Kukhran

Infobox caste
caste_name=Kukhran
classification=Kshatriya
subdivisions=Anand, Bhasin, Chadda, Chandok (Chandhoke, Chandhok), Gandhoke (Gadhok, Gadhoke, Gadok), Ghai, Kohli, Sabharwal, Sahni/Sawhney/Saini, Sethi, Suri and Chhachi, a sub-clan of the Kohli tribe.
populated_states=Punjab
languages=Punjabi
religions=Hinduism and Sikhism and Islam:"See detailed article Khatri":"Also see Khokhar, another Punjabi community"

The Kukhrans (or "Khukhrain or Khokrans") are an ancient group of eleven specific clans of a Khatri subcaste [M.A. Sherring, Hindu Castes and Tribes as represented in Banares, 1872. ] who originally hailed from the areas of the Salt Range and particularly town of Bhera in Punjab. The names of the Eleven clans are: Anand, Bhasin, Chadda, Chandok (Chandhoke, Chandhok, Chandiok), Ghai, Kohli, Sabharwal, Sahni/Sawhney, Sethi and Suri. The surname Malik and Chaudhary and Kashyap is name used by many Kukhrans.

History

Clan details

. [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces, compiled by H A Rose Page 509 Vol 11 ] .

The main place of their ancestral geographic location was the town of Bhera, situated in the Jech doab region (Jhelum-Chenab interfluve) of Punjab, which now lies in the Sargodha District of Pakistan. The history of the Khukran is inextricably intertwined with the ancient town of Bhera

Bhera is also the historical town to which Porus or Purushotthama of the Puru tribe belonged. Purushotthama (c.325 BC) was the king of Kekaya the land of the Puru tribe, one of the Janapadas (kingdoms). Its location was in what is now middle Punjab, the areas between the rivers Jhelum and Chenab and its extent varied from time to time. The word "Purushotthama" means "Supreme Being". Purushotthama was 7 feet 6 inches tall according to Arian.

The Kekaya are said to have occupied the land now comprised by three districts of Jhelum, Shahpur and Gujerat, now all in Pakistan.

The Purus are a tribe or a confederation of tribes mentioned in the Rigveda. The RV 7.96.2 locates them at the banks of the Sarasvati River.The Puru were ostensibly defeated by king Sudas at the Battle of the Ten Kings.

The palace of Sopeithes which the Greek historian Arrian mentions as the place on the Hydaspes is supposed to be at Bhera. The Greeks refer to the Jhelum river as the Hydaspes River where Alexander the Great fought Porus in Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326 BCE(also see sources below).

Porus in the Shahnameh

Shāhnāmé, or Shāhnāma, is an enormous poetic opus written by the Iranian poet Ferdowsi around 1000 CE and is the national epic of the Persian-speaking world. The Shāhnāmeh tells the mythical and historical past of Iran from the creation of the world up until the Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century. cquote|' Fur called Parus by European historians. [ The Shah-Namah of Fardusi translation by Alexander Rogers LPP Publication Page 370 ] finds extensive mention in it.

Dara attacked by Alexander writes a letter pleading to Fur or Porus from Bhera in India.cquote|' Dara 's Letter to Fur of India
As he nor near nor far could find a friend, He wrote a letter then to Fur to send
Full of humility and grief and pain
And first he praised the king in fitting strain
"Wise, learned and of lively soul" he said:
"Though who of Hindoo peoples art the head,
Perchance by now the news thou hast obtained
Of what upon my head hath fate ordained
Sikander has from Rum an army braught, Of land inhabited he leaves us naught
Nor throne nor crown, no relatives no son,
No royal diadem and soldiers none.
If thou consent henceforth to be my friend,
That I myself from mischief may defend,
Such gems I 'll send thee from my treasury
That treasure no more shall lack to thee
Thou in the world too shall renown acquire
And to the love of great men shall aspire
A camel with the pace of wind he sent
To Fur straight of Turanian descent
[ The Shah-Namah of Fardusi translation by Alexander Rogers LPP Publication Page 370 ]

Khokhran and Bhera

The Imperial Gazetteer of India records the History of Bhera -

In the recent past centuries, Bhera was an important trading outpost on the road to Kabul, and had a "taksal" or (mint) during the rule of Ranjit Singh. Bhera declined in importance due to the gradual shifting of the course of the Jhelum river, due to which the town lost the advantage of being located on a river bank.

