Khokhar

The Khokhar or Khokar (Urdu: کھوکھر ) are the people of Pakistan and India, they are the gotra of Rajput and Jat/Jaat, some Muslim Khokhars, commonly known as Qutb Shahi Khokhars, also claim ancestry from Qutb Shah who is said to have come from Ghazni with Mahmud of Ghazna. In Pakistan they are predominately Muslim with a Christian minority and are one of the largest Rajput clans in Punjab, they are also commonly found in Azad Kashmir. In India, where they are predominately Hindu or Sikh, they are mainly found in the states of Punjab,Haryana,Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Khokhars were also designated as an agricultural tribe (Martial Race), from whom the army almost exclusively recruited.

Before the partition of British India, many Muslim Khokhars were found in the Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Jalandhar districts of East Punjab. Most of these emigrated to West Punjab, now Pakistani Punjab, after the partition in 1947. In central Punjab, they were and are still found in Lahore, Gujranwala, Kasur, Sialkot and Gujrat district. Hindu and Sikh Khokhars can be found in the Indian regions of (Batala, Chandigarh, Gurdaspur, Ropar, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib), Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat, many Hindu and Sikh Khokhars moved from Pakistan to India after independence.

Origins

Muslim view

Many Muslim Khokhars maintain (and have always maintained) they are descended from an individual named Qutb Shah, a Governor of Herat and a general in the army of Mahmud of Ghazni, Qutub Shah was a Hashemite descendant of the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali (but by a wife other than the Prophet's daughter, Fatimah).

It is asserted that Qutb Shah and six of his sons accompanied and assisted Mahmud in his early eleventh century conquests of what today forms parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India. It is claimed that in recognition of their services and valour, Mahmud bestowed upon Qutb Shah and his sons (who, according to tribal traditions, settled primarily in the Salt Range) the title of Awan, meaning "helper".

Tribal history holds that Qutb Shah and his sons married local women who converted to Islam from Hinduism. Qutb Shah’s sons are said to have settled in different regions of the Punjab and to a lesser extent, what now constitutes parts of the North West Frontier Province; Gauhar Shah or Gorrara, settled near Sakesar, Kalan Shah or Kalgan, settled in Kalabagh, Chauhan colonized the hills close to the Indus, Mohammad Shah or Khokhar, settled by the Chenab, and Tori ‏and Jhajh settled in Tirah. Their descendants not only came to heavily populate these regions, but a number of Awan sub-clans that trace their origins to these six individuals, give their names to various localities such as Golera in Rawalpindi, Khewra in Jhelum, Banjara in Sialkot and Jand in Attock. Some of Qutub Shah’s sons are supposed to have assumed names that reflected the Hindu heritage of their mothers and the Khokhar sub-clans that trace their origins to these particular individuals, bear the names of their eponyms.

The Awans are divided into numerous clans....

The following are the best known of these clans :—

Khokhar Rehan Darhal Saghral Chajji Mumnal Jand Gulshahi Shial Saidan Khattar Babkal Kang Sudkal Parbal

Kalgan Khurana Chohan Bugdial Ballial

- Punjabi Musalmans by J. M. Wikely

The individual Qutb Shah appears in relation to Khokhars, Awans and other clans in various records, sometimes as a Military General in the army of Ghazni and at other times as a saint. Some Pakistani and western scholars such as Syed Abdul Quddus, Ahmed Abdulla and J M Wikely; who quotes Pandit Harikishan Kaul in his report on the census of 1911, attribute the conversion of Khokhars to Qutb Shah during the invasions of Ghazni rather than his having an ancestral relation to Khokhars or Awans.

Almost 60% of the population of the Punjab comprises of Rajputs and Jats and the various branches of their race such as Awans , Khokhar , and Khattars , Janjuas , Arains Gujjars etc , though the Awans , Khokhars and Khatars claim common ancestory from Qutb Shah , who is said to have come from Ghazni with Mahmud Ghazni , scholars hold the view that they were most probably converted by Qutb Shah during Mahmud Ghaznnavi reign and were not his descendents . 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.

In an account of the Katil Rajputs from Gurdaspur it is said that some of the earliest converts to Islam became known as the Khokhars , but further on it says “one of our ancestors settled down in the fort of Mangla Devi in the Jammu state and then took possession of Khairpur , hence his descendents became known as Khokhars , after being converted to Islam in the time of Ghaznavi

The origins of the Khokhars are as obscure as those of any Punjab tribe. Tradition appears to invariably to connect them with the Awans , making Khokhar one of Qutb Shah's sons and the Khokhar Qutb Shahis his descendants , who would thus be akin to the Juhans also . But this pedigree probably merely records the fact that the Awans and Khokhars owe their conversion to Islam to the saint Qutb Shah or his desciples , or that they both accepted his teachings

However, most of these claims can be traced to the works of H. A. Rose in the book 'Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province'. Here he states that he is assuming the Gakhar and Khokhar to be the same, and contributes his findings to H M Eliot and Dowson's book The History of India, as told by its own Historians, however the latter make no such connection.

