Talk:Rathore
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[edit] Copyvio
ImpuMozhi: Please provide the URL from which the information in the copyvio was copied from. Otherwise you will have to revert. --BWD (talk) 03:25, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Rathores of Kashmir
There are well over a hundred thousand Rathores (or Rathurs) in Kashmir, and thousands of Kashmiri Rathores (or Rathurs) who migrated to Punjab or UP in past couple of centuries. Does someone have more details about them? How did they get to Kashmir? Are they all one group? Is the origin of Kashmiri Rathores (or Rathurs) seperate from Siyaji (the grandson of Jaichand)? What role did Jahangir's invasion of Kashmir play in the migration of Rajhastani Rathores to Kashmir?
Here is what I found about Kashmiri Rathores so far:
"Rathur or Rathore" [From pages 209 to 210 of Tawaareekh Aqwaam e Kashmir {Histories of the Tribes of Kashmir} by Muhammad Deen Fauq, written in 1934 A.D. ; Published by Nigarshat, 24 Muzang Road, Lahore, Pakistan, in 2003 A.D.]:
In the histories of Kashmir the recorded names Rathur, Raothore, Raitore, Raothur are in reality one; and all of these words are actually distorted forms of the name Rathore. Rathores are a well known tribe of the Rajputs. They used to be hindu, but now many of them are muslim. Sir Walter Lawrence has written in his book, Valley of Kashmir, that Rathurs are also one of those Shaikhs who converted from hindu Khashatris to islam. Chhatri, Khatri, and Khashatri are actually names of the same tribe, and they come from the preminent and marshall hindu race of Rajputs.
A book about Rajput tribes was published a few years ago by the name of, Rajput Gotain (Rajput Clans). It is written on page 15 of this book that "Janjua and Rathore are from the same family. These tribes are from the descendants of Jadu-Bansi Rajputs, which moved towards the salt mountain range after the death of Krishan Ji." Then on page 19 of the same book it is written that "The Rathores once conquered Bikaner and made the Bhattis run towards the plains of Punjab." Then on page 24 of the same book it is written that among the Rathores, Raja Mal Rathore was a very well known ruler. In the year 980 A.D. he emigrated from Jodhpur or Kannauj and established the settlement of Malot near Jhelum. One of Mal Rathore's sons was Joda, from whose name the word Janjua is derived. At one time the Janjua tribe ruled almost all the area near the Salt Mountains. But then a time came when the Gakhars came from the north and the Awans came from the west to push them out.
In the same book on page 31 it is written that "This tribe (Rathore) is one of 36 Royal lines. It is from the Suraj-Bansi Rajputs. It's ancient head quarters was Kanauj. From there they spread to Marwara, Bikaner, and other locations."
Since when are people of the Rathore tribe in Kashmir? About this there is no reliable information. They were surely in Kashmir at the time of the ancient hindu rajas. Islam arrived in Kashmir around 1300 A.D., and around 1375 A.D. a muslim by the name of Shaikh Nasr-uddeen Raothur is mentioned in the history of Kashmir (According to Fauq's source for this information, Raothur means 'wrestler' or 'brave' in Kashmiri language). From this we are informed that along with other Kashmiri hindu tribes, the Rathores also accepted islam.
The writer of Taareekh Gulshane Kashmir {History of the Garden of Kashmir} has also said that Raothur is a distorted form of the name Rathore, and has written that these people are Chhatri Rajputs.
Taareekh Kabeer Kashmir, on page 293, mentions a Khwaja Haider Raitore. It is written that he "was the student of Mullah Habib Mir Adal (during the reign of Alamgir a.k.a. Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor from 1658-1707 A.D.). Khwaja Haider Raitore benefited from the knowledge of many of the islamic scholars of India during his travels through India." Khwaja Haider is mentioned as Raitore instead of Rathur in this history, but it is in reality a distorted form of Rathore.
Taareekh Hassan, while mentioning the tribes of Shaikhs, or the land owning segment of society, writes that these Kashmiri Rajput tribes (Magray, Daangar, Naatak, Tanteray, Daar, Butt, Lone, and Rathur) have been soldiers, and made up the bulk of the armies, during the time of the ancient Kashmiri hindu rajas.
The census of 1911 A.D. shows that the population of Rathores in Jammu and Kashmir was 33,951 people. Of these Rathores, 2,545 lived in the province of Jammu, and only 126 lived in frontier districts. The rest of the 31,280 Rathores lived in the valley of Kashmir proper. After 20 years, in 1931 A.D. their population in the state was 39,725 persons. Of these Rathores, 17,960 were women, and 21,725 were men. Meaning that in 20 years, the population of Rathores increased by 5,774 people in the state.
The conditions that forced muslims and pandits of various tribes to migrate to Punjab, Delhi, or Lucknow during the reign of the Sikhs and Pathaans, were the same conditions that forced These people (Rathores) to emigrate from their country (Kashmir). This tribe, along with other refugee Kashmiri tribes, thought it best to go with the times and search for better opportunities elsewhere. (In exile), due to higher education, trade, and employment, Rathores occupy high positions and are well off. A few prominent families are mentioned in chapter 5.
In Kashmir, the greater part of the Raothur tribe is found in villages, and know no other trade except agriculture.
From pages 403 to 404 of Tawaareekh Aqwaam e Kashmir:
Fauq mentions the case of a Rathore family which migrated from Kashmir to Punjab and bought agricultural land near Gujranwala in 1930. After the payment was made, some government official refused to transfer the deed in the Rathore's name. The official's claim was that the Kashmiri migrants are not farmers, and this land is designated for purely agricultural purposes. The Rathore family sued the government official in court and made the argument that Rathores are Kashmiri Rajputs who know only farming, therefore there is no chance of the family being anything else other than farmers. The tax collector and other officials claimed that the plaintiff is pretending to be a Rathore just to gain possession of the land, and in fact he is just a Kashmiri migrant, as listed in official tax papers. When the plaintiff brought 11 witnesses and much older documents proving his ethnicity, the case was decided in his favor. The judge wrote in his decision that since the plaintiff has proved he is a Kashmiri Rathore, there can be no question in his claim to being a farmer, and the land must be transfered in his name.
Most Kashmiri Rathores who migrated to Punjab and adopted agriculture as their profession are now called Chaudhry. The term Chaudhry is used in central and northern Punjab to refer to a large land owner or village chief. These migrants no longer use the Rathore name, and have completely melted into their adopted culture. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.165.91.224 (talk) 15:24, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
