Dhar is a surname commonly found among the Hindu Bengali Kayastha community in West Bengal, India.[1][2] Dhar or Dar is also used by some Kashmiri clans and communities[3][4][5] native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India, and common today[3] among Kashmiri Hindus[6] and Kashmiri Muslims.[7][8]

History and origins

Bengali surname

The Bengali Hindu Kayastha surname Dhar is probably derived from Bengali dhār (ধার) meaning 'credit'.[9] It is also used by the Bengali diaspora in neighbouring states.

Kashmiri surname

Dhar or Dar is also used by some Kashmiri clans and communities native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India, and common today among Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims. Outside Kashmir, it is used by members of the Kashmiri diaspora, in places like Punjab, [citation needed] Bengal,[10] Gujarat,[11] and Maharashtra,[11] and more commonly in recent times by the global Kashmiri Pandit diaspora following the Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in 1989–1990.

The Kashmiri surname Dhar originated as an honorific given to a village head, strongman, or warlord of a jagir.[12][13] The title was widespread by the 12th century CE and continued until the 14th century CE. The earliest available records of Dhar or Dar used as a surname date back to the 16th century CE.[12]

Furthermore, Kalhana has explained in Rajatarangini, a book considered vital by historians that the term Dhar comes from the word Dharra (Pronounced : Darra) which also happened to have a connection to an ancient mountain ridge called Kakodar. Kakodar in ancient times was known as Karkotadhara. Kalhana has used the word "similar" for both Dar and Dhar in Rajatrangini, giving modern-day historians a hint of changing pronunciation claims to be true.[14]

Spelling variations of the surname in context of Kalhana

According to some Pandit historians the surname originates from the Sanskrit word Dharra which translates to "Lord" and historically this term was always used as a Suffix for the mountains of Kashmir e.g. Karkotadharra which is now called Kakodar.[14] Thus the two spellings have a common origin.[12]

The spelling of the surname in Sanskrit was Dhar at the time when the prevalent writing system was the Sharada script; in spoken Kashmiri, the surname Dhar may have gotten distorted to Dar. With the advent of Islam in Kashmir, new Muslims who had converted from Hinduism retained their surname, but may have modified the spelling to differentiate themselves from the Kashmiri Hindu from which they came.[7]

Kalhana specifically mentioned Dar/Dhar as a Brahman family in his Rajatarangini.[15]

Dar also should not be confused with Dangar or Damara. All these surnames have no connection based on historical evidence.[16]

Persian, Kashmiri Pandits and its effects

"The scholarship of the Pandits in Persian reached its high watermark during this period. They wrote exquisite poetry in Persian and were master writers in prose. Munshi Bhawani Das stands preeminent amongst the prose writers of the day. So also Lachhi Ram Saroor who rose very high at the Court of Nawabs of Oudh mainly because of his high poetical merit. Rai Rayan Anand Ram Karihalu was a great favourite of Shah Alam II and a great poet. He was a great Persian and Arabic scholar. So also Pandit Taba Ram Turki (1776 A.D. to 1847 A.D.), Sat Ram Baqaya, Pandit Daya Ram Kachru (1743 A.D. to 1811 A.D.) Aftab Bhan, Gobind Kaul, Kailas Dar (died 1772 A.D.) Lasa Kaul, Deva Kaul, Thakur Das, Gopal Dar (1735 A.D. to 1798 A.D.). Raja Kak Dar, Rugh Nath Kaul (1735 to 1807 A.D.) and many others. The contributions made by them to Persian literature have elicited the significant remarks from competent critics that in the mastery of the Persian language the Kashmiri Pandits were second only to the Persians. About pandit Anand Ram Karihalu it is remarked that his mastery of Arabic and Persian was so complete that even amongst the Muslims nobody could compete with him. Pandit Birbar Kachru (1789-1859 A.D.) to whom reference has been made in these pages has written a voluminous history of Kashmir. He has dealt with social and economic conditions of the people in a very detailed and lucid manner. Pandit Anand Ram Pahalwan has carried the History of Kashmir by Narain Kaul from 1712 A.D. to 1785 A.D. Birbar Kachru, besides being a historian, wrote good poetry as well. The Kashmir Pandits of this period were very orthodox in religion, but that did not cripple their minds. In outdoor life they hayed and described themselves as any other citizen would do. The use of words like Banda, Bandai Chas, Bandai Dargah, Ahqar, Ibn etc with their names would show this. Not only that. They offered sometimes their prayers also in Persian language, and prefixed even their Gods with such epithets as Hazrat."[17]

This specific passage explains the probability that there is a high chance many Sanskrit surnames may have been influenced by Persian in the Early Kashmiri Hindu community. Not to ignore that even in the Modern Era a Popular Pandit surname Bhatt is written as Batt / Butt by Potohari / Punjabi Speaking Muslims of Kashmiri descent (or ethnic bloodline) around the world which may also have similar reasons.[18]

Influence on Kashmir

Some Historical accounts clearly record the involvement of people belonging to modern day Dar tribe in Kashmir's politics.

