Brahmin / Brahman Population of Punjab according to the 1901 Census of India

This is my third set of posts on the 1901 Census of Punjab, which I will start with the Brahmins community. I would ask the reader to look at my post on the Kamboh population and its distribution according to the 1901 census, which gives some regional perspctive. Brahmins, overall accounted for 4.5% of the total population of Punjab in 1901, and were concentrated in south east (modern Haryana – about 35%) and north east (modern Himachal Pradesh – about 25%). This is understanable as both these regions had a Hindu majority. The teritory of West Punjab, however, was home to about 12% of the total Brahmin population. Sialkot, and districts of Jhelum and Rawalpindi in the Pothohar region had large communities of agricultural Brahmins, with the Mohyals being interesting sub-group. Pundit Harikhisan Kaul, author of the 1911 Census Report of Punjab describes the Brahmins of Punjab briefly as:

BRAHMAN – (the priestly caste of the Hindus) – are scattered all over the province. They now follow various professions from priesthood, teaching and Government service, to cultivation and service as cooks. Brahmans belonging to certain localities are enlisted in the army.

He then adds the following about their distribution:

In Punjab, the distribution of Brahmans, who are found in every district and state. In Dera Ghazi Khan alone, their proportion insignificant. The shortage may to some extent be due to the migration. cis-Indus, of the Brahmins along with other castes, owing to the disappearance of the town of Dera Ghazi Khan into the river. The Himalayan Natural Division is the stronghold of the caste, owing to the preponderance of the Hindu element. Next to the Himalayas, they abound in the districts and states of the eastern Punjab, viz Hisar (5 percent), Rohtak (10 percent), Gurgaon (7percent), Delhi (9 per cent.), Karnal (8 percent), Ambala (5 percent), Loharu (7 percent), Dujana (9 percent), Pataudi (12 percent), Jind (10 percent). Patiala (6 percent), Nahan (6 percent) and Hoshiarpur (8 percent). The proportion decreases in the central districts which have 2 to 5 percent of them, and in the western Punjab, the proportion sinks to 1 percent, except in Rawalpindi, where the strength of the Mohials raises the percentage to 8.

Most Punjab Brahmins belonged to the Saraswat branch, however there was a sizeable community of Pushkarnas in what is now Haryana. There were also small number of Gaur in both Haryana and the Punjab Hils (the modern Himachal Pradesh).

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Map of Colonial Punjab: Source Wikipedia

In 1901, the total Brahmin population was 1,111,635, of which Hindus accounted for the overwhelming majority at 1,105,952, followed by Sikhs at 5,287. There were still remarkably about 386 Muslim Brahmins, mainly found in the city of Delhi. Several Muslims groups such as the Bhat, Rawal nd Padha also claimed a Brahmin origin, as well as several Shaikh families. Sikh Brahmins were found mainly in Jhelum and Rawalpindi (the Potohar region), where they formed an important class of landowners.

Punjab Hill States: Source Wikepedia

The greatest concentration of the Brahmins was in the Punjab Hill States, what is now Himachal Pradesh, where the Brahmins formed between one-third and one-tenth of the total populations in the various states. In Bilaspur State, it was 27%, 27% in Baghal State, 17% in Keonthal, 14% in Kangra, 13% in Chamba State, 12% in Suket State, 12% in Nalagarh State and 11% of the total population in the Mandi State. About the Hill Brahmins, A. H Bingley, the cearly 20th Century British ethnologist wrote the following:

The Dogra Brahmin may thus be roughly divided into two ‘praying’ Brahmins and ‘ploughing’ Brahmins. The former, called Padha, are generally sacredotal in their functions; they caste horoscopes, officiate at marriages, expound the Sanskrit Scriptures and explain all points of ritual. Associated with them are Parohits, or household priest. The latter are called zamindars, are simply cultivators.

In the Delhi Division, which roughly covers present day Haryana, the Brahmins accounted for around 10% of the population. In Rohtak, they were 10%, in Delhi 9%, in Karnal 8%, in Gurgaon 7% and Hisar 6%. One more point, the Punjabi way to pronounce Brahmin is Bahman.

