Khokhar

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The Khokhar are people from the Punjab and uttar pradesh region. The Khokhars were designated as an agricultural tribe and are usually classified as Jaat and Rajput. The term agricultural tribe, according to the Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900, was at that time synonymous with martial race.[1]

History

Muhammad Ghori undertook many campaigns against the Khokhars in Punjab before he was killed by the Khokhars of the Salt Range in March 1206.[2]

In 1240 AD, Razia, daughter of Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, and her husband, Altunia, attempted to recapture the throne from her brother, Muizuddin Bahram Shah. She is reported to have led an army composed mostly of mercenaries from the Khokhar tribe of Punjab.[3][4]

From 1246 to 1247, Balban mounted an expedition as far as the Salt Range to chastise the Khokhars.[5] His objective for this last campaign was to subjugate the turbulent Khokhars of the Salt Range.[citation needed]

Although Lahore was reoccupied by Delhi,[when?], it remained in ruins for the next twenty years, being attacked multiple times by the Mongols and their Khokhar allies.[6] Around the same time, a Mongol commander named Hulechu occupied Lahore, and forged an alliance with Khokhar chief Raja Gulchand, the erstwhile ally of Muhammad's father.[7]

Jasrath Khokhar

Raja Jasrath Khokhar (sometimes Jasrat or Dashrath)[8] was the son of Shaikha Khokhar. He became leader of the Khokhars after the death of Tamerlane and after his escape from prison with the intent to take leadership.[clarification needed] He supported Shahi Khan in the war for control of Kashmir against Ali Shah and was rewarded for his victory. Later, he attempted to conquer Delhi, after the death of Khizr Khan. He succeeded only partially, while winning campaigns at Talwandi and Jullundur, he was hampered by seasonal rains in his attempt to take over Sirhind.[9]

Ethnicity

They originated in Central Asia. They were Huns, who rapidly attacked and influenced northern India. The Khokhars played a similar role with respect to northern India's empires as the barbarians (or the Huns) did for the Roman Empire.

Despite a degree of social uniformity, many different phenotypes may be found in the Khokhar population including blond-haired, blue-eyed Khokhars. Those with darker features and epicanthic folds are considered to be descendants of Khokhars and the Thakur and Rajput groups. Tall, olive-skinned, mustachioed tribesmen and those who combine these features are said to be descendants of the Jatt and Khokhar dynasties.

Modern era

In reference to the British Raj's recruitment policies in the Punjab, vis-à-vis the British Indian Army, Tan Tai Yong remarks: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

The choice of Muslims was not merely one of physical suitability. As in the case of the Sikhs, recruiting authorities showed a clear bias in favor of the dominant landowning tribes of the region, and recruitment of Punjabi Muslims was limited to those who belonged to tribes of high social standing or reputation - the "blood proud" and once politically dominant aristocracy of the tract. Consequently, socially dominant Muslim tribes such as the Gakkhars, Janjuas and Awans, and a few other Rajput tribes, concentrated in the Rawalpindi and Jhelum districts, ... accounted for more than ninety percent of Punjabi Muslim recruits.[10]

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

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