Dhillon

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Dhillon, is a large Jat clan/ gotra found mainly in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan states of India as well in Indian migrant communities in Australia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Canada and United states of America.

The Dhillons are sometimes known as the "Raja Jats" (King Jats), this mainly due to the large number of Kings, royalty and warriors that have come from this tribe throughout history. It is considered to be one of the oldest Jat tribes with history dating back over 4000 years ^[1].

1 Royal Origin and history
2 Religion
3 Among Rajputs
4 Secondary Dhillon Jat names
5 Geographical distribution
6 Historical Dhillon Jats
7 Prominent Dhillon Jats
8 References
9 See also

[edit] Royal Origin and history

Royal Lineage

The Dhillons are called the descendants of King Karna ^[2], the famed royal warrior mentioned in the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata and he was also the eldest son of Queen Kunti. There was a King Karna in the Bhin-baroliya gotra too. Most Dhillons today trace their history back to Prince Dhillon^[3], the first Dhillon, the grandson of King Karna and great grandson of Queen Kunti.

According to the family tree of Dhillons of Amritsar, Prince Dhillon was the grandson of Mahabharat famed Karna and son of Loh Sen ^[4]. After Karna was killed at the Battle of Kurukshetra, his descendants first went to Rajasthan and then to Bathinda in present-day Punjab (India). Even now, Dhillons are settled in large numbers in the areas of Bathinda. They are also settled in the area of Moga, Sangrur, Ropar, Patiala and abroad.

In addition, Dhillons are linked to the royal house of the Pandavas. Yudhishtra, ruler of Hastinapur and Indraprastha, later known as Delhi. The third ruling Jat dynasty in this line was Dhillon whose descendants are the present Jat gotras. Dhillon, Dhilwal and Dhill. Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj, has in his book Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth), quoted from the famous book "Chadrika Pushtika" that from Yudhishtra to Harsha Vardhan, 124 rulers ruled for 4257 years 9 months and 14 Days ^[5]. Six dynasties ruled during this period. The first three dynasties had their capitals in Hastinapur, Indraprastha and Kausambi. During the reign of the fourth generation, the capital was changed to Magadh. It is also mentioned that during the reign of the fourth generation of Yudhisthra, Hastinapur was destroyed due to changes in the course of the River Ganga (or Ganges).

The Dhillon Dynasty founded Delhi^[6] and ruled there from 800 BC to 283 BC (about 450 years). It is from the name of Dhillon that we have the word Dhilli or Delhi. A ruler of the Dhillon dynasty, Raja Dhilu (King Dihlu) founded Delhi and the dynasty ruled from there from 800 BC to 283 BC. According to Radhe Lal, who quotes 'Waqiate-panch Hazarsala, 800 years before Christ, 13 rulers of Dhillon gotra - ruled for about 450 years. Some of their names are:

Raja VirMaha (817 BC - 800 BC)
Mahabal or Swarupbal (800 BC - 744 BC)
Sarvdutt or Swarupdatt (744 BC - 708 BC)
Virsen (708 BC - 668 BC)
Singdaman or Mahipal (668BC - 624 BC)
Kalink or Sanghraj (624 BC - 595 BC)
Jitmal or Tejpal (595 BC - 515 BC)
Kaldahan or Kamsen (515 BC - 506 BC)
Shtrumardan (506 BC - 481 BC)
Raja Jiwan (481 BC - 455 BC)
Virbhujang or Hari Rao (455 BC - 424 BC)
Virsen II (424 BC - 389 BC)
Udaybhat or Adityaketu (389 BC - 372 BC)

This book^[7] describes the Dhillon Jat rule from 800 BC to 350 BC. Dhillon is a big Jat gotra and is not found in any other community. A major part of this gotra adopted the Sikh faith."

Dhillon Jats ruled Delhi again in the 8th century. They are from among the Saroa Rajputs. In 8th century, Toors had seized the throne and power of Delhi from Dhillons and their kinsman Sanghas, Malhis, Dosanjhs and Dhindsas who were descendants of Shah Saroa. Leaving Delhi, they moved towards Rajasthan. After some time they migrated to the Bangar areas of Sirsa in Haryana and Bathinda. Some of them went beyond to Ludhiana and Ferozepur. Most of the Dhillons from Ferozepur went into Majha. Dhillons from Ludhiana went further into Doaba. Some of the Dhillons went as far as Gujjranwala.

The Dhillon Sikh Dynasty and their clansmen founded the Bhangi Army (Misl), who ruled and governed in the 18th century over most of the major cities of Punjab, including Amritsar, Lahore, Multan, Chiniot, Jhang, Bhera, Rawalpindi, Hasan Abdal, Sialkot, Gujrat and large areas of central and western Punjab^[8].

[edit] Religion

Dhillon Jats are mostly Sikhs. There is a small number that are Hindu in the Hissar & Kurukshetra districts. Dhillon Jats founded the Bhangi Army (Misl). In Punjab (India) and Haryana, Dhillons are mostly Sikh.

Majority of the Dhillons in Sirsa, Hisar, Ambala and Karnal areas of Haryana State are either Sikhs or Hindus. Majority of the Dhillons in Sialkot, Lahore and Gujranwala have converted to Islam.

[edit] Among Rajputs

Dhillon is also a gotra among Saroa Rajputs ^[9] who were descendants of Shah Saroa of Delhi, the ruler of Delhi in the 8th century. They chose to join and merge with the Dhillon Jats over 1000 years ago ^[10].