District / State	Hindu	Sikh	Total
Kangra	109,283		109,283
Patiala	90,803	567	91,370
Hoshiarpur	80,414	83	80,497
Karnal	71,278	81	71,355
Rohtak	66,151		66,151
Delhi	62,125		62,125
Gurgaon	48,579		48,579
Gurdaspur	45,020	52	45,072
Hisar	43,432		43,432
Ambala	42,460	194	43,654
Amritsar	36,779	539	37,318
Sialkot	34,415	193	34,608
Jalandhar	31,918	140	32,058
Jind	29,603	27	29,630
Bilaspur	25,253		25,253
Lahore	24,589	269	24,858
Ludhiana	23,586	50	24,551
Nabha	19,343	83	19,426
Mandi	18,710		18,710
Gujranwala	18,116	306	18,422
Firozpur	17,414	202	17,616
Chamba	16,126		16,126
Rawalpindi	14,175	1,813	15,988
Minor Hill States	11,904		11,904
Kapurthala	9,568	52	9,620
Keonthal	7,101		7,101
Gujrat	6,956	102	7,058
Baghal	6,856		6,856
Suket	6,709		6,709
Nalagarh	5,936		5,936
Bahawalpur	5,833		5,833
Jhelum	5,466	250	5,716
Jhang	5,499		5,499
Multan	5,429		5,429
Chenab Colony (Lyallpur)	5,201	138	5,339
Shahpur	5,101	23	5,124
Montgomery	3,566	62	3,628
Kalsia	3,370	24	3,394
Jubbal	3,483		3,483
Mianwali	3,158		3,158
Shimla	3,105		3,105
Faridkot	2,996	55	3,051
Nahan	2,669		2,669
Malerkotla	2,614		2,614
Pataudi	2,518		2,518
Dujana	2,417		2,417
Dera Ghazi Khan	2,010		2,010
Muzaffargarh	1,744		1,744
Loharu	1,072		1,072
Total	1,105,952	5,287	1,111,635

Sarai / Serah / Sra Jats

In this post, I intend to look at the Sarai, sometimes pronounced as Serah, or even Sra tribe of Jats. They are found mainly in the northern half of the Ravi Chenab (Rechna Doab) Doab, which now the forms parts of the districts of Hafizabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Narowal.

Jats of the Rechna Doab

This region of Pakistan perhaps has the clearest boundary between Rajput and Jat. Jats are found all over this region and form the backbone of the agricultural community. They are divided into numerous clans and historically belonged to different religions. It was not uncommon before partition to find in a village a few Jat families practicing Sikhism while others Islam. Along the border with the Jammu and Kashmir state, many Jats had remained Hindu, and so we have Muslim Nagra and Randhawa in Sialkot and Hindu Randhawa and Nagra Jats still found in the  Jammu Region. Similarly, among the Serah, some families follow Islam, while others Hinduism and Sikhism. The Gazetteer of the Sialkot District (1920, Part A) gave the following description:

profess different religions, but a strong family likeness pervades the whole tribe. The Muhammadan is sometimes said to be less energetic than his Hindu or Sikh brother, but it is very doubtful whether any such distinction exists. The Sikh sometimes indulges a taste for liquor and a certain amount of illicit distilling occurs in the district. All are patient, hardworking cultivators without much enterprise but tenacious of their rights and proud of their position as zamindars or landowners, even if their holding be but an acre or two.

Origin

The Serah are closely connected with the Basra tribe, according to some traditions, both tribes have a common ancestor. However, many Serah claim to be clan or at least by origin Bhatti Rajput. H. A Rose gave the following description:

A tribe of Jats chiefly found in Gurdaspur and Sialkot, though there are a few on the upper and middle Sutlej also. There are said to be Sarai Rajputs in Sialkot, who are Bhattis descended from an ancestor called Sarai who settled in the Hafizabad tehsil. Serai is also said to be a well-known Jat clan in Jullundur and the neighbouring districts. Tod makes Sahrai the title of a race of Punwar Rajputs who founded a dynasty at Aror in Sindh on the eastern bank of the Indus and  gave their name Sehl or Sehr as a titular appellation to the country and its princes, and its inhabitants the Sehrais. The Sarai of Gurdaspur returned themselves in 1881 as tribe Sindhu, clan Sarai, but the Sindhu appear to have no such sept. The Sarai may however be an offshoot of the Sindhu and they certainly do not intermarry with that tribe.

