Khokhar
Khokhars are a well known Warrior (Martial) tribe. A Punjabi (Rajput/Jatt) Muslim community currently residing in adjoining areas of Pakistan and India. Khokhars are predominantly Muslims.[1] Khokhars gradually converted to Islam during the Delhi Sultanate period.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
•  Pakistan •
 India | |
| Languages | |
| • Urdu • Punjabi | |
| Religion | |
•  Islam 100% | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| • Gakhars • Khokhar Khanzada |
History
Muhammad Ghori undertook many campaigns against the Khokhars in Punjab before he was killed in the village of Dhamiak located in the Salt Range in March 1206.[2]
In 1240 CE, 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 Khokhars of Punjab.[3][4]
From 1246 to 1247, Balban mounted an expedition as far as the Salt Range to eliminate the Khokhars which he saw as a threat.[5]
Although Lahore was reoccupied by Delhi in 1251, 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 Gul Khokhar, the erstwhile ally of Muhammad's father.[7]
Jasrat Khokhar
Mustafa Jasrat Khokhar (sometimes Jasrath 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] Jasrat soon gained the rank of a General in the Timurid army and even married the daughter of Shahrukh Mirza. Later, he returned to Punjab. He supported Shahi Khan in the war for control of Kashmir against Ali Shah of Sayyid dynasty and was later 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]
Medieval and 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:
Consequently, socially dominant Muslim tribes such as the Khokhars, Gakkhars, Janjuas and Awans, and a few Rajput tribes, concentrated in the Rawalpindi and Jhelum districts, ... accounted for more than ninety percent of Punjabi Muslim recruits.[10]
In reference to the residence of Khokhars at their traditional seat, Salt Range in Potohar Plateau.
The history of this region (the Salt Range) from the thirteenth century onward had been a sickening record of wars between various dominant landowning and ruling clans of Punjabi Muslims including the Khokhars, Janjuas, Gakhars, Thathals and Bhattis for political ascendancy.[10]
See Also
- Shaikha Khokhar
- Jasrat Khokhar
- Gakhars (similar clan)
- Khokhar Khanzada
- Punjabi Muslims
- Tribes and clans of the Pothohar Plateau
- List of Punjabi tribes
References
Citations
- ^ Surinder Singh (30 September 2019). The Making of Medieval Panjab: Politics, Society and Culture c. 1000–c. 1500. Taylor & Francis. pp. 245–. ISBN 978-1-00-076068-2.
- ^ Singh (2000), p. 28
- ^ Syed (2004), p. 52
- ^ Bakshi (2003), p. 61
- ^ Basham & Rizvi (1987), p. 30
- ^ Chandra (2004), p. 66
- ^ Jackson (2003), p. 268
- ^ Pandey (1970), p. 223
- ^ Singh (1972), pp. 220–221
- ^ a b Yong (2005), p. 74
Bibliography
- Basham, Arthur Llewellyn; Rizvi, Saiyid Athar Abbas (1987) [1954], The Wonder that was India, vol. 2, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, ISBN 978-0-283-99458-6
- Chandra, Satish (2004), From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526), Har-Anand Publications, ISBN 9788124110645
- Jackson, Peter (2003), The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521543293, retrieved 18 August 2021
- Mazumder, Rajit K. (2003), The Indian army and the making of Punjab, Delhi: Permanent Black (dist. Orient Longman), ISBN 978-81-7824-059-6, retrieved 18 August 2021
- Pandey, Awadh Bihari (1970), Early medieval India (Third ed.), Central Book Depot
- Singh, Fauja (1972), History of the Punjab, vol. III, Patiala
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Singh, Nagendra Kumar (2000), International Encyclopaedia of Islamic Dynasties, Anmol Publications, ISBN 978-81-261-0403-1
- Syed, M. H. (2004), History of Delhi Sultanate, New Delhi: Anmol Publications, ISBN 978-81-261-1830-4
- Yong, Tan Tai (2005), The Garrison State: The Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849-1947, Sage Publications India, p. 74, ISBN 9780761933366