Gakhars

Gakhars
Significant populations in:	Pakistan
Language	Potohari
Religion	Islam

Gakhars or Ghakkar (who hold the title Kayani), are a clan that today forms the aristocracy of the (Rawalpindi) district. From the moment where oral traditions give way to the more authentic records of the historian, the history of the (Rawalpindi) district becomes that of the Gakhar clan, who, brought into a prominent position at the time of the early Muslim invasions, maintained their rule over Rawalpindi and parts of the Hazara and Jhelum districts, more or less independent of the sovereign powers at Delhi and Agra, until being annihilated at the beginning of the present (19th) century by the Sikhs." (Rawalpindi Gazetteer 1894).

There are 6 well known and important branches of Gakhars.

1. Admal; descended from Sultan Adam.

2. Sarangal; descended from Sultan Sarang.

3. Hathial; said to be descended from Sultan Hathi.

4. Bugial; said to be descended from Malik Buga.

5. Firozal; said to be descended from Malik Firoz.

6. Sikandrial; said to be descended from Malik Sikandar.

Earliest history of the Gakhars

The Gakhar clans apical ancestor is Kaid of Isfahan, who was a son of Bahram V of Persia (also called "Bahram Gur"). In the Sassanid era, Isfahan was governed by "Espoohrans" or the members of seven noble Iranian families who had important royal positions.

According to the Gakhar legends, these families went into exile, under the leadership of Feroozshah, in China, serving as an Imperial Guard to the emperor, then Tibet then Kashmir then Kabul where they joined with Sabuktigin in his conquests of India.

Their legends are strikingly similar to the story of Pirooz recorded by Chinese historians. When the Sassanian dynasty fell in 651, many fled to China where the son of the last Sassanian ruler, Pirooz, (fleeing the Muslim invasion of Persia) became a Captain of the Chinese Imperial Guard and whose people were stationed in military garrisons in Chinese Central Asia including Kashmir and Kabul which were under Chinese control in the 740's. This were the Gakhars. [1],[2]. After the Battle of Talas in 751 the Chinese lost control of Central Asia to the Muslim Arabs and many of the Persians living here left for other parts of China, while others converted to Islam. This account is similar to Gakhars legends which say that they converted to Islam prior to joining Sabuktigin in his campaigns in India.

Sassanid artifacts are found in Tibet and Sasanian impact on Tibetan court culture has been recognised by the adoption of Sasanian style robes by the Tibetan nobles. [3].

The earliest historical record of the Gakhars, however is by Ferishta, a well regarded early Indian historian; “In 682 AD. some disputes arising between the Gakhars and the Raja of Lahore, caused this race formed a treaty of alliance... with the Afghans, who compelled the Raja of Lahore to submit to terms from the Gakhars, to whom he could otherwise himself have dictated conditions. This treaty included the cession of certain territories in perpetuity to the Gakhars”. In 651, the Buddhist Chinese pilgram Xuanzang visited what was ancient Gandhara recording that the city of Taxila and the Salt Range were now vassals of the kingdom of Kashmir. Taxila, was recovering after the invasions of the Huna (White Huns or Hephthalite). The Huna themselves had been defeated in 565 during the reign of Khosrau I of Persia by a coalition of Sasanians (also Indo-Sassanian) and Western Turks (Oghuz Turks) who maintained weak control of the area until the 10th Century.

Attemping to find a middle way between the historical record of Ferishta and the Gakhars Sassanian legends it could be suggested that this is when the Gakhars first arrived in India.

Mahmud of Ghazni and the Gakhars

According to Ferishta:

Mahmud of Ghazni having thus settled his affairs in India, returned, in the autumn, to Ghazni; where he remained during the winter. In the spring of the year A.H. 399 (A.D. 1008), he determined again to attack Anandpal, Raja of Lahore, for having lent his aid to Dawood, during the late defection in Multan. Anandpal, hearing of his intentions, sent ambassadors on all sides, inviting the assistance of the other princes of Hindustan, who now considered the expulsion of the Muslims from India as a sacred duty. Accordingly, the rajas of Oojein, Gualiar, Kalunjur, Kunowj, Dehli, and Ajmeer, entered into a confederacy, and collecting their forces advanced towards Punjab with the greatest army that had yet taken the field.