H. A. Rose then, in the same book, goes on to accept the Awan (whom he had already connected to the Khokhars) to be of Arab origin.

But in the best available account of the tribes, the Awan are indeed said to be of Arabian origin and descendants of Qutb Shah, but he is said to have ruled Herat and to have joined Mahmud of Ghazni when he invaded India.

Mir Hussein Ali Khan Kirmani in his book 'History of Hyder Naik' (translated from Persian by Colonel Miles, and published by the Oriental Translation Fund) also notes the Khokhars to be "an Afghan tribe famous in the subcontinent".

The officers of the Nawaub’s infantry, nevertheless did not lose heart, but determined to sell their lives dearly; and they therefore strengthened a large building at the gate­way, and defended it gallantly, while the Khokur, (Afghan), with a few brave fellows, made an attack on the unlucky Mahrattas, and with the sword and spear killed a great many of them

Despite the noted ambiguities, the view commonly held by most contemporary historians, common people and arguably the majority of Muslim Khokhars of central Punjab is that they are indeed of Rajput ancestry.

Hindu/Sikh view

Hindu and Sikh Khokhar trace their ancestry to Kshatriya origins. The common surname between Hindu and Muslim Khokhar is indicative also of a common north Indian Aryan ancestry. The Khokhars are Chandrabansi

'That the Khokhars were originally Hindus appears hardly open to question .The Khokhars in Jhelum say they used to keep up certain Hindu customs and had parohits who were Datts, until recent times , but that this is no longer the case .They do not know whether they are connected with other Khokhars of the Punjab.

The Mohyal of whom the Datts are a sub clan were also purohits of the Khokhran in earlier times however

the Muhial having ceased to be Brahmans at all , no longer minister to the Khokharan-Khatris and so a special group of Khokharan-Brahmins has had to be formed . .

The Mohyal Brahmins associated to the Khokhars and Khokhran have a long history of not following the priesthood occupation that was usually associated with Brahmins in the past .

S A A Rizvi in his book 'The wonder that was India', also notes:

Muizzuddin whose capital was in Ghazni, followed Mahmud s tradition of Invading India . His army consisted mainly of Turkic and Taji (Persian -speaking Turks ) Finding the Ismailis a threat to his power in the east, Muizzuddin seized Multan in 1175 , then he conquered Uch. In 1178 he invaded Anhilvara or Patan , the capital of the Vaghela raja of Gujarat , Mulraja 11 . A battle was fought near Mount Abu, the Rajas army, which outnumbered the Turks , won the day . The invaders fled through the inhospitable deserts in a miserable condition and endured considerable hardship. Muizzuddin thereupon decided to give up Mahmud's plan of invasion through Sindh and Multan . The Punjab offered better prospects . In 1179 he seized Peshwar. Two years later he invaded Lahore. The Ghaznavid ruler, Khusraw Malik made peace . In 1182 Muizzuddin conquered Debal and made the Sumra rulers of lower Sind his vassals. After a three year lull Muizzuddin invaded Lahore again and after ravaging the surrounding countryside occupied the strategic fort of Sialkot. The deposed Khusraw Malik made an alliance with the Khokhars, a Hindu tribe from the Salt Range but to the Mongols

J.M.Wikeley in his book Punjabi Musalmans:

The general conversion of the Muhammadan Rajputs from Hinduism is supposed to have taken place towards the end of the 13th or early 14th century AD. The Muhammadan conquests undoubtedly accelerated this change of religion, but the preaching of several renowned Muhammadan saints, especially Bawa Farid of Pakpattan and Syed Ali Hajveri of Lahore, whose eloquence drew large numbers to hear him, helped considerably to this end

Differing theories of origin

Some claim the confusion of origin to be caused by different Rajput/Jat tribes which are geographically related, such as the Kukhran/Khokharan and the Gakhar/kakar/khakhar tribes. This ambiguity can be illustrated by well documented historical figures such as Sheikha and Jasrat being regarded as Khokhar by some but Gakhar by others, or in some works by H. A. Rose, who even states that he is assuming the Gakhar and Khokhar to be the same. This can also be seen from the fact that some historians attribute the killing of Muhammad Ghori to the Khokhars of potohar while he was returning to Ghazni at his camp at Dhamyak near Lahore on the Jhelum River in 1206, however according to H M Eliot and Dowson, in the book The History of India, as told by its own Historians

