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== Notable Bais Rajputs ==
== Notable Bais Rajputs ==


[[File:Mardansingh.jpg|thumb|170px|right|A portrait of the [[Sikh]] [[Indian]] freedom figher, Mardan Singh was a '''Bais Rajput.'''
[[File:Mardansingh.jpg|thumb|170px|right|A portrait of the [[Sikh]] [[Indian]] freedom figher, Mardan Singh was a '''Bais Rajput.''']]
*Tilokchand - Hindu Indian King & eponymous hero of the Bais Rajput
*Tilokchand - Hindu Indian King & eponymous hero of the Bais Rajput
*Babu Rao Ram Bux Singh - Sikh Indian Freedom fighter
*Babu Rao Ram Bux Singh - Sikh Indian Freedom fighter

Revision as of 11:34, 8 February 2009


The Bais Rajput (also commonly known as: 'Bhains Rajput' in certain regions) are an ancient Rajput clan considered to be Suryavanshi that spread over from the areas of northern India (notably: Thanesar and Kannauj, Kashmir (although mainly Azad Kashmir, notably: Mirpur and Muzaffarabad districts) and Indian and Pakistani Punjab (notably: The Hill States of Punjab, namely Sialkot). The Bais Rajputs are one of the 36 Royal Lineages of Rajputs. The Bais Rajput are not to be confused with the Bains clan of the Jatts: Bains (Jat) (often claim to be of the same heritage.)

A tinted photograph of a group of four armed Rajput soldiers in uniform in front of the Jal Pari Gateway in the Qaisar Bagh complex, Lucknow (a predominantly Bais Rajput area), 1857 at the time of the Defence of Lucknow.


Etymology

Bais Rajput (IPA: beəns ‘rɑːɗpʒʊt), (Sanskrit: महिषी राजपुत्र), (Hindi: भैंस राजपूत), (Urdu: راجپوت بھینس).

Bais Rajput means 'one who occupies the soil' [1] meaning owners of mass land.

Pronunciation

Also pronounced:

The word 'Bais' is pronounced with a silent n inbetween the i and the s and also a light h before the b making the pronounced spelling 'Bhains'. The official spelling though is: Bais. It is not pronounced anything like the word base, rather the a and i phonetically would be replaced with an: e.

History & Origin

The Bais Rajputs are considered to be Suryavanshi. They are an ancient Hindu warrior caste. Their eponymous ancestor was Gautamiputra Satakarni also known as Shalivahana, the king of Shalikot presently known as Sialkot in Pakistan. Shalivahana is the mythic son of a snake who conquered the great Raja Vikramaditya of Ujjain in 55 AD and established his own area. The clan claims to have come from Manji Paithan in the Dekhan in 78 AD when Shalivahana was king.[2] This was the Saka era and Shalivahana was the leader of the Saka nomads who invaded Gujarat on two occasions before and shortly after the beginning of the Christian era.[3] It makes sense for Shesh-Vansh to be called Suryavanshi because they are descendants of Lakshman Ji, brother of Sri Rama, who is believed to be an avtar of Sheshnag.

The Bais Rajput come in the list of casts in the super cast known as the Dhangar Rajput, formed by wealthy Kshatriyas who moved to the regions of The Hill States of Punjab and Azad Kashmir and settled their.

The Bais Rajputs are now a numerous clan and have given their name to an extensive district Baiswada in the Doab, the land between the Ganga and Yamuna. They are found all over the United Provinces and Bihar.[4]

Bais Rajput means 'one who occupies the soil' [5] meaning owners of mass lands, making them wealthy as well as warriors. The Bais Rajput come under the list of the super Rajput cast: The 'Dhangar' meaning 'who is wealthy'. These Dhangar Rajput Kshatriyas, during times of hardship, migrated from origins in the Indian state of Maharashtra to hills and forests in The Hill States of Punjab and Azad Kashmir[6]

The Ain-i-Akbari describes them as being a proud, refractory and domineering race of Rajputs, living in the Basim Sircar and, with numerous armed forces, occupying the forts and controlling the surrounding districts.[7][8][9]

The court of Akbar, an illustration from a manuscript of the Akbarnama

Proud, refractory and domineering race of Rajputs, living in the Basim Sircar and, with numerous armed forces, occupying the forts and controlling the surrounding districts.

— From Ain-i-Akbari [10][11][12]

As listed in the list of Dhangar clans in India[13][14][15][16]:

  • Note: In the text Bais is spelt as also common Bhains

Bhains:

Lineage(Vansh): Suryavanshi

Kul Gotra: Bhains

Rishi Gotra: Bharadwaj

Surnames:

  • Bhains (Baniya),
  • Baruliya (Badheliya),
  • Basade (Bhainsale),
  • Kati (Kataha),
  • Katheriya,
  • Kathabhains,
  • Tilokchandi

Bais are considered also to be Nagvanshi]]. Baiswara is group of 365 villages comprising mostly Bais clansmen. King of Thanesar Harshvardhan united the whole nation and chose his capital as Kannauj.