The Indians and Muslims arrived in sight of each other on a plain on the confines of the province of Peshawar, where they remained encamped forty days without coming into action. The troops of the idolaters daily increased in number. The Hindu females, on this occasion, sold their jewels, and melted down their golden ornaments (which they sent from distant parts), to furnish resources for the war; and the Gakhars, and other warlike tribes joining the army, surrounded the Muslims, who were obliged to entrench their camp.

Mahmud of Ghazni, having thus secured himself, ordered six thousand archers to the front to endeavour to provoke the enemy to attack his entrenchments. The archers were opposed by the Gakhars, who, in spite of the King’s efforts and presence, repulsed his light troops, and followed them so closely, that no less than 30,000 Gakhars with their heads and feet bare, and armed with various weapons, penetrated into the Muslims lines, where a dreadful carnage ensued, and 5000 Muslims in a few minutes were slain. The enemy were at length checked, and being cut off as fast as they advanced, the attacks became fainter and fainter, till, on a sudden, the elephant, upon which the prince who commanded the Hindus rode, becoming unruly from the effects of the naphtha balls, and the flights of arrows, turned and fled. This circumstance produced a panic among the Hindus, who, seeing themselves deserted by their general, gave way and fled also. Abdoolla Taee, with six thousand Arabs and horse, and Arslari Jazib, with 10,000 Turks, Afghans, and Khiljies, pursued the enemy day and night, so that 20,000 Hindus were killed in the retreat. Of the spoil, 30 elephants (besides other booty) were brought to the King.

Muhammad of Ghor and the Gakhars

The Ghaznavid Empire ended in 1149 with the capture of Ghazna or Ghazni by Muhammad of Ghor or Muhammad Ghori. Ghaznavid power in northern India continued until the conquest of Lahore in 1187.

According to Ansari in "The Encylopedia of Islam";

'"In 1204-5 they (Gakhars) rose up against the rule of Muhammad Ghori, who took strong measures against them and quelled the rebellion with an iron hand. After this crushing defeat they were so demoralised that their chief simply because a Muslim capitive had initiated him into the tenents of Islam, willingly became a convert, followed by his tribe en masse."'

According to Ferishta;

During the residence of Muhammad Ghori at Lahore, on this occasion, the Gakhars, who inhabited the country along the banks of the Nilab, up to the foot of the mountains of Sewalik, exercised unheard of cruelties on the Muslims, and cut off the communication between the provinces of Peshawar and Multan.

This barbarous people continued to make incursions on the Muslims till, in the latter end of this King’s reign, their chieftain was converted to the true faith when a captive. After becoming a proselyte he procured his release from the King, who endeavoured to persuade him to convert his followers, and at the same time honoured him with a title and dress, and confirmed him in the title of chief of the mountains. A great part of these mountaineers, having very little notion of any religion, were easily induced to adopt the tenets of the true faith, at the same time most of the infidels who inhabited the mountains between Ghazna and the Indus were also converted, some by force and others by persuasion; and at the present day, being 1018 of the Hijra (AD 1609), they continue to profess the faith of Islam.

On the second of Shaban A.H. 602 (March 14, A.D. 1206), having reached the village of Rohtuk, on the banks of the Indus, 20 Gakhars, who had lost some of their relations in the late wars, entered into a conspiracy against the King’s life, and sought an opportunity to carry their horrid purpose into effect. The weather being sultry, Muhammad Ghori had ordered the screens, which surround the royal tents in the form of a large square, to be struck, in order to give free admission to the air. This afforded the assassins an opportunity of seeing into the sleeping apartments. They found their way up to the tents in the night, and hid themselves, while one of them advanced to the tent door, but being stopped by a sentry who was about to seize him, he plunged his dagger into his breast. The cries of the dying man roused the guard, who running out to see what was the matter, the other assassins took that opportunity of cutting their way into the King’s tent. He was asleep, with two slaves fanning him. These stood petrified with terror, when they beheld the Gakhars enter, who, without hesitation, sheathed their daggers in the King’s body, which was afterwards found to have been pierced by no fewer than 22 wounds. Thus fell Sultan Muhammad Ghori, in the year 602 (AD 1206), after a reign of 32 years from the commencement of his government over Ghazna, and three from his accession to the throne {of Dehli}.