Rose’s claim to Sandhu ancestry does not seem to occur in tribal traditions. Ghulam Akbar Malik, author of the history of the Jats, also claims that the Sarai are a branch of the Bhatti Rajputs and are named after their ancestor Rai Sarai. However, the most widespread claim for many Serah is that they are a branch of the Saroya Rajputs.

Tribal Genealogies

Although there are number of origin stories, in each, there ancestor is called Sarai or Serah. In Hafizabad, Sarai is said to have come originally from Jaisalmer, and was a Bhatti Rajput chieftain.  According to the 19th Century orientalist, James Tod makes Sahrai is the title of a clan of Panwar Rajput who founded a dynasty at Aror in Sindh on the eastern bank of the Indus and “gave their name Sehl or Sehr as a titular appellation to the country and its prince, and its inhabitants the Sehrais.” However among the Serah, all the traditions make their ancestor a Bhatti or Saroya Rajput. In the Gujranwala Bar, the uplands located between Ravi and Chenab, the Serah are now quite distinct from the Bhattis, but many claim a Bhatti ancestry. However, according to most tribal traditions, the Sarai / Serah are closely connected with the Basra Jats, with both tribes having Saroya Rajput ancestry.

Lal Bux Naich connects the tribe with Saroya Rajputs, and gives the following genealogy:

Saroya → Mal Rai + Dahal + Goraya + Dhilo Raj + Bagar Raj + Dhan Raj + Ghatwal Rai + Pillar Rai + Chittar Rai

Mal Rai + Bhutta + Naich + Dahar + Shajra + Langah

Naich → Bucha + Sohawan + Sohawa + Panaich

4^th in decent from Bucha was Sapra Pal

Sapra Pal → Basra Pal + Serah Pal + Naru Pal + Lali Pal + Seer Pal + Saral Pal

Serah Pal → Saramik + Sarai + Saramand + Sarasood + Sara Mangru

The various sections of the Serah claim descent from Serah Pal’s sons. Some Serah claim to have accepted Islam at the hands of Daud Bandagi Kirmani (1513-1575), a Muslim saint from Multan Province, who said to have converted a number Jat clans of the Bar region. He also appears in the origin stories of the Goraya and Chatha clans, and by the beginning of the 20th Century, about a quarter of the Serah were Muslim.

Distribution of Sarai Jats According to the 1901 Census

District / State	Hindu	Sikh	Muslim	Total
Amritsar	136	2,610	171	2,917
Ludhiana	636	2,014	39	2,689
Sialkot	642	306	1,358	2,306
Gurdaspur	1,047	987	226	2,260
Gujranwala	581	451	1,166	2,198
Patiala State	1,273	218	258	1,749
Faridkot State		1,577	33	1,610
Jalandhar	961	327	173	1,461
Nabha State	379	1,062		1,441
Hisar	77	1,300	17	1,394
Lahore	31	452	602	1,085
Chenab Colony	55	375	417	847
Gujrat	119		661	780
Ambala	338	164	17	519
Montgomery		75	367	442
Rohtak	421		10	431
Hoshiarpur	189	56	34	279
Mianwali			150	150
Malerkotla State	105			105
Other Districts/ States				339
Total	7,096	12,160	5,746	25,002

Distribution

At the beginning of the 20^th Century, the Sarai were found in two clusters. Those of Rechna Doab, had spread across the Ravi into Lahore, Amritsar, Montgomery and Faridkot State, and across the Chenab into Gujrat,  together these Serah accounted over half the population, with over slightly half Sikh majority, and the rest Muslim. In Hafizabad District, there are still 12 Muslim Sareh Jatt villages, the larger ones being Babbar, Choawala, Kot Naik, Nitharke, Phumma, Jaguwala, and Rokke. A second cluster of Serah were found along the Sutlej, and across in the Malwa, which included the largely Sikh Sarai of the Hisar, made remining half the tribe. These Sarais all have traditions of migration from Rechna Doaba. Sarai were one of the earlier Jat clans to start converting to Sikhism, and the majority were Sikh at the start of the 20^th Century. But in the Rechna Doaba, the Sarai were evenly divided between Muslims and Sikh.  On the Hindu Sarai, other then those of Rohtak, the rest of the Sarai were Sultani, followers of the Sufi saint Sakhi Sarwar. Most of these were in the process of converting to Sikhism. My post on the Bharai caste give somes background on the Sultani sect. The Sultani sect is practically dead now.

