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Rors are the only [[Kshatriya]] group in India who did not give daughters to either Turks or [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]].<ref>People of India HARYANA Volume XXIII ISBN 81-7304-091-5, Pub: Anthropological Survey of India, Manohar 1994, Page 425.</ref> Furthermore, there is no record of any Ror ever converting to [[Islam]] or serving a [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]/[[Ottoman Empire|Turk]] or an [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] invader in the history of [[India]].<ref>People of India HARYANA Volume XXIII ISBN 81-7304-091-5, Pub: Anthropological Survey of India, Manohar 1994, Page 428.</ref>
Rors are the only [[Kshatriya]] group in India who did not give daughters to either Turks or [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]].<ref>People of India HARYANA Volume XXIII ISBN 81-7304-091-5, Pub: Anthropological Survey of India, Manohar 1994, Page 425.</ref> Furthermore, there is no record of any Ror ever converting to [[Islam]] or serving a [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]/[[Ottoman Empire|Turk]] or an [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] invader in the history of [[India]].<ref>People of India HARYANA Volume XXIII ISBN 81-7304-091-5, Pub: Anthropological Survey of India, Manohar 1994, Page 428.</ref>


It has been recorded that [[Rajput]]s (67% Hindu, 33% Muslim),{{cn}} [[Jats]] (47% [[Hindu]], 33% Muslim)<ref>Kalika Ranjan Qanungo: History of the Jats, [[Delhi]] 2003. Edited and annotated by [[Vir Singh (author)|Vir Singh]]</ref> and [[Gujjars]] (77% Hindu, 20% Muslim){{cn}} are big communities among Muslims. Some in these [[Kshatriya]] groups such as [[Rajput]]s,<ref name="Tod">Pages 282-283, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan: Or, The Central and Western Rajpoot Provinces, By James Tod, Published 2001, Asian Educational Services, ISBN 81-206-1289-2</ref> [[Gujjar]],<ref>Pages 377, A glossary of the tribes and castes of the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and North-West frontier province, Volume 3, By H.A. Rose, IBBETSON, Maclagan, Published 1996, Asian Educational Services</ref> Jats<ref> The heads of the first two clans are called Chaudhri, and all three and called Dhaighar Akbari, i.e., the 2-1/2 Akbari families, Mahalpur 1, Garhdiwala 1, and Budhipind 1/2. The story goes that when Emperor Akbar took in marriage the daughter of Mahr Mitha, a Jat of Majha, 35 principal families of Jats and 36 of Rajputs countenanced the marriage and sent representatives to Delhi..... Below the '''Akbari Jats''' are the '''Darbari Jats''', the descendants of those who gave their daughters to Emperor Jahangir, just as the Akbaris gave daughters to Akbar.[http://punjabrevenue.nic.in/gaz_hsp4.htm]</ref> (Jats who gave daughters were called Akbari and Darbari Jats in Mughal records)<ref>Origins and History of Jats and Other Allied Nomadic Tribes of India, B.S. Nijjar, ISBN 9788126909087, Pub: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 2008, Page 145.</ref> also gave daughters to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]s. In similar situations, the Rors decided to fight to the last instead of giving in to the invaders' demands. For this reason, they consider themselves the foremost [[Vedic]] [[Kshatriyas]]{{OR|date=October 2011}} and do not intermarry with [[Rajputs]]. Rors uphold and cherish the ideals of [[Maharana Pratap]], who in his time had banned intermarriages with those [[Rajputs]] who had given their daughters to Mughals.
It has been recorded that [[Rajput]]s (67% Hindu, 33% Muslim),{{cn}} [[Jats]] (47% [[Hindu]], 33% Muslim)<ref>Kalika Ranjan Qanungo: History of the Jats, [[Delhi]] 2003. Edited and annotated by [[Vir Singh (author)|Vir Singh]]</ref> and [[Gujjars]] (77% Hindu, 20% Muslim){{cn}} are big communities among Muslims. Some in these [[Kshatriya]] groups such as [[Rajput]]s,{{cn}} [[Gujjar]],<ref>Pages 377, A glossary of the tribes and castes of the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and North-West frontier province, Volume 3, By H.A. Rose, IBBETSON, Maclagan, Published 1996, Asian Educational Services</ref> Jats<ref> The heads of the first two clans are called Chaudhri, and all three and called Dhaighar Akbari, i.e., the 2-1/2 Akbari families, Mahalpur 1, Garhdiwala 1, and Budhipind 1/2. The story goes that when Emperor Akbar took in marriage the daughter of Mahr Mitha, a Jat of Majha, 35 principal families of Jats and 36 of Rajputs countenanced the marriage and sent representatives to Delhi..... Below the '''Akbari Jats''' are the '''Darbari Jats''', the descendants of those who gave their daughters to Emperor Jahangir, just as the Akbaris gave daughters to Akbar.[http://punjabrevenue.nic.in/gaz_hsp4.htm]</ref> (Jats who gave daughters were called Akbari and Darbari Jats in Mughal records)<ref>Origins and History of Jats and Other Allied Nomadic Tribes of India, B.S. Nijjar, ISBN 9788126909087, Pub: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 2008, Page 145.</ref> also gave daughters to the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]s. In similar situations, the Rors decided to fight to the last instead of giving in to the invaders' demands. For this reason, they consider themselves the foremost [[Vedic]] [[Kshatriyas]]{{OR|date=October 2011}} and do not intermarry with [[Rajputs]]. Rors uphold and cherish the ideals of [[Maharana Pratap]], who in his time had banned intermarriages with those [[Rajputs]] who had given their daughters to Mughals.
In ''Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan'', the author [[James Tod]] has mentioned that [[Maharana Pratap|Pratap]] stopped marriages between Rajputs who gave their daughters to Mughals and those Rajputs who were supporting him:<ref name="Tod"/>

