Pdewan at 17:13, 1 May 2014

2014-05-01T17:13:51Z

Pdewan at 04:59, 1 May 2014

2014-05-01T04:59:45Z

Pdewan: /* Caste No. 77 */

2014-04-30T03:45:16Z

‎Caste No. 77

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This article is an extract from
PANJAB CASTES
SIR DENZIL CHARLES JELF IBBETSON, K.C. S.I.
2014-04-30T03:44:46Z

Created page with " {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> This article is an extract from PANJAB CASTES SIR DENZIL CHARLES JELF IBBETSON, K.C. S.I. <br..."

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This article is an extract from 

PANJAB CASTES 

SIR DENZIL CHARLES JELF IBBETSON, K.C. S.I. 

Being a reprint of the chapter on 
The Races, Castes and Tribes of 
the People in the Report on the 
Census of the Panjab published 
in ''' 1883 ''' by the late Sir Denzil 
Ibbetson, KCSI 

Lahore : 

Printed by the Superintendent, Government Printing, Punjab, 

1916. 
''Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees '' 
''with the contents of this article.''
</div>
|}
[[Category:India|K]]
[[Category:Communities|K]]

=Caste No. 77=

The Kharrals would appear to be

a true Rajput tribe,
though a very consider
able portion of them
have been returued as
Jat. The figures in the
margin show the total
number returned under
the several headings of
Jat, Rajput, and Khar
ral. Of the Rajput
Kharrals of Bahawalpur
1,613 have returned
their main tribe as Bhatti.
The few Kharrals of
Jalandhar are there re
cognised as Rajputs, and
the Khan-als of Mont
gomery claim descent
from Raja Karan. They
are found in large num
bers only along the
valley of the Ravi, frOm
its junction with the Chanab to the boundary between Lahore and Mont
gomery ; while a few have spread up the Deg river into the Lahore and
Gujranwala bar and smaller numbers are found all along the Satluj valley
as high up as Firozpur. The tribes of this portion of the Ravi are divided
into two classes, the Great Ravi tribes and the Little Ravi tribes. The
former are pastoral rather than agricultural, and include the Kharrals,
Kathias, and many of the great tribes of Mahomedan Jats. They look down
upon the little Ravi tribes who live within their limits, and who are agri
cultural rather than pastoral, consisting of Arans, Kambohs, and similar
tribes common in the Eastern Pan jab. The great Ravi tribes are notorious
for their propensity to cattle- stealing, and among the in a young man is not
allowed to wear a turban or to marry a wife till he shows by stealing a
buffalo that he is able to support her, while a headman who has not a number
of dependants ready to steal for or with him is popularly known as an
orphan.'

Among the tribes of the great Ravi the Kharrals are the most
northernly and one of the most important. They are themselves divided into
two factions, the upper Ravi and lower Ravi, the head-quarters of the latter
being at Kot Kamalia. The two are at bitter feud, and the only tie between
them is their hatred of their common enemy, the Sial Rajputs of Jhang.
The Kamalia Kharrals rose to some prominence in the time of Alamgir, and
still hold remains of grants then made them, but the upper Kliarrals are now
the more powerful branch of the two. The Kharrals have ever been notorious
for turbulence, and Mr. Purser's Montgomery Report contains details of
their doings lief ore and under Sikh rule, while the history of the family is
narrated in full at pages 509/ of Grilfin^s Panjab Chiefs. They trace their
origin from one Bhupa a descendant of Raja Karan, who settled at Uchh and
was there converted by Makhdam Shah Jahania. From Uchh they moved
up to their present territory. There are now very few in the Multan district ;
But the fact of their being found along the Satluj, though in small numbers
Only lends some support to the story of their having come upwards from
below. Captain Elphinstone thus describes the Kharrals in his Gugaira
Report : —

