Arora
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Castes of India | |
| Aroras | |
| Classification | Kshatriya |
| Subdivisions | Uttradhi, Gujarati and Dakhna |
| Significant populations in | Punjab region, Sindh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu |
| Languages | Hindi, Punjabi, Sindhi and Urdu |
| Religions | Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism |
Aroras (Hindi: आरॊरा, Punjabi: ਆਰੋਰਾ) (or Aror-vanshis) are an urban mercantile community of the Punjab and Sindh. In India, they reside in Punjab (India), Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and other parts of the country. In Pakistan, they are mainly found in Punjab (Pakistan) and Sindh. They have also spread to all parts of the world.
The Arora people are of similar origin to Khatri in that they are from the Kshatriya caste and are thus of warrior ancestry.[1][2] They are a group of Indo-Aryans who remained in the Indus Valley throughout most of their history. However, the Arora people were separated from the Khatri in their move to the city of Aror, which is believed to be at the request of the Brahmin community led by Pasurama. The Arora people were originally Hindu, but over their history they have accepted Sikhism and Islam. The Arora community has suffered many divides in its past. After moving to Aror, they were conquered by the Arabs and thousands of Aroras are said to have been slaughtered during the Islamic invasions of India. Aroras suffered extreme violence and massacres during the Partition of India.
Contents |
[edit] The Origin of Aroras
There are many traditions regarding the origin of this community. These different versions are reported below. All traditions support the origin of the Aroras from Aror. The fact that Aroras appear to have diverged from Aror according to family traditions, also support their origin from Aror. It is said "Aroras are Kshatriya of Aror, and Khatris are Kshatriya of Lahore".
Some historians believe that Aroras are descendants of an Indo-Iranian group known in the ancient times as Arattas (Arachosians) mentioned in the epic Mahabharata as western neighbors of Bahilkas (present Punjab in Pakistan); from Arachosia (southern Afghanistan at present) they migrated to Sindh and populated the Indus valley. Aror and Arora may be a derivative of Aratta. The Aroras are of Aryan descent, in fact, the surname Arya belongs to the Arora caste. It is believed that while other Indo-Aryan people migrated to the east and south after the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization, some groups remained in the Punjab region, the Aroras are one of these groups, making them one of the most untouched descendants of the Proto-Indo-Europeans (as per the Out of India theory).
According to this account, the name of the community was derived from a place named Aror which was situated near the modern towns of Rohri and Sukkur in Sindh, Pakistan. It is also claimed that the legendary Parasurama drove them towards Multan, near which they founded Arorkot (or Aror). Cursed by a faqir, the town became desolate and Aroras fled by its three gates to the north, south and west, whence the three main groups ( Uttradhi, Dakhna and Gujarati or Dahra ) in which they are divided arose [3].
According to another tradition, one Khatri chieftain by name of Art/Aroot in a dialogue with Parasurama stoutly refused to oppose Brahmins and won his respect. Parasurama advised Art to settle in Sindh [4].
Aror (or Alor) is located 8 km east of Rohri. It was the ancient capital of Sindh, predating Sukkur, and was once located on the banks of the Indus. Due to its location, where the Indus takes a sharp turn towards the west, it was a center of commerce and was a prosperous city. It was the capital of Sindh when it was ruled by King Dahir. In 711 AD this city was conquered by the Arab general, Muhammad bin Qasim, who moved the capital some 300 km south to Mansura near Hala. In the 10th century it received another blow when the river Indus changed its course, which was probably caused by a massive earthquake in 962 AD [5]. The present course of Indus is west of Aror. The modern towns of Sukkur and Rohri are situated on both sides of the river. Aror is now a small dusty village.
Some claim that like the Khatris, Aroras were dispersed by Parasurama, but denied their Kshatriya origin in order to escape persecution by Parasurama (parašurama in Sanskrit means ‘Rama with the axe’), calling themselves Aur, which means ‘someone else’ in Hindi and Punjabi [6].
The above three traditions are reported here as claimed by different sections of Aroras and recorded by Ibbetson et al. in the late 19th century. Supporting this historical perspective, Aroras are divided into three main groups: Uttradhi, Gujarati (Dahra) and Dakhna. Prior to India-Pakistan partition of 1947, they intermarried within each of three groups only; however after partition they started intermarriages among other groups of Aroras, Khatris, Bhatias and Soods.
[edit] Demographics
Prior to India-Pakistan partition in 1947, Aroras generally lived in the southwestern parts of the Punjab including district Dera Ghazi Khan (and recently created district of Rajanpur), Multan, Bahawalpur, northern Sindh and Dera Ismail Khan division of the North West Frontier Province. The main language of this area is Seraiki. Beside the Derajat, Aroras dwelled in varying numbers further north in the districts of Jhang, Mianwali, Lahore, Amritsar and Lyallpur (now known as Faisalabad), and south of Derajat in Sukkur, Shikarpur and as far as Karachi.
