
• Maclagan, Sir Edward (1926). Gazetteer of the Multan District, 1923-24 (Reprinted ed.). Punjab (Pakistan): Sang-e-meel Publications. http://books.google.com/books?id=qlJuAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2011-08-16. 
• Rose, Horace Arthur. Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province. 1. Lahore. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1QmrSwFYe60C. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
• Rose, Horace Arthur (1911). Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province. 2. Lahore. http://www.archive.org/details/glossaryoftribes03rose. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
• Syed, M. H. (2004). History of Delhi Sultanate. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-261-1830-4.