Khokhar

The Khokhar or Khokar ( _ur. کھوکھر ) are a people of India and Pakistan. In India, where they are predominately Hindu or Sikh, they are considered to be Ramgariah as well as a gotra of , Rajputs (tribe), and Jats and are mainly found in the Indian states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. In Pakistan, the Khokhar ( _ur. کھو کھر) are considered to be a Punjabi tribe, who were one of the tribes of central Asia, who migrated into India in the 9th or 10th century. They also served in the Mughal Army, their ancestors were Huns

Khokhars are found among Hindu, Sikh and Muslim. There are Khokhars in Punjab , Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat. After the independence in 1947 the Hindu and Sikh Khokhars moved to India. Muslim Khokhars are predominantly found in Pakistan.

Origins

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 [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North -West provinces , compiled by H A Rose , vol II Page 313 ]

cquote|'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. [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North -West provinces , compiled by H A Rose , vol II Page 539 ] Khokhars in some parts of India and Pakistan are deep in their old customs and have been in honour killing, keeping the old tradition among other casts.

The Mohyal of whom the Datts are a sub clan were also purohits of the Khokhran in earlier times however cquote|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 . . [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North -West provinces , compiled by H A Rose , vol II Page 123 ] 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 .

""'A section of Muslim Khokhar trace their ancestry to Qutb Shahs eldest son(muhammad shah), and are descendants of imam Ali.

It is also believed that the Muslim Khokhars came to India from Persia over 900 years ago and converted many Hindus to Islam. It is also believed that the reason for the abundance of individuals in other religions (i.e Sikhism, which is a new religion) or castes (masilli sheikh) keeping the surname Khokhar was due to them being converted by khokhars to Muslim or as a status due to their lower castes.""'

History

Some say, (malik,khan,sardar)Khokhars are meant to be descended from Qutub Shah in the same way Awankalal bara malque ETC AREQutub Shah is said to be a descendant of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib from his son Abbas ibn Ali. Qutub Shah was a general in the army of Mahmud of Ghazna and had six sons.

While it is said that Khokhar was an elder son (muhammad shah) of Qutub shah, Khokher is not a Muslim name or title. In 1001, Mahmud launched 17 major expeditions into the subcontinent. An army of 20,000 Khokhars gave him a tough time. Hindu and Sikh Khokhar do not trace any lineage from any Arab or Persian ancestor.There is also other strong evidence that the Khokhars were a Hindu tribe S A A Rizvi in his book THE WONDER THAT WAS INDIA 11 published by Picador . [ S A A Rizvi in his book THE WONDER THAT WAS INDIA 11 published by Picador ] . provides proof at various pages for example the following two instances.

Then again Amir Khusrau (1253-1325 AD), refers to Khokhars as a non-Muslim tribe [Tughlaq Namah, Aurangabad, 1933, p.128 ] , and the way they were constantly attacked and killed by sultans like Iltutmish and Balban supports Khusrau’s contention .

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 .

cquote|:"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" , [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North -West provinces , compiled by H A Rose vol II Page 97 ]

Khokhars attacked by Balban

=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 ". [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North -West provinces , compiled by H A Rose , vol II Page 513 ] The Khokhran were concentrated in the areas of the salt range and particularly Bhera

Khokhars attacked by Tamerlane

Apart from the recordings of Amir Khusrau (1253-1325),who refers to Khokhars as a non-Muslim tribe [Tughlaq Namah, Aurangabad, 1933, p.128 ] , 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 cquote|'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 [Gazetteer of the Multan District 1923-24 published by Sang-E-Meel Publications and Page 32]

Malik

Malik is a title found among Khokhars and Khokhrancquote|There are Khatri families in Multan which are addressed as Malik or Raizada .
Among Muhammadans the term Malik is applied to the chief men among the Khokhars . [Gazetteer of the Multan District 1923-24 published by Sang-E-Meel Publications and Page 139]

haikha Khokhar

Shaikha 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 [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North -West provinces , compiled by H A Rose vol II Page 348 ]

Geographical distribution

Khokhars are mainly found in the Punjab region. In West Punjab areas that now fall in Pakistan Khokars belonged to regions of Khanewal, Shahpur, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Bhera, Gujrat, Gujar Khan, and adjoining areas similar to areas where an ancient Hindu tribe, the Khokhran belonged.
khokhars are based also in Kashmir including mirpur.Khokhar were recruited by Mirs of Sind as soldiers for their army and were settled at various cantonment towns of Sind before the British invasion. In Sind they still speak Seraiki. Most Sindhi Khokhars live in the areas of Larkana, Nawab Shah and Hyder Abad.Khokhar are now based all around the world.

Lineage

True Khokhars are related to syeds, alwis, etc through Imam Ali.Fact|date=October 2007The khokhars are also found in Dera Ismail khan region.Note real ones come from Afganistan.

ee also

[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V19_339.gifDigital South Asia Library]

References