Dhund Abbasi

The Dhund Abbasi are a tribe of northern Pakistan. The tribe claims descent from Dhond Khan (a nickname of Shah Wali Khan) and ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and hence are known as Dhund Abbasi.^[1] The tribe speak the Dhundi-Kairali dialect.^[2] The tribe is spread throughout Circle Bakote, Poonch District, Bagh, Kashmir, and the Murree Hills area.

Origin of the Dhund Abbasi

The Dhund Abbasi came to ancient Pakistan from Egypt, as traders and merchants in commodities like fabrics, perfumes and diamonds. Envoys and traders of the Abbasids came to Taxila, ancient Pakistan, where they constructed a mosque and started preaching Islam by the order of Caliph Harun al-Rashid around 844 CE. An Abbasi scholar, Abu Fadhal, taught a Kashmiri King Onti Vermon in 882, and he translated the Quran into Hindi. This was the first translation of the Quran into an Indian language. In 1025 CE, Raja Mall of Jhelum, embraced Islam by Mahmud Ghazni and constructed a fort at Malot, Malpur near Islamabad in present day Pakistan administered Kashmir. He died in Jhelum.

They established a colony near Delhi in 1232. Sardar Tolak Khan, who came to Kashmir during the reign of King Zain-ul-Abidin (1423 to 1474), settled in the Poonch area (now the Bagh District of Azad Kashmir).

Although the tribe traces its roots back to Abbas, it is more likely that the Dhund Abbasi people are descended from the Abbasid dynasty. The descendants of Abbas displaced the Umayyad rulers and were known as the Abbasids. This dynasty governed for 500 years from Baghdad, Iraq. The rule of the Abbasi extended eastwards across Afghanistan into the South Asian subcontinent, covering the eastern part of modern-day Pakistan.

Extent of Abbasid rule

The Dhund Abbasi claim descent from the Abbasids. An Abbasid general, Zurrab Khan, was given the task to subjugate the king of Kashmir who refused to pay tribute to Afghanistan. He invaded Kashmir and overthrew the king and married the daughter of the new king. He remained as an ambassador to the state and lived at Darab Kot at Kahuta. His son, Akbar Ghae Khan, is the forefather of all Abbasi tribes, including the Dhond in Murree, Hazara division and Kashmir. Most of the tribe live in the North-West Frontier Province, Murree, Islamabad.

In 1021, the mountains were governed by Gakhars who the Dhond Abbasi in the Delhi Area. The Dhond Abbasis had settled in the area since an ancestor Poro Khan arrived in 880 CE. Noh Khan was his son born in 900 CE. In 968, Karlal chief, Galler Khan, came to Circle Bakote from south Afghanistan. Dhond Chief Sardar Taeq or Taif Khan met with Sabuktagin, the father of Mehmood Ghaznawi at Kabul in 975 CE and joined his army. This alliance continued.

History

In the book A Glossary of The Tribes & Castes of The Punjab & North-West Frontier Province, published in 1911 the Dhund and other tribes were described as follows:

“ the Dhúnd with the Satti and Ketwal occupy nearly the whole of Murree and Hazára Hills on the right bank of the Jhelum in the Házara and Ráwalpindi districts. Of the three the Dhúnd are the most northern, being found in the Abbottábád tahsil of Házara and in the northern tracts of Ráwalpindi, while below them come the Satti. Andwál appear to be one of the Dhund clans. They claim to be descendants of Abbás, the paternal uncle of the Prophet; but another tradition that their ancestor Takth Khán came with Taimúr to Delhi where he settled; and that his descendant Zoráb Khán went to Kahúta in the time of Sháh Jahán and beget the ancestors of the Jadwál, Dhánd, Sarrára and Tanáoli tribes. His son Khalára or Kalu Rai was sent to Kashmír and married a Kashmíri woman from whom the Dhúnd are sprung and also a Katwál woman. From another son the Satti, who are the bitter enemies of the Dhúnd, are said to have sprung; but this the Satti deny and claim descent from Nausherwán. These traditions are of course absurd. Kalu Rai is a Hindu name and one tradition makes him brought up by a Brahmin. Colonel Wace wrote of the Dhúnd and Karrál:" Thirty years ago their acquaintance with the Muhammadan faith was still slight, and now though they know more of it and are more careful to observe it, relics of their Hindu faith are still observable in their habits". This much appears certain that the Dhúnd, Satti, Bib, Chibh and many others are all of Hindu origin, all originally occupants of the hills on this part of the Jhelum, and all are most probably connected. Among the Punwár clans mentioned by Tod and supposed to be extinct by him are the Dhoonda, Soruteah, Bheeba, Dhúnd, Jeebra, and Dhoonta; and it is not impossible that these tribes may be of Punwár clans. The history of these clans is given at page 592 ff of Sir Lepel Griffin's, Punjáb Chiefs. They were almost exterminated by the Sikhs in 1837

However, the local traditions and genealogical records which are more authentic than Col Wace's traditions indicate that the Dhund Abbasi clan descend from Abbas ibne Mutlab. Sir Lepel Griffin's, Punjáb Chiefs estimation does not qualify the historical facts of tribes in Indian subcontinent. Colonial Masters had their own priorities to rule. Distortion of history, Misleading salved nations and falsifying the truth was their only tool to keep these nations from uprising.

Around 1640, an uncle and his nephew settled across the Jhelum River from the Kahuta district Punjab to Poonch Kashmir. They settled in Kharal, a village at the north east of Bagh town, and brought their families to live with them. Both uncle and nephew divided the village and built their farms and cultivated wheat. Wheat was not suitable for the climate so they grew maize too. Wheat was abandoned because the maize crop was delayed. Kharal covers an area of 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) with small streams and mountainous terrain all around. In 2005, many lives were lost to an earthquake. The estimated population in 1999 was seven thousand. Kharal Ghaiyalan (Abbasian) falls on the Ceasefire line or line of control (LOC).

Distribution

They are found in the Abbottabad District and Rawalpindi District,Murree Tehsil,dheerkot,chamyati,ghari doppatta (on main srinagar Muzaffarabad high way) salian, chirala sohawa, (azad Kashmir) although they are scattered in other parts of the Indian Subcontinent.^[3]

Notable people

• Muztar Abbasi, a Muslim scholar
• Sherbaz Khan, leader of the Dhund Abbasi tribe in the Hazara Region of colonial India during the time of the British Raj

Notes

1. ^ Marriage Among Muslims: Preference and Choice in Northern Pakistan By Hastings Donnan, ISBN 90-04-08416-9, 9789004084162
2. ^ Pahari-Potwari
3. ^ Mystique of Murree - Review

References

• Lepel H. Griffin (2004). The Punjab Chiefs. Sang-e-Meel Publications. ISBN 978-969-35-1658-6.
• Muhammad Qasim Firishta. Tareekh-e-Frisht. ISBN 0-548-76264-3.
• Denzil Ibbetson (1900). Punjab Castes. ISBN 978-81-85557-55-7.
• H.A. Rose, Printed (1910). A Glossary of Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province. ISBN 978-81-7536-448-6.
• George Abraham Grierson. Linguistic Survey Of India (Vol IV) or Linguistic Survey Of Pakistan Vol V.
• Shair Bahadur Khan Panni of Abbottabad (2006). Tareekh-e-Hazara New Edition. ISBN 969-516-136-7.