Minhas
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Minhas or Manhas is a Rajput clan from the Jammu region of the Indian Subcontinent. It is an off-shoot of Jamwal-Dogra Rajputs, the founders of the city and state of Jammu and its rulers from ancient times to 1948 C.E. In antiquity of rule, which is generally considered a benchmark of royality, they are second to none, but the great Katoch Rajputs of Kangra. Paying a tribute to antiquity of their royal lineage, Sir Lippen Griffin says, “These royal dynasties may have been already ancient when Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, and the Greeks were steering their swift ships to Troy.”
Most members of this clan are Hindus and and reside in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab (India). However, a considerable number are Muslims (who inhabit Pakistan mainly in Punjab and Azad Kashmir) and Sikhs (who live in Punjab (India)). Minhas is also a Jat gotra or clan and Jat-Minhas are called 'Virk'.
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[edit] Origins
Minhas Rajputs are Suryavanshis and claim descent from Sri Rama of Ayodhya. In Rajputana, their closest cousins are the Kachwaha Rajputs of Jaipur.
They trace their ancestry to the Ikshvaku dynasty of Northern India (The same clan in which Lord Rama was born. He, therefore is the 'kuldevta'(family deity) of the Hindu Minhas Rajputs). Specifically, they claim descent from Kusha younger of the twin sons of Rama, hero of the Ramayana, to whom patrilineal descent from Surya is in turn ascribed.
A Raghuvanshi descendant of Raja Kusha, 'Agnigarba' who was living as a recluse, came to Nagarkote (Kangra, Himachal Pradesh), in the Shivalik hills. When the Raja of Kangra came to know about this person's ancestry, he offered him the hand of his daughter and a part of kingdom. The river Ravi was then the boundary of Nagarkote. Agnigarba crossed it and captured some villages in the Kathua area and declared himself as sovereign king. After his death, his son Bayusharva (1500-1530 B.C.E) married the princess of Parole (Kathua). The princess was known as Erwan and she died young.
The Raja founded a city after her which is still found near Parole, though now a small village and at the 'Samadhi' of the queen, a `Mela' (fair) is held at every `Baisakhi' (13th or 14th of April) every year. Bayusharva extended the boundaries up to the river Ujh. Bayusharva's great grandson, Bahulochan was enthroned after his death. He migrated from Erwan and built his fort on the banks of river Tawi.
Raja Bahulochan died in a bloody battle with Chadaras, Raja of Sialkot (Shayalkot) and his younger brother Jambulochan (1290-1320 B.C.E) ascended the throne. In those days the area beyond Tawi (the present city of Jammu) was used for hunting. Tradition has it that one day Jambulochan came to this area and while he was sitting behind a bush to ambush some bird or animal, he saw a lion ( a tiger in some accounts ) and a goat drinking water from the same pond. This peaceful coexistence encouraged him to found the city of Jammu, which some say is named after him.
One of his descendants, Raja Shaktikaran (1177-1200 B.C.E) introduced the Dogri Script for the first time. Another of his descendants, Jasdev founded the city of Jasrota on the bank of river Ujh, and another Raja, Karan Dev built a fort on the banks of the river Basantar. In the early centuries of the first millennium the area came under the sway of the Indo-Greeks, with their capital at Sakala (Sialkot).
His later decendants, the Dogras ruled over the state for hundreds of years till 1948 C.E, when the state of Jammu and Kashmir officially acceded to India. Maharaja Hari Singh Dogra was the last in the long list of the Dogra rulers of Jammu. The Dogras also ruled over the Kashmir Valley for three brief terms, twice for short periods around 1000 C.E and one last time when Maharaja Gulab Singh Dogra became the Maharaja of Kashmir after the fall of the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab following the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 C.E.
[edit] Etymology
[edit] Minhas and Jamwal Rajputs
All the descendants of Raja Jambu Lochan were called Jamwal Rajputs, until Raja Malan Hans Dev took up agriculture as a profession and left the throne to his younger brother, Raja Suraj Hans Dev. Rajputs in general and those in the Punjab hills in particular have had a strong prejudice against taking up agriculture as a profession and therefore Raja Malan Hans and his descendants were styled Minhas(literally "taken out" or "degraded").
