Paliwal

Paliwal is a surname in India originating from Pali. Pali, a commercial and trade center, is located in the state of Rajasthan. Although the inhabitants practiced many religions and belonged to different Hindu castes, most of them were Rajputs and Brahmins. A number of inhabitants practiced Jainism, and called themselves Digamber Paliwal Jains. Typical surnames for them included Lodaya, and Khedikar.Some Europeans also migrated to this area, and under the British Raj, converted a small portion of Hindu Brahmins to Christianity.

Etymology and use

The origin of the surname Paliwal is Pali+wal(e) (a person from Pali). Most of the inhabitants of Pali are called Paliwals. Pali is a district in the princely state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is revered and praised around India for upholding the values of chaste, purity, and religion. As an example of these values, when the Mughals invaded Rajasthan, the women of the palace and town jumped in a collective fire in order to avoid rape and humiliation, unlike other states which succumbed to this fate. It is believed that people from Pali migrated to different places during the same Mughal period. Paliwal Brahmins are also found in Kumaon (Uttarakhand), Agra, Shikohabad, Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh),Indore, and Hoshangabad in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Many are found around the world today.

Origins

The exact origins of the surname are unknown, but there are two major theories:

The first theory suggests that Pali was a small kingdom in the Thar desert of India, which the inhabitants turned into an oasis. At some point in the 13th century, in response to what they viewed as tyrannical behavior by the King of Pali, they migrated to the area of Kuldhara in the state currently known as Jaisalmer. Their origin was identified by the appellation Paliwal. It is said that each new Paliwal family was welcomed into the 84 villages around Kuldhara with a brick and a gold coin from every other family in the village. The brick was used in building of a house and the gold was used to start a business or a farm. As the community's prosperity was rebuilt, it became the target of Mughal invasions. In the 18th century, there is said to have been a raid which resulted in the poisoning of their wells from animal carcasses, resulting in this Brahmin migration of community from the Kuldhara area.

Some Paliwal clans are also Rajputs. The Rajput community of Paliwals migrated to eastern and western UP. In the Azamgarh and Ambedkar Nagar districts of eastern UP, Paliwal Rajput villages are spread in an area of 42 kosi. There are a number of villages situated in this area, historically belonging to Paliwal Rajputs. Ahirauli Rani Mau is one of the main villages situated in Ambedkar Nagar district of Paliwal Rajputs. As per Shri Hawaldar Singh, the retired principle of the same village, during his days, the King of Pali used to send his representative to these area to be in touch with his people. Some of these families later migrated to north Bihar and the Gorakhpur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

In Norther Bihar, Paliwal rajputs have five villages in Gopalganj District(North Bihar). The Paliwal rajputs coming from these five villages are supposedly renowned for their royal lineage, bravery, and political and social power. Five villages comprises Sasamusa, Rampur, Dauda, Rampur Uchkagaon and Paharpur.

Paliwal rajputs are said to have a strong influence in politics in eastern Uttar Pradesh and northern Bihar. One such example of political and social influence is Late Yamuna Prasad Singh. He was a landlord, and the claim is that he developed the Sasamusa town by constructing a market for farmers and helped an industrialist to establish a sugar mill in Sasamusa.

Paliwals, specifically Paliwal Rajputs, claim themselves to be the descendants of pandavas, and belong to the Vyagrapath clan. They say their origin is from Chandrawansh and their ancestors being the King Bharat and pandavas some rajputs mentioned themselves as Bharatvanshi. Palwal Rajputs may have been great fighters during their own times, even though there are no historical records available on them being associated directly with any of the wars. Some of them claim that, they were historically traders who used to carry gold, and that could be the major reason why they migrated from one place to another.

There is so little information about the Kuldevi and Kuldevata of Palwar rajputs and different theories are propagated around this. One claim is that they belong to "Vyaghra Gotra" and they traditionally worship "Devata Nag". While some others traditionally worship Shri Krishna, and they claim that Krishna is from the same vansh and his lineage was later on attributed to the yadavas. A third group believes that their clan belongs to Lord Shiva and they are also spiritual in terms of Brahmin Seva and the faith in Nag. Some Paliwal Rajputs in UP pray to Goddess "Kali Mata" and "Elephant" before every good and bad situations.

There are some historical texts about the history of Paliwal housed in the royal library of Mewar (a private library belonging to the royal family of Udaipur) at Udaipur.

An alternate theory related to the origins of Paliwals suggests that in Pali Rajasthan the Palwal rajputs are basically Solanki Rajputs, while some say that they belongs to Pandavas, while some others say that they are Tomar Rajputs.

The explanation of the Solanki ancestry of Paliwals is as follows. As the Solanki Rajputs dynasty vanished after 1100 BC and Wadhelas of Gujrat carried this dynasty's lineage. This group was known after Raja Pal (last King of Solanki Dynasty) Whose 4th Grand father was Raja Vyahgradeo. Thus they started writing the "Vyhaghra Gotra" as their dynasty.

Most of the stories about the group's history and lineage are anecdotal, and not based on written records.

Some of the members of the Paliwal caste are said to have migrated around 1825 and moved to parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. In Madhya Pradesh, the Paliwal Samaj is mostly found in Khandwa, Badwani and Indore. In Gujarat, the Paliwal Samaj is mostly situated in Rajkot and Bhavnagar. In Maharashtra, the Paliwal Samaj is mostly situated in Jalgaon, Nagpur, Nashik and Bhandara. In these areas, the Paliwal Samaj is divided in to further sub-castes such as Paliwal Brahmin, (Dasa paliwal Brahmin and Visa Paliwal Brahmin), Paliwal Wani, Paliwal Jains etc. The Paliwal Jains are mostly situated in Nagpur, Nashik,and Bhandara in Maharashtra.

The Paliwal Brahmins are a prosperous side in comparisons to other communities, in the later 19th century they were among the major trading communities of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. One such Garg gotra descendants moved to Badli(now in Delhi) under Dalchand paliwal, and were holding 15 villages. These villages are now supposedly under Raj Kumar Paliwal.

The Paliwals are major land owners in Rajasthan. There are also traders and industrialists from this community.