Nehra
Encyclopedia
Nehra is an 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...

n Jat
Jat people
The Jat people are a community of traditionally non-elite tillers and herders in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory,...

 surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

. It is based on gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...

 (clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...

) Nehra. Nehra gotra Jats are found 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...

, Haryana
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...

, 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...

 and 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. The origin of Nehra is derived from Nehra mount in Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 where they were the rulers. Nehras are descendant of Narishyanta
Narishyanta
Narishyanta , in Hindu mythology, was son of Vaivasvata Manu and belongs to solar race of Kshatriyas....

(Narahari), son of Vaivasvata Manu  and belong to solar race of Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...

s. They are said to be a branch of the Sindhu gotra. Their last name is similar to other jatt surnames starting with N such as Nanhar, Nain, Nara, Nanrhe, etc.. all part of same clan.

History

Nehra jats ruled 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...

 over an area of 200 square miles (518 km²). The Nehra hills of Rajasthan were their territory. To the west of Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India, and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. It is located a 180 km from Jaipur and 245 km from Delhi. The town is famous for the frescos on its grand Havelis, a special artistic feature of this region.- Etymology...

 town is a Hill 1684 feet (513.3 m) above see-level and visible from miles around.. This hill near Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India, and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. It is located a 180 km from Jaipur and 245 km from Delhi. The town is famous for the frescos on its grand Havelis, a special artistic feature of this region.- Etymology...

 town is still known as Nehra Hill in their memory. Another hill was known as Maura which was famous in memory of Mauryas. Nehra in Jaipur was the first capital in olden times. In the fifteenth century Nehras ruled at Narhar
Narhar
Narhar is an ancient town situated in Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, India. It is Located at a distance of 40 km from Jhunjhunu in northeast direction from Jhunjhunu and south of Pilani. It is a place of pilgrimage of the Muslims as well as Hindus. There is an old Durgah after the name of Sufi...

, where they had a fort. At Naharpur, 16 miles (25.7 km) down below the Nehra Hill, there another group ruled. The present Shekhawati at that time was known as Nehrawati.

At the end of 16th century and beginning of 17th century there was a war between Nehras and 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...

 rulers. When Nehras were defeated by nawabs, they used to offer gifts to the Nawabs on special occasions, due to this they were also called 'Shahi bhentwal'.

In the history of Nehras, Jujhar Singh Nehra
Jujhar Singh Nehra
Jujhar Singh Nehra or Jhunjha was a Jat chieftain of Rajasthan in India who gave name to the Jhunjhunu town situated in Rajasthan. He was born in a Hindu Jat family of Nehra gotra in samvat 1721 . His father was a faujdar of Nawabs.Jujhar Singh when became young was made the general of the army...

 or Jhunjha (1664–1730) played an important role in fighting with the Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....

s. His father was a faujdar
Faujdar
Faujdar/Fouzder/Fouzdar/Foujdar was a title awarded by Muslim rulers to people who had responsibility of protecting some territory.In pre-Mughal times, the term referred to a military officer but did not refer to a specific rank. With the administrative reforms performed by Mughal emperor Akbar,...

 of Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....

s. Jujhar Singh when became young was made the general of the army of Nawabs. He had a dream to establish Jat rule in India. He was planning to have a joint rebellion against the Muslim rule in India. He had heard the stories of rebellion by Jats of Bharatpur
Bharatpur, India
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...

 such as Gokula
Gokula
Gokula or Gokul Singh was a Jat chieftain of Sinsini village in Bharatpur district in Rajasthan, India. Later, he became a chieftain of Tilpat in Haryana. His father's name was Madu. Madu had four sons namely, Sindhuraj, Ola, Jhaman and Saman. The second son Ola later became famous as Gokula...

 and Raja Ram
Raja Ram Jat
Raja Ram was a Jat leader and organizer of rebellion for freedom against Aurangzeb. He was chieftain of Sinsini in princely state of Bharatpur in India. Raja Ram was son of Bhajja Singh of Sinsini. Details about the early life of Raja Ram are not available...

. Meanwhile he came in contact with one Rajput Shardul Singh, who was an employee of the Nawabs. The Jats through Jujhar Singh and Rajputs through Sardul Singh agreed upon a proposal to fight united against 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...

 rulers and if the Nawab were defeated Jujhar Singh would be appointed the Chieftain.