{{quote|With such examples as [[Marwar]] and [[Amber]] (of giving their daughters to [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]]), and with less power to resist the temptation, the minor chiefs of [[Rajasthan]], with a brave and numerous vassalage, were transformed into satraps of [[Delhi]].

But these were fearful odds against Pratap. The arms of his country turned upon him, derived additional force from their self-degradation, which kindled into jealousy and hatred against the magnanimous resolution they lacked the virtue to imitate. When Hindu prejudice was thus violated by every prince in Rajasthan, the Rana renounced all ''matrimonial'' alliance with those who were thus degraded. To the eternal honour of Pratap and his issue be it told that, to the very close of the monarchy of the Moguls, they refused such alliances not only with the throne, but even with their brother princes of Marwar and Amber. It is a proud triumph of virtue to be able to record from the autograph letters of the most powerful of the Rajput princes, Bukhet Singh and Sawai Jai Singh, that whilst they had risen to greatness by the surrender of principle, as Mewar had decayed from her adherence to it, they should solicit, and that humbly, to be readmitted to the honour of matrimonial intercourse and "to be purified," "to be regenerated," "to be made Rajputs" and that this favour was granted only on condition of their abjuring the contaminating practice (of giving daughters to [[Mughals]]) which, for more than a century, had disunited them.}}
But these were fearful odds against Pratap. The arms of his country turned upon him, derived additional force from their self-degradation, which kindled into jealousy and hatred against the magnanimous resolution they lacked the virtue to imitate. When Hindu prejudice was thus violated by every prince in Rajasthan, the Rana renounced all ''matrimonial'' alliance with those who were thus degraded. To the eternal honour of Pratap and his issue be it told that, to the very close of the monarchy of the Moguls, they refused such alliances not only with the throne, but even with their brother princes of Marwar and Amber. It is a proud triumph of virtue to be able to record from the autograph letters of the most powerful of the Rajput princes, Bukhet Singh and Sawai Jai Singh, that whilst they had risen to greatness by the surrender of principle, as Mewar had decayed from her adherence to it, they should solicit, and that humbly, to be readmitted to the honour of matrimonial intercourse and "to be purified," "to be regenerated," "to be made Rajputs" and that this favour was granted only on condition of their abjuring the contaminating practice (of giving daughters to [[Mughals]]) which, for more than a century, had disunited them.}}


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* Chuhlan/Chulyan (Branch of [[Parihar]])
* Chuhlan/Chulyan (Branch of [[Parihar]])
* [[Deora|Dabra/Dabur/Devra/Deora]] (Sept of [[Chauhan]])
* [[Deora|Dabra/Dabur/Devra/Deora]] (Sept of [[Chauhan]])
* Dahiya<ref>"Dahiya - Found in village Gudha", Page 185, Aryavart evam Ror Vansh ka itihaas, by Shri Ramdas, All-round Printers, Karnal (2000)</ref> (Listed as one of the thirty six ruling clans of India by [[James Tod]])
* Dahiya<ref>"Dahiya - Found in village Gudha", Page 185, Aryavart evam Ror Vansh ka itihaas, by Shri Ramdas, All-round Printers, Karnal (2000)</ref>
* Deendyal
* Deendyal
* Dahlan
* Dahlan
* Dhandul/Deendal (Listed as a branch of [[Rathore]] by [[James Tod]])
* Dhandul/Deendal
* Dhadhan
* Dhadhan
* Dhakla (Branch of [[Parmar]])
* Dhakla (Branch of [[Parmar]])
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== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
* Tod, James & William (Editor) Crooke (1994), Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (2 vols.)., Trans-Atl, ISBN 81-7069-128-1.
* Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province By H.A. Rose, Published 1990 by Asian Educational Services, 2076 pages, ISBN 81-206-0505-5
* Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province By H.A. Rose, Published 1990 by Asian Educational Services, 2076 pages, ISBN 81-206-0505-5
* The Sindh Story, by K. R. Malkani Karachi, Publisher: Sindhi Academy (1997), ISBN 81-87096-01-2
* The Sindh Story, by K. R. Malkani Karachi, Publisher: Sindhi Academy (1997), ISBN 81-87096-01-2

Revision as of 16:20, 12 February 2012

Ror
ClassificationSuryavanshi Kshatriya
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesHaryanvi, Khariboli, Hindi
Populated statesHaryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Uttarakhand
SubdivisionsChaurāsi, Bānggar, Khāddar, Nardak

The Ror (Hindi: रोड़) is a Kshatriya community and numbers between 750,000 and 1,000,000.[1] They hold nearly 270 villages in Haryana and 52 more in Western Uttar Pradesh and the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand.