Bodla tribe

In this post, I will look at the very interesting tribe, the Bodla, who were historically found in territory extending from Deepalpur to Fazilka. They are closely connected with the Wattu Rajputs, and like them were pastoralists.

Origin

The Bodla, who claim to be Siddique Shaikhs, which means that they claim descent from Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam. Denzil Ibbetson, 19^th Century British administrator of the Punjab connected them with the Wattu tribe.

The Bodlas are a small section of the Wattu Rajputs of the lower and middle Sutlej, who have for some generations enjoyed a character for peculiar sanctity, and who now claim Qureshi origin from Abu Bakr Sadiq; and 2,435 of them have entered themselves as Qureshi and not as Bodla and are included under the head Shaikh. Of these 144 are in Hisar, 749 in Sirsa, 889 in Firozpur, 349 in Montgomery, and 254 in Bahawalpur. They still marry Wattu girls, though they give their daughters only to Bodlas. They were till lately a wholly pastoral tribe, and still hold a jagir, the proceeds of which they now supplement by cultivation. From Montgomery they spread into Sirsa, where they occupied the Bahak parganah which they still hold. They are credited with the power of curing disease by exorcism, and especially snakebite and hydro phobia; they are recognised saints, and can curse with great efficacy. They have no relations with the other Qureshis of the neighbourhood, and their Wattu origin is undoubted

Although Ibbetson was critical of their claim to be Siddiqi, a term used by those who claim descent from the first Caliph, Rose the early 20^th Century ethnologist was more susceptible to their claim. He wrote:

The Bodies are a small section of the Wattu Rajputs of the lower and middle Sutlej, who have for some generations enjoyed a character for peculiar sanctity and who now claim Qureshi origin from Abu Bakr Siddiq; and many ox them call themselves Qureshis. They still marry Wattu girls, though they give their daughters only to Bodlas. They were till lately a wholly pastoral tribe, and still hold a jagir, the proceeds of which they now supplement by cultivation.

He then adds:

They came up from Multan through Bahawalpur to Montgomery. From Montgomery they spread into Sirsa, where they occupied the Bahak pargana which they still hold. They are credited with the power of curing disease by exorcism, and especially their Wattu origin is hereby open to question, though they maybe possibly be of Qureshi extraction, but sow so completely affiliated. to the Wattus by constantly taking brides from that tribe as to be undistinguishable from them. Their power of curing snake bites is connected with a historical fact. When the Prophet -and his companion Abu Bakr left Mecca, they concealed themselves in a cavern, and there the devoted companion, in order to protect his master tore his turban into rags and closed the holes with the pieces. One hole he stopped with his toe, and it was bitten by a snake. When the Prophet learnt what had occurred he cured it by sucking the wound, and the Siddiqi sometimes seek to prove their descent from the first Caliph by claiming the power of curing snake-bite and hydrophobia

Rose acknowledged a possible Siddiqi ancestry but made the point they were closely connected with the Wattus, and like them were a tribe of pastoralists.

Tribal History

According to their own traditions, there was ancestor was Shaikh Shahabudin, also known as Sheikh Shahabulmuluk Quraishi Siddiqui. The Shaikh arrived in Multan during the period of the Lodhi Sultans, and became a disciple of the Sufi Khwaja Muhammad Iraq Ajami.  One day the Khwaja told Shahabudin that him that the Shaikh was his Bou-E-Dil. The word Bodla is derived from the Persian word “Bou-E-Dil” which literally means “Fragrance of heart” but in general word it means “the person who knows feeling of heart”. The Khwaja was saying that his disciple knew he thoughts. Shahabulmuluk, as he was now known as settled in the village of Khai, located near the town of Bahawalnagar. Over time the Bodlas spread eastwards, settling in large numbers near the town of Fazilka, from their original settlement at Khai.