Since that time anyone in the Jamwal clan who took up agriculture or converted to Islam was called Minhas whereas the name Jamwal has been confined to the royal branch including the Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir.
[edit] Alternate view point: Greek origin
It is likely that because the ancient Indo-Greek/Bactrian Kingdoms overlapped with Minhas territory Bactria, Gandhara the name originates from Minas or Minos the Greek god, son of Zeus and Europa who was king of Crete and many of the Aegean islands. Many of the Minas line may have travelled into Bactria & Gandhara with Alexander the Great and remained behind and inter-married with the local populations.
Additionally there are also large numbers of Minas in Armeria, Turkey, Persia, Russia and other Central Asian states. Often the Armenians and Turks use the name as Minasian ("of the Minas family") or Minasyan.
Manhas could also possibly mean son of Man as "Manu", "Manushya", "Manav" and "Manas" are Sanskrit terms for "Man" while Manasi means "Woman" .
[edit] Gotra
The gotra of Minhas Rajputs is Bhardwaja.
[edit] Minhas History
The Minhas and Bhatti Rajput clans were extremely powerful during the time of the Hindu Shahi dynasty of Kabul and ruled over many small kingdoms extending from eastern Afghanistan through the Jammu/Sialkot areas of West Punjab and up to the Jalandhar/Kangra area of eastern Punjab.According to Farishta, during the second battle of Tarain between Prithviraj Chauhan and Mohammad Ghori in 1192, Chauhan's left flank consisted of Hindu Pathan cavalry. It is said that this Hindu Pathan cavalry was led by a minhas raja from the northwest.
A famous Manhas/Minhas in history was Baba Chamliyal also called Duleep Singh Minhas, a warrior saint, whose Samadhi (place of cremation) is still visited by hundreds and thousands of Pakistanis and Indians each year in the month of June. The Mela (fair) which is held in honour of Baba Chamliyal, was celebrated for the 317th time on Thursday, June 22, 2006 as the man-made boundary between India and Pakistan lost its importance momentarily and people from both sides participated in the mela with vigour.
Banda Bahadur, the famous disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru and the founder of the Khalsa Brotherhood was born into a Minhas Rajput family in Rajouri in the Jammu region. Banda Bahadur was an accomplished warrior-general, who almost destroyed Mughal presence in eastern Punjab and arguably created the first Sikh State.
[edit] Muslim Minhas Rajputs
In Punjab (Pakistan), the main concentration of Minhas Rajputs is in Chakwal, a town sixty miles south-east of the federal capital, Islamabad. In Chakwal, the Minhas Rajputs are called Mair-Minhas after their ancestor, Raja Mair, a Jamwal prince who converted to Islam in 1190 C.E. According to the legend, Raja Mair (whose name before conversion was Raja Bhagir Dev) was son of the Raja of Jammu and had come to the Dhanni area (present day Chakwal) for hunting. He fell in love with a local Muslim Gujjar woman, converted to Islam and married her.
Mair Minhas Rajputs number around six thousand at present. The 'Chaudhrials' or the Talukdars reside in Kot Sarfraz Khan, Kot Chaudhrian and the old-Chakwal city; whereas other members of the tribe, the Zamindars occupy eighty four villages in the Chakwal tehsil including Dhudyhal, Badsahan, Bhon, Sarkal-Mair, Chakral, Dab, Sutwal, Karhan, Chak Malouk, Chak Norang, Bhagwal etc.
The city of Chakwal is named after their Chief, Chaku Khan who ruled the area at the time of Mughal King, Babar's invasion. The Mughal emperor Zaheerudin Babur conferred upon him the title of Chaudhry and made him the Taluqdar (area administrator) over 84 villages of the Dhani country, which since then has been known as Dhan 84. The Mair-Minhas tribe rose to further prominence during the short rule of Sher Shah Suri who handed them the control over the adjoining territories, as far as Swan River in Potohar and Kahoon in the South.