In his work, A Glossary of the Tribes and castes of Punjab and North-West Frontier Provinces, H. A. Rose says that the Ror are fine, stalwart men. Quoting from the third volume, Rose says:[2]

The real seat of the Ror is the great Dhak jungles of Thanesar. They hold 84 villages and Amin is the "Tika" or head village. They also hold 12 villages south of Kaithal and the gotra there is Turan. Again, there are 12 more villages of the Ror beyond the Ganges. The immediate place of origin of the Rors seems to be Badli in Jhajjar tehsil of Rohtak district and all of them unanimously claim to have come from there.

In the Archaeological Survey of India Report for the year 1871-72, A.C.L. Carlleyle says about the image of a Ror warrior found at the site of Kaga Ror or Kagarol:[3]

The features of the face are fine and manly, of the handsomest [Hindu type. The warrior has his right knee raised; on his right arm he presents a shield in defense and in the left hand he brandishes a straight sword of huge dimensions over his head. In a belt round his waist he wears a dagger with a cross-shaped hilt at his left side. The hair of the head is full but drawn back in straight lines on the head.



History

Sri Rama of Ayodhya had a descendant called Devaneek in the eighth generation after him and this Devaneek had three sons according to the Puranas.[4] The three sons of Devaneek were called Ahinag (Aneeh), Roop and Ruru. Ruru is remembered by all Rors as their eponymous ancestor and the lineage from there on is well-preserved by their bards right up to King Dadror.


Ror Capitals

Ror clans historically ruled from Rori, the capital of Sind for a long time. Rori has been known by names such as Roruka and Rorik since antiquity. Buddhist Jataka stories talk about exchanges of gifts between King Rudrayan of Roruka and King Bimbisara of Magadh [3]. Divyavadana, the Buddhist chronicle has said that Rori historically competed with Patliputra in terms of political influence.[5] The importance of this town can not be underestimated as evident in the following JSTOR article. [4] The scholar T.W. Rhys Davids has mentioned Roruka as one of the most important cities of India in the 7th century BC.[6]

Roruka was founded and established for the first time by King Ruruk, who was the fifth Ikshvaku dynasty ruler in the lineage after Raja Harishchandra of Kashi.[7] An idea about the age of the city can be had by exploring the time line of the Ikshvaku dynasty. King Ruruk happened 29 generations before Sri Ram and should be dated to around 2500 BC using the most conservative estimates.[8] If we believe the traditional Puranic time-line for the Indian civilization, King Ruruk may have lived around 5500 BC. Thus, it can be seen that Roruka in the historical Sindhu-Sauvira area is quite an ancient seat of civilization dating back to the third millennium BC certainly.

Shortly after the reign of Rudrayan, in the times of his son Shikhandi, Roruka got wiped out in a major sand storm.[9] This event is recorded in both Buddhist (Bhallatiya Jataka) and Jain (Story of Udayan and the town of Vitabhaya) annals. It was then that the legendary Dhaj, Ror Kumar built Rori Shankar[10] (the current Rohri and Sukkur) in the year 450 BC.

The ancient city of Rori was also a major pilgrimage center where famous personalities like "Sant" Bhrithari, elder brother of the great King Vikramaditya, came to pay their respects to Shankar Bhagwan. After the Arab conquest of Sind, the invaders pulled down the ancient temple of Shiva but Rori still remains a major religious destination for the Sindhi people.


Bardic Version

According to bards' chronicles and accounts, Rors had two more capitals in India. King Mukan Dev of the Rors, who originally ruled from Palanpur in Gujarat, later extended his rule in the north of the country and established a second capital close to present-day Delhi in Badli, Jhajjar. In terms of evidence we have from inscriptions, the bards are definitely referring to Rudradaman I and his 150 AD campaign against the Yaudheya Kshatriyas when they say that the Ror king came from Gujarat and established his rule in Haryana.[11] (L. 9.) ………..he who, because from the womb he was distinguished by the possession of undisturbed consummate Royal Fortune, was resorted to by all castes and chosen their lord to protect them; who made, and is true to, the vow to the latest breath of his life to abstain Sindhu-Sauvira, Kukura, Aparanta, Nishada and other territories gained by his own valour, the towns, marts and rural parts of which are never troubled by robbers, snakes, wild beasts, diseases and the like, where all subjects are attached to him, (and) where through his might the objects of [religion], wealth and pleasure [are duly attained]; who by force destroyed the Yaudheyas who were loath to submit, rendered proud as they were by having manifested their' title of' heroes among all Kshatriyas; who obtained good report because he, in spite of having twice in fair fight completely defeated Satakarni, the lord of Dakshinapatha, on account of the nearness of their connection did not destroy him; who [obtained] victory . . . . . . . .; who reinstates deposed kings; who by the right raising of his hand has earned the strong attachment of Dharma; who has attained wide fame by studying and remembering, by the knowledge and practice of, grammar, music, logic and other great sciences; who …… the management of horses, elephants and chariots, (the use of) sword and shield, pugilistic combat and other . … .. . . …. the acts of quickness and efficiency of opposing forces; who day by day is in the habit of bestowing presents and honours and eschewing disrespectful treatment; who is bounteous; whose treasury by the tribute, tolls and shares rightfully obtained overflows with an accumulation of gold, silver, diamonds, beryl stones and (other) precious things; who...........… prose and verse, which are clear, agreeable, sweet, charming, beautiful, excelling by the proper use of words and adorned; whose beautiful frame owns the most excellent marks and signs, such as (auspicious) length, dimension and height, voice, gait, colour, vigour and strength; who himself has acquired the name of Mahakshatrapa; who has been wreathed with many garlands at the svayamvaras of kings' daughters; -he, the Mahakshatrapa Rudradaman, in order to . . . . . . . . . . . cows and Brahmans for a thousand of years, and to increase his religious merit and fame, -without oppressing the inhabitants of the towns and country by taxes, forced labour and acts of affection -by (the expenditure of) a vast amount of money from his own treasury and in not too long a time made the dam three times as strong in breadth and length . . . . . . . . [on] all [banks] . . . . . . (and so) had (this lake) made (even) more beautiful to look at.


