Kamboj
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India • Pakistan | |
| Languages | |
| Punjabi • Dogri • Hindi • Urdu | |
| Religion | |
| Hindusim • Islam • Sikhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Muslim Kamboh |
The Kambojs (Hindi: कम्बोज Kamboj, Urdu: کمبوہ ALA-LC: Kamboh, Punjabi: ਕੰਬੋਜ Kamboj), also Kamboh, is a community mainly in the Northern India and eastern Pakistan.
During Muslim rule
During the early years of Islam in India, one of the groups of this clan embraced Islam at the instance of Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya Suhrawardi (of Multan) and his son Shaikh Sadruddin.[1]
Some Kamboj, such as Shahbaz Khan Kamboh,[1] occupied key military and civil positions during the Turkic and the Moghul reign in northern India.[2] The historian M. Athar Ali said that "The Sayyids and the Kambohs among the Indian Muslims were specially favoured for high military and civil positions during Moghul rule".[3]
Muhammad Umar writes:
The (Muslim) Kamboh distinguished themselves by their courage, generosity and high spirits. They were famous for their excellent manners and were particularly gifted with wisdom and nobility....In terms of social stratification, the Kambohs were counted among the Shaikhs ... Among the Indian Muslims, the Kambohs were regarded as the noblest of all. However, perhaps with a view to maintaining the purity of their descent, or because of pride of nobility, they confined their matrimonial relationships within their own groups and did not establish marriage connections with other Muslim groups including even the Saiyids and the Mughals. Some members of this clan like Shahbaz Khan Kamboh, Nawab Abu Muhammad Khan, Bahadur Khan and Nawab Khair Andesh Khan rose to high positions during the reign of Mughals.[1]
Present day
The Kambojs/Kambohs practiced weapon-worship in the past but the practice is now going out of vogue.[4]
Traditions
Hindu Kambohs claim to be related to the Rajputs. They came in the period of Mahabharat to the regions where they live now.[5]
Agriculturists
Numerous foreign and Indian writers have described the modern Kambojs/Kambohs as one of the finest class of agriculturists of India.[6]
The majority of Krishi Pandit awards in Rajasthan/India have been won by the Kamboj agriculturists.[7] Col Lal Singh Kamboj, a landlord from Uttar Pradesh, was the first Indian farmer to win the Padma Shri award for progressive farming in 1968.
Notable people
See also
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Look up Kamboj in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
References
- 1 2 3 Muslim Society in Northern India During the Eighteenth Century, 1998, pp 24, 25 Muhammad Umar
- ↑ See: The composition of the Mughal nobility, The New Encyclopædia Britannica, 1993, p 70, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., Robert McHenry; See also: Concise Encyclopædia Britannica, Online.
- ↑ Ali, M. Athar (2001) [1966]. The Mughal Nobility Under Aurangzeb (Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-19565-599-5.
- ↑ Jatt Tribes of Zira, p 138
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Sikh Religion & Culture, 1997, p 24, Gobind Singh Mansukhani, Romesh Chander Dogra.
- ↑ India and World War 1, 1978, p 218, DeWitt C. Ellinwood, S. D. Pradhan; The Transformation of Sikh Society, 1974, p 132, Ethne K. Marenco
- ↑ Origin of names of Castes and Clans, 2004,Principal Sewa Singh.