Majhail

The designation Majhail is associated with ferocious warrior Sikhs from the Majha region of the North Indian state of Punjab who are mainly Jat Sikhs. It is named after the Majha region, and these people added Majhail to the end of their names. Many relocated from Majha to various parts of the world and kept the Majhail surname.

Origin

The Majhail Sikhs are the descendants of "Kathians" who were known for their highest reputation for courage and skill in the art of war and whose whose legend goes back to the time of Pauravas in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. [1]

The "Majhails are the stout-hearted inhabitants of the Majha belt dominated by Jat Sikhs, whose forefathers had borne the brunt of every foreign invasion from the north-west, losing courage against the indiscriminate killings." [2] The Majhail's were famous for their strong build and their hard-working attitude because they worked in the army or very far away from their homes in farms.[3]

The forefathers of the modern Majhails are the back-bone of the Sikh people. They are daring, courageous and honest people who worked hard in their land. These brave and fearless people fought many battles during the formation of Sikhism and were known for their fighting skills. The greatest sacrifice in the Sikh history was made by Majhails known as the 'Wadda Ghalughara' or the 'Great Holocaust'. The Majhails are known for their bravery and the sacrifices they have made in the history. Today people from the Majha belt known as Majhhis are very proud of the Majhails.

Majhails & the Sikh history

The forefathers of the modern Majhails are known to be the back-bone of the Sikh people referred by Greek writers. "Before Alexander’s raid in India, Majhails inflicted a defeat on the valiant Paurava, and who, though hopelessly outnumbered by the Greeks, fought Alexander the great by the sakata-vyuha, or ‘waggon-formation,’ which the Greek phalanx could not pierce, and who refused to submit formally. The Greek writers call them “Kathians” and describe them as a nation, residing to the east of Hydraotes or the Ravi river, the present districts of Lahore and Amritsar of the West Pakistan and Indian Punjab, respectively. The Kathians themselves enjoyed the highest reputation for courage and skill in the art of war." [4]

"It will be recalled that the descendants of the “Kathians,” the Majhail Sikhs, were the leaders of the Sikh mass of about 30,000 unorganized men, women and children at village Kup, near Malerkotla, in the Indian Punjab, who were surprised and attacked by the 100,000 strong veteran Afghan horsemen of Ahmad Shah Abdali, on the grey raw morning of 5th February, 1762, killing over 15,000 Sikh women and children, mostly in the first onrush, and as many men more in the next few days of the Sikhs' retreat towards Barnala in the Patiala District. In this carnage, called the ‘Great Holocaust', wadda ghalughara in Sikh history, the Sikhs defended themselves by means of the same sakata-vyuha with which they had met the equally overwhelming numerical odds of the Greek invaders, and once, though literally decimated to a man, they refused to submit. The capital city of these “Kathians” is mentioned by the Greek writers as “Sankala,” which most probably occupied the site at which the Sikh Gurus built Amritsar at the end of the 16th century." [5]

Majhail

Here are some famous Majhails:-

• Isher Singh Majhail - freedom fighter.
• Harpartap Singh Majhail
• Jagga Jatt
• Bhai Bidhi Chand Chhina Majhail
• Sardar Dhian Singh Majhail, Freedom Fighter
• Dr. Harjinder Singh Majhail

[Category:Sikh warriors]]