Golden Age

The first few centuries of the Christian Era and a couple of centuries prior to that constitute the golden age of Ror history. Not only did Rors have ruling seats of power in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Sindh; during the times of Rai Dewaji in the 5th century AD, they consolidated their influence in the entire region from Afghanistan to Kanauj in India.[12]

The fort at BhainsRor in Southern Rajasthan is supposed to have come up in the 2nd century BC and the Kagarol (Kaga Ror)[13] ruins near present-day Agra have also pointed to a similar time-line for another branch of Rors who ruled from there. The coins found in the Agra circle by Sir Alexander Cunningham [5] seem to indicate a close relationship between the Ror rulers of the area and the rulers of Hastinapur and Indraprastha. A few coins found close to the site have been dated to the 3rd century CE by Cunningham as a result of the general style of the coins and the type of Sanskrit used.[14]


Ror rulers of Sindh

Following the foundation of Rori Shankar by Dhaj, Ror Kumar (Rai Diyach in Sindh), 41 kings followed him one after the other till Dadror. Listing them starting from 450 BC till 489 AD, the dynasty grew as follows:[15]

  • Dhaj, Ror Kumar
  • Kunak
  • Rurak
  • Harak
  • Devanik
  • Ahinak
  • Paripat
  • Bal Shah
  • Vijay Bhan
  • Khangar
  • Brihadrath
  • Har Ansh
  • Brihad-datt
  • Ishman
  • Sridhar
  • Mohri
  • Prasann Ket
  • Amirvan
  • Mahasen
  • Brihad-dhaul
  • Harikeert
  • Som
  • Mitravan
  • Pushyapata
  • Sudaav
  • Bideerakh
  • Nahakman
  • Mangalmitra
  • Surat
  • Pushkar Ket
  • Antar Ket
  • Sutjaya
  • Brihad-dhwaj
  • Bahuk
  • Kampjayi
  • Kagnish
  • Kapish
  • Sumantra
  • Ling-laav
  • Manasjit
  • Sunder Ket
  • Dadror

The bards report that Dadror was poisoned by his head priest, Dewaji in 620 AD[16] and he was followed by five Brahmin kings before the capture of Rori or Al Ror by the Arabs. On the other hand, written records like the Chachnama report that the Brahmin usurper was Chach and not Dewaji.[17] Considering that the bards may have made a mistake in their orally transmitted reports from generation to generation, we can place a greater faith on the date of 620 AD and that corresponds well with Chach, the usurper's lifetime. That would mean that the dynasty reported as the Rai dynasty was a continuation of Ror rule in Sindh and Rai Sahasi II was not killed by Chach jumping onto his horse's back in an open field (as in Chachnama) but in cold blood by mixing poison in his food.


Wink reports on the possibility of the corruption of the Sanskrit names and renders them as related in parenthesis in the following chronology of the Ror Rai rulers (489 - 632 AD) of Rori or Alor in Sindh:[18]

  • Rai Dewaji (Devaditya)
He was a powerful chief who forged alliances and extended his rule east of Makran and west of Kashmir and Kannauj, south to the port of Surat and north to Kandahar[19]
  • Rai Sahiras (Shri Harsha)
  • Rai Sahasi (Sinhasena)
  • Rai Sahiras II
Died battling the King of Nimroz[20]
  • Rai Sahasi II (Brother of Rana Maharath of Chittor[21])


Loss of Sindh

Rors continued to hold several big forts in Sindh till the Arab invasion of AD 711 and some of the longest battles between the Arabs and Indians were fought at the three forts of Rori (Raor), BahRor[22] and AghRor. Chachnama mentions the occurrence of a "Jauhar" during the siege of the BahRor fort. All men of the military class, Ror Thakurs and their relatives were put to death after the Arab victories. Elsewhere in Sindh, a noble by the name of Dahir Ror is said to have engaged Bin Qasim and his forces in an intense battle before the final engagement between the Arab forces and Raja Dahar's army.[23] After the occupation of Sind by the Arabs, the surviving Ror warriors came away and some of them settled in Ahar, from where the Aharya Ranas of Mewar derived their name.