Last Raja of Bhera

The last chief or Raja of Bhera was a Khukran, Diwan Bahadur Jawahir Mal [The Punjab Chiefs " by authors W.L.Conran and H.D Craik and published by Sang-E-Meel publications of Lahore Pakistan Page 197] . The Diwan Family originally came from Peshawar,and tradition ascribes the abolition the Jizya in Peshawar to his influence.

Khukrains like other Khatricastes were traditionally and historically a warrior communityFact|date=August 2008 (although they are now well represented in many fields other than the army) and hence they bore the brunt of invasionsFact|date=August 2008 from the various central Asian tribes now converted to Islam who came from the northwest during the 12th-16th centuries. The Hindu populations in Afghanistan and Northwest India continued to recede after the 11th century even as predominant areas of Afghanistan were still under non Muslim rule till the 10th CE. (see also Shahi and Jayapala).

(refer khukhrain website: http://www.khukhrain.tk)

Post Partition Of India 1947

Most of the Hindu or Sikh, Kukhrans moved perforce to India following the partition of India in 1947. Khukreins among Hindu/Sikh and are now settled not only in large concentrations in Delhi and Punjab, Haryana but also spread the world over. Their mother tongue is Punjabi. In India the special dialect of Pothari spoken by the Khukrains who migrated from Western Punjab (now Pakistan) is fast being replaced by the local Eastern Punjabi language, in their new Indian residence of Punjab.

ikh Khukrain

Among the Khatri castes, the Kukhran were one of the foremost followers of the Sikh GurusFact|date=August 2008 and traditionally brought up one son as a Keshdhari SikhFact|date=August 2008. This is evident from the large number of Kukhran surnames among Khatri Sikhs.

A predominant section of the Hindu Khukrain continue to follow dual religious traditions of both Sikh as well as Arya Samaj moresFact|date=August 2008. This has been in spite of the religo-political competitive zeal of both the Arya Samaj and Tat Khalsa effort at creating purified identities.

Intermarriage between Khatri as well as Khukrain Sikhs and Hindus are common. The dual religious Hindu and Sikh identity and Kukhran biradri identity comfortably coexistsFact|date=August 2008.

Muslim Khukran

A significant number Khukrein also converted to Islam from the 12th century onwards and therefore while Kukhran family names are found largely among the Hindus and Sikhs they are also found among Punjabi Muslim communities in Pakistan and worldwide. In Pakistan there continues to be a large number of Muslim Khukreins living specially in the Pakistani Punjab as is borne out by their Khukrain surnames such as Chadda, Chawla, Puri, Sethi, Sahni and Suri. The Pakistani Journalist Najam Sethi is one such example. Some scholars such as Muhammad Ikrām Chutai believe that a number of Khokharain were converted to Islam by the Sufi Baba Farid [ Babaji: Life and Teachings of Farid-ud Din Ganj-i ShakarBy Muhammad Ikrām Chutai Page 433 Published by Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2006 ]

hared Gotras of Khokhars and Khokhrain

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 ]

Muslim Khukrain and Khatris are called Punjabi Shaikh, Khawaja Shaikh and Khojas as is the name given to most Khatri Hindus who converted to Islam.Fact|date=August 2008

The Khatri gotras of these converts to Islam are: Adal, Behrara, Churra, Maggun (or Maghoon), Sahgal, Wadhaun (or Vadhavan), Vohra (Wihara), Talwar, Puri, Topra. Whereas Arora gotras are Tarneja, Goruwala, Khurana, Dhingra and Chawala. [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces, compiled by H A Rose ] .

Mohyals Khokhran and Khokhars

The Mohyal Brahmins were associated to the Khokhars and Kukhran|Khokhran have a long history of not following the priesthood occupation that was usually associated with Brahmins in the past.

