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Janjua
Janjua
Jāti	Rajput
Religions	Islam, Hinduism
Languages	Punjabi, Haryanvi
Country	Pakistan, India
Region	Punjab, Haryana
Ethnicity	Punjabi, Haryanvi
Migration to India	yes
Family names	yes

The Janjua or Janjhua is a Punjabi Rajput^[1]^[2] clan found predominantly in the Pothohar Plateau of Pakistani Punjab, but also in the states of Punjab and Haryana in India.^[3]

History and origin

Origin

The Janjuas had engaged in a long-running struggle for sovereignty over the Salt Range.^[4]

The history of this region (the Salt Range) from the thirteenth century onward had been a sickening record of wars between Janjua and Gakhars for political ascendancy.^[5]^[6]

Mughal period

In the 16th century, the Mughal Emperor Humayun was usurped by the Pashtun king Sher Shah Suri, who constructed the Rohtas Fort in Punjab to check Humayun's entry into Hindustan, and also to keep a check on the local tribes including Gakhars as well as Janjuas.^[7]^[8]^{[need quotation to verify]}

Sikh period

The expansion of the Sikh Empire, spearheaded by Ranjit Singh, was met with a rebellion by the Janjua Sultan of Watli, Sultan Fateh Muhammad Khan. A six-month siege of Kusuk Fort in Watli followed^[9] and this was ended when the inhabitants ran short of water.^[10] The Kala Khan branch of Rawalpindi Janjuas fortunes were also eclipsed by the rise of the Sikh Empire.^[11]

British period

By the time the British Raj took an interest in conquering the Sikhs in 1848–49, they were joined by opportunistic tribes such as the Janjua, Gakhars who had lost control of their centuries-old ancestral kingdoms to the imperial Sikh Empire and sought revenge. Tan Tai Yong says that "Besides being impressed with their track record, the British saw in them, with their traditional and historical enmity against the Sikhs, an effective counterpoise against the latter."^[12]

The Janjua rebellion against the Sikh Empire was a political rebellion, as the Janjua were initially keen allies to the Sukerchakia Misl.^[13]

During the nineteenth century, they were listed as a martial race.^[14] During this period, due to their high aristocratic status, the Janjuas refused to serve in any regiment that was not commanded by either a Janjua or another commander of equal social standing.^[14] This preference was honoured by the British when selecting regiments for them.^[14]

Notable people

Tikka Khan, Pakistan army general who served as the Military Governor of East Pakistan in 1971 and later became the first Chief of Army staff from 1972 to 1976, admired in Pakistan as the Victor of the Rann of Kutch
Asif Nawaz Janjua, Chief of staff for the Pakistan Army from 1991 till his poisoning and death in 1993
Iftikhar Janjua, major general of the Pakistan Army, fought and died in the Battle of Chamb
Amir Gulistan Janjua, brigadier general of the Pakistan Army, Governor of North West Frontier Province, Ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal, Saudi Arabia & United Arab Emirates.
Saif Ali Janjua, a Lance Naik Platoon Commander in the 1947 Indo-Pakistani War who inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and repulsed ventures on his post, posthumously awarded Nishan-e-Haider
Muhammad Hussain Janjua, Army Soldier who fought in the Zafarwal Sector of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, destroyed 16 Indian tanks on a reconnaissance mission or 20% of India's tank losses in the 1971 war and was posthumously awarded Nishan-e-Haider for highest Military Gallantry
Altaf Gauhar, intellectual and writer close to Pakistan's military dictator General Ayub Khan
Raja Muhammad Afzal Khan, Senator, he was elected more than multiple times as Member National Assembly of Pakistan from Jhelum.
Malik Iqbal Mehdi Khan, politician he was provincial minister of Punjab province & elected more than multiple times as Member National Assembly of Pakistan from Pind Dadan Khan.
Zaheer-ul-Islam, (Urdu: ﻇﻬﻴﺮ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻡ) is a retired Lieutenant-General who served as the 20th Director General of the ISI.
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Islamic scholar
Amir Khan, British-Pakistani boxer, his paternal grandfather Lal Khan Janjua was in the Pakistan Army
Amna Nawaz, Pakistani-American broadcast journalist and a co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour, her uncle was Asif Nawaz Janjua.
Shah Nawaz Khan, (January 1914 – 9 December 1983) was an Indian politician who served as a General in the Indian National Army (INA) during World War II.
Adam Azim, British Pakistani boxing prospect

References

^ ^a ^b Saleem, Muhammad; Ahmed, Raja Qaiser (2020). "Conceptualizing Democracy in Pakistan: A Rural Perspective". Pakistan Journal of History and Culture. XLI (1): 1–16 – via ResearchGate.
^ ^a ^b Khan, Hussain (1991). "Janjuas, their Early Life". Ancient Pakistan. 7: 178–185.
^ Jones, Philip Edward; Jones, Philip (2003). The Pakistan People's Party: Rise to Power. Oxford University Press. pp. 377, 378, 379. ISBN 978-0-19-579966-8.
^ Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, Volume 54, Issues 1-2. Pakistan Historical Society. 2006.
^ Bakshi, S. R. (1995). Advanced History of Medieval India. Anmol Publ. p. 142. ISBN 9788174880284.
^ "Rajpoot Gotain by mohammad afzal khan". Rekhta.
^ The Life and Times of Humāyūn by Ishwari Prasad, Published by Orient Longmans, 1956, p. 36
^ Temples of Koh-e-Jud & Thar: Proceedings of the Seminar on Shahiya Temples of the Salt Range, Held in Lahore, Pakistan by Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Siddiq-a-Akbar, Publ Anjuman Mimaran, 1989, p. 8
^ Stein, Marc Aurel (1936). Archaeological reconnaissances in north-western India and south-eastern Iran. London. p. 46.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ The Land of the Five Rivers and Sindh: Sketches, Historical and Descriptive David Ross, Publ.Languages Dept., Punjab, 1970, p. 153
^ Talbot, Ian (1996). Khizr Tiwana, the Punjab Unionist Party and the Partition of India. Psychology Press. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-0-7007-0427-9.
^ Tan, Tai Yong (2005). The Garrison State: The Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab 1849–1947. Sage. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-0-7619-3336-6.
^ Singh, Wazir (1990). Sikhism and Punjab's Heritage. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 160.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tan, Tai Yong (2005). The Garrison State: The Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab 1849–1947. Sage. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-7619-3336-6.