Dhothar

The Dhothar are a Jat tribe, originally found principally in the Gujranwala District, of Punjab, Pakistan. The Sikh section of this tribe moved to Punjab, India after partition.

The Dhothar are found in Sialkot and Gujrat districts of Punjab, Pakistan.

History

According to their traditions, they are descended from Suryavanshi rajput, a fighter who have set to have come from Ghazni, in Afghanistan.^[1] They were concentrated in the Gujranwala bar region, and unlike other local Jat clans, were largely Sikh, with a small Muslim minority. They were known for their fighting blood. They fought many battles and not only held their lands but also occupied a vast area of land. Despite being small in numbers, they fought well against other Jat clans and defeated them.

Areas

In Pakistan

Dhothar are originally found principally in Gujranwala District, of Punjab, Pakistan. They also have presence in the Sialkot, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahaudin, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur and Gujrat Districts of Punjab, Pakistan. In Hafizabad District 11 villages are of Dhothar majority, in which Rata Dhotharan is famous. In Bahawalpur District, Dhothars have a village named Dhotharan. There is a whole union council of Dhouthars in Distt. M.B.Din. Chahrkey is one the villages of this Union council.

In Sahiwal District Dhothars are living in many villages of Tehsil Chichawatni in which Chak 44/12.L has a significant population of Dhothars. Other villages with Dhothar population are Chak 58/12.L, Chak 90/12.L and Chak 21/12.L

In India

After the partition of India, Sikh Dhothar moved to Haryana. The Muslim branch of the tribe continue to occupy villages near the city of Gujranwala and on the bank of river Chenab.

In Karnal (Karnal District) of Haryana there are many villages of Sikh Dhothars, who after partition of India moved to Haryana. In Ludhiana (District) of Punjab, India, Chak Dhothar and Pind Malian are dhothar majority villages and many other have Dhothar population.

A part of the Muslim Dhothars of village Nathupur moved to Chak 44/12.L in Sahiwal District of Punjab, Pakistan in the 1910s at the time of settlement of this bar, and the remaining migrate there after the partition of India.

Religion

The Dhothars in Pakistan are exclusively Muslim, while those in India are Sikh.

Papulation

According to 1860 cences their total papulation was 1456 and only 28 were muslims.Now an estimated papulation of Dhothars is some 30,000 to 35,000 .

Peoples

The majority of Dhothars are well educated, they have doctors, engineers , scientists both in Muslim and Sikh Dhotars of Pakistan and India

Some of them are:

• Dr. Sabir ali Dhothar, PhD. Meta physics, England (Pakistani nuclear scientist)
• Ch.Noor Muhammad Dhothar, candidate of provincial assembly Punjab.
• Dr. Khalid Rafique Dhothar, PhD Agromomy.
• Dr. Muhhamad Afzal, chest specialist (Nawaz shrif Social security Hospital, Lahore)
• Ch. Fida Abbas Dhothar, B.Sc (Hons.) (Food technology)
• Ch.Ahmed Bilal Dhothar M.Sc (Hons.) Agronomy
• Dr.Satman Dhothar ,Cambrian animal hospital ,Cargary , England.
• Romindar Dhothar , Service develpment officer , Bradford , England.
• Maj. Ravinder singh Dhothar , IG at school of artylry , Indian army.
• Pete Dhothar ,Homicide prevention unit , specialist crime directorate, Metropolitan police service London.
• Prabh Dhothar ,Police comissionar Surrey police , England.
• Sardar jasvindar singh Dhothar , V.president guru gobind singh gurdwara , Bradford .
• barker Dhothar , IT engineer , Halifax.
• Jatinder Singh Malli Dhothar, M.Sc Enterprise and Distributed Systems Development, B.Sc Maths & Computing, Network+ Engineer. London.
• Ch. Ahmed mehmud Dhothar , a well known farmer of chowk metla , Vehari District.

References

1. ^ A Glossary of the Tribes & Castes of Punjab by H. A Rose