The Mohyal of whom the Datts are a sub clan were also purohits of the Kukhran|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-Brahmans 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 ]

Khokran and Khokhars and Ala-ud-din Khilji

The book A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces records - cquote|The Khokhran section is said to consist of the descendents of certain Khatris who joined the Khokhars in rebellion (against Ala-ud-din Khilji);and with whom other the 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 ]

Other scholarly referrences such as in the publications of the Britannica also point to the close relation between Khokharain and Khokhar. About the Khokharains mention is made stating

Khorasan Karakhan and Krukhak origins

, The older Persian province of Khorasan (also known as the Greater Khorasan included parts which are today in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Some of the main historical cities of Persia are located in the older Khorasan: Nishapur (now in Iran), Merv and Sanjan (now in Turkmenistan), Samarkand and Bukhara (both now in Uzbekistan), Herat, Kabul, Ghazni and Balkh (now in Afghanistan). In its long history, Khorasan knew many conquerors and empires: Greeks, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Safavids, Afghans and others.

The reference to origins from Khorasan in the oral history of the Khukran could allude to migration from that area Khorasan durying periods period as well.cquote|It is also said that Khukran (Khokhran ) is derived from [http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/uzbekistan/map/m3546331/karakhan.html Karakhan] descendants of Krukhak, one of the sons of Manu who setelled and reigned in the North West Punjab " [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces, compiled by H A Rose, vol II Page 514 ] Karakhan is in Uzbekistan.

The Karakhan also find mention among the The Karakhanids ("Qarakhānid", also spelled "Ilek Khanidis", 黑汗, 桃花石) were a Turkic dynasty that ruled Transoxania in Central Asia from 999 to 1211. [http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9062103 Encyclopædia Britannica] ] Their capitals included Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen and then again Kashgar.

Khukrains like other Khatri (Punjabi: ਖੱਤਰੀ, Hindi: खत्री) is the Punjabi language adaptation or pronunciation of Sanskrit word Kshatriya (Hindi: क्षत्रिय, Kşhatriya) [ [http://punjabrevenue.nic.in/gaz_ldh8.htm People, GAZETTEER LUDHIANA, Department of Revenue, Government of Punjab (India)] , Homepage: [http://punjabrevenue.nic.in/fdigs.htm] ] [ [ [http://punjabrevenue.nic.in/gaz_asr9.htm GAZETTEER AMRITSAR ,Department of Revenue, Government of Punjab (India)] (First Edition 1976)] ] [ [ http://punjabrevenue.nic.in/fdigs.htm GAZETTEER OF INDIA PUNJAB FARIDKOT] ] were traditionally and historically a warrior community (although they are now well represented in many fields other than the army) and hence they bore the brunt of invasions from the various central Asian tribes now converted to Islam who came from the northwest during the 12th-16th centuries.

The Hindu populations in Afghanistan and Northwest India continued to recede after the 11th century even as predominant areas of Afghanistan were still under non muslim rule till the 10th century also see the section on Hindu Shahi and Jayapala.Ibbetson records with regards to Khatris.cquote|I do not know the exact limits of Khatri occupation to the west, but certainly in all eastern Afghanistan they seem to be part of the established community as they are in the Punjab. They find their way far into central Asia, but the further they get the more humiliating is their position. [A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces, compiled by H A Rose, vol II Page 506 ]

Though the writer Ibbetson claims that the Khatri "cquote|They are the only Hindus known in Central Asia [A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces, compiled by H A Rose, vol II Page 506 ] , it is contested by other experts in the field of Indians in Central Asia, that though they have a presence in Central Asia, they certainly were not the only Hindu community established in Central Asia, although they were certainly an important element of that Diaspora. ["The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and Its Trade, 1550-1900" Scott Cameron Levi 2002, P108, quotation "Regardles of Campbell's claim, however, Khatris were not the only Hindu community to establish themselves in Central Asia..."]

Places in Punjab And Afghanistan

Various contemporary and historical places in the Punjab and Afghanistan corresponding to traditional areas associated with Khokharain or Khokhar bear the name or variants of Khokharain or Kokrana.

