Muslim Rajputs

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Muslim Rajputs
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Rajputs and other Indo-Aryan peoples

Muslim Rajputs or Musalman Rajpoots are the descendants of Rajputs in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who generally are followers of Islam. [1] They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period onwards, creating various dynasties and states while retaining Hindu surnames such as Chauhan. [2] [3] [4] Today, Muslim Rajputs can be found mostly in present-day Northern India and Pakistan. [5] They are further divided into different clans. [6]

Contents

History

The term Rajput is traditionally applied to the original Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi and Agnivanshi clans, who claimed to be Kshatriya in the Hindu varna system.[ citation needed ]

Conversion to Islam and ethos

Upon their conversion from Hinduism to Islam, many Muslim Rajputs maintained many of their Hindu customs, and hence retained their Cultural Hindu identity. [2] Muslim Rajputs also often retained common social practices, such as purdah (seclusion of women), with Hindu Rajputs. [5]

Despite the difference in religious faith, where the question has arisen of common Rajput honour, there have been instances where both Muslim and Hindu Rajputs have united together against threats from external ethnic groups. [7] [ weasel words ]

There are recorded instances of recent conversions of Rajputs to Islam in Western Uttar Pradesh, Khurja tahsil of Bulandshahr. [8]

Muslim Rajput dynasties

Kharagpur Raj

The Kharagpur Raj was a Muslim Kindwar Rajput chieftaincy in modern-day Munger district of Bihar. [9] [10] Raja Sangram Singh led a rebellion against the Mughal authorities and was subsequently defeated and executed. His son, Toral Mal, was made to convert to Islam and renamed as Roz Afzun. Roz Afzun was a loyal Commander to the Emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan and Jahangir referred to him as his "favourite" commander in the empire. [11] Another prominent chieftain of this dynasty was Tahawar Singh who played an active role in the Mughal expedition against the nearby Cheros of Palamu. [12]

Khanzada dynasty

Mewat was a kingdom in Rajputana with its capital at Alwar ruled by a Khanzada Mewati Rajput dynasty during the period of the Delhi Sultanate in India. Raja Hassan Khan Mewati was represented the Meo Khanzada in Battle of Khanwa. [13] Mewat was covered over a wide area, it included Hathin tehsil, Nuh district, Tijara, Gurgaon, Kishangarh Bas, Ramgarh, Laxmangarh Tehsils Aravalli Range in Alwar district and Pahari, Nagar, Kaman tehsils in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan and also some part of Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh. The last ruler of Mewat, Hasan Khan Mewati was killed in the battle of Khanwa against the Mughal emperor Babur. The Meo Khanzadas were descended from Hindu Yadu Rajputs. [14] [13] [6]

Lalkhani Nawabs

Muhammad Said Khan, the Nawab or Chhatri and a Lalkhani Rajput MuhammadSaidKhan.jpg
Muhammad Said Khan, the Nawab or Chhatri and a Lalkhani Rajput

The Lalkhanis are a Muslim Rajput community and a sub-clan of the Bargujars. They were the Nawabs of various estates in Western Uttar Pradesh. These included Chhatari and neighbouring regions including parts of Aligarh and Bulandshahr. [15]

Qaimkhanis of Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu

The Qaimkhanis were a Muslim Rajput dynasty who were notable for ruling the Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu region in Rajasthan from the 1300s to the 1700s. [16] [17] They were descended from Hindu Chauhan Rajputs, though as also stated by the historian Dirk Kolff the Qaimkhani have Turkic origins. [18]

Mayi chiefs

The Mayi clan were the chieftains of the Narhat-Samai (Hisua) chieftaincy in modern-day Nawada district in South Bihar. The founder of the Mayi clan was Nuraon Khan who arrived in Bihar in the 17th century. His descendants were Azmeri and Deyanut who were granted zamindari rights over six parganas by the Mughal authorities. Deyanut's son was Kamgar Khan who expanded his land by attacking and plundering neighbouring zamindars. Kamgar Khan also led numerous revolts against the Mughals and attempted to assert the Mayi's independence. His descendant was Iqbal Ali Khan who took part in the 1781 revolt in Bihar against the British however his revolt failed and Mayi's lost much of their land. [19]

