Kassar or Mughal Kassar (Urdu: ( کسر / مغل قصر ) are a Mughal tribe and one of the three major land-owning tribes in the Dhanni country of Chakwal District in Punjab province, Pakistan.[1] They occupy the northern part of Dhani, called 'Babial and Chaupeda'. In the Punjab settlement report of 1862, it is mentioned that they had come from Jammu along with the Mair-Minhas tribe and had been settled in this area by the Mughal Emperor, Zaheerudin Babur. However, in Punjab census of 1881 they claimed that they themselves were of Mughal descent, and presented a family tree that connected their lineage with Babur in the 8th generation and showed their ancestor Kassar (who was said to be a Barlas Mughal) as a distant cousin of Babur. Hence, they claimed that they had come with Babur's army as his fellow tribesmen and were settled in Dhani along with the Mairs and Kahuts by the Emperor himself. According to the census of 1931, their male population was 4000. Kassar tend to prefer their own caste for marriages but second priority goes to Mair Minhas and Kahout Quraish.
In character, the Kassars are passionate and revengeful.[2] They have no special ethnic belonging or places of worship, Most of them belongs to Ahle Sunnat (Urdu: اہل سنت) while considerable number follows Shia Islam (Arabic: شيعة, Shīʿah), apart from these two major sects some of them follow Ahl-e-Hadith School of thoughts. Diversity in their religious believes indicate their secular culture.The Kassars have the institution of sirdari ,whereby the eldest son of a chief gets an extra share. They use the title of "Chaudhry" .[3] Most of their customs and traditions are not different in any respect from those of the tribes surrounding them, except that the graves of women are distinguished by stone at the head and foot parallel to the breadth of the grave, while other graves are parallel to the length .
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The family tree of Kassar tribes is as follows:
Amir Timur Gorgan>> Jalal-ul-din Sultan Miran Shah >> Ibrahim Qableen>> Mirza Taluchar>> Amir Wali Kandhari >> Baba Kassar Khan>>
The origin of the Kassar tribe is Chakwal District, where they have a significant presence throughout the region. Apart from Chakwal, they are also settled in Attock, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Khushab, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Tehsil Sohawa, Badin (Sindh ), Larkana (Sindh), Muzafar Abad (Kashmir), Poonch (Kashmir), and Cakothi (Kashmir).
Towns in Chakwal dominated by the Kassar tribe include Fim Kassar, Farid Kassar, Balkassar, Balokassar, Sarkal Kassar, Bhagwal, Karsal, Saral, Miswall, Doray, Chauli, Mangwal, Dingi, Munwall, Bikhari Kalan, Bikhari Khurd, Dhok Peeli, Dhudial, Tattral, Latifal, Dhalal, Hastal, Maari, Thoha Bahadur, and Lakhwal. Kasra in Attock District is also an important Kassar village.
The first settlement of the Kassar tribe in Kashmir was made in Khalana (Muzafarabad); they then migrated to Poonch and other parts of Kashmir. Because of their first settlement in Khalana, they are also called “Qazian-e-Khalana” in Kashmir.
Kassar are also living in surrounding chaks (settlement areas) of Kotmomin vis-a-vis 10sb, 20sb, 9sb, 67sb, 65sb and 66sb Sargodha migrated from Dhanni under the sponsorship of Alhaj Fateh Kahn Chaouli (Reader of Colony Commissioner Malcum Hailie).
The clans (ذیلی اقوام) of the Kassar tribe are: