Khokhar Khanzada
Encyclopedia
The Khokhar Khanzada are a Muslim Rajput community found mainly in the Fatehpur district
of Uttar Pradesh
in India
. They have no connection with the Ranghar
Khokhar
of Moradabad district
in western Uttar Pradesh
, another community of Muslim
Khokhar
s settled in Uttar Pradesh
. The Khokhar
are a well known tribe, found mainly in the Punjab
region of Pakistan
and India
. There is some confusion as to the origin of the Khokhar
, with some claiming Arab
ancestry, while others claim to be Rajput
The Khokhar Khanzada are a sub-community within the larger Khanzada
community of eastern Uttar Pradesh
. These Khokhar claim to be originally Pashtun
s.
in Punjab
. He was sent to Fatehpur
by the Khilji
authorities in Delhi
to suppress the Bhar
s, a turbulent tribe that controlled most of eastern Uttar Pradesh
. The Malik
successfully defeated the Bhar
s, and the grateful Alauddin Khilji
, the Sultan of Delhi
granted several villages as a jagir
(estate) in Fatehpur district
, the main one being Kot. In addition to the settlement at Kot, they are also found in the villages of Arhaiya, Urha, Shahunagar, Rahmatpur, Sheopur, Kali, Ghazipur and Parvezpur. Other than the jagirdar families, the majority of the Fatehpur
Khokhar are small to medium sized farmers. With the abolishment of zamindar
i system of feudal ownership by the Indian government in 1949, this has had a strong impact on the large landowning families, as much of their land has been redistributed. A further change has been that many Khokhar Khanzada have also emigrated to Pakistan
, and are now found mainly in Karachi
.
s, and have customs similar to other Khanzada
communities in the region. The community is largely endogamous, although there are cases of intermarriage with the Gautam Khanzada
, a neighbouring Muslim Rajput population. But most marriages are with in a close kin, with the community practicing both parallel cousin and cross cousin marriages. The community speak Urdu
, as well as the Awadhi dialect.
in Moradabad District
is also home to several families of Khokhar
s, who have said to have emigrated from Gujrat
in what is now Pakistani Punjab
during the reign of the Mughal
Emperor Babar
. As most Rajput
converts to Islam
were in common parlance referred to as Ranghar
, these Khokhar
s were also referred to as the Khokhar. The Emperor Babar himself is said to have granted the Khokhars jagir
for the town of the Sambhal
. They played an particularly important role in Rohilkhand
politics during the period of Rohilla
rule. The Khokhar were the effective rulers of the town of Sambhal
and the adjoining countryside until the establishment of British
rule after the Rohilla War
of 1774. Although the Khokhars lost independent power, they remained one of the larger landowners in the district till 1949, when the newly independent India
carried out substantive land reform, and broke up the large estates. The Khokhars remain a substantial element in the population of Sambhal
.
Fatehpur district
Fatehpur district is one of the 71 districts of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The district covers an area of 4,152 km². The district has a population of 2,308,384 . Fatehpur city is the administrative headquarters of the district. Located on the banks of the sacred rivers Ganges and...
of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
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...
. They have no connection with the Ranghar
Ranghar
Ranghar are a Muslim ethnic group, which is found in Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan and Haryana and Uttar Pradesh states of India. Ranghar were native to Indian state of Haryana and also found in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, as well as Delhi in India...
Khokhar
Khokhar
The Khokhar or Khokar are a people of Punjab region of Pakistan and north-western India. According to H. A. Rose they are the gotra of Rajput, Jat, Arain, Nai, and Churah. According to Denzil Ibbetson, they are also a gotra of the Tarkhan and Khatri tribes. The Khokhars were designated as an...
of Moradabad district
Moradabad District
Moradabad district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Moradabad town is the district headquarters. Moradabad district is a part of Moradabad division...
in western Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, another community of 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...
Khokhar
Khokhar
The Khokhar or Khokar are a people of Punjab region of Pakistan and north-western India. According to H. A. Rose they are the gotra of Rajput, Jat, Arain, Nai, and Churah. According to Denzil Ibbetson, they are also a gotra of the Tarkhan and Khatri tribes. The Khokhars were designated as an...
s settled in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. The Khokhar
Khokhar
The Khokhar or Khokar are a people of Punjab region of Pakistan and north-western India. According to H. A. Rose they are the gotra of Rajput, Jat, Arain, Nai, and Churah. According to Denzil Ibbetson, they are also a gotra of the Tarkhan and Khatri tribes. The Khokhars were designated as an...
are a well known tribe, found mainly in the Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
region of 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...
and 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...
. There is some confusion as to the origin of the Khokhar
Khokhar
The Khokhar or Khokar are a people of Punjab region of Pakistan and north-western India. According to H. A. Rose they are the gotra of Rajput, Jat, Arain, Nai, and Churah. According to Denzil Ibbetson, they are also a gotra of the Tarkhan and Khatri tribes. The Khokhars were designated as an...
, with some claiming Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
ancestry, while others claim to be 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...
The Khokhar Khanzada are a sub-community within the larger Khanzada
Khanzada (Awadh)
The Khanzada or Khan Zadeh are a community of Hindu converted Muslim Rajputs, found in the Awadh region of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. A few are also found in the state of Bihar. This community is distinct from the Rajasthan Khanzadas, who are also a community of Muslim Rajputs. They also...
community of eastern Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. These Khokhar claim to be originally Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
s.
Origin
The Khokhar Khanzada claim decent from Malik Babur, who said to have come from KapurthalaKapurthala
Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The secular and aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic...
in 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...
. He was sent to Fatehpur
Fatehpur district
Fatehpur district is one of the 71 districts of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The district covers an area of 4,152 km². The district has a population of 2,308,384 . Fatehpur city is the administrative headquarters of the district. Located on the banks of the sacred rivers Ganges and...
by the Khilji
Khilji dynasty
The Khilji Sultanate was a dynasty of Turko-Afghan Khalaj origin who ruled large parts of South Asia from 1290 - 1320. They were the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate of India...
authorities in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
to suppress the Bhar
Bhar
The Bhar are a Hindu caste found in North India. They are also known as Rajbhar. British historian General Cunningham said that Bhars are branch of the Ahir tribe.-History and origin:...
s, a turbulent tribe that controlled most of eastern Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. The Malik
Malik
Malik is an Arabic word meaning "king, chieftain".It has been adopted in various other, mainly Islamized or Arabized, Asian languages for their ruling princes and to render kings elsewhere. It is also sometimes used in derived meanings...
successfully defeated the Bhar
Bhar
The Bhar are a Hindu caste found in North India. They are also known as Rajbhar. British historian General Cunningham said that Bhars are branch of the Ahir tribe.-History and origin:...
s, and the grateful Alauddin Khilji
Alauddin Khilji
Ali Gurshap Khan better known by his titular name as Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji was the second ruler of the Turko-Afghan Khilji dynasty in India.He was a well and capable ruler. He belonged to the Afghanized Turkic tribe of the Khiljis...
, the Sultan of Delhi
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
granted several villages as a jagir
Jagir
In historic India, a jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond his lifetime, in recognition of his military service...
(estate) in Fatehpur district
Fatehpur district
Fatehpur district is one of the 71 districts of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The district covers an area of 4,152 km². The district has a population of 2,308,384 . Fatehpur city is the administrative headquarters of the district. Located on the banks of the sacred rivers Ganges and...
, the main one being Kot. In addition to the settlement at Kot, they are also found in the villages of Arhaiya, Urha, Shahunagar, Rahmatpur, Sheopur, Kali, Ghazipur and Parvezpur. Other than the jagirdar families, the majority of the Fatehpur
Fatehpur
Fatehpur may refer to:Places in India*Punjab** Fatehpur Jattan, village in district Fatehgarh Sahib** Fatehpur Rayian, village in district Fatehgarh Sahib** Fatehpur Bhangala, village in district Rupnagar* Uttar Pradesh...
Khokhar are small to medium sized farmers. With the abolishment of zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
i system of feudal ownership by the Indian government in 1949, this has had a strong impact on the large landowning families, as much of their land has been redistributed. A further change has been that many Khokhar Khanzada have also emigrated to 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...
, and are now found mainly in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
.