As Mughal authority collapsed in the 18^th Century, a Bodla by the name of Mahakumdin established an independent state based at Bahak Khas. The state remained independent until the rise of the Ahluwalia Sikhs. Among the tribes of the Sutlej, there is a tradition that the Bodla had the power of curing disease by exorcism, especially snake bites and hydrophobia. They were able to use this status in their conflict with the Pathans of Mamdot, and the Daudpotas of Bahawalpur, who also claimed the territory between Fazilka and Deepalpur. Many of these tribes such as the Wattu, as well as some Joiya and Dogar considered the Bodlas to be their pirs.

Bodla Population According to the 1901 Census

At the beginning of the 20th Century, most the Bodla population resided in or near Sutlej valley, half of their territory lies within Indian Punjab, stretching from Khanewal in the west to Hisar in what is now Haryana, in the east.

District	Population
Ferozepur District	1,183
Hissar District	621
Montgomery District	495
Bahawalpur State	479
Mianwali District	316
Patiala State	290
Total Population	3,384

Bodla Population According to the 1911 Census

By 1911, the Bodla population had fallen, with 95% of their total population found along and south of the Sutlej River.

District / State	Population
Firuzpur	1,176
Montgomery	960
Hisar	619
Other Districts	157
Total	2,912

Distribution

The Bodla are found in the lower and middle Sutlej valley in Punjab. They were at one time an entirely pastoral tribe, and are said to have come from Multan through Bahawalpur to Sahiwal, and claim to have originally settled in Multan, at the time of Bahauddin Zakariya, the famous Sufi saint. From Sahiwal, the Bodla spread to Sirsa, where they occupied the Bahak parganna, as a jagir. Historically, they were also found in Firozpur in addition to Sirsa, districts in modern day Indian Punjab and Haryana. In what became Pakistani territory, they were found in Sahiwal, Pakpattan and Vehari districts. The Bodlas of the Punjab in India and Haryana moved to Pakistan, at the time of the Partition of India.

Khai Bodla in Bahawalnagar District is still the main centre of the tribe.

Pakpattan District

The largest number of Bodla villages are located in Pakpattan District. Many of these Bodla are refugees from Fazilka and Sirsa in India. The villages include Arifabad, Bodla, Chak Bhubhar, Chak Kartarpur Hattiyan, Chak Gadai Shah , Chak Thathaee, Chak 61 4/R Bodla Wala, Chak 41/SP,  Chak 51/SP , Nangpaal, Tibah Bodla, Ghulla, Kot Bodla, Jamo Bodla, Kartarpur, Nathain Bodla, Nausher Bodla, Naghpal, Pakka Sadhar, Pir Ghani, 37 SP, and Salim Shah Bodla.

Other Villages

In other districts, their villages include Kakku Bodla and Chak Shah Bodla in Okara District, Qalandar Bodla, Tawakal Bodla and Ghumandpur in Bahawalnagar District and Wasti Malani in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Ghallu Jats

In this post, I will look at the Ghallu tribe of the Jats. They are found mainly in south Punjab and speak the Seraiki language.

Origin

The Ghallu are another tribe of Jat status, and claim descent from Ghallu, a Hindu Rajput, who was converted to Islam, by the famous Sufi saint Makhdum Jahanian of Uch. The Ghallus are described by H. A Rose as follows:

a tribe found in the south-west corner of the Multan district since the Ain-i-Akbari was compiled. It is also numerous in the kardari (district) of Bahawalpur and Ahmadpur of Bahawalpur State, as especially in the peshkari of Uch. Its eponym was a Hindu Rath (Rajput), converted to Islam by Makhdum Jahanian. From his seven sons sprang as many septs, viz., the Hanbirpotre, Ghanunpotre, Dipal, Jhanbu, Kurpal, Kanji and Gujj. The Ghallu in Bahawalpur are both land- owners and cultivators and their tenants and servants are the Ghulams, once their slaves, a small tribe of unknown origin.

