Alreja

Infobox caste
caste_name=Alreja
classification=Kshatriya - Arora
subdivisions= None
populated_states=Punjab (India), Haryana, Delhi, Sindh
languages=Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu
religions=Hinduism and Sikhism

Alreja (also Alrenja, Alrenga or Aneja) is an ancient and noble Arora clan from Punjab and Sindh. It is part of the Kshatriya caste, which is one of the four Hindu varnas. The Kshatriya were assigned to protecting the Hindu Dharma.

Origin

The clan originally hails from the town of "Aror" or Alor in the province of Sindh in Pakistan. The word "Arora" itself is derived from Aror, which is the place of origin for all Arora clans.

Migration from Aror

A part of the Alreja clan, over the course of time, migrated from Aror and travelled northwards along the course of the Indus river, passing through northern Sindh and southwestern Punjab. They went to places such as Shikarpur, Sukkur, Mithankot, Rajanpur, Umarkot, Chacharan, Multan and the neighboring towns and villages on the banks of the Indus.

The arrival of Islam

After the arrival of Islam in Sindh and adjacent Punjab, Mithankot and adjacent areas gradually became dominated by Muslims; hence, members of the Alreja clan and associated families continued to migrate individually or in small groups to other parts of the Punjab and India, and many of them lost contact with their relatives in the original lands. Some other members were probably converted to Islam and changed their family name.

After the Partition

After the Partition of India in 1947, they migrated en masse to India and were dispersed to various towns of East Punjab (comprising of today's Punjab (India), Haryana and Himachal Pradesh), Rajasthan and Delhi.

Alrejas today

Alrejas have further dispersed to different parts of India, and some of them have migrated to the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Either due to personal choice or due to bureaucratic errors, some members have changed the family name to Aneja, Alrenja and Alrenga.

Religion

Alrejas are Hindus as well as Sikhs.

See also

*Caste
*Punjabi people
*Sikhs
*Hinduism in Punjab
*Sikhism
*Khatri
*Arora
*Bhatia
*Sood
*List of Khatri last names
*List of Arora last names