Customs and Traditions
They are Sunni MuslimMuslim
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...
s, and have customs similar to other Khanzada
Khanzada (Awadh)
The Khanzada or Khan Zadeh are a community of Hindu converted Muslim Rajputs, found in the Awadh region of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. A few are also found in the state of Bihar. This community is distinct from the Rajasthan Khanzadas, who are also a community of Muslim Rajputs. They also...
communities in the region. The community is largely endogamous, although there are cases of intermarriage with the Gautam Khanzada
Gautam Khanzada
The Gautam Khanzada are a sub-group wirthin the Khanzada community found in eastern Uttar Pradesh in India. They also refer to themselves as Gautam Thakurs. The Gautam Khanzada are Muslim converts from the Gautam community.-Origin:...
, a neighbouring Muslim Rajput population. But most marriages are with in a close kin, with the community practicing both parallel cousin and cross cousin marriages. The community speak Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, as well as the Awadhi dialect.
Khokhar Ranghar
The town of SambhalSambhal
Sambhal is a town and tehsil and headquarters of Bhimnagar district in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Sambhal is an ancient settlement that was also important during the period of Muslim rule and was one of Sikandar Lodi ’s provincial capitals in the late 15th and early 16th...
in Moradabad District
Moradabad District
Moradabad district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Moradabad town is the district headquarters. Moradabad district is a part of Moradabad division...
is also home to several families of Khokhar
Khokhar
The Khokhar or Khokar are a people of Punjab region of Pakistan and north-western India. According to H. A. Rose they are the gotra of Rajput, Jat, Arain, Nai, and Churah. According to Denzil Ibbetson, they are also a gotra of the Tarkhan and Khatri tribes. The Khokhars were designated as an...
s, who have said to have emigrated from Gujrat
Gujrat District
Gujrat is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. It is an ancient district located in between two famous rivers, the Jhelum and Chenab. Because of its proximity with the rivers the land is good for cultivation with rice and sugar cane as main crops...
in what is now Pakistani Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
during the reign of the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Emperor Babar
Babur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
. As most 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...
converts to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
were in common parlance referred to as Ranghar
Ranghar
Ranghar are a Muslim ethnic group, which is found in Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan and Haryana and Uttar Pradesh states of India. Ranghar were native to Indian state of Haryana and also found in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, as well as Delhi in India...
, these Khokhar
Khokhar
The Khokhar or Khokar are a people of Punjab region of Pakistan and north-western India. According to H. A. Rose they are the gotra of Rajput, Jat, Arain, Nai, and Churah. According to Denzil Ibbetson, they are also a gotra of the Tarkhan and Khatri tribes. The Khokhars were designated as an...
s were also referred to as the Khokhar. The Emperor Babar himself is said to have granted the Khokhars jagir
Jagir
In historic India, a jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond his lifetime, in recognition of his military service...
for the town of the Sambhal
Sambhal
Sambhal is a town and tehsil and headquarters of Bhimnagar district in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Sambhal is an ancient settlement that was also important during the period of Muslim rule and was one of Sikandar Lodi ’s provincial capitals in the late 15th and early 16th...
. They played an particularly important role in Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand is a region of northwestern Uttar Pradesh state of India.Rohilkhand lies on the upper Ganges alluvial plain and has an area of about 25,000 km²/10,000 square miles...
politics during the period of Rohilla
Rohilla
The Rohilla are a community of Hindi-speaking Pashtun also known as Pathan, historically found in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in North India. Most are now also found in Pakistan where they are now part of the Mohajir community. At one time, they form one of the largest Pashtun diaspora community...
rule. The Khokhar were the effective rulers of the town of Sambhal
Sambhal
Sambhal is a town and tehsil and headquarters of Bhimnagar district in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Sambhal is an ancient settlement that was also important during the period of Muslim rule and was one of Sikandar Lodi ’s provincial capitals in the late 15th and early 16th...
and the adjoining countryside until the establishment of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rule after the Rohilla War
Rohilla War
The First Rohilla War of 1773-1774 was a punitive campaign by Shuja-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh, against the Rohillas, Afghan highlanders settled in Rohilkhand, northern India...
of 1774. Although the Khokhars lost independent power, they remained one of the larger landowners in the district till 1949, when the newly independent 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...
carried out substantive land reform, and broke up the large estates. The Khokhars remain a substantial element in the population of Sambhal
Sambhal
Sambhal is a town and tehsil and headquarters of Bhimnagar district in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Sambhal is an ancient settlement that was also important during the period of Muslim rule and was one of Sikandar Lodi ’s provincial capitals in the late 15th and early 16th...
.