Jujhar Singh one day found the right opportunity and attacked Nawabs at Jhunjhunu and Narhar. He defeated the army of Nawab Sadulla Khan on Saturday, aghan sudi 8 samvat 1787 (1730 AD). The Nehra chieftain Jhunjha or Jujhar Singh won the war and captured Jhunjhunu town. This is clear from the following poetry in Rajasthani language
Rajasthani language
Rajasthani Rajasthani Rajasthani (Devanagari: , Perso-Arabic: is a language of the Indo-Aryan languages family. It is spoken by 50 million people in Rajasthan and other states of India and in some areas of Pakistan. The number of speakers may be up to 80 million worldwide...

 -

Satrahso Satashiye, Agahan Mass Udaar,

Sadu linhe jhunjhunu, Sudi Athen Sanivaar.

Prior to this, Jhunjhunu was controlled by the Muslim Nawab Rohella Khan. The Muslim Nawab 'Sadulla Khan', in charge of Jhunjhunu, was defeated jointly by Shardul Singh and Jujhar Singh Nehra. But, as per Kunwar Panne Singh's book 'Rankeshari Jujhar Singh', Later at the time of victory ceremony Jujhar Singh was deceived and killed by Shekhawats after he was appointed the chieftain. It is clear from the poetry in Rajasthani language
Rajasthani language
Rajasthani Rajasthani Rajasthani (Devanagari: , Perso-Arabic: is a language of the Indo-Aryan languages family. It is spoken by 50 million people in Rajasthan and other states of India and in some areas of Pakistan. The number of speakers may be up to 80 million worldwide...

 -

Sade, linho Jhunjhunu, Lino amar patai,

Bete pote padaute pidhi sat latai.

Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu
Jhunjhunu is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India, and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. It is located a 180 km from Jaipur and 245 km from Delhi. The town is famous for the frescos on its grand Havelis, a special artistic feature of this region.- Etymology...

 town in Rajasthan was established in the memory of Jujhar Singh Nehra
Jujhar Singh Nehra
Jujhar Singh Nehra or Jhunjha was a Jat chieftain of Rajasthan in India who gave name to the Jhunjhunu town situated in Rajasthan. He was born in a Hindu Jat family of Nehra gotra in samvat 1721 . His father was a faujdar of Nawabs.Jujhar Singh when became young was made the general of the army...

 the above Jat chieftain. There are 1760 villages of Nehras in Rajasthan.

Nehra in Sindh

Nehras were rulers of Nehrun state in Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 at the time of attack on Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 by Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...

 in 710. Present Hyderabad city was settled on the land of Nehrun. The Hyderabad city was then named Nehrun Kot and was called the heart of the Mehran
Mehran
Mehran is derived from the term "Mehr", or Mithra, a pre-Islamic ancient Persian deity.Mehran may refer to:People* Mehran, a male name in Persian, female counterparts are Mehrdokht, Mehrandokht and Mehraneh...

.

Notable persons of Nehra clan

  • Ashish Nehra
    Ashish Nehra
    Ashish Nehra is an Indian cricketer who has represented India at the international level since 1999.Nehra started playing first-class cricket for his hometown, Delhi, in the 1997/1998 season and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1999 and his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare...

     - Famous Indian Fast Bowler cricketer
    Cricketer
    A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....

    .
  • Jujhar Singh Nehra
    Jujhar Singh Nehra
    Jujhar Singh Nehra or Jhunjha was a Jat chieftain of Rajasthan in India who gave name to the Jhunjhunu town situated in Rajasthan. He was born in a Hindu Jat family of Nehra gotra in samvat 1721 . His father was a faujdar of Nawabs.Jujhar Singh when became young was made the general of the army...

     - Jat chieftain who gave name to Jhunjhunu
    Jhunjhunu
    Jhunjhunu is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India, and the administrative headquarters of Jhunjhunu District. It is located a 180 km from Jaipur and 245 km from Delhi. The town is famous for the frescos on its grand Havelis, a special artistic feature of this region.- Etymology...

     town 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...

    , 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...

  • Hardev Singh Nehra
    Hardev Singh Nehra
    Hardev Singh Nehra was a freedom fighter and social worker who played a leading role in Shekhawati farmers’ movement for abolition of Jagirdari system...

    - Freedom fighter

External links

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