When Hasan Shah wanted to settle Syeds in Kashmir his decision was greatly revolted by People belonging to Dar, Raina, Magre (Magray) and Thakar (Thakur) tribes of Kashmir.[19]

In another book it is mentioned that:

The defeat of the Sayyids brought to the fore front four Kashmiri Leaders. Jahangir Magre, Saif Dar, Idi Raina and Shams Chak. Jahangir Magre has said to be later overthrown by Malik Saif Dar. [20]

Notable people surnamed Dhar or Dar

Sportspeople

Politicians

See also

References

  1. ^ Singh, K.S. Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles. pp. 1421–1423.
  2. ^ Bhattacharya, J.N. Hindu Castes and Sects.
  3. ^ a b Explore Kashmiri Pandits. Dharma Publications. ISBN 9780963479860. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  4. ^ Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, Volumes 62–63. Dr. A. M. Ghatage. 2004. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Hence Kashmiri speech community can be viewed as the population united by sharing social norms; acquire Kashmiri as their native language; and use Kashmiri language to meet ... The surnames like Bhat, Pandit, Munshi, Dhar, Dar, Handoo, ...
  5. ^ Explore Kashmiri Pandits. Bansi Pandit. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-9634798-6-0. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  6. ^ D. D. (Dhruv Dev). Sharma (2005). Panorama of Indian Anthroponomy: An Historical, Socio-Cultural and Linguistic Analysis of Indian Personal Names. Mittal Publication. ISBN 9788183240789. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Similar is the case of Hindus and Christians in Kerala, eg (Krisna Panikkar; George Panikkar), and Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir or Hindus and Sikhs in Punjab who have many common surnames, eg (Kashmir): Bhat, Dar, Malik, Rana, Pandit (Saleem Pandit), etc. and (Punjab): Arora, Bedi, Kapoor, Bjaj, Sahney, Maini, Ahloowalia, etc. In such cases reference to a person by his surname, as Mr. Bhat or Mr. Arora does not indicate whether the person under reference is a Hindu, a Muslim or a Sikh.
  7. ^ a b Bhatt, Saligram (2008). Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace: Proceedings of National Seminar by Kashmir Education Culture & Science Society (K.E.C.S.S.), New Delhi. APH Publishing. p. 134. ISBN 978-81-313-0402-0. With the advent of Islam many such Dara's had converted and to differentiate themselves from Brahmin Dara's, convertee's modified it to Dar while Brahmins persisted with Dhar. ... It is essential to understand that Dhar and Dar is question of writing these in then prevalent script Sharda (then Upbrahmbasha), which could have introduced this subtle discrepancy in pronunciation more so if it was uttered in Sanskrit, which got distorted while speaking Kashmeeri.
  8. ^ Saligram Bhatt; Jānakīnātha Kaula (2004). Kashmiri Pandits, a cultural heritage. Lancer Book. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Incidentally it may be stated that many Kashmiri Muslims still have the surnames of the pandits, like Kaul, Bhatt, Pandit, Dar, etc. With the accession to throne of Hari Singh in 1925, the State was given a 'new look'.
  9. ^ "Dhar Name Meaning & Dhar Family History at Ancestry.com". Ancestry. Indian (West Bengal) and Bangladeshi: Kayastha name probably based on Bengali dhar 'credit' (Sanskrit uddhāra 'deliverance').
  10. ^ Saligram Bhatt (2008). Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. ISBN 9788131304020. Retrieved 25 March 2007. A recent article by a Kashmeeri writer has propounded that Dhar's were those who migrated to Gauda {Bengal} and retained their Dhar surname once they returned to the valley.
  11. ^ a b Saligram Bhatt (2008). Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. ISBN 9788131304020. Retrieved 25 March 2007. The genesis in outline is that Dhar was the honorific given to a village head, strongman or a warlord of smaller jagir/estate; called Dara pronounced as Dhara. This honorific was prevalent during 12th Century {Jaisimha} and continue to be used till about 14th Century.
  12. ^ a b c Saligram Bhatt (2008). Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. ISBN 9788131304020. Retrieved 25 March 2007. The genesis in outline is that Dhar was the honorific given to a village head, strongman or a warlord of smaller jagir/estate; called Dara pronounced as Dhara. This honorific was prevalent during 12th Century {Jaisimha} and continue to be used till about 14th Century.
  13. ^ Barbara Anne Brower; Barbara Rose Johnston (15 September 2007). Disappearing peoples?: indigenous groups and ethnic minorities in South and Central Asia. Left Coast Press. ISBN 9781598741209. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Their surnames (kram) designate their original professions or their ancestors' nicknames (eg, Hakim, Kaul, Dhar, Raina, ...
  14. ^ a b Kalhaṇa (1900). Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī: A Chronicle of the Kings of Kaśmīr. Kulhana. p. 126. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  15. ^ Kalhana (1989). Kalhana's Rajatarangini: A Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir: Vol 1 & 2. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 505. ISBN 978-81-208-0370-1. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  16. ^ Explore Kashmiri Pandits. Bansi Pandit. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-9634798-6-0. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  17. ^ Bakshi, S. R. (1997). Kashmir: History and People. Sarup & Sons. p. 138. ISBN 978-81-85431-96-3. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  18. ^ P.K. Kaul (2006). Pahāṛi and other tribal dialects of Jammu, Volume 1. Eastern Book Linkers. ISBN 9788178541013. The But/Butt of Punjab were originally Brahmin migrants from Kashmir during 1878 famine.
  19. ^ Bakshi, Shiri Ram (1997). Kashmir: Valley and Its Culture. Sarup & Sons. p. 231. ISBN 978-81-85431-97-0. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  20. ^ Parmu, R. K. (1969). A History of Muslim Rule in Kashmir, 1320-1819. People's Publishing House. pp. 186, 189. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
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