Ansari in "The Encyclopedia of Islam; "one is led to believe that the assassin was a Gakhar smarting under the insult and humilation suffered by his tribe. It was the result of a personal vendetta and had no political or religious implications".

Ferista describes the Gakhars before their conversion to Islam in the following terms;

These Gakhars were a race of wild barbarians, without either religion or morality. It was a custom among them as soon as a female child was born to carry her to the door of the house, and there proclaim aloud, holding the child in one hand, and a knife in the other, that any person who wanted a wife might now take her, otherwise she was immediately put to death. By this means, they had more men than women, which occasioned the custom of several husbands to one wife. When this wife was visited by one of her husbands, she left a mark at the door, which being observed by any of the other husbands, he withdrew till the signal was taken away.

There are simularities in Ferishtas description of the Gakhars to other well documented mountain peoples, the polygamous Kafirs of Hindukush and the Kalasha. Also, Tibet which is the most well-documented culture where polyandry is practiced and where the Gakhar legends say Kaid, the clans apical ancestor ruled for several generations.

The Early Delhi Sultanate and the Gakhars

The Gakhars were in a state of constant war with the successors of Muhammad Ghori the Delhi Sultanate.

According to Ferishta;

Meanwhile news had arrived that the Mongols of Genghis Khan had invaded Lahore, on Monday the 16th of Jumad-ool-Akhir, in the year AH 639 (November 22, AD 1241); that Mullik Kurragooz, the Viceroy, finding his troops mutinous, had been obliged to fly in the night, and was on his way to Delhi, and that Lahore was plundered by the enemy and many of the inhabitants carried away as prisoners.

'In the month of Rujab, A.H. 644 (July, A.D. 1247), the King (Nasir al-Din Mahmud) took the field, and marched towards Multan. The army encamped for sometime upon the banks of the Sodra, from whence the Vizier proceeded towards the mountains of Jud, and the provinces on the Indus. These countries were reduced, and the King took re-venge on the Gakhurs for their continual incursions, and for having led the Monguls through their country into Hindustan. Deeming these offences too great to be pardoned, he carried several thousand Gakhars of all ages, and of each sex, into captivity.'

'In (the reign of Muhammad b. Tughluk) the year A.H. 743 (A.D. 1342), Mullik Heidur, a chief of Gakhars, invaded Punjab, and slew Tartar Khan, the viceroy of Lahore, in action. To reduce this enemy, Khwaja Jehan was sent into that quarter.'

'He (Nasir-ood-deen Mahomed Toghluk II) returned to Mahomedabad, in the month of Rubbee-oos-Sany, of the year AH 796 (February, AD 1394), and sent his son Hoomayoon to crush Sheikha Gukkur, who had rebelled and occupied Lahore.'

'In the reign of Mahmood Toghluk, (AH 796, AD 1394) Sarung Khan, governor of Depalpore, collected the troops of the province of Multan, and the north-west divisions of the state, and advanced against the Gakhars, who waited for him at Ajoodhun, about 24 miles from Lahore. A battle ensued, and the Gakhars being defeated, their chief, Sheikha, took refuge among the mountains of Jummoo.

Timur and Sheikha Gakhar

But worse was to come; The Mongol conqueror, Timur (1370–1405), ruler of the Timurid Empire in Central Asia. Known for his daring military adventures, audacious campaigns and aggressive expansions, Timur was also responsible for bloodthirsty massacres of civilians and the plundering of whole nations. In 1398, when Timur was more than sixty years of age, Ferishta tells us that, "informed of the commotions and civil wars of India," he "began his expedition into that country," and on the September 12, 1398 "arrived on the banks of the Indus."