Bengal

Rajput communities began settling in Bengal during the Sultanate period where they were given high ranks in the Bengal government. One notable example is of Bhagirath of Ayodhya, who belonged to the Hindu Bais clan, who was appointed as the Dewan of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah.[ citation needed ] His son, Kalidas Gajdani embraced Sunni Islam through the guidance of Ibrahim Danishmand and became known as Sulaiman Khan. Bhagirath's grandson, Isa Khan, grew to become the chief of Bengal's Baro-Bhuiyan confederacy which posed as a threat to the Mughals who wanted to conquer Bengal. [20] The diwans of Mymensingh and Dhaka during the 19th-century were said to be the descendants of Muslim Rajputs. [21]

Another Bengali Rajput community are the Ghosi, who can predominantly be found in the 24 Parganas and Midnapore districts, particularly near the towns of Barrackpur and Kharagpur. They migrated to Bengal from Kanpur five centuries ago and are descended from Amar Singh Rathore, a Rajput nobleman from Jhansi who converted to Islam. They are divided into several clans; Rathore, Dogar, Chauhan, Khelari, Tatar, Lehar, Nahar and Maidul. [22]

Demographics

British Punjab

In the Punjab province of British India, comprising Punjab and some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in modern Pakistan as well Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and some parts of Himachal Pradesh in modern India, in 1921, 70.7% of the Punjabi Rajputs were Muslims while 27.7% were Hindus, with the highest percentage of Rajputs found in Rawalpindi, with 21%. [23]

Pakistan Punjab

In Pakistan's Punjab province, the Rajputs are dominant in the Potohar plateau through its politics and military. [24]

As per the 2017 Pakistan census, Rajputs numbered around 5% of Lahore's population, their population amounting to some 550,000 individuals out of Lahore's total population of around 11 million. [25]

Uttar Pradesh

In India's Uttar Pradesh, many Rajput communities have embraced Islam, such as the Bais or the Gautam, the Gautamanas or Gautam Thakurs as they like to call themselves being the largest such group in the Fatehpur district, where they number around 100,000. [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alwar</span> City in Rajasthan, India

Alwar is a city located in India's National Capital Region (NCR) and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur.Its was ruled by Gurjars in past.

Rajput, also called Thakur, is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Rajput covers various patrilineal clans historically associated with warriorhood: several clans claim Rajput status, although not all claims are universally accepted. According to modern scholars, almost all Rajput clans originated from peasant or pastoral communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mewat</span> Historical and cultural region in northwestern India

Mewat is a historical and cultural region which encompasses parts of the modern-day states of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in northwestern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meo (ethnic group)</span> Indian Muslim ethnic group from Mewat

Meo are a Muslim ethnic group originating from the Mewat region of north-western India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan</span> Mughal court poet and minister (1556–1627)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurgaon district</span> District in Haryana, India

Gurgaon district, officially known as Gurugram district, is one of the 22 districts of Haryana in northern India. The city of Gurgaon is the administrative headquarters of the district. The population is 1,514,432. It is one of the southern districts of Haryana. On its north, it is bounded by the district of Jhajjar and the Union Territory of Delhi. Faridabad district lies to its east. To its south lie the districts of Palwal and Nuh. To the west lies Rewari district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bihari Muslims</span> Adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Biharis

Bihari Muslims are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Biharis. They are geographically native to the region comprising the Bihar state of India, although there are significantly large communities of Bihari Muslims living elsewhere in the subcontinent due to the Partition of British India in 1947, which prompted the community to migrate en masse from Bihar to the dominion of Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Rajasthan</span> Brief history of the Indian state of Rajasthan

The history of human settlement in the western Indian state of Rajasthan dates back to about 100,000 years ago. Around 5000 to 2000 BCE many regions of Rajasthan belonged as the site of the Indus Valley Civilization. Kalibangan is the main Indus site of Rajasthan, here fire altars have been discovered, similar to those found at Lothal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hasan Khan Mewati</span> Muslim Khanzada Rajput ruler of Mewat from 1504 to 1527

Raja Hasan Khan Mewati was a Muslim Khanzada Rajput ruler of Mewat. The son of previous ruler Raja Alawal Khan, his dynasty had ruled Mewat State for nearly 200 years. He was a descendant of Raja Nahar Khan Mewati, who was the Wali of Mewat in 14th century.