However, After the Mughal King Humayun returned to India with the help of the Persians, he handed over the entire Potohar including Dhani to the Gakhars, who had helped him escape from India during Sher Shah's revolt.
As written in the History of the Gakhars, "Kaigor Nama", the Mair-Minhas tribe proved to be notorious subjects for the Gakhars and almost never paid their revenue, killed the Ghakkar 'kardars' repeatedly and escaped in the mountains whenever military operations were launched against them. Sir Denzil Ibbetson in his Punjab census report of 1881 describes them as " ever masterful and always retaining their independence in a singular degree."
The Mair-Minhas tribe again rose to power after King Aurangzeb's death. They had supported his son Moazzam in his quest for power and in return he re-appointed their chief Gadabeg Khan as the Taluqdar and Chaudhry of 'Dhan Chaurasi'. Their rule over Dhani continued during the Sikh era as one of their chiefs Chaudhry Ghulam Mehdi had invited Sirdar Maha Singh to this side of river Jhellum. Also, their Dogra cousins Raja Gulab Singh and Dhian Singh were very powerful in the Lahore Durbar, so the influence of Chakwal Chaudhrials during the sikh era was considerable and they were considered one of the biggest Muslim land holders of the era.
It was during that era that Dhani breed of horses became very popular and even Maharaja Ranjeet Singh's personal horses were kept in the stables of the 'Chakwal Chaudhials'.
In the Second Anglo-Sikh War at Chaillianwala in 1849, the Chakwal Chaudhrials were among the very few Muslim feudal families who supported the Sikhs. Consequently, after the defeat of the Sikhs all Jagirs and titles of the 'Chakwal Chaudhrials' were confiscated. They further disgraced themselves by making over a British Lady, Lady George Lawrence. As a result they even lost proprietary rights over One hundred and seventy thousand acres of cultivated land which they had colonised and owned for many centuries.
Due to their general good conduct in the mutiny of 1857, some of their rights were restored and small Jagirs were granted to their chiefs in Chakwal. Chief of the tribe Jehan Khan and later his son Aurangzeb Khan were conferred an 'inam' of Rs.312/- per annum and the title of "Raja Sahib" as a mark of hereditary distinction. The Chaudhrials of Kot Chaudhrian were able to get more concessions with the aid of Maharaja Gulab Singh and almost half of their original lands were regranted.
The Mair-Minhas tribe is almost entirely confined to the Chakwal District. However, besides Chakwal, there are a quite a few other Minhas (other than Mair-Minhas) villages scattered all over the province including the famous village of Sagri in Rawalpindi, and in Gujar Khan, Kahuta, Sargodha and Faisalabad. Some villages are also located in the state of Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
There is also a considerable population of Minhas families in Sialkot in the districts of Rangpura and Heerawalapura. They are descendants of Hashim Minhas (1781), and his son Ghulam Mui-Din Minhas. However in Sailkot, they were largely engaged in the tailoring and clothing trades. Many of their descendants emigrated for economic reasons from Sialkot to the Middle East, UK and the US.
[edit] Martial traditions
The Mair Minhas tribe has a long martial tradition which has continued into modern times.
Some of the most decorated officers from the Pakistan Army including its first General, Muhammed Akbar Khan(Order of the British Empire), General Iftikhar Khan and General Anwar Khan (first E-n-C) hail from this clan.
Subaidar Khudadad Khan(Victoria Cross) from the village of Dub, also belongs to the tribe.
[edit] Military Awards
Pilot officer Rashid Minhas who received the highest military honour during the 1971 war, the Nishan-E-Haider, also belonged to a Minhas clan of Gujar Khan .
Born: 17th February 1951
Commissioned: 1971, Pilot, P.A.F.
He was taxiing for take-off on a routine training flight when an Instructor Pilot forced his way into the rear cockpit, seized control of the aircraft by hitting the pilot unconscious and took off. When Minhas came to senses, he realized that the absconding pilot was heading towards India, he tried to regain control of the plane was unable to do so.
Knowing that it meant certain death, he damaged the controls and forced the aircraft to crash thirty two miles short of the border on 20th August 1971.