Half of the Aroras of the Punjab were living in southwest in the areas of Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Bahawalpur [7]. According to Imperial Gazetteer of India (1901), the three major mercantile communities (of the Punjab province), Aroras, Banias and Khatris were dominant in southwest (Multan division), southeast (Delhi division including present Haryana), and northeast (Jalandhar division) parts respectively; in central (Lahore division) and northwest (Rawalpindi division) parts, Aroras and Khatris were almost equal in numbers. The numerical strength of three communities in the 1901 census of the province (which included Delhi) was as follows: Aroras 653,000; Banias 452,000; Khatris 436,000. In the former princely state of Bahawalpur practically the entire commerce was in the hands of Aroras, while Khatris dominated in the state of Patiala. A majority of the government employees were also Aroras. In the same census of 1901, the numbers of Aroras and Khatris in North Western Frontier Province were 69,000 and 34,000 respectively; in the province of Sind and the princely state of Khairpur, both Aroras and Khatris were probably counted as Lohanas, the mercantile community of Sind. After the partition of India in 1947, the majority of Sikh and Hindu Aroras from all over the newly created nation of Pakistan migrated to India.
[edit] Role in Indian society
Aroras are a well-established mercantile community of India and Pakistan. At the turn of the 20th century, they and Khatris lived and controlled trade and finance to varying extents across a wide geographic area from Chittagong to Baku in present-day Bangladesh and Azerbaijan respectively; however, their main concentration was in Derajat. Aroras will usually be in the same proximity of the subcastes of Khatris who are also in the mercantile profession. Arora families in India place great emphasis and attention to the education of their children; because of this, they have become prosperous and are successful in many diverse professions such as trade, education, medicine, finance, technology, engineering, manufacturing, entertainment, arts and bureaucracy. They have achieved remarkable success despite being a minority, lack of a political power-base, vigorous attempts to disparage and/or to suppress them by Muslims in pre-partition Punjab and Sind, and loss of their homes, businesses, properties and bank deposits (at Punjab & Sind Bank owned and controlled by three Sikh Khatri families) at the time of partition in 1947.
A very large majority of Aroras arrived in India in 1947 after a terrifying journey, lasting up to a month or more to cross only 100 to 400 miles, starved, dehydrated, ill and often with only the clothes they were wearing. They suffered through and survived lootings, massacres and murders of men, kidnapping, disfigurations and rapes of their mothers, wives and daughters by Muslims including the members of the army and the police of Pakistan. The government of newly independent India was inexperienced and dysfunctional, and the local established groups in India including Hindu and Sikh Jats, Banias and others were being opportunistic and exploitive of their helpless, homeless and penniless status. However, Aroras not only have survived their third holocaust (Parasurama, Arab invasion of Aror/Alor, and Indo-Pakistan partiton of 1947) but, like their Khatri brethren, have also prospered because of strong work ethic, education, enterprise, and survivor instincts sharpened by the centuries of a minority status among violent, monotheistic and colonial groups of various Mediterranean and Central Asian invaders, Muslims and the British.
[edit] Arora Family Names
Main Article: List of Arora surnames
[edit] Religion
Most of the Aroras are Hindus or Sikhs. Hindu Aroras are very tolerant in their religious faith. Most are followers of Sanatana Dharma; however, they respect the sanctity of and frequently visit Arya Samaj temples, Jain temples, Sikh Gurdwaras, and Dargahs (tombs) of Muslim Sufi saints. For several centuries in the past, the eldest son of a Arora Hindu family voluntarily changed his religion to Sikhism as a family "donation" to the Sikh Gurus. During the Islamic Invasion of India, large masses of Aroras were slaughtered for their Hindu beliefs. Some Aroras accepted Islam during this time. They now live in Karachi and other large cities of Pakistan's Punjab. The Muslim Arora traders are known as Khoja Sheikhs. The traders from Chiniot are very prominent in business. They usually use their gotras as family names. The most common family names are Chawla, Dhingar, Khurana, Gauba, Gorawala, Sachdev, and Tarneja.
Many of the Sindhi Hindus in India are also Aroras (although they are classified as Lohanas) and live in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Many Gujaratis and Sindhis with family names ending in -ani are probably aroras. Like their Punjabi Arora brethren, they have also prospered and migrated further to various parts of India and various other countries. There are still some Sindhi Hindu Aroras living in Northern Sindh and are mostly involved in trade.
[edit] Famous Aroras
See List of Aroras for a detailed list of famous people from the Arora caste.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Punjab Revenue Religion and Castes
- ^ Ancestry.com Origin of Arora
- ^ D. Ibbetson, E.MacLagan, H.A. Rose, " A Glossary of The Tribes & Casts of The Punjab & North West Frontier Province", 1911, pp 17 Vol II
- ^ ibid, pp 17 Vol II, footnote
- ^ Isobel Shaw,"Pakistan Handbook", (The Guidebook Co., Hong Kong, 1989), pp 117
- ^ ibid, pp 17 Vol II
- ^ D. Ibbetson, E.MacLagan, H.A. Rose, " A Glossary of The Tribes & Casts of The Punjab & North West Frontier Province", 1911, pp 17 Vol II