Ferishta says that Timur 'marched to a town called Shahnowaz, where finding more grain than sufficient for his whole army, he caused what could not be carried away to be burnt. At this place, the brother of the chief of the Gakhars, who had attempted to defend the place with 2000 men, lost his life. Jusrut, the brother of Sheikha Gukkur, who had fled after being defeated by Timur, had been reproved by his brother for opposing the Monguls, which being represented to Timur, Sheikha was admitted to his presence, and became a favourite. But when Timur marched on to Delhi, Sheikha took advantage of his absence, and got possession of Lahore, and when the King reached Jummoo, he refused to submit to his authority. Amir Timur accordingly detached part of his army to besiege Lahore, which was taken in a few days (A.H. 801, A.D. 1397). Sheikha was brought prisoner to the King, who ordered him to be instant­ly beheaded.'

After the sack of Delhi, Timur returned to Samarkand with Jasrat Gakhar as a captive leaving Khizr Khan, to rule the Punjab and upper Sind as his deputy.

The Later Delhi Sutanate and Jasrat Gakhar

At Timur’s death in 1405 AD. Jasrat Gakhar regained his freedom, returned to the Punjab and reestablished the Gakhar state. Meanwhile Timur's governor Khizr Khan seized the Delhi Sutanate for himself.

Khizr Khan’s son, Mubarak Shah, spent much of his reign trying to defend Delhi against the Gakhar ruler Jasrat who was growing stronger. Around AD 1420. Jasrat defeated the army of Kashmir and participated in the selection of the new Kashmir ruler, the great Zain-ul-ab-ad-din (see History of Kashmir). The Gakhars were never successful in conquering Delhi, but they were never subdued.

Jhanda Khan, Gakhar Chief, restored a ruined and deserted city in the Potwar and gave the name of Rawalpindi in 1493 AD.

The Emperor Babur and Hati Gakhar

Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur of Kabul, a descendant of the Mongol conqueror Timur made several incursions into India before finally overthrowing Sultan Ibrahim Lodi with his 12,000-man army, including the Gakhars, equipped with Cannon against Ibrahim Lodis 100,000 soldiers and 100 elephants at the First battle of Panipat, April 21, 1526.

In 1519 during one of these incursions Bahur decided to make a surprise attack on the Gakhar stronghold of Pharwala Fort near Rawalpindi. Pharwala Fort covers about 175 acres and is situated 6 km north of Eleot, on the Rawalpindi-Kahuta Road. There are six gates to this fort; Elephant Gate for the entrance of elephants, Lashkari Gate for soldiers, Begum Gate for the women, Garden Gate, Fort Gate for commoners and Ziarat Gate. Besides the Gakhar family, the fort housed 50 elephants, 200 horses and 500 soldiers.

According to the Rawalpindi Gazetteer;Tatar Khan’s rule was of short duration, for Hati Khan, rebelled against him, captured and put him to death. His two sons were minors, and the Janjua chief, Raja Darwesh Khan, took the opportunity of recovering much of the country which the Gakkars had taken from his tribe. Hati Khan opposed him, but was defeated and compelled to fly to Basal, while his cousins Sarang Khan and Adam Khan, escaped to Dangalli.

According to Babur; 'There were the Jats, Gujars, and many other peoples living in the mountains between the Nilab and Bhera (Jhelum), which are connected to the mountains of Kashmir. Their rulers and chieftains belong to the Gakhar clan whose chieftainship is like that of the Jud and Janjua. At that time (1519), the chieftains of the peoples on the mountainsides were two cousins, Tatar Khan and Hati Gakhar. Their strongholds were the ravines and cliffs. Tatar's seat was Pharwala, which is way below the snow-covered mountains. Hati, whose territory was adjacent to the mountains, had gain dominance over Kalinjar, which belonged to Babu Khan of Bisut. Tatar Khan had seen Dawlat Khan and owed him total allegiance; Hati, however, had not seen him and maintained a rebellious attitude towards him. With the advice and agreement of the Hindustan begs, Tatar had gone and camped at a distance as though to lay siege to Hati. While we were in Bhera, Hati seized upon some pretext to make a surprise attack on Tatar, kill him, and lay hands on his territiory, his wives, and everything he had.'

Babur goes on to say; 'Having somehow consolidated the territory with hopes of peace, we moved out of Bhera on Sunday the eleventh of Rabi’ I [March 13] to re­turn to Kabul. We made it to Kalda Kahar and camped. That day there was an unbelievable rainstorm. With cloaks or without, it made no dif­ference. The tail end of the camp kept coming until late that night.