[edit] Politics and Civil-Public Services
Khan Bahadur, Raja Sahib, Chaudhry Aurangzeb Khan of Chakwal was a famous Minhas Rajput during the British era. In 1892 C.E he was given the title of Khan Bahadur for his services in establishing the town of Lyallpur (now Faislabad). He was also conferred upon the title of 'Raja sahib' as a mark of hereditary distinction by Qaiser-e-Hind, His Majesty, King George V.
His son, Raja Muhammed Sarfraz Khan (MLA 1929-58) played an important role in the local politics during Pakistan Movement. He was also instrumental in the educational progress of the region, and gave generous donations to set up schools and the Government College, Chakwal in 1949.
During the 1950's Raja Allahdad Khan of village Jaund emerged as a powerful bureaucrat and served as the Commissioner of Lahore and Chief Secretary of the North West Frontier Province. Later on, his younger brother Raja Ahemad Khan also served as Chief Secretary of Baluchistan.
In the 1960's Chaudhry Khaizar Hayat Khan from the village of Kot Chaudhrian became member of the national assembly and remained so for the rest of the decade. Later on, he became a Senator in 1985. In 1970 Chaudhry Ameer Khan, belonging to the 'Zamindar' faction of the tribe from village Bhagwal was elected Member of National Assembly. His son Ayaz Amir is now a world famous Journalist.
During 1980's and 90's the Mair-Minhas tribe produced many parliamentarians like Sirdar Ghulam Abbas (Provincial Minister), Chaudhry Ayaz Amir (MPA), Major Sajjad Akbar (MPA 1985-90), Chaudhry Liaqat Ali Khan (MPA 1985-1999), Raja Riaz Ahemad Khan (MPA 1993-Present).
Another prominent figure, well known educationist Raja Abdul Rauf Minhas (1933-98) from Rawalpindi area Village Taraiya, Retired as a Deputy Director in Fedral Government Educational Institutions Cantt Garrison in 1993. A Gold-Medalist in mathematics from The University of Southampton, United Kingdom as well as top position holder in the University of Punjab, Pakistan. He served as a Principal in F.G. Schools-Colleges at Muree, Okara, Attock, Rawalpindi, Kharian etc. Also remained Professor of Mathematics in the reknowned Lawrence College, Ghora Gali, Muree in the sixties. During his life as a principal, He was awarded the "BEST PRINCIPAL" award twice by Prime Minister of Pakistan. He has a younger brother, Raja Abdul Lateef Minhas, who retired as a senior Doctor of Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi.
In Gujjar Khan tehsil the Bhakral branch of the Minhas tribe produced Raja Anwar, a famous firebrand student leader of late sixties. He was also a founding member of Pakistan People's Party and advisor to prime minister Bhutto (1973-77). Later he became a journalist and is an author of eight books. Famous bureaucrat Dr. Gulfraz Khan Mehreen Anwar Raja(M.N.A) and her father, famous lawyer Raja Anwar of Kahuta also belong to the Bhakral branch of Minhas tribe.
[edit] Sikh Minhas Rajputs
[edit] Minhas villages in Punjab(India)
Anshupal & Baba Mati Dev, both grandsons of Biram Dev Minhas, a commander with first Mughal emperor, Babar established the Minhas clan villages of Daroli Kalan , Droli Khurd, Damunda, Padhiana & Paldi in East Punjab around the year 1530. Almost all these villages are located approximately seven kilometres from the town of Adampur except the village of Paldi, which is in the Garhshankar Teshil in the Hoshiarpur District.
The villages of Manko and Rajowal adjacent to Droli Kalan are inhabited by the Dhillon, Nijjar and Sandhu Jat clans.
The village of Haripur which is just 2.5 kilometres from Adampur, also initially belonged to Haria Singh Minhas of the village of Damunda . This village was however surrendered, because of the criminal charges brought up against Haria Singh of molesting labourer women, on the direction of Lehna Singh Majithia, the in charge of Droli Kalan during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Today, although the owners of lands in these villages are mostly Jats because of the enforcement of new Land Laws by the British in the year 1920, the land revenue record even today stands in the name of the Minhas Rajputs of Droli, Padhiana & Damunda.
