The Kharal also spelled Kharral or Kharl is a very large feudal tribe centered in Punjab Region that was traditionally semi-pastoral[1][2] and is classed as Jat[3] or Rajput.[4][5][excessive citations] Modern Indian and Pakistani census reports mention Kharals as Rajputs.[6][7][8]

Kharal
EthnicityPunjabi
LocationPakistan
Language
Religion
Star and Crescent.svg
Islam

The Kharals predominantly inhabit the Western plains of Punjab (i.e. west of Lahore) that lie below the Salt Range and its surrounding areas.[9] The Kharrals seem to be most concentrated in the Ravi River Valley between Lahore and the former Montgomery District, this corresponds well to Ain-i-Akbari (1595 CE) listing of Kharal Zamindaris in different Parganas.[10] Historian and writer Amar Nath Bali says that the Kharral were of Rajput origin and became Jats after migrating to Punjab.[11] A study by Punjabi University states Kharals inhabited western plains of Punjab and perhaps belonged to a Rajput tribe but subsequently recorded themselves as Jatts.[3] A journal by Government College University lists Kharrals along other tribes as Rajputs.[4]

The Kharals have numerous subdivisions some of which include Upera, Lakhera, Begke,[12] Randhaira, Lalhaira, Rubera, Lodike[y], Dehar, Churiara, Khar, Bhandra, Doulo Kay and Gogera; the Kharals use many titles including Rai, Chaudhry, Malik and Mian but Rai is mostly used.[13]

Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal is a historical Kharal personality who revolted against British in 1857 revolt and took leadership of many local tribes, he was shot while praying by British on September 21, 1857.[14][15]

The Kharals are famous in the Indian Subcontinent due to the one of the great Punjabi tragic Romances called Mirza Sahiban. The stories protagonist is Mirza son of the Chief of the Kharal Jatts of Danabad and falls in love with his cousin Sahiban of the Sial Jatt tribe.[16][17] To date there have been many film adaptations in both Pakistan and India of the Story of Mirza and Sahiban.[18]

References

  1. ^ Singh, Chetan (1988). "Conformity and conflict: tribes and the 'agrarian system' of Mughal India". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. SAGE Publications. 25 (3): 319–340. doi:10.1177/001946468802500302. ISSN 0019-4646. S2CID 144158819.
  2. ^ Gupta, H.R. (2001). History of the Sikhs: The Sikh commonwealth or Rise and fall of Sikh misls. History of the Sikhs. Munshiram Manoharlal. pp. 269–270. ISBN 978-81-215-0540-6. Retrieved 30 July 2022. The Naka/country was the home of the Jat clan, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh. Majority of them were Muslims and Sikhs. The important Muslim tribes were Kathias, Kharals and Wattus. The Dipalpur Hindu Kambohs were considered by James Douie as much more hard-working than these semi-pastoral Jats.
  3. ^ a b Multiple sources:
  4. ^ a b Multiple sources:
  5. ^ Shackle, C. (1984). The Sikhs. Atlantic Publishers & Distri. p. 31.
  6. ^ General, India Office of the Registrar (1968). Census of India, 1961. Manager of Publications.
  7. ^ 1998 District Census Report of [name of District].: Bahawalnagar. Population Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 1999. p. 16.
  8. ^ 1998 District Census Report of [name of District].: Okara. Population Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000. pp. Page 9.
  9. ^ Ahmed, Iftikhar (1984). "TERRITORIAL DISTRIBUTION OF JATT CASTES IN PUNJAB c. 1595 - c. 1881". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Indian History Congress. 45: 429. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44140224. Retrieved 28 July 2022. the Langah, Kharral and Marral, are placed by him in the 'western plains'- whereby is implied the area west of Lahore bue excluding the Salt Range and the submontane tracts
  10. ^ Ahmed, Iftikhar (1984). "TERRITORIAL DISTRIBUTION OF JATT CASTES IN PUNJAB c. 1595 - c. 1881". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Indian History Congress. 45: 430, 432. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44140224. Retrieved 28 July 2022. They are found in large numbers only along the valley of the Ravi, from its junction with the Chinab to the boundary between Lahore and Montgomery".19 This is already reflected in the sixteenth century Zamindari possessions of the Kharrals : two of the three (identified) parganas listed in our table lie on the banks of the Ravi. Apart from these the Ain mentions five more parganas (unidentified) under the Kharrals, four of which are placed in the Rechna Doab portions of Sarkars Multan and Dipalpur, aad one in Bari Doab (Sarkar Dipalpur)
  11. ^ Bali, Amar Nath (1969). Glimpses of Punjab's History. New Delhi. p. 65. A similar change took place in the case of a few other Rajput clans migrating to the Punjab . In course of time , the Chathas , the Sindhus , the Syals , the Kharrals , the Randhawas all became Jats.
  12. ^ Khan, Muhammad Sajid; Mohyuddin, Zafar; Naz, Humera (30 June 2019). "District of Montgomery (Sahiwal) in Nineteenth Century: A Historical Study". Journal of Languages, Culture and Civilization. 1 (1): 48, 49. ISSN 2708-3748.
  13. ^ Haider, Karim (31 December 2017). "Impact of Politico-economic Changes on the Resettlement of Kharal Tribe in Punjab". Pakistan Social Sciences Review. Fatima Gohar Educational and Welfare Society. 1 (II): 179. doi:10.35484/pssr.2017(1-ii)15. ISSN 2664-0422.
  14. ^ Miraj, Muhammad Hassan (22 April 2013). "Kharal and Berkley II". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  15. ^ Sargana, Turab ul Hassan (2020). Punjab and the War of Independence 1857-1858 from Collaboration to Resistance. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-070184-0.
  16. ^ Muhammad Hassan Miraj (1 April 2013). "The ballad of Mirza Saheba'n". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  17. ^ Duggal, K.S. (1979). Folk Romances of Punjab. Marwah. p. 17. Retrieved 26 September 2022. Mirza and Saheban were cousins. Saheban was the daughter of Mirza's maternal uncle. They were fellow pupils in a madrasa. Mirza, the son of Binjal, a Kharral Jat of Danabad on the bank of the river Ravi
  18. ^ Bali, Karan (13 September 2016). "Before 'Mirzya', Mirza and Sahiban have died over and over again for their love". Scroll.in. Retrieved 26 September 2022.

External links

Clans of the Jat people
Ethnic groups, social groups and tribes of the Punjabis
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