8th century - 12th century

Excavations at a small village about 18 miles from Agra led to the discovery of a Ror seat of power there. The place is now called Kagarol but Alexander Cunningham and his assistant A.C.L. Carlleyle are of the view that it was originally Kaga Ror or Khangar Ror (after the name of Ror King Khangar) and later got corrupted to the present Kagarol. This princely state based at Kaga Ror had 52 forts in the Agra area and was lost to the Turks in the times of Qutbuddin Aibak. Prithvi Raj Chauhan became the ruler of Delhi with the support of the Rors and he gave big chunks of Haryana and North Rajasthan to Balda gotra Rors as well as Mehla gotra Rors. In the Battle of Tarain, there were as many as seven Ror generals in Chauhan's army and it does not come as a surprise that they claim Rai Pithora to be one of their own blood. Rai Hari Ram Kadian, Bhup Singh Mehla, Pulhan Rai from Jhansi were all Ror generals in Chauhan's army and another notable person from this community was a lady called Kirpi, who led a battalion of women in the very same fashion as the Rani of Jhansi much later. A huge portion of the Indian Army, which was caught unawares by deceit in the wee hours of the morning by invaders who did not respect the Hindu code of war that does not allow for attack before sunrise, was made of Ror warriors.

The Ror connection with Chittor is very old and an eternal monument to the Ror-Mewar relationship is the "thikana" of BhainsRor, which is named after Rors. This is a lasting proof of the ascendancy of Rors around Mewar as scholars believe BhainsRor has been inhabited and fortified since the 2nd century BC at least. Raja Gandharv Sen, the father of "Samrat" Vikramaditya I and the King of Malwa, was the person who built the fort back then. Gandharv Sen is also called Gardabharupa as well as Gardabhilla as also Raja Gaj in the local tongue at different places.[24] In the golden era of their history, the Rors had built many forts and a few of them still maintain their names like Behror near Alwar, Dadror, Kahror near Multan and Kaga Ror, a name that has got corrupted to Kagarol and is located near present-day Fatehpur Sikri.


Battle of Badli

In 1207 AD Chanda Rawal (name in a similar tradition as that of Bappa Rawal) was the King in Badli, Jhajjar. Rors had been ruling from this seat for more than a thousand years since Rudradaman I and his 150 AD campaign against the Yaudheya Kshatriyas. But times had suddenly turned hostile with the Turks having got the better of Prithviraj Chauhan and the Hindu army by deceitfully attacking in the early hours of dawn when the Indian army was still sleeping on the banks of the Ghaggar. The Turks under the Slave Qutbuddin Aibak were particularly nasty and demanded 'dola' from all the kings around Delhi in order to rub salt into the festering wounds left by an undeserving defeat. They demanded the Rawal's daughter and the Rors refused stoutly.

The Turks immediately laid a siege to Badli and the battle started in Samvat 1265 (AD 1207). It was a long siege and the Rors did not give ground to the forces of Aibak. All the Ror clans poured into Badli from their nearby seats of Dadror, Behror and Kaga Ror to fight against the Turks and Kachhwaha king Malaya Si, son of Pajjuna, sent 31 sons of his own to help defeat the invaders. After a year of unending warfare, the Turks scored a break as the "Raj-Purohit" defected and told them to attack on Govardhan Puja just before the festival of Diwali. The Turks attacked on Govardhan Puja when all the warriors were worshipping their weapons after collecting them in the center of the fort. The invaders massacred the unarmed Kshatriyas by staying true to their deceitful nature yet again.[25]

Bardic as well as vernacular records indicate that 84 men had been smuggled out by Ror elders to ensure that some people survived to call themselves Ror even after this holocaust. These 84 Rors, who were thus made to leave the scene of the carnage at Badli, settled down in the dense Dhak Jungles of present-day Karnal and Kurukshetra districts in the 84 villages, which still comprise the nucleus of the entire Ror population. The rest of them embraced martyrdom following their traditional customs of Jauhar and Saka. Such a sanguine move to save a small nucleus has many parallels in our history. Maharana Hammir's father with other relatives was smuggled out during the first siege of Chittor when the Jauhar of Rani Padmini took place. Eighty four Ror clan names are derived from the names of these survivors of the "Battle of Badli" directly.


Revolt of 1857

In the Rebellion of 1857, Rors fought against the British forces in the districts of Karnal and Kurukshetra. This resistance was put up notwithstanding the fact that the population of Rors was recorded as no more than 50,000 in the Census of 1881, nearly 24 years later.


Social status

Haryana

The state of Haryana was a part of the United Punjab province during the period of British rule in India. Sir Denzil Ibbetson classified Rors of United Punjab as one of the "Other dominant tribes", a classification for which his definition was "All those castes which, while hardly less important in their particular territories, are less numerous and less widely distributed than the four great races already specified. Such are the Gakhars and Awans of the Salt Range, the Kharrals and Daudpotras of the Western Plains, the Rors and Dogars of the Eastern Plains, the Meos of Gurgaon and the Gujars of the hills".[26] The quoted text basically shows that Ibbetson observed the Ror and the other castes mentioned above to be equal in dominance to the mighty Pathans, the Baloch and the Rajputs in their own territory, the only difference being in numbers and the fact that they were found in a limited area rather than all over the Punjab region. Even Blunt, while compiling his work on the caste system in North India, classified Rors with Rajputs and Brahmins in a hierarchy prepared according to the severity of rules regarding the eating of cooked and uncooked food with other castes.[27]


Western Uttar Pradesh

Writing about the Rajputs or the warrior clans of Western Uttar Pradesh in his book A sociological study of folklore: projected research in Kuru region, the author Satya Prakash Arya speaks thus about them,[28]

They designate themselves mostly as Chauhans, Tomars, Gahlots, Ranas, Bargujars, Rawas and the Rods. The other fighting castes include the Jats, Ahirs and Gujjars.