The Khanzada or Khan Zadeh are a cluster community of Muslim Rajputs found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. A notable community is the Khanzadas of Mewat, the descendants of Raja Nahar Khan, who are a sub-clan of Jadaun. They refer to themselves as Muslim Rajputs. After the Partition of India in 1947, many members of this community migrated to Pakistan, forming a part of the Muhajir community.

Raja Bahadur Nahar Khan was the ruler of Mewat and the progenitor of Khanzada Rajput clan who were themselves a sub-clan of Jadaun Rajputs. His original name was Sambhar Pal. He and his brother Sopar Pal embraced Islam during the era of Firuz Shah Tughlaq. He was also known as Wali-e-Mewat Raja Bahadur Nahar Khan

The Mewat State was a sovereign kingdom ruled by the Khanzadas of Mewat. They were a ruling dynasty of Muslim Rajputs from Rajputana who had their capital at Alwar. The Khanzadas were Muslim Rajputs who descended from Raja Sonpar Pal who was a Rajput who converted to Islam during the period of the Delhi Sultanate in India.

Kinwar is a clan whose members belong to the Rajput caste. the kinwar members principally reside in the states of Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. A particularly large population of Kinwar Rajput can be found in Ghazipur district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kharagpur Raj</span>

Kharagpur Raj was a prominent chieftaincy, founded in the early 16th century in Bihar situated mainly in modern-day Munger district. They were notable for being one of the few chieftaincies in Bihar to convert to Islam and many of the rulers became firm allies of the Mughal authorities. At its peak, the Kharagpur Raj encompassed parts of the modern-day districts of Munger, Bhagalpur, Jamui, Lakhisarai, Godda and Deoghar. Due to its size, the Privy Council compared it with the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Gaur also known as "Gour" is a Hindu Rajput clan of India. They have ancient ancestry and find mention by James Tod as one of 36 royal races in his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan The Gaur Rajputs once held a prominent position in Ajmer till the time of Prithviraj Chauhan. Gorwar region gets its name from this clan. In later years they lost the territories ruled by them. In 15th century, they fought at least 13 battles with Shekhawats were defeated and were reduced to feudetory or jagirdars in Shekhawati region. The Rajgarh territory was one of the last bastion of Gaur Rajputs during the times of Mughal Emperors, Humayun and Akber, which was lost to Kishan Singh in 17th century. Gaur Rajputs remained allies to Mughal till the time of Aurangzeb, whose political decisions, alienated Rathods, Sisodias, Hadas and Gaur Rajput from Mughals.

Bhatti is a Punjabi and a Sindhi caste of Rajputs. and Jats. The name Bhatti is a Punjabi form of Bhati, and they along with Bhuttos and Bhatias claim to have originated from the Hindu Bhati Rajputs. The Bhati/Bhatti Rajputs, are descended from a common ancestor, Rao Bhatti, a 3rd-century Hindu monarch.

Puran Mal was king of Gidhaur in the 16th century. He was contemporary of Mughal Emperor Akbar. According to legend, he restored Baidyanath Temple of Deoghar.

Raja Sangram Singh was ruler of Kharagpur Raj in the 16th century. He was a contemporary of Akbar. Sangram Singh initially was allegiance to Akbar, but during the reign of Jahangir, he declared himself independence and was killed during battle with Mughal forces due to assassination. After his death, his son Toral Mal converting to Islam, changed his name to Roz Afzun, became loyal of Mughal and deployed as king of Kharagpur by Jahangir.

The term "Ranghad" is commonly associated with individuals of Rajput descent residing in the regions of Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. While a significant portion of individuals bearing this surname adhere to the Muslim faith, there also exists a considerable Hindu population among the Ranghad community in Haryana. Following the partition of India in 1947, many Muslim members of the Ranghad community migrated to Pakistan, primarily settling in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh.

