Chahar (clan)
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Chahar/Chahal (also Chahal or Chol) is a gotra or clan of Jats found in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in India.
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[edit] Origin
This is a very old gotra. They had kingdoms in Central and Southern India. There is evidence to prove that they also ruled in Gujarat. There are nineteen references to Chol kshatriyas in the Mahabharata.
Chahar Jats have been also awarded the title of Faujdar like the Sinsinwar, Khuntel and Sogarwar Jat gotras. Muslim rulers awarded the title of 'Faujdar' to people who had responsibility of protecting some territory. Some in Maharaja Suraj Mal’s army were also called Faujdars.
[edit] Chahar Rajas
[edit] Raja Chahar Deo
Raja Chahar Deo ruled from the Narwar fort in the Gwalior region at the end of the thirteenth century. Coins of Chahar Deo are found in the region with “Asawar sri Samant Deo” marked on one side and a figure of the king riding a horse on the other side. Raja Chahar Deo ruled Narwar till vikram samwat 1355 (1298 AD). After his rule ended at Narwar, his descendants moved to the ‘Brij Bhumi’ (Brij) region of Uttar Pradesh. Other groups of Chahar Jats moved to the Matsya and Jangladesh regions of Rajasthan.
[edit] Raja Maldeo
In the thirteenth century, a Chahar Jat, Raja Maldeo ruled at Sidhmukh in Jangladesh (Bikaner). Ghulam Badshah was the then Muslim ruler of Delhi. Ghulam's army while returning from Jaisalmer clashed with Raja Maldeo. It happened like this.
Two bulls were fighting. The Delhi army was watching it, but no one dared to stop them. It was then that Raja Maldeo’s daughter, Somadevi came out and caught both the bulls by the horns and quietened them.
The Muslim ruler was so impressed that he asked for Somadevi’s hand in marriage. But Raja Maldeo refused the offer. The ruler then tried to take away Somadevi forcefully.
This led to a bloody battle in which Raja Maldeo, Somadevi and many Jats died. The location of the battle is said to be near the border of Sidhmukh. The remaining members of Raja Maldeo's family migrated to the Jhunjhawati region (present-day Jhunjhunu).
[edit] Ramki Chahar
Ramki Chahar is a very popular and brave name among the Chahar Jats. Ramki Chahar along with Raja Khemkaran of Sugreevgarh, gave a very tough fight to an invading Muslim army.
[edit] Distribution of Chahars
Chahars are found in large numbers in Bharatpur and Gurgaon. In Agra, they have 242 villages in one compact area. Chahar\Chahal Sikhs are found scattered in all the districts of Punjab.
In Haryana there are many Chahar villages in prseent district Jajjhar, Few of the Chahar villages are Machhraulli,Kanhauri, Silana and Silani.
Presently, a large number of villages of Chahar Jats are found in the Agra, Fatehabad and Kheragarh tehsils of the Agra district. This area of Agra region is known as Chaharwati due to the large concentration of Chahar Jats. A large number of villages of Chahar Jats are also found in the Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh and the Jaipur district of Rajasthan.
[edit] Famous Chahar people
- Captain Bhagwan Singh, ex High Commissioner of Fiji
- Ajay Singh, present High Commissioner of Fiji
- Chaudhary Hira Singh Chahar, freedom-fighter from the village of Pahadsar in Rajgarh – Churu (Rajasthan)
- Chaudhary Ghasi Ram Chahar (He came from Sidhmukh and founded the village of Ghasola, two miles from Charkhi Dadri in the Bhiwani district of Haryana. Ghasola is over a thousand years old.)
[edit] References
- Adhunik Jat Itihas: Hindi 1998, Dharmpal Singh Dudee Jaipal Agency Agra
- Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas (Hindi), Maharaja Suraj Mal Smarak Shiksha Sansthan, Delhi, 1934.
- Ram Swaroop Joon: History of Jats, India
- Jat Samaj, Agra : January, February (2000) & November (1999).
[edit] External links
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