[edit] Minhas Rajputs in Sikh history
The first Doaba Rajput to join the army of Guru Gobind Singh was Sangat Singh Minhas of Padhiana in the Jalandhar district, who joined the Guru’s forces with his two brothers and many other Rajput chiefs. A few months later, the Subedar(Governor) of Lahore sent a small group of armed men to collect tax dues from the Rajput Hill Chiefs in whose territory, Anandpur was located under the command of Alaf Khan. The chiefs asked Guru Gobind for help.
Guru Gobind Singh agreed to send a small band under the command of Sangat Singh Minhas. Sangat Singh defeated Alaf Khan’s army. After this, the Lahore governor, sent his own son with a force to solve the matter once and for all. First of all, he defeated Raja Bhim Singh of Kahlur and collected the taxes. After that, he attacked Raja Vikram Singh Walia of the Guler State. Raja Vikram Singh turned to Guru Gobind Singh for help.
Again, Guru Gobind sent another jatha under the command of Sangat Singh to help Vikram Singh. Vikram Singh and Sangat Singh fought together against the Mughal forces and defeated them again but Sangat Singh got fatally wounded and died.
This war happened in Vikrami Samvat, 1748. After this, there was peace for the next eight years. During this period, Guru Gobind Singh kept on training his army to ward off any attack by the Mughals. Meanwhile, Bachitar Singh Minhas of Padhiana in the Jalandhar district joined the army along with a large group of Doaba Rajputs.
Anandpur and the state of Kahlur were neighbouring states. Raja Bhim Chand of Kahlur got fearful because of the growing power of Guru Gobind Singh and his forces. He called upon all Hill Rajput chiefs to wage a war against the Guru. As a result of this meeting, the chiefs walked to Anandpur and gave a notice to Guru Gobind Singh to leave the town because they are feeling insecure due to his presence in the area. They told him that if he would leave Anandpur Sahib, they would help him. Guru Gobind refused to leave Anandpur Sahib at any cost.
The Hill Chiefs had army of almost 20,000 men and on top of this, Mughal forces from Lahore and Sirhind joined them. Guru Gobind Singh had only 2000 men under the command of Bachitar Singh Minhas. The battle between the Guru's forces and those of the hill chiefs started and soon, the stocks of food in Anandpur ran out.
The chiefs attacked the fort of Anandgarh and tried to break its main gate. Bachitar Singh managed to prevent them from entering the fort. Guru Gobind's army was nearly decimated. Due to this great loss, the Guru was commanded by the "Panj Piyaras" (the Five Beloved) to leave Anandpur Sahib, so as to carry forward the larger cause of fight against the oppressive Mughal regime. From here, the Guru went towards the Nabha and Jind states during Vikrami Samvat 1763.
Bachitar Singh and another Doaba Rajput, Kharak Singh Minhas assisted Guru Gobind Singh in many of his future campaigns. After Guru Gobind Singh’s death, Banda Bahadur took over the torch of the Khalsa to fight against Mughal oppression.
Banda reorganised the Khalsa Army and declared a war against the Mughal administration. From the Doaba region, he got help from Sikh Rajputs including:
- Budh Singh Parmar
- Dasaundha Singh Parmar
- Dharam Singh Minhas
- Gursahai Singh Bhatti
- Hargopal Singh Chauhan
- Jiwan Singh Parmar
- Kanwar Singh Parmar
- Khan Singh Parmar
- Krishan Singh Minhas
- Mehboob Singh Jaswal
- Punjab Singh Parmar
- Ram Singh Manj
and many more. Banda won almost half of the province and he offered Jagirs to his army commanders including the Rajputs, whose heirs are still holding their forts in the villages Chukhiara, Bhungarni, Dihana and Bohan.
[edit] Prominent Minhas personalities
This is a list of prominent Minhas personalities from both India and Pakistan.