Custom

The principal hero of the Bais was Tilokchand, who is supposed to have come from the Central Provinces. He lived about 1400 AD and he was the premier Raja of Oudh. He extended his dominions over all the tract known as Baiswara which comprises the bulk of the Rae Bareli and Unnao Districts. The descendants of Tilokchand form a separate subdivision of Bais Rajputs known as Tilokchandi Bais.

The Bais Rajput intermarry with Rajput clans namley the Chauhan, Kachwaha, Chandel, Gautam.

The Bais Rajput live in groups of villages named Baiswara, where Baiis Rajput have ever migrated they have also formed such coalition of villages, namely the move to The Hills States of Punjab and Azad Kashmir. Baiswara are easily recognisable as most villages prize the name 'Bais' in the name of their village for example: Kalyal Bhainsi (Azad Kashmir) or Bais Godam (India).

The 'Bais' 'Rajput' clan never kill snakes, which they hold in great reverence. The Baise believe that no snake has destroyed, or ever can destroy, one of the clan. They seem to take no precautions against snake bite except hanging a vessel of water at the head of the sufferer, with a small tube at the bottom, from which the water is poured on his head for as long as he can bear it. So important is the snake to the Bais that the cobra forms part of the clan's flag.

Notable Bais Rajputs

A portrait of the Sikh Indian freedom figher, Mardan Singh was a Bais Rajput.
  • Tilokchand - Hindu Indian King & eponymous hero of the Bais Rajput
  • Babu Rao Ram Bux Singh - Sikh Indian Freedom fighter
  • Harshavardhana - Bhuddist Indian Emperor of northern India
  • Prabhakar Vardhan - Hindu Indian Emperor
  • Rajya Vardhan - Hindu India King of Thaneser
  • Raja Abhay Chand - Hindu Indian King of Bais dynasty
  • Dhyan Chand Singh - Sikh Indian Hockey player
  • Roop Singh Bais - Sikh Indian Hockey player
  • Ashok Kumar Singh - Sikh Indian Hockey Player
  • Chandrashekhar - Sikh Indian Hockey player
  • Mardan Singh - Sikh Indian Bais Rajput leader
  • Arman Singh - Sikh Indian Bais Rajput leader
  • Sardar Sikandar - Muslim Kashmiri ex primeminister & president of Azad Jammu & Kashmir
  • Ramesh Bais - Hindu Indian political activist

Bais Rajput & Religion

In the modern day and age the clan consists of two major religious groups: Hindus and Muslims. There are also Sikh and Buddhist Bais Rajput but this is a minority in comparison to the latter two. The Bais Rajput started of as Hindus as did all in when the cast system came into place a very long time ago in India. Even so today there are very many Hindu Bais Rajput as over half Bais Rajput are Hindu. Directing from the lineage of the Kshatriyas the Bais Rajput claim to be descendent of many Hindu gods. As Islam spread over India quite a few areas in the dynasty of the Bais Rajput converted in the 14th and 15th and still to this day remain Muslims. Also with the move of many to The Hill States of Punjab and Azad Kashmir most if not all converted to Islam as Islam was the dominant religion in the area. Some Muslim Bais Rajput Thakurs experience problems in expressing their Thakur identity following the religion of Islam as it does not allow one to be self extravagant.

International community

Many Bais Rajputs live in countries other than India and Pakistan such as the United Kingdom, Canada and America.

See also

References

  1. ^ Crooke, William (1896). The Tribes and Castes of the North-western Provinces and Oudh. Calcutta, Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. ISBN 81-206-1210-8.
  2. ^ Crooke, William (1896). The Tribes and Castes of the North-western Provinces and Oudh. Calcutta, Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. ISBN 81-206-1210-8.
  3. ^ Crooke, William (1896). The Tribes and Castes of the North-western Provinces and Oudh. Calcutta, Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. ISBN 81-206-1210-8.
  4. ^ Crooke, William (1896). The Tribes and Castes of the North-western Provinces and Oudh. Calcutta, Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. ISBN 81-206-1210-8.
  5. ^ Crooke, William (1896). The Tribes and Castes of the North-western Provinces and Oudh. Calcutta, Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. ISBN 81-206-1210-8.
  6. ^ Dhangar Samaj Prachin Eitihas va Kul Gotra, Ganpatrao Kolekar, 1992.(Marathi)
  7. ^ The The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions By Syed Siraj ul Hassan
  8. ^ The Tribes and Castes of Bombay By Reginald Edward Enthoven
  9. ^ Rajputs and Dhangars have same or common Gotras
  10. ^ The The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions By Syed Siraj ul Hassan
  11. ^ The Tribes and Castes of Bombay By Reginald Edward Enthoven
  12. ^ Rajputs and Dhangars have same or common Gotras
  13. ^ Dhangar Samaj Prachin Eitihas va Kul Gotra, Ganpatrao Kolekar, 1992.(Marathi)
  14. ^ Dhangar samajachi gotre, Ganpatrao Kolekar, 1981 (Marathi)
  15. ^ Hamara Samaj, Bharat ke Meshpal, 1973 (Hindi)
  16. ^ Holkaron Ka Eithihas, Madhusudanrao Holkar(Hindi), 2000
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