Baiswara

Rors are found in parts of Baiswara in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In Baiswara, they are known as Ror Thakurs and are found to be on excellent terms with the Bais Thakurs.[29]


Bundelkhand

A few villages in Jhansi district have some Ror populations residing there. Some of these villages are Shimla, Bakshiya, Nagarka etc. The Rors living in Bundelkhand are known as Ror Rajputs and share good relations with other Rajput clans of the area.[30]


Himachal Pradesh

Few villages in Kangra and Hamirpur districts of Himachal have Ror Rajputs residing there. Some of these villages are Bhoda, Draman, Langa, Bhoura etc. The Suryavanshi Ror Rajput clan living in Himachal are known as Patial Rajputs and share good relationship with other Rajput clans of the area.


Character


Relations with Islamic states

Rors are the only Kshatriya group in India who did not give daughters to either Turks or Mughals.[31] Furthermore, there is no record of any Ror ever converting to Islam or serving a Mughal/Turk or an Afghan invader in the history of India.[32]

It has been recorded that Rajputs (67% Hindu, 33% Muslim),[citation needed] Jats (47% Hindu, 33% Muslim)[33] and Gujjars (77% Hindu, 20% Muslim)[citation needed] are big communities among Muslims. Some in these Kshatriya groups such as Rajputs,[citation needed] Gujjar,[34] Jats[35] (Jats who gave daughters were called Akbari and Darbari Jats in Mughal records)[36] also gave daughters to the Mughals. In similar situations, the Rors decided to fight to the last instead of giving in to the invaders' demands. For this reason, they consider themselves the foremost Vedic Kshatriyas[original research?] and do not intermarry with Rajputs. Rors uphold and cherish the ideals of Maharana Pratap, who in his time had banned intermarriages with those Rajputs who had given their daughters to Mughals.

But these were fearful odds against Pratap. The arms of his country turned upon him, derived additional force from their self-degradation, which kindled into jealousy and hatred against the magnanimous resolution they lacked the virtue to imitate. When Hindu prejudice was thus violated by every prince in Rajasthan, the Rana renounced all matrimonial alliance with those who were thus degraded. To the eternal honour of Pratap and his issue be it told that, to the very close of the monarchy of the Moguls, they refused such alliances not only with the throne, but even with their brother princes of Marwar and Amber. It is a proud triumph of virtue to be able to record from the autograph letters of the most powerful of the Rajput princes, Bukhet Singh and Sawai Jai Singh, that whilst they had risen to greatness by the surrender of principle, as Mewar had decayed from her adherence to it, they should solicit, and that humbly, to be readmitted to the honour of matrimonial intercourse and "to be purified," "to be regenerated," "to be made Rajputs" and that this favour was granted only on condition of their abjuring the contaminating practice (of giving daughters to Mughals) which, for more than a century, had disunited them.}}

In his Hindi-language book Ror Itihaas ki Jhalak ("Ror history: A glimpse"), the author Dr. Raj Pal Singh states:

The Ror came from Badli in Jhajjar tehsil of Rohtak district after having fought with the Turks, who were led by their slave general Qutbuddin Aibak, upon refusing their demand for 'dola' (women).


Role as arbitrators

Ror elders were considered excellent judges by not just their own brethren but even by the people of other castes. Usually, the problems related to any particular caste were arbitrated upon by its own senior people (the Panch), but if they failed to do so, the elderly Ror in that village played the role of arbitrators and these decisions were accepted as binding.[37]


Social Customs

Religion

The majority of Rors are Hindus, though many Rors did join the Sikh Panth to fight the Mughals on the request of Guru Gobind Singh. Most of the Sikh Rors are to be found in Kurukshetra and Karnal districts of Haryana. Other than religion, there is little distinction between the two communities, and they intermarry freely. A minority of Rors are followers of Swami Dayanand's Arya Samaj and believe in Yajna and Gayatri.


Child Birth

Dashautan ceremony is held after child birth


Marriage

A mare was given in dowry in marriage. Married Ror women still follow Purdah, which amongst Hindus is only followed by royal families.

Ror women wear Gold jewellery on their feet as a tradition. Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur explains:

Because they respected Gold, ordinary (Rajput) women did not wear gold on their feet. Only if you were of royal blood did you wear gold on your feet and if you were that class you never put on silver.[38]

Ordinarily, Rajput women and women of all other Kshatriya groups use silver jewellery on their feet.

In considering proposals for marriage, four gotras are excluded by Ror families:


Sati

Ror women were known to perform Sati till late 19th century. Only two Kshatriya groups had this custom, Ror and Rajput. In the 19th century a girl from Amin village, who was married to a man of village Bastara performed Sati. A shrine has been erected at that spot and it can still be seen (being worshipped every year on the eve of Diwali) right on the Grand Trunk Road passing by the village.[39]Katlaheri, a village on the Karnal-Jind road between Jundla and Pyont, has a shrine dedicated to Sati as well and it is venerated by all Ror families of the village.