Those who knew the lay of the land hereabouts, especially the Janjua, who were old enemies of the Gakhar, reported that Hati Gakhar had recently turned outlaw. He was engaging in highway robbery and bringing ruination upon the people. It was necessary to do something to drive him from the area or else to teach him a good lesson. In agree­ment with them, the next morning we assigned Khwaja Mirmiran and Mirim Nasir to the camp and left the camp at midmorning to ride to Pharwala against Hati Gakhar, who had killed Tatar a few days before and taken over Pharwala, as has been mentioned. We stopped in the late afternoon, fed the horses, and rode off by night. Our guide was a servant of Malik Hast’s, Surpa by name. We cleared the road and stopped near dawn. Beg Muhammad Moghul was sent back to camp. As it was becoming light we mounted, and at midmorning we put on our armor and charged. With one league left to go we could see the outline of Pharwala. Off we galloped. The right wing went to the east of Pharwala. Qoch Beg, who was with the right wing, was sent to rein­force its rear. The men of the left wing and center were pouring down on Pharwala. Dost Beg was directed to support the rear of the left wing, which was also attacking.

Pharwala, situated among ravines, has two roads. The one to the southeast—the road by which we were traveling—is atop the ravines and is surrounded by ravines and gullies on both sides. Half a kos from Pharwala the road becomes such that in four or five places before reaching the gate the ravines are so precipitous that it is necessary to ride single file the distance of an arrow shot. The other road to Pharwala is to the northwest and leads through a wide valley. It too is precarious, and there is no other road on any side. Although it has no ramparts or battlements, there is no place to bring force to bear either. All around are ravines seven, eight, or ten yards straight down.

The men farthest forward in the left wing passed through the nar­rows and gathered at the gate. Hati drove back the attackers with thirty to forty armed horsemen and many foot soldiers. When Dost Beg, who was reinforcing the rear of the attackers, arrived, he brought a lot of force to bear, unhorsed many men, and defeated the foe. Hati Gakhar was renowned in those parts for his valor, but regardless of how well he fought he could not maintain his stand and was forced to retreat. He was unable to hold the narrows, and when he made it to the fortress he could not make it fast either. The attackers poured into the fortress be­hind him and ran through it to the narrow ravine on the northwest, but Hati got out and fled unencumbered. Here Dost Beg performed a good action and received the fiuldu. Meanwhile I entered the fortress and dismounted at Tatar’s quarters. Some of those who had been assigned to stay with me while the attack was launched had nevertheless gone on to join the fray. Among them were Amin-Muhammad Tarkhan Arghun and Qaracha, who for their disobedience were attached to the Gujar guide Surpa and sent into the wilderness without their cloaks to meet the camp. The next morning we got across the northwest ravine and camped in a grain field. Wali KhizanachI was assigned a few valiant warriors and sent to meet the camp.

On Thursday the fifteenth [March 1 7] we marched out and stopped at Anderana on the banks of the Sohan. [231] Long ago the Anderana fortress had belonged to Malik Hast’s father, but after Hati Gakhar killed Hast’s father it fell to ruins, which was its condition when we found it. That night the part of the camp that had been detached at Kalda Kahar arrived and joined us. After Hati took Tatar he sent his relative Parbat to me with a mail clad horse and gifts. Before catching up with me Parbart encountered the men of the camp who had stayed behind and came along with the uruq to present his gifts and pay homage. Langar Khan also came with the uruq on several matters of business, and when finished, he and some local people were given leave to depart for Bhera. Marching on and crossing the Sohan, we stopped on a hill. Parbat was given a robe of honor, and Muhammad-Ali Jang-Jang’s servant was sent to Hati with letters of appeasement.'

According to Ansari in the Encyclopedia of Islam: "At the end of 933/1526 Hati Khan waited on the emperor during his return to the Punjab (after the First battle of Panipat) and greatly assisted in procuring suppilies for the Mughal army. Barbur fully reconised his services, making him a handsome present and conferring on him the title Sultan"

Later, according the Rawalpindi Gazetteer; 'Sultan Sarang was now of age, and finding that he could not oust his cousin (Hati Khan) by force of arms, he procured his death by posion and assumed the chiefship in 1525. He and his brother made their submission to Babar, and Adam Khan, with a Gakhar force, attended him to Delhi, and for this the Potwar country was confirmed to them by the Emperor.'