The ' Kbari-als ' are the most northernly of the ' Great Ravi * tribes. They occupy a great
portion of the land hetwcen Gugaira and the Lahore district, on both sides of the river, and
extend some distance into ttc Gujranwala district. In turbulence and courage they have been
always considered to excel nil the others except the Kathias ; but the tract occui/ied by them
has been gralually denuded by the rapid extension of cultivation, of what formerly constituted
their greatest strength, — heavy jungle. In case of disturbances, therefore, they have had at more
recent periods tu evacuate their on lands on the approach of large military forces, thus
sustaining much damage by the destruction of their villages. Their most celebrated leader,
Ahmad Khan, who was killed in September 1857 by a detachment under Captain black, headed
the combined tribes, however, in no less than five insurrections, which to a certain extent all
jiroved successful, their chief object — the plunder of the Khatris and llitidns — having usually
been accomplished at the expense of a moderate fine imposed on them under the name of
' Nazarana,' after the conclusion of peace. This success had spread hi-; renown far and wide,
and had given him a groat influence over the whole of the ' Great Ravi,' as was proved by the
outbreak of 1857, which appears to have been mainly planned and organized by him. In
stature the Kharrals are generally above the average height, their features are very marked, and
their activity and endurance are remarkable. Like all the other .Jats they pretend to a descent
'• from the Rajputs, and like that class look down with some contempt upon men who handle the
plough. The cultivation in their villages is, therefore, almost exclusively left to the Vysiwans
and inferior castes, the Kharral proprietors contenting themselves with realizing their shai-e of
the produce. They only possess land in tracts inundated by the rivers, mere well-cultivation
being too laborious a task even for their dependants.

Mr Purser adds that they are wasteful in marriage expenditures hos pi
table to travellers, thievish, and with little taste for agriculture ; and that they
still follow many Hindu customs, especially on the occasion of marriage. In
Lahore they appear to bear a no better character than in Montgomery ; and
there is a Persian proverb : The Dogar, the Bhatti, the Wattu, and the
Kharral are all rebellious and ought to be slain. Sir Lepel Griffin
writes of them : *' Through all historic times the Kharrals have been a
turbulent, savage, and thievish tribe, ever impatient of control, and
delighting in strife and plunder. More fanatic than other Mahomedan
tribes, they submitted with the greatest reluctance to Hindu rule ; and
it was as much as Diwan Sawan Mal and the Sikhs could do to restrain them j
for whenever an organised force was sent against them they retired into the
marshes and thick jungles, where it was almost impossible to follow them.'
In Gujranwala they are said to be idle, troublesome, bad cultivators and
notorious thieves, their persons generally tall and handsome, and their habits
nomad and preadatory.

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:59, 1 May 2014
Line 127:		Line 127:
	notorious thieves, their persons generally tall and handsome, and their habits		notorious thieves, their persons generally tall and handsome, and their habits
	nomad and preadatory.		nomad and preadatory.
		+
		+	See[[The Kathia, Khagga, and Hans ]]

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 The Kharrals would appear to be
 a true Rajput tribe,
 though a very consider
 able portion of them
-have been returued as
+have been returned as
 Jat. The figures in the
 margin show the total
@@ Line 47: / Line 46: @@
 Jalandhar are there re
 cognised as Rajputs, and
-the Khan-als of Mont
+the Kharrals of Mont
 gomery claim descent
 from Raja Karan. They

@@ Line 122: / Line 122: @@
 tribes, they submitted with the greatest reluctance to Hindu rule ; and
 it was as much as Diwan Sawan Mal and the Sikhs could do to restrain them j
- for whenever an organised force was sent against them they retired into the
+for whenever an organised force was sent against them they retired into the
 marshes and thick jungles, where it was almost impossible to follow them.'
 In Gujranwala they are said to be idle, troublesome, bad cultivators and
 notorious thieves, their persons generally tall and handsome, and their habits
 nomad and preadatory.

The Kharral - Revision history

Pdewan at 17:13, 1 May 2014

Pdewan at 04:59, 1 May 2014

Pdewan: /* Caste No. 77 */