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The Muslim Gujjars or Musalmān Gujjars are the descendants of Gujjars in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period onwards.[1] Today, Muslim Gujjars can be found mostly in present-day Northern India and Pakistan. They are further divided into different clans.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 India,  Pakistan,  Afghanistan | |
| Languages | |
| Hindi, Urdu, Panjabi, Gujari, Pahari-Pothwari | |
| Religion | |
 Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Muslim Rajputs, Jat Muslim |
History
editMost Gujjars, along with Panjāb's other tribes such as Rājpūts, Jats, Gakhars and others, accepted Islam during the Delhi Sultanate era through Sufi missionaries.[2] There are several cities named after Gujars in Panjāb e.g., Gujrānwālā, Gujrāt, Gūjar Khān etc. Gujrat District is the strong-hold of the Gujars.[3] In the 9th century, the region was ruled by Alakhāna (Alkhān) of the Gujar kingdom. This may be the Alī Khān Gujar whom the Gujars of Gujrat hail as their elder and founder of Gujrat.[4] The area around Dera Ghazi Khan was once ruled by Mahmud Khan of the Khatana branch of Gujars from 1769 (according to some sources 1739[5]) till the assassination of his grandson Badkhurdar in 1779.
The Gujjars of KPK and Hazara region's conversion dates back to the same era. In the 16th century, Nuruddin, the son of the Ismaili heretic preacher Bayazid Ansari (commonly known as ‘Pir Roshan’ and for inventing the Pashto alphabet) and successor to his Roshani movement was killed by the Gujjars of Hashtnagar.[6] In the 19th century, a Gujjar Abd al-Ghafūr (commonly known as Akhund of Swāt) became the ruler of the Swat valley and the nearby areas. Being the most powerful figure in the region, he would later lead the local tribes against the British in the Ambela campaign. The city Saidu Sharif in Swat is named in his honour where his tomb is situated. His dynasty, with a slight intermission, would rule Swat (& some neighbouring districts of Buner, Dir, & Shangla) for almost a century. In 1947, their princely state was subsumed into Pakistan.[7] Where these Muslim Gujjars have many clans of including, Sardhana, Kohli, Mir, Rawat, Poswal, Kalas, Khatana, Chechi and Chauhan.[7]
Muslim Gujjar dynasties
editSangu dynasty
editThe Sangu are a clan of the Gujjar tribe found mainly in Kashmir. During the reign of Rustam Khan Rathore, Sami Mittha, a member of the Sangu clan, migrated from Muzaffarabad to Poonch and settled there. [8] His eldest son, Ruhullah, later found employment at the court of the Poonch Raja. Ruhullah rose through the ranks and became the Vizier to Raja Bahadur Khan of Poonch in the 1790s. After Bahadur Khanʼs assassination in 1797, Ruhullah appointed his son Amir Khan as Raja while he managed the affairs of the state as the de facto ruler. In 1814, Ranjit Singh asked Ruhullah for co-operation in his invasion of Kashmir but the Poonch Raja declined as his sympathies were with the Afghans. In July 1814, the Sikhs invaded Kashmir and advanced towards Poonch but were defeated at Tosa-Maidan Pass by Ruhullah Khan's forces and many of their men slain. Ranjit Singh was forced to flee back to Lahore with a few followers of his who survived.[9] Ruhullah Khan died in 1819. He was succeeded by his grandson Mir Baz Khan, who also opposed the Sikhs.[10]
Notable people
edit- Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, renowned Sufi poet of the 19th century[11]
References
edit- ^ Gandhi, Rajmohan. Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten.
- ^ Gandhi, Rajmohan. Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten.
- ^ "Census of India, 1911".
- ^ Ibbetson. "Panjab Castes".
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India.
- ^ Asiatick Researches; Or, Transactions. Vol. 11. Calcutta, India: Asiatic Society.
- ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India. 1908.
- ^ Narsingh Das, Nargis. Tarikh-e-Dogra.
- ^ History of the Punjab, and of the Rise, Progress & Present Condition of the Sect and Nation of the Sikhs.
- ^ Griffin, Lepel Henry. The Panjab Chiefs. p. 151.
- ^ "Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, a great Punjabi Sufi poet".
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