While the author of the Bahawalpur Gazetteer adds the following:

Thatta Ghalluan, a village in the tehsil of Shujabad, where many Ghallus live, was founded by this tribe. The following villages in the State belong to the Ghallus:- Bahawalpur Ghalluan, Ali Wahan, Sari Wasti, Bakhkhapur, all in Kardari Ahmadpur, Makhwara, near Uch, Kot Dada Ghalla and Kurpalan, both in Kardari Bahawalpur. The Ghallus are both landowners and agriculturists

According to the author of the Multan Gazetteer, they are the earliest settlers in Lodhran District:

The Ghallus and Channars were in much the same area as they now occupy in the south-west corner of the district.

The Ghallu were largely pastoralist, settled in the villages along the Sutlej river. Thatta Ghaluan is often referred as their first settlement in the region.

Tribal Geneology

Like most Jat tribes of this region, they have a number of traditions as to their origin. For example, there is another tradition where that Ghallu was in fact a nickname of Hari Singh, a Panwar Rajput. However, the most widespread tradition makes their ancestor Ghallu the son of Sansi, the ancestor of the Sansi Jats. Mahrajah Ranjit of Punjab came from the tribe of the Sansi Jats.

According to this tradition, Kahlu, a Warriach Jat, settled in Pindi Bhattian. A descendent of Kahlu left Pindi Bhattian settled among the Sansi of Amritsar. The Sansi are a nomadic tribe, who were sometimes involed in dacoities. Their ancestor married a Sansi, and his son Kaleb became known as a famous dacoit. Kaleb was also known as Sansi, after the Sansi tribe of his mother. According to the Ghallu, Kalu had another son by the name of Ghallu, from whom they descend. They give the following genealogy:

Saroya → Sansi Rai

Sansi Rai → Kallu + Kohawar (ancestor of the Kohawar tribe) + Chutta + Kuwaj

Kallu → Kalwan + Ghaluja + Galwa + Gisra + Gahel + Galwan + Ghallu

Ghallu and is his family settled first in Thatta Ghaluan, near the Chenab river, in what is now Shujabad tehsil. Groups of Ghallu with their cattle moved in the region that this now Lodhran District, living the life of the pastoralist, independent until the rise of the Pathan nawabs of Multan, who ended their independence.

Ghallu Population according to the 1901 Census of India

District	Population
Multan	2,761
Muzaffargarh	1,327
Mianwali	818
Total	4,906

In 1901, almost half the tribe lived in the Lodhran Tehsil of Multan, the remaining in the Alipur Tehsil of Muzaffargarh and Bhakkar tehsil of Mianwali. The Bhakkar Ghallu are migrants from Alipur.

Ghallu Population according to the 1911 Census of India

District / State	Population
Bahawalpur	2,508
Mianwali	1,478
Muzaffargarh	1,327
Multan	1,030
Total	6,343

The 1911 shows the highest concentrations of Ghallu in Bahawalpur state, while they are not counted at all in 1901 census. These contradictory figures do show case the problem with the early British census.

Distribution

The Ghallu are found in the southwest corner of Multan District, extending into Lodhran District, across the river Indus in Muzaffargarh District, and near the town of Ahmadpur East in Rahim Yar Khan District. In addition, a few Ghallu villages are also found in Layyah and Bhakkar districts.

Starting with Muzaffargarh, they are found in Alipur Ghalwan Pani Wala, Sanu Wala, Kaurey Wala Nirali Wala and Bambherwala. In Lodhran District, there villages include Basti Athwal, Kabula, Goth Alamkhanke, Kanuwala, Jandwala, Basti Shakir Khan, Jumma Ghallu, Lal Jabbal, Sharifwali, Kot Dadu Ghallu, Ghallu, Pipli Kanjanke, Aliwahan, Phagwara, Malikpur, Qureshiwala, Suiwala, Pacca Munna, Saadullahpur, Yousufwala, Sabra, Bahadarpur, Thath Ghallwan, Khanwah Ghalwaan, and Tibi Ghalwaan. While in Bhakkar District, there most important village is Mouza Dhingana in Tehsil Mankera. Further south in Layyah District, they are found in Chah Ghilay Wala Mouza Gat Nashaib.

In Bahawalpur District, their villages include Ghallwan, Ismailpur Ghallwan and Baqarpur Ghallwan. In Multan District, Thatta Ghaluan remains a centre of the tribe. Ghallu are also found in Kot Sattar Gharbi in Mandi Bahauddin District.