Various muslim historians record the encounter of Muhammad Ghori with the Gakkhurs and him being killed by the Hindu Gakhars. Hasan Nizami in his book the Taju-L-A'Sir has recorded the Gakhars killing Ghori in the chapter The Return of Muhammad Ghori from Khwarzim and his war against the Gakkhurs and the Death of the Sultan of Sultans , Muhammad Sam

This is further emphasised as the 1893-94 Gazetteer of the Rawalpindi District notes

from the moment where oral traditions give way to more authentic historical records, the history of the Potohar becomes that of the Gakhar clan

Firishta, in the account of this transaction, contained in the History of Sind (Vol. ii. pp. 610-5), has followed the Rauzatu-s Safá almost verbatim, adding only a few particulars which his greater local knowledge enabled him to supply

Sultán Jalálu-d dín, after applying to Shamsu-d dín for such aid as would enable him to return to his native country, where he learnt the sentiments of the Sháh towards him, returned by way of Lahore towards the abodes of the Khakkars, and after arriving in that country, he went to the hills of Balála and Bankála, and thence despatched Táju-d dín Khilj to the hills of Júdí, to plunder that province. * * The Ráí of the Khakkars, Kokár Sanká, who had attained the honour of Islám in the time of Sultán Shahábu-d dín, solicited the Sultán that he would prevent Násiru-d dín Kubácha from harrying his country, as he was for ever doing. The Sultán gave the Ráí's son the title of Kalíj Khán, and sent one of his nobles, who was known as Úzbek Báshí (he was Jahán Pahlawán Úzbek), with seven thousand men against Kubácha, the ruler of Uch and Multán, who was encamped with twenty thousand men on the bank of the river Sind, which is near Úch.

The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition of 1911 states

the Ghakkars seem to represent an early wave of conquest from the east, and they still inhabit the whole eastern slope of the district; while the Awans, who now cluster in the western plain, are apparently later invaders from the opposite quarter

Most of these hypotheses also point to the tribe being descended from Qutb Shah, who entered the Indian Subcontinent as part of a military campaign.

However, there are those who dispute that the Khokhars are of Arab origin; these include Alexander Cunningham, Harikishan Kaul and Arthur Brandreth. Cunningham looked upon the Khokhar as a Rajput clan. It should be noted that this and other similar theories were partly founded on grounds of phonetics, geographical considerations and observational coincidences, and remain conjecture having never been corroborated by the Khokhar tribe or neighbouring clans.

Conversely, there are also those who support the Khokhar claim to Arab ancestry. Amongst such names are those of H. A. Rose, Malik Fazal Dad Khan and Sabiha Shaheen. According to Rose not only are the Khokhars of Arabian origin, he also accepted that they are indeed the descendants of Qutb Shah. Tracing their lineage to Ali, in Rose's view, the Khokhars were Alvis who assisted Sabuktageen in his Indian adventure, for which he bestowed the title of Awan on them, meaning "assistant". Malik Fazal Dad Khan has supported this theory but with some modifications. He also considers the Khokhars to be of Arabian origin and traces their lineage to Ali, but according to him, Abdullah Rasul Mirza was the remote ancestor of the Khokhars; in the eighth century, he was made a commander of the army of Ghaur by Caliph Haroon-ur-Rasheed, the title of Awan being conferred upon him, and his descendants consequently being called Awans. Sabiha Shaheen (who addressed this issue as part of her MA Thesis) deems this theory tenable. Furthermore, she states that Qutb Shah fled to the Subcontinent along with a small group of people due to Mongol attacks and joined the court of Iltutmish. The majority of his descendants came to refer to themselves as Qutb Shahi Khokhar (and many Muslim Khokhars are able to trace their family trees to Qutb Shah).

The findings of the geneticist, S. Dorning, suggest that the Qutb Shahi Khokhars are ethnically distinct from Jats and Rajputs, thus negating theories that propose the Awan tribe originated from Jat or Rajput groups.

Historical records

Khokhars support Shahi struggles against Mahmud of Ghazni

After Raja Jaipal the Shahi king lost to Ghazni , his successor Anandpal organised a confedracy of Hindu kings including the rulers of Ujjain Gwalior Kanauj , Delhi and Ajmer .

The Khokhars of Multan area also joined Anandpal .

Khokhars kill Ghori

Many campaigns were undertaken against the Khokhars by Ghori in the Punjab and ultimately he was killed by the Khokhars

Henceforward Aibak was the muslim ruler of northern India , for his master who retained Ghazni as his capital , was so occupied with the affairs of Khorasan that he only twice again marched into India , once in 1193 , when he defeated and slew Jaychandra , raja of Kannauj and Banares , and again in 1205 , to crush a dangerous rebellion of the Khokhars in the Salt Range of the Punjab .