[edit] Historical figures
- Banda Bahadur
- Chaudhry Chaku Khan, the founder of Chakwal
- Baba chamliyal
- Baba Mati Dev
- Sangat Singh Minhas
- Bachitar Singh Minhas
- Kharak Singh Minhas
[edit] Defence forces
Generals & Brigadiers
- P.A 1, Major General Muhammed Akbar Khan(rangroot)(O.B.E)
- Major General Muhammed Iftikhar Khan
- Major General Muhammed Anwar Khan
- Major General Muhammad Hanif Minhas
- Brig. Sultan Ahmed (Double SJ-1965 & 1971)
- Brig. Muhammed Yousaf
- Brig. Muhammed Zafar
- Brig. Muhammed Afzal
- Brig. Iftikhar Sarfraz
- Brig. Muhammed Akram
- Brig. Ameer Khan
- Brig. Ahemad Nawaz
- Pilot Officer. Rashid Minhas Shaheed (PAF - February 17, 1951–August 20, 1971)
- Brig. Ghulam Ali
- Brig. Liaqat Ali Minhas(Head of Anatomy Department- Army medical college)
- Air Commodore Khaled Sarfraz
[edit] National Politics
MPA's, MNA's and Senators
- Muhammed Sarfraz Khan (MLA 1929-1958)
- Khizar Hayat Khan (MNA 1960-69) (SENATOR 1985-88)
- Ameer Khan Bhagwal (MNA 1970-74)
- Ghulam Abbass Khan (MPA 1985) (Provincial Minister 1993) District Nazim 2001-Present)
- Liaqat Ali Khan (MPA 1985-97)
- Sajjad Akbar (MPA 1988-90)
- Ayaz Ameer (MPA 1990)
- Riaz Ahemad Khan (MPA 1994-Present)
- Aftab Akbar Khan (Tehsil Nazim Chakwal, Present)
- Raja Anwar(Lawyer)
- Raja Anwar(PPP Activist, Journalist)
- Mehreen Anwar Raja (MNA)
- Surjit Singh Minhas (Former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Punjab (India)
- Ranjit Singh Minhas (member, SGPC)
- Sucha Singh Minhas (member, DSGPC)
- Amarjit Raghbir Singh Manhas {Member, Senate University of Mumbai from last 20 years currently Treasurer Mumbai Regional Congress Committee
[edit] Services
- Aurangzeb Khan(E.A.C) Colonization Officer, 1891 C.E
- Allahdad Khan, (Commissioner Lahore 1951-55 ) (Chief Secretary NWFP 1955-59)
- Ahmad Khan, Chief Secretary Baluchistan (1976-80)
- Gulfaraz Ahmed Federal Secretary Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources 1996-1999
- Mehdi Khan, SSP
- Muhammad Ali, Deputy Commissioner
- Imran Hussain Minhas (Joint Director, Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan)
- Chaudhry Ayaz Amir (Journalist)
- Mushtaq Minhas President Rawalpindi Islamabad Press Club
- Saqib Raja Senior Reporter ARY Tv Islamabad
[edit] Sports
- Zafar Zafri (Olympic field-hockey player)
- Mudassar Ali Khan (Olympic field-hockey player)
[edit] Professional
- Sir Mayo Singh Minhas (Owned Mayo Lumber Co. in B.C. Canada. Also established Paldi Township in B.C. Canada after his ancestral village Paldi)
- Bagicha Singh Minhas (Internationally renowned Economist)
- Tarlochan Singh Minhas (Fellow, institution of Engineers India, Fellow Institution of Work Study Practitioners England, Member Institute of Production Engineers England. Senior Business Executive and later Industrialist)
- Raja Abdul Rauf Minhas (Late), Deputy Director F.G.E.I. (Cantt Garrison) renowned Matmatician and Educationist.
[edit] See also
- Jamwal
- Dogra
- Rajput
- Kshatriya
- Mair Rajputs of Punjab
- Raja
- Chaudhry
- Mair - Mair-Minhas, see Minhas, the Rajput tribe of Chakwal in the Punjab Province of Pakistan, named after Raja Mair (whose name before conversion to Islam in 1190 was Raja Bhagir Dev), the ancestor of Minhas Rajputs in Punjab (mair means brave in Sanskrit)
- Myers College - an instituition named after Raja Mair