[edit] Secondary Dhillon Jat names

Due to the age and size of the ancient royal Dhillon clan, it has some small number of derivative secondary family names that keep Dhillon as their main surname but have minor family name before main Dhillon surname. The Sikh Dhillon Jats of the village of Kairon take on the name of the village and keep the main royal Dhillon name as their fourth name. The most famous Dhillon 'Kairon' is probably Pratap Singh Kairon Dhillon.

[edit] Geographical distribution

There are many villages named Dhillon or Dhilwan( district (Karputhla) in Punjab. For example, Harnam Singh Wala is a village with almost 95 percent have their last name as Dhillon. This village is 13km from Rampura Phul in Bhatinda District. The village is known for growing some of the best wheat and peas in Punjab. These peas are especially delicious in late winter.

In Punjab (British India), the majority of Dhillons inhabited Amritsar and Gujranwala. In joint Punjab, majority of Dhillons were in Amritsar and Gujjranwala. In the 1881 Census, Dhillons numbered at 86563 (one of the largest amongst the Jat tribes) ^[11]. Dhillons are a very influential section of Jats. Majority of the Dhillons in Sirsa, Hisar, Ambala and Karnal areas of Haryana are Sikhs. Majority of the Dhillons in Sialkot, Lahore and Gujranwala have converted to Islam. Most of the Jats in Sialkot, Lahore and Gujranwala are believed to be Dhillons.

Today, Dhillons are settled in large numbers in Bathinda, Moga, Sangrur, Rupnagar and Patiala in Punjab (India) as well as the Sirsa, Hisar, Ambala and Karnal areas of Haryana. Dhillons from Ludhiana and Doaba have migrated to foreign countries e.g. Canada, US, UK and etc.

village Chehlan in Fatehgarh Sahib District where 90% of residence are Dhillons

[edit] Historical Dhillon Jats

Mai Bhago, famous Sikh warrior and Sikh saint.
Chhajja Singh Dhillon, famous Sikh warrior & Leader of Jathâ.
Bhuma Singh Dhillon, Raja of Dhillon Principality (misl) & famous Royal Sikh warrior.
Hari Singh Dhillon, Maharaja of Dhillon Principality (misl) & famous Royal Sikh warrior.
Jhanda Singh Dhillon, Maharaja of Dhillon Principality (misl) & famous Royal Sikh warrior.
Ganda Singh Dhillon, Maharaja of Dhillon Principality (misl) & famous Royal Sikh warrior.

[edit] Prominent Dhillon Jats

Major General Muhammad Javed Dhillon, former Pakistan army General, currently Chairman Pakistan Steel Mills.
Brigadier General Zulfiqar Ahmad Dhillon, former Minster of Education for Punjab, Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, Sikh Indian independence movement, prominent member of the Indian National Army.
Giani Pritam Singh Dhillon, associate of Netaji and member of the Indian National Army.
Pratap Singh Kairon, Sikh Indian independence movement leader and former Chief-minister of Punjab (India).
Parkash Singh Badal, Chief-minister of Punjab (India) and head of the Shiromani Akali Dal.^[12]
Vic Dhillon, current member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Member of Indian Parliament.
Amrik Singh Dhillon, Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
Dr. Gurdial Singh Dhillon, Speaker of Parliament of India and Union Minster of Agriculture.
Gaurav Dhillon, businessman, founder and former CEO of Informatica Corporation.
Bob Singh Dhillon, Punjabi Indian-Canadian Sikh billionaire property businessman (the first Indo-Canadian billionaire).
Kulwinder Dhillon, Punjabi Indian singer.
Mangal Dhillon, Actor, Writer & Producer-Director.
Poonam Dhillon, Bollywood actress.
Lieutenant Colonel Chanan Singh Dhillon (retd), Punjabi Indian World War II hero & Veteran, and president of the ex-services league (Punjab & Chandigarh).
Lieutenant General Joginder Singh Dhillon, Indian and Sikh military war hero.
Lieutenant General Sarabjit Singh Dhillon, Indian General Commander of Kashmir (GoC) and Master General of the Ordnance of the Indian Army.
Air Vice Marshal Satinder Singh Dhillon.^[13]
Baljit Singh Dhillon, Olympic Indian Hockey team Captain.
Baltej Singh Dhillon, first Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer to successfully legally challenge and be allowed to wear a turban in Canada.
Professor Baldev Singh Dhillon, Agricultural scientist and former Director of Research at Punjab Agricultural University.
Professor Gurpreet Singh Dhillon, scholar and author
H. S. Dillon, (PIO) Indonesian Indian Sikh politician.
Jagroop Singh Dhillon, Senior Executive Vice President of HBZ Finance Limited.

[edit] References

^ Satyarth Prakash - Swami Dayananda Saraswati. (Original Book version non-online)
^ Satyarth Prakash - Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
^ History of the Jatt Clans - H.S Duleh.
^ Satyarth Prakash - Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
^ Satyarth Prakash - Swami Dayananda Saraswati (quoted from the famous book "Chadrika Pushtika").
^ Satyarth Prakash - Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
^ Satyarth Prakash - Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
^ History of the Jatt Clans - H.S Duleh (Translation from original Punjabi work "Jattan da Itihas" by Gurjant Singh).
^ History of the Jatt Clans - H.S Duleh (Translation from original Punjabi work "Jattan da Itihas" by Gurjant Singh).
^ Satyarth Prakash - Swami Dayananda Saraswati.
^ History of the Jatt Clans - H.S Duleh.
^ jats chief ministers
^ Service Record for Air Vice Marshal Satinder Singh Dhillon 7980 AEM [www.bharat-rakshak.com]