Dress and Appearance

Ror men wore "Angrakha" and parted their beards in the middle.


Notables

Ror Gotra/Clan Names

Ror villages are predominantly occupied by just one gotra. Nearly all Ror gotra or clans are listed here:-


Note

The Nishan of Tomar Rors is same as that of Arjun. The specifics of the Ror House of Tomar are as follows,

  • Lineage: Suryavansha
  • Colour of throne, sign and canopy: Green * Colour of horse: Yellow
  • Heraldic sign (Nishan): Hanuman on flagpole
  • Clan Goddess (Kuladaivat): Shakumbari
  • Devak (Clan object): Umbar (Ficus racemosa tree)
  • Guru: Parashar * Gotra: Nikam
  • Veda: Yajurveda * Mantra: Gayatri


See also


References

  1. ^ http://indocanadianror.com/index.asp?mid=5
  2. ^ Pages 834-835, A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Provinces, By H A Rose, Sir Denzil Ibbetson, Sir Edward Douglas Maclagan, Published 1990, Asian Educational Services, ISBN 81-206-0505-5
  3. ^ Pages 210-212, Archaeological Survey of India, Report for the year 1871-72, Volume IV, Agra circle covered by A.C.L. Carlleyle, Under the supervision of Alexander Cunningham
  4. ^ "Lord Rama had two sons- Lava and Kusha. Lineage of Rama grew as follows- Atithi, Nishadh, Anal, Nabh, Pundareek, Kshemdhanwa, Devaneek, Ahinaka, Ruru, Pariyatrak, Deval, Vanchal, Ulka, Vajranabha, Shankhan, Yushhitashva, Vishvasaha, Hiranyanam, Pushya, Dhruvasandhi, Sudarshan, Agnivarn, Shighrag, Maru, Prasushrut, Susandhi, Amarsh, Sahaswan and Vishvabhav. Vishvabhav had a son Brihdal who was killed by Abhimanyu in the battle of Mahabharata." From Chapter four "Description of Suryavansh", Index of 16 Hindu Puranas [1]
  5. ^ "The Divyavadana (Tibetan version) reports: 'The Buddha is in Rajgriha. At this time there were two great cities in Jambudvipa: Pataliputra and Roruka. When Roruka rises, Pataliputra declines; when Pataliputra rises, Roruka declines.' Here was Roruka of Sindh competing with the capital of the Magadha empire." Chapter 'Sindhu is divine', The Sindh Story, by K. R. Malkani from Karachi, Publisher: Sindhi Academy (1997), ISBN 81-87096-01-2
  6. ^ Page 317, Lord Mahavira and His Times, by Kailash Chand Jain, Published 1992 by Motilal Banarsidass Publications, ISBN 81-208-0805-3
  7. ^ http://www.gita-society.com/section3/HinduPuranas16.htm
  8. ^ In a paper published in the journal of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research. 2000, pp. 1-24, "On the Chronological Framework for Indian Culture", Subhash Kak of Louisiana State University fixes a date of 1924 BC for the Mahabharat war. Using this date and taking thirty generations (20 years per generation) between the Mahabharat war and Sri Ram as suggested by Pargiter's list, we get a time of 2524 BC for Dasrathi Ram. Going 29 generations before Sri Ram, we reach the time of 3104 BC for Raja Ruruk and thus, we can safely conclude that Roruka (Ruruka) was established around 3100-3000 BC
  9. ^ Page 174, Alexander's campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan and the siege of the Brahmin town of Harmatelia, Volume 3 of Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta, by Pierre Herman Leonard Eggermont, Peeters Publishers, 1975, ISBN 90-6186-037-7, 9789061860372
  10. ^ Page 14, "Ror Itihaas ki Jhalak" (Hindi) by Dr. Raj Pal Singh, Pal Publications, Yamunanagar (1987)
  11. ^ Junagadh Rock Inscription of Rudradaman
  12. ^ Elliot, Henry Miers, The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period. Volume 1, Adamant Media Corporation, ISBN 0-543-94726-2, Page 405
  13. ^ "The ancient fort buried under this place (village Khangar Ror or Kaga Ror) was founded by a Ror Raja, son of Raja Khangar", Pages 210-212, Archaeological Survey of India, Report for the year 1871-72, Volume IV, Agra circle covered by A.C.L. Carlleyle, Under the supervision of Alexander Cunningham
  14. ^ Page 96, Archaeological Survey of India, Report for the year 1871-72, Volume IV, Agra circle covered by A.C.L. Carlleyle, Under the supervision of Alexander Cunningham
  15. ^ Pages 89-92, Ror Itihaas Ki Jhalak, by Dr. Raj Pal Singh, Pal Publications, Yamunanagar (1987)
  16. ^ Page 102, Aryavart evam Ror Vansh ka itihaas, by Shri Ramdas, All-round Printers, Karnal (2000)
  17. ^ Chach Nama
  18. ^ Wink, Andre, Al Hind the Making of the Indo Islamic World, Brill Academic Publishers, Jan 1, 1996, ISBN 90-04-09249-8, pg.152
  19. ^ Elliot, Henry Miers, The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period. Volume 1, Adamant Media Corporation, ISBN 0-543-94726-2, pg. 405
  20. ^ Khusru Naushirwan and Khusru Parvis have both been postulated (Elliot, pg. 405)