References

  1. ↑ "UNHCR Refugee Review Tribunal. IND32856, 6 February 2008" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 Singhal, Damodar P. (1972). Pakistan. Prentice Hall. p. 17. ISBN   978-0-13-648477-6. Large communities converted to Islam from among Hindus carried with them Hindu customs and usages, and often passed them on to other Muslims. Many Rajput converts even retained their family names, such as Chauhan and Rajput.
  3. ↑ Singh, Yogendra (1973). Modernization of Indian Tradition. Oriental Press. p. 74. The next in status are a few higher caste Hindu converts to Islam, particularly the Rajputs
  4. ↑ Cambridge South Asian Studies, Issue 16. 1965. p. 24. ISBN   978-0-521-20432-3. The latter may be subdivided into three distinct groups: converts from Hindu high castes such as Muslim Rajputs, converts from clean occupational castes such as Julahas and Qassabs, and converts from unclean occupational castes such as Bhangis and Chamars.
  5. 1 2 "Rajput". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  6. 1 2 توصیف الحسن میواتی الہندی (23 August 2020). تاریخِ میو اور داستانِ میوات.
  7. ↑ Self and sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850 by Ayesha Jalal, Routledge 2000, p480, p481
  8. ↑ Muslim Women by Zakia A. Siddiqi, Anwar Jahan Zuberi, Aligarh Muslim University, India University Grants, M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1993, p93
  9. ↑ Tahir Hussain Ansari (20 June 2019). Mughal Administration and the Zamindars of Bihar. Taylor & Francis. pp. 22–28. ISBN   978-1-000-65152-2.
  10. ↑ Yogendra P. Roy (1999). "Agrarian Reforms in "Sarkar" Munger under Raja Bahrox Singh (1631-76) Of Kharagpur". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 60: 287–292. JSTOR   44144095.
  11. ↑ Yogendra P. Roy (1993). "Raja Roz Afzun of Kharagpur (AD 1601 - 31". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 54: 357–358. JSTOR   44142975.
  12. ↑ Yogendra P. Roy (1992). "Tahawar Singh-A Muslim Raja of Kharagpur Raj (1676 - 1727)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 53: 333–334. JSTOR   44142804.
  13. 1 2 "Tareekh-e-Miyo Chhatri by Hakeem Abdush Shakoor". Rekhta. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  14. ↑ Bharadwaj, Suraj (2016). State Formation in Mewat Relationship of the Khanzadas with the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal State, and Other Regional Potentates. Oxford University Press. p. 11. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199462797.001.0001. ISBN   978-0-19-946279-7 . Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  15. ↑ Eric Stokes (1978). The Peasant and the Raj: Studies in Agrarian Society and Peasant Rebellion in Colonial India. CUP Archive. pp. 199–. ISBN   978-0-521-29770-7.
  16. ↑ Sunita Budhwar (1978). "The Qayamkhani Shaikhzada Family of Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 39: 412–425. JSTOR   44139379.
  17. ↑ Dr Dasharatha Sharma, Kyam Khan Raso, Ed. Dasharath Sharma, Agarchand Nahta, Rajsthan Puratatva Mandir, 1953, page-15
  18. ↑ Kolff, Dirk H. A. (2002). Naukar, Rajput, and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market of Hindustan, 1450-1850. Cambridge University Press. p. 57. ISBN   978-0-521-52305-9.
  19. ↑ Gyan Prakash (30 October 2003). Bonded Histories: Genealogies of Labor Servitude in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 87–89. ISBN   978-0-521-52658-6.
  20. ↑ Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin (2012). "Isa Khan". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN   984-32-0576-6. OCLC   52727562. OL   30677644M . Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  21. ↑ Eaton, Richard Maxwell (1993). "Bengal under the Sultans". The rise of Islam and the Bengal frontier, 1204-1760. University of California Press. p. 122. ISBN   978-0-520-20507-9.
  22. ↑ M. K. A. Siddiqui; Institute of Objective Studies (New Delhi, India) (2004). Marginal Muslim communities in India. Institute of Objective Studies. pp. 295–305. ISBN   978-81-85220-58-1 . Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  23. ↑ Sharma, Subash Chander (1987). Punjab, the Crucial Decade. New Delhi: Nirmal Publishers & Distributors. p. 105. ISBN   978-81-7156-173-5.
  24. ↑ Arshad, Sameer (7 May 2013). "Caste plays dominant role in Pak elections". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Rajputs are dominant in northern Punjab, where Abbasi's constituency is located, followed by Jats in central and Balochs in the province's south.
  25. ↑ "District Profile". District Lahore - Government of Punjab . Archived from the original on 27 November 2023.
  26. ↑ Sethi, Atul (8 July 2007). "The Muslim Rajputs of UP". The Times of India . Retrieved 27 January 2024.
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