The rising was crushed with appaling severity , great number of Khokhars being slain or captured and sold into slavery .

The Khokhars were killed in large numbers , and the province was pacified . After settling the affairs in the Punjab . Shahabuddin marched back to Ghazni . While camping at Dhamayak in 1206 CE in the Jhelum district , the sultan was murdered by the Khokhars .

Hasan Nizami and Ferishta record the killing of Ghori at the hands of the Gakhars . Other Historians have alluded the killing to a band of Hindu Khokhars.

Khokhars attacked by Balban

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 tubulent Khokhars of the Salt Range.

Khokhar Khokhran and Ala-ud-din Khilji

"The Khokhran section 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 ". The Khokhran were concentrated in the areas of the salt range and particularly Bhera

Shaikha Khokhar

Shaikha/Sheikha or Shuja Khokhar was a chief of the Khokhars in the 13th century and contemporary of Taimur's (invasions into Punjab) . Shaikha is the usual form of his name

However some sources claim Shaikha/Sheikha was in fact a Gakhar, and so also known as Sheikha Gakhar, the same can be said of his son Jasrat.

Khokhars attacked by Tamerlane

Apart from the recordings of Amir Khusrau (1253-1325),who refers to Khokhars as a non-Muslim tribe , and the way they were constantly attacked and killed by sultans like Iltutmish and Balban supports Khusrau’s contention that they were Hindus .

Then again

'In 1397 came Tamerlane himself , whose troops occupied Uch and Multan , sacked Tulamba , raided the Khokhars of the Ravi Valley and passed on across the Bias to Pakpattan and Delhi

'In Meantime Tamerlane marching from the north encamped outside Tulamba(October 13 , 1398).After chastising some zamindars in the neighourhood and seizing a large number of cattle he passed on leaving the fort uncaptured .He then halted at Jal (or may be at a 'chal'or lake on the Bias 'opposite Shahpur 'from which he marched out with a flying column to chastise Nusrat Khokhar who was encamped in swampy ground on the bank of the lake . The 'unsanctified Indians 'being defeated and the 'god forsaken being slain , the army moved to Shahnawaz ..

Kamal Khan, Grand-nephew of Jasrath Khokhar, aligned with Mughal EmperorAkbar

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 grand-nephew 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

A quote from p. 97 in the Book A Glossary of the Tribes and castes of the Punjab and North -West Frontier Province compiled by H. A. Rose and based on the Census Report for the Punjab 1883, by Sir Denzil Ibbetson, and the census report for the Punjab 1892 by Sir Edward Maclagan. Published By the Asian Educational Services .

:"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" ,

Common titles

Malik

Malik is a title found among Khokhars and Khokhran, with term used to refer to their chiefs.

Raja

Raja is also a title used by many Khokhars, this title is commonly used by Rajputs in Punjab.

Geographical distribution

Khokhars are mainly found in the Punjab region. In India, areas include Batala, Chandigarh, Gurdaspur, Ropar, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gujrat and Jammu and Kashmir. In Pakistan, Khokhars can be found in the regions of Gujranwala - Ali pur Chatta, Khanewal, Mianwali, Shahpur, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sargodha, Bhera, Chiniot ,Gujrat, Gujar Khan, Sukkur and adjoining areas. Khokhars are also found in areas of Kashmir including Azad Kashmir and Mirpur. Khokhars are now based all around the world.

Divisions

There are several sub-divisions of the Khokhar tribe such as the

• Bhachars
• Ganjial
• Majoka
• Bandial

Notable Khokhars

• Riaz Khokhar - Former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan.
• M. Nawaz Khokhar - Ex deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
• Justice (Retd) Fakhar un Nisa Khokhar - President, Lahore High Court Bar Association.
• Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar - Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan.
• Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar - Member, National Assembly of Pakistan.
• Malik Nazar Farid Khokhar - Chairman Standing Committee, Provincial.
• Mian Masood Ahmad Khokhar - Commissioner of Income Tax, Government of Pakistan.
• Muhammad Murtaza Arif Khokhar - Assistant public prosecutor, Government of the Punjab, Pakistan.

See also

• Rajput
• Muslim Rajput
• Punjabi Rajput
• List of Jat Clans of West Punjab

External links

• Khokhar from Google Images
• History of Punjabi Muslmans by Lt. Col. J.M. Wikeley
• Digital South Asia Library
• Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province By H.A. Rose, IBBETSON, Denzil Ibbetson Sir, Maclagan

References