Afghanistan
* Khokharan in Afghanistan.cquote|Eight or ten miles west of Qandhar lies the village of Khokharan. The Kabits of the bards record a Raja named Kokra of Garh Kokarana, now called Kadyana [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces, compiled by H A Rose, vol II Page 541 ]

Pakistan
*Basti Khokharān Mainwali, Punjab, Pakistan, also known as Shampur Khokharan
*Pindi Khokharan SIALKOT Punjab, Pakistan
*Mari Khokharan Gujarat District
*Mohalla Khokharan, Khanpur, Dist. Rahim Yaar Khan,
*Rindheer Khokharan Gujrat,
*Khokharan Wala Outside Dehli Gate Multan
*Khokharan Bahawalnager Qalandar Pufr. Punjab, Pakistan

India
* Khokharain in Hoshiarpur Punjab India. Ibetson records cquote|'The traditional history of the Khokhars * By a Khokhar of Khokharain, in the Hoshiarpur district, Punjab. [ A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West provinces, compiled by H A Rose, vol II Page 540 ]
*Khokharain in Kapurthala Punjab India

Contemporary

Khukrein Hindu/Sikh or Muslim are by and large an urbanised highly educated and economically well off community. Khukreins in India and Pakistan have excelled in almost all spheres including business, politics, arts, military, and in the field of sciences as well as in the Judiciary and law.

Famous Khukrain personalities include:

*Dr Manmohan Singh (Kohli clan)-Prime Minister of India.
* [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Navy-Chiefs/Chiefs-Navy09.html Admiral S.N Kohli, ex Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy]
*Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal, former Chief Justice of India
*Dr. Justice A.S. Anand, former Chief Justice of India
*Birbal Sahni, the founder of palaeobotanical research in India,
*Ruchi Ram Sahni, pioneer of science popularisation in Punjab
*Geet Sethi, six time World Billiards Champion;
*Mulk Raj Anand, English writer, most famous for the novels "Untouchable" and "Coolie");
*Narinder Kohli, Hindi writer famous for "Abhigyan" and "Krish.Katha;"
*Bhisham Sahni, writer, recipient of the Sahitya Academy Award and the Padmashri. His works include "Amritsar Aa Gaya" and "Tamas." Brother of Balraj Sahni.
*Balraj Sahni, stage and film actor, brother of Bhisham Sahni.
*Gurinder Chadha, UK-based film-maker whose "oeuvre" includes "Bend it like Beckham" and "Bride and Prejudice"
*Najam Sethi, eminent Pakistani Journalist
*Jaswinder Singh Chadha, Research scientist and author/poet of The Sikh Gurus
*Dayaram Sahni, ASI's first Indian Director-General who discovered Harappa
*Keshav Malik, poet and critic
*Kapila Vatsyayan, founding director of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
*Dhanchand Kohli: architect who rebuilt eight Gates of the city of Bhera
*Sohan Lal Suri (Maharaja Ranjit Singhs Court Historian), 'Umdat ut-Twarikh
*Gaurav Bhasin: software Engineer by profession, President awarded in 1995 for Social Service
*Natasha Suri, Miss India World 2006
*Karun Chandhok, auto racer
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurbux_Singh Gurbux Singh Kohli, Olympic gold medallist in field hockey 1964, Captain of Indian Hockey team]

See also

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=1QmrSwFYe60C&pg=RA4-PA514&lpg=RA4-PA514&dq=krukhak&source=web&ots=qJ14aZjg95&sig=mqkKIP9QA3hgtIWpp6ZyssJJ_5U Ref 1 from Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province By H.A. Rose]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=1QmrSwFYe60C&pg=RA4-PA514&lpg=RA4-PA514&dq=krukhak&source=web&ots=qJ14aZjg95&sig=mqkKIP9QA3hgtIWpp6ZyssJJ_5U#PPA123,M1 Ref 2 from Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province By H.A. Rose]
*Caste
*Suri (Pashtun)
*Forward Caste
*Hinduism in Punjab
*Khatri
*Sethi
*Arora
*Bhatia
*Sood

References