Muslim Rajputs

Muslim Rajputs
Regions with significant populations
 India and  Pakistan
Languages
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
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]

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

Main article: 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]

Samma dynasty

Main article: Samma dynasty
Makli Hill is one of the largest necropolises in the world.

In 1339 Jam Unar founded a Sindhi Muslim Rajput Samma dynasty[13] and challenged the Sultans of Delhi.

Khanzada dynasty

Main article: Khanzadas of Mewat

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.[14] 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.[15][14][6]

Lalkhani Nawabs

Muhammad Said Khan, the Nawab of 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.[16]

The Langah Sultanate was a kingdom which emerged after the decline of Delhi Sultanate in the Punjab region. The capital of the Sultanate was the city of Multan in south Punjab. The founding Langah tribe is said to have Muslim Rajput origin.[17][18]

Soomra dynasty

Main article: Soomra dynasty

After the decline of Habbari dynasty, the Abbasid Caliphate then appointed Al Khafif from Samarra; 'Soomro' means 'of Samarra' in Sindhi. The new governor of Sindh was to create a better, stronger and stable government. Once he became the governor, he allotted several key positions to his family and friends; thus Al-Khafif or Sardar Khafif Soomro formed the Soomro Dynasty in Sindh;[19] and became its first ruler. Until the Siege of Baghdad (1258) the Soomro dynasty was the Abbasid Caliphate's functionary in Sindh, but after that it became independent. The Soomros were first native Muslim dynasty in Sindh with probable Parmar Rajput origin.[20] Along with Rajput origins, the Soomros also claimed Arab ancestry.[21][22]

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.[23][24] They were descended from Hindu Chauhan Rajputs, though as also stated by the historian Dirk Kolff the Qaimkhani have Turkic origins.[25]

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.[26]

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.[27] The diwans of Mymensingh and Dhaka during the 19th-century were said to be the descendants of Muslim Rajputs.[28]

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.[29][need quotation to verify]

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%.[30]

Pakistan Punjab

In Pakistan's Punjab province, the Rajputs are dominant in the Potohar plateau through its politics and military.[31]

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.[32]

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.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ "UNHCR Refugee Review Tribunal. IND32856, 6 February 2008" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Rajput". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b 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. ^ U. M. Chokshi; M. R. Trivedi (1989). Gujarat State Gazetteer. Director, Government Print., Stationery and Publications, Gujarat State. p. 274. It was the conquest of Kutch by the Sindhi tribe of Sama Rajputs that marked the emergence of Kutch as a separate kingdom in the 14th century.
  14. ^ a b "Tareekh-e-Miyo Chhatri by Hakeem Abdush Shakoor". Rekhta. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Qanungo, Kalika Ranjan; Kānūnago, Kālikā Rañjana (1965). Sher Shah and His Times. Orient Longmans. p. 286. Under the shadow of Rajput Langah dynasty of Multan...
  18. ^ Kumar, Raj (2008). Encyclopaedia Of Untouchables : Ancient Medieval And Modern. Gyan Publishing House. p. 338. ISBN 978-81-7835-664-8. Meanwhile the Langah Rajputs had established themselves on the throne of Multan...
  19. ^ "Data" (PDF). www.uok.edu.pk.
  20. ^ Dani, Ahmad Hasan (2007). History of Pakistan: Pakistan through ages. Sang-e Meel Publications. p. 218. ISBN 978-969-35-2020-0. But as many kings of the dynasty bore Hindu names, it is almost certain that the Soomras were of local origin. Sometimes they are connected with Paramara Rajputs, but of this there is no definite proof.
  21. ^ Wink, André (2002). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries. BRILL. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-391-04173-8. The Sumras were a dynasty of local origin, later claiming to be Rajputs as well as Arabs, and are clearly distinguishable from the pastoral-nomadic Jats or Mids.
  22. ^ Siddiqui, Habibullah. "The Soomras of Sindh: their origin, main characteristics and rule – an overview (general survey) (1025 – 1351 AD)" (PDF). Literary Conference on Soomra Period in Sindh.
  23. ^ Sunita Budhwar (1978). "The Qayamkhani Shaikhzada Family of Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 39: 412–425. JSTOR 44139379.
  24. ^ Dr Dasharatha Sharma, Kyam Khan Raso, Ed. Dasharath Sharma, Agarchand Nahta, Rajsthan Puratatva Mandir, 1953, page-15
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ 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 13 January 2025.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ Sharma, Subash Chander (1987). Punjab, the Crucial Decade. New Delhi: Nirmal Publishers & Distributors. p. 105. ISBN 978-81-7156-173-5.
  31. ^ 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.
  32. ^ "District Profile". District Lahore - Government of Punjab. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023.
  33. ^ Sethi, Atul (8 July 2007). "The Muslim Rajputs of UP". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 January 2024.