  21. ^ Pages 20 - 22, The Chachnamah, Volume I, Translated from Persian by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg, Printed in 1900 at the Commissioner's Press, Karachi
  22. ^ Page 156, Volume I, The Chachnamah, Translated from Persian by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg, Printed in 1900 at the Commissioner's Press, Karachi
  23. ^ Page 133, Volume I, The Chachnamah, Translated from Persian by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg, Printed in 1900 at the Commissioner's Press, Karachi
  24. ^ Pages 209-210, Volume IV, Archaeological Survey of India, Report for the year 1871-72, Agra circle covered by A.C.L. Carlleyle, Under the supervision of Alexander Cunningham
  25. ^ "Ror Itihaas ki Jhalak" (Hindi) by Dr. Raj Pal Singh, Pages 36-37, Pal Publications, Yamunanagar
  26. ^ Page 26, Panjab Castes, Author: Ibbetson, Denzil, Sir, 1847-1908, Lahore : Printed by the Superintendent, Government Printing, Punjab in 1916
  27. ^ Page 93, The Caste System of Northern India, By E.A.H. Blunt, 1931, Re-published 1964, S.Chand, Delhi
  28. ^ P 13, A sociological study of folklore: projected research in Kuru region (Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bulandshahar, and Bijnor Districts of Western Uttar Pradesh), Issue 25 of Indian publications folklore series, by Satya Prakash Arya, published by Indian Publications, 1975
  29. ^ Page 109, The Journal of intercultural studies, Issue 11, by Kansai Gaikokugo Daigaku and Kokusai Bunka Kenkyūjo, published by Intercultural Research Institute, Kansai University of Foreign Studies, 1984
  30. ^ Page 95, Ror Itihaas Ki Jhalak, by Dr. Raj Pal Singh, Pal Publications, Yamunanagar (1987)
  31. ^ People of India HARYANA Volume XXIII ISBN 81-7304-091-5, Pub: Anthropological Survey of India, Manohar 1994, Page 425.
  32. ^ People of India HARYANA Volume XXIII ISBN 81-7304-091-5, Pub: Anthropological Survey of India, Manohar 1994, Page 428.
  33. ^ Kalika Ranjan Qanungo: History of the Jats, Delhi 2003. Edited and annotated by Vir Singh
  34. ^ Pages 377, A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West frontier province, Volume 3, By H.A. Rose, IBBETSON, Maclagan, Published 1996, Asian Educational Services
  35. ^ The heads of the first two clans are called Chaudhri, and all three and called Dhaighar Akbari, i.e., the 2-1/2 Akbari families, Mahalpur 1, Garhdiwala 1, and Budhipind 1/2. The story goes that when Emperor Akbar took in marriage the daughter of Mahr Mitha, a Jat of Majha, 35 principal families of Jats and 36 of Rajputs countenanced the marriage and sent representatives to Delhi..... Below the Akbari Jats are the Darbari Jats, the descendants of those who gave their daughters to Emperor Jahangir, just as the Akbaris gave daughters to Akbar.[2]
  36. ^ Origins and History of Jats and Other Allied Nomadic Tribes of India, B.S. Nijjar, ISBN 9788126909087, Pub: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 2008, Page 145.
  37. ^ People of India: Haryana, Volume XXIII, General Editor K.S.Singh (Part of Anthropological survey of India Series), ISBN 81-7304-091-5, Page: 427
  38. ^ Lives of the Indian Princes, by Charles Allen and Sharada Dwivedi. ISBN 81-86982-05-1, Pub: Business Publications Inc, Page 168.
  39. ^ People of India: Haryana, Volume XXIII, General Editor K.S.Singh (Part of Anthropological survey of India Series), ISBN 81-7304-091-5, Pages 425-426
  40. ^ "Chauhan - Found in villages Amin, Raipur Roran, Beed Amin", Page 103, Ror Itihaas Ki Jhalak, by Dr. Raj Pal Singh, Pal Publications, Yamunanagar
  41. ^ "Chopra - Found in villages Rukanpur and Khanra", Page 180, Aryavart evam Ror Vansh ka itihaas, by Shri Ramdas, All-round Printers, Karnal (2000)
  42. ^ "Dahiya - Found in village Gudha", Page 185, Aryavart evam Ror Vansh ka itihaas, by Shri Ramdas, All-round Printers, Karnal (2000)


Bibliography

  • Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province By H.A. Rose, Published 1990 by Asian Educational Services, 2076 pages, ISBN 81-206-0505-5
  • The Sindh Story, by K. R. Malkani Karachi, Publisher: Sindhi Academy (1997), ISBN 81-87096-01-2
  • Lord Mahavira and His Times, by Kailash Chand Jain, Motilal Banarsidass Publications, ISBN 81-208-0805-3
  • Charles Allen & Sharada Dwivedi, Lives of the Indian Princes, ISBN 81-86982-05-1, Pub: Business Publications Inc.
  • Panjab Castes, Author: Denzil Ibbetson, ISBN 81-7536-290-1, ISBN 978-81-7536-290-1, 978-8175362901, Published (2008): Low Price Publications
  • People of India: Haryana, Volume XXIII, General Editor Kumar Suresh Singh (Part of Anthropological survey of India Series), ISBN 81-7304-091-5