Sher Shah Suri and Sultan Sarang Khan

During the reign of Humayun, Sultan Sarang Khan gained much prominence. He became so powerful that he struck his own money, included his name in the khutba and refused to recognise Sher Shah Suri, on the defeat and exile of Humayun in 1540, as the new sovereign of India. Sher Shah Suri sent emissaries to the Gakhar Sultan Sarang Khan to demand his submission and his presence at Sher Shah Suris court. He famously replied that were a warlike people and sent Sher Shah Suri, a sheaf or arrows and a pair of tiger cubs to remind him of the fact. He obstructed by all the means at his disposal the construction in 1541 of Rohtas Fort ( [4], [5]) designed to prevent Humayuns return. The headquarters of Gakhars was the Sultanpur fort situated eight kilometres from Mangla Fort. This act of open hostility coupled with his rebellious behavior enraged Sher Shah who personally led an expedition against him resulting in the rout of the Gakhars and the capture and subsequent execution of Sultan Sarang. His tomb still exists at Rawat Fort, near Rawalpindi.

He was succeeded by his brother Sultan Adam, who had several skirmishes with the troops of Islam Shah Sur. Adam was so powerful that in 1552, Prince Kamran, the rebel brother of Humayun, who had been refused shelter by Islam Shah, sort refuge with him. He was however betrayed and given up to Humayun on his return from exile who had Kamran blinded. Sultan Adam was rewarded with robes of honour, kettle drums and other insignia of nobility. (Ansari)

The Later Mughals and the Gakhars

Sultan Adam was imprisoned at Pharwala Fort by his nephew Kamal Khan, one of Sultan Sarang's sons. Adam died in captivity. Kamal Khan also hanged Adam's son Lashkar Khan who had been found guilty of an illicit love affair with the wife of Kamal Khans brother. Abul Fazl in his Akbarnama gives a different version omitting all reference to the love-affair and asserting that on a petition from Kamal Khan, Akbar ordered the division of the Gakhar territory between him and his uncle Adam; this resulted in a pitched battle in which Adam was utterly defeated and captured. This was clearly a stratagem which Akbar employed to punish the rebellious chief by pitting his own kinsman against him and to implant his overlordship firmly in the territory of the Gakhars, (Ansari).

In order to further cement his relations with the Gakhars and use them as an ally against the tubulent Afghans, Akbar in accordance with his well-known policy, contracted matrimonial alliances with them. Prince Salim was married to a daughter of Sayd Khan, a brother of Kamal Khan. Sayd Khan had fought under the Mughal General Zayn Khan against the Afghans in Swat and Bajawr. Later Aurangzeb also honoured the Gakhar chief Allah Kuli Khan (1681-1705) by marrying one of his daughters to his son prince Muhammad Akbar. Thus two Gakhar women found their way into the Imperial harem.

Akbars policy of pacification and reconciliation had its desired effect and we find the Gakhars leading a peaceful and uneventful life during the major part of the Mughal rule. They seem to have only reluctantly accepted the Timurids as their overlords however as a celebrated Gakhar warrior-chief, Mukarrab Khan, sided with Nadir Shah Afshar and took part in the battle of Karnal (1739), which showed up the crumbelling fabric of the Mughal empire. As a reward for his services, he was confirmed in his possession of the fort of Pharwala and on his return to Kabul, Nadir Shah conferred upon him, as a mark of further foavour, the title of Nawab (this seems to have been a personal title as no later Gakhar chief ever used it. In his days the Gakhar power was greater than it had perhaps ever been before. He defeated the Yusafzai Afghans and Jang Kuli Khan of Khattak, and captured Gujrat, overrunning the Chib country as far north as Bhimber. He was finally defeated by the Sikhs at Gujrat in 1765 and had to surrender the whole of his possessions up to the Jehlum.

The Sikh and British Conquests

Four years later he was treacherously captured and put to death by a rival chief, Himmat Khan. The Sikhs annexed the entire Gakhar territory to the Sikh kingdom of Punjab. Mukarrab Khan's two elder sons were, however, allowed to retain Pharwala Fort; this too was confiscated in 1818 by the Sikh governor of the area.

