Majhail

Majhail is a Jat gotra or clan of Jats belonging to the Majha region^[1]. Moreover, the designation Majhail is also associated with Jat people who can trace their lineage to the Majha region of the North Indian state of Punjab who are mainly Sikhs.

Origin

The Majhail Jats are the descendants of "Kathians" who were known for their highest reputation for courage, skill and honour in the art of war and whose legend goes back to the time of Pauravas in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.^[2] The "Kathians" or "Cathaeans" or "Kath" Jats were known to be daring, brave and courageous and their capital was a city of Sankala/Sangala during Mahabharata period which is currently known as Sialkot.

"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." ^[2]

The "Majhails are the stout-hearted inhabitants of the Majha belt dominated by Sikhs, whose forefathers had borne the brunt of every foreign invasion from the north-west, losing courage against the indiscriminate killings." ^[3] 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 or ranches.^[4]

Majhails & the Sikh history

The forefathers of the modern Majhail Jats are known to be the back-bone of the Sikh people referred by Greek writers. These brave and fearless people fought many battles during the formation of Sikhism and were known for their fighting skills and bravery in the Sikh history.

"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 5 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." ^[2]

Majhail

Here are some famous Majhails:-

• Bhai Kala Singh Majhail, one of the great forty 'Chali Mukte' who sacrificed their lives for the Guru fighting a huge Mughal army in the Battle of Khidrana now known as Mukatsar
• Jagga Jatt
• Bhai Bidhi Chand Chhina Majhail
• Mai Bhago,the great martial Majhail warrior who fought for the Guru and motivated the great 'Chali Mukte' to fight and sacrifice for the Guru and finally served as Guru's bodyguard in Male attire.
• Sardar Ishar Singh Majhail, Former Minister, Punjab and Veteran Freedom Fighter
• Sardar Dhian Singh Majhail, Veteran Freedom Fighter and Former Regional Congress President
• Sardar Harpartap Singh Majhail, Former Chairman, Milkfed, Punjab
• Dr. Harjinder Singh Majhail, famous writer-poet-educationist-Journalist (former Director Education, Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar), prestigious Rashtryia Vidhyia Sarswati Award recipient and Bhai Vir Singh Award recipient.
• Jathedar Mohan Singh Nagoke.
• Sardar Bishan Singh Samundari, Founder Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
• Dr. Navneet S. Majhail,renowned Hematologist, Minnesota
• Dr. Amardeep Majhail, famous Geriatric Medicine Physician, Arizona

References

1. ^ The Jat People & Dhillons in History - "Know Thy Roots" by Dr Amarjit Singh Dhillon
2. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.sikhcoalition.org/Sikhism15.asp Sikh History, The Sikh Raj by Sirdar Kapur Singh
3. ^ http://news.oneindia.in/2006/06/14/the-bloody-history-of-punjabs-new-district-1150274083.html The bloody history of Punjab's new district
4. ^ [1]