Bahniwal
Encyclopedia
The Bahniwal are a Jat clan found in the states of Haryana
and Punjab
in India
.
According to the tribe's tradition, the Bahniwal are of Chauhan
Rajput
descent, who are said to have immigrated from Bikaner in Rajasthan
to Hissar
in the 15th Century. From Hissar
, a branch of the tribe settled in Patiala. Other traditions make them out to be of Bhatti origin. A further migration took place to Okara
, in what is now in Pakistan
in the 19th Century, and where they are now known as Wahiniwal
. The Bahniwal are Hindu
in Hissar
and Sikh
in Patiala, while the Wahiniwal
are Muslim
.
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
According to the tribe's tradition, the Bahniwal are of Chauhan
Chauhan
Chauhan, Chouhan or Chohan , , - is a clan who ruled parts of northern India in the Middle Ages. The clan is most famous for Rajput King Maharaja Prithviraj Chauhan...
Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
descent, who are said to have immigrated from Bikaner in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
to Hissar
Hissar
Hissar means Fort or Castle in Arabic. Many forts in Ottoman, Safavi and Mughal empires are named Hissar. Hissar could refer to:*Hisar, India, a city in Haryana state in India.*Hisar District in Haryana state in India...
in the 15th Century. From Hissar
Hissar
Hissar means Fort or Castle in Arabic. Many forts in Ottoman, Safavi and Mughal empires are named Hissar. Hissar could refer to:*Hisar, India, a city in Haryana state in India.*Hisar District in Haryana state in India...
, a branch of the tribe settled in Patiala. Other traditions make them out to be of Bhatti origin. A further migration took place to Okara
Okara
Okara can have several meanings:* Okara * Okara, Pakistan*Okara Tehsil* Okara District, Pakistan* Gabriel Okara, a Nigerian writer....
, in what is now in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in the 19th Century, and where they are now known as Wahiniwal
Wahiniwal
The Wahniwal are Muslim Jat gotra found in Punjab, Pakistan.-History and origin:According to their traditions, they are of Bhatti Rajput descent. One of their ancestors was born in a depression in the ground, the word for depression in the local Seraiki and Punjabi languages is Wihan. The tribe...
. The Bahniwal are Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
in Hissar
Hissar
Hissar means Fort or Castle in Arabic. Many forts in Ottoman, Safavi and Mughal empires are named Hissar. Hissar could refer to:*Hisar, India, a city in Haryana state in India.*Hisar District in Haryana state in India...
and Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
in Patiala, while the Wahiniwal
Wahiniwal
The Wahniwal are Muslim Jat gotra found in Punjab, Pakistan.-History and origin:According to their traditions, they are of Bhatti Rajput descent. One of their ancestors was born in a depression in the ground, the word for depression in the local Seraiki and Punjabi languages is Wihan. The tribe...
are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
.