Chafing under successive insults and acts of expropriation, the Gakhars revolted in 1835 but were crushed by the Sikhs who put their chiefains - Shadman Khan and Muddu Khan - along with their families in confinement, were both of them died. On the annexation of the Punjab in 1849 (after crushing the Sikhs in the Second Anglo-Sikh War), the British conferred a pension of Rs. 1200 per annum on Hayat Allah Khan, a son of Shadman Khan, he and other members of his family having been released from capitivity by the British two years earlier.

In 1853 Nadir Khan, the Gakhar chief of Mandla, joined a Sikh conspiracy against the British, The rising which might have been serious was promptly quelled and Nadir Khan was captured and hanged. Apart from this incident the Gakhars remained loyal and peaceful; they joined the British Indian Army and served the British well, who honoured one of their chiefs, Jahandad Khan of Hazara (Khanpur) by conferring upon him the order of C.I.E. (The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, Companion (CIE), last awarded 1947).

According to the Rawalpindi Gazeetter of 1894; "The Gakhars still bear many traces of their high descent in their bearing, and in the estimation in which they are held throughout the (Rawalpindi) district. Though almost all in poor circumstances, they are as proud as ever of their name, and are emphatically the gentlemen of the (Rawalpindi) district. They make first rate soldiers, in the cavalry especially, and in general no recruits are more approved of than true Gakhars. They are not, however, good cultivators, and the higher their descent, the less inclined they are for hard work, whatever their circumstances may be." "The chief man among the Gakhars in the Rawalpindi district is Raja Karmdad Khan, of Pharwala Admal. This man is the head of all the Gakhars of the (Rawalpindi) district, and is an Honorary Magistrate of the Bench in the town of Rawalpindi. The Admals of Pharwala, though much reduced in circumstances, are very much looked up to by all. The Admals of Pharwala are always called Raja, the other Admals and all other Gakhars are always spoken of as Mirza."A important point to note here is that all Gakhars have stopped using Sultan and Mirza and started to use Raja or Kiani/Kayani at the end of the name with their names after 1800 however there is no reference of them using Raja before 1800 or of them being Rajputs.

Today

The present head of the clan is Sultan Erij Zaman Khan who succeeded to the title in October 1963.From Maternal,Sultan Erij Zaman Khan is the grandson and nephew of Khan of Makadh (a prominent estate in Attock). He was crowned Sultan by President of Pakistan, Field Marshal Ayub Khan. The Sultan has 3 sons, Sheraz, Sheryar, Fraz and a daughter Amber.

Some prominent Gakhar figures are:

Malik Rustam Kayani also known as Justice M.R. Kayani

Raja Shahid Zafar, Ex. Production Minister, Pakistan

Air Marshal(r) Shahid Hamid, Chairman Alternative Board Energy

General(r) Jhamshed Gulzar Kiani, Chairman Federal Public Service Commission

General Ashfaq Kiani, Director General ISI

Tariq Kiani, Ex-Distric Administrator Rawalpindi.

Lt. Col. Mohammad Zaman Kiani, Chief of General staff Indian National Army (Azad Hind Force)

References

• Jhelum Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 Online Edition.[6]
• Gujrat Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 Online Edition. [7]
• Gakkhar, A. S Bazmee Ansari, in Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed.,Edited by J.H.Kramers et al, E.J Brill, Leiden, pp.972-74.
• Gazetteer of the Rawalpindi District 1893-94, Punjab Government, 2001 Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore.
• The Baburnama: memoirs of Babur, prince and emperor, Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur, Translated, edited and annotated by Wheeler M. Thackston. 2002 Modern Library Paperback Edition, New York.
• The History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India Till The Year A.D. 1612, Muhammad Kasim (Ferishta), Translated, edited and annotated by General J. Briggs. Reprinted 1981, Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, New Delhi, 4 vols.
• Sher Shah Suri: A Fresh Perspective, Basheer Ahmad Khan Matta. 2005, Oxford University Press, Karachi.
• The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History, Peter Jackson, Cambridge University Press.