In this post, I will look at the Bangial, sometimes spelt Bangyal, tribe of the Potohar region of Pakistan. A few Bangyal are also found in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir. The Bangyal claim ancestry from the Panwar, and I will start off with a brief note of the Panwar, or sometimes pronounced as Parmar or Puar. In the Pothohar region, the correct pronunciation is Panwar. I would also refer the reader to the Facebook page Mirpur and Dadyal Heritage Society (accessible through mirpurheritage.com), which has some excellent information on these tribes.
Rajah Jagdev and the Panwar Rajputs
The Panwar were dynasty that in early medieval India ruled over the Malwa region in central India. Like the Chauhans, the Panwar are from the fire born or Agnivansh branch of the Rajputs. Quite a number of tribes in Pothohar and neighbouring Chibhal region claim descent from the Panwars, all having some tradition of migration from central India, followed by conversion to Islam at the hands of a particular Sufi saint. Many of these tribes also have traditions of initially settling in the region known as Chibhal. The key figure that appears in the origin story of Chibhali Panwar is Raja Jagdev Panwar, who has an almost semi-mythical. According to tribal myths of, he became the ruler of Malwa after death of his father Udayaditya, but he handed over the throne to his brother owing to family-dispute and settled at Jarg, somewhere in present day Okara District. He is said to have slain a demon who used to eat a human-being daily in a fort near Dipalpur, also in Okara. The local king Raja Kankhar bestowed upon him half his kingdom and gave his daughter in marriage. He is said to have struck off his own head on the demand of a witch-wife of the court-bard of Raja Jai Chand of Lambargaon but this was miraculously restored. Jagdev then migrated to the Chibhal territory, where he founded Akhnoor State, ruled by Panwar Dynasty of his descendants for over six centuries. Many of the local Dogra clans claim descent from the Raja such as the Ambarai.
Akhnoor lies in the heart of Chibhal located on the banks of the Chenab River. The territory of Chibhal lies between Tawi River and Jhelum rivers, with the Pir Panjal Mountains forming its northern boundary and gets its name from the Chib tribe. Presently, Chibhal is divided by the line of control, with Mirpur and Bhimber districts within Pakistani Kashmir, and districts of Rajauri, Reasi, and parts of Jammu (including Akhnur) west of the Manawar Tawi in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir. The Bangial have traditions of leaving the region and settling in plains territory of northern Punjab in Gujarkhan, Jhelum, and Kharian. Rajah Jagdev Panwar is also seen as a common ancester of the Panwars of this region, such as the Hon and Sahnsral.
Bangial
So who are the Bangial, sometimes written as Bangyal, and we have go back to my first post on the Pothohar tribes. The word al means son of in number of dialects that fall within Lahnda, such as Pothohari and Pahari. J. M Wikely, author of the army recruitment guide Punjab Musalmans describes them as such:
Male population: Approximately 2,000 (Census 1931).
Locality: The tribe is found chiefly in the Rawalpindi district, where they occupy five villages in the Gujar Khan tehsil. There appear to be a few also in the Jhelum, Gujrat and Gujranwala districts
Particular: Bangial and Baghial appear to be the same tribe, those members of it which are in the Rawalpindi district are classed as Rajputs, while in Gujrat, Gujranwala and Jhelum they are Jats. They describe themselves as being Panwar Rajputs. The first ancestor of Musalman faith was Bangash Khan.
Other then this brief mention, British sources have been quite on the Bangial. According to the Bangials themselves, they are descended from a Rajah Bangash Khan, a Panwar Rajput, who arrived in the Pothohar region from central India, hence the name Bangash al, shortened to Bangyal. According to other traditions, the Raja came from Delhi. This Bangash Khan is also seen as ancestor by the closely related Baghial tribe. Changa Bangial in Gujarkhan Tehsil is said to be their first settlement in the region, and according to some traditions Changa was a son of Bangash Khan.
A bit more detail description of the comes largely from the book Tazkira Pothohar by Mohammad Artsab. Bangash Khan is said to come from the lineage of Raja Jagdev Panwar, who had three sons, Rokha Khan, Chhanga Khan and Sanbar Khan. The Bangial all claim decent from one of these three brothers, and generally consider the town of Changa Bangyal as there first settlement. The brothers were said to have come from Sialkot, during the period of Gakhar rule, which could be anything between the 14th and 18th Century. Most Bangial generally connect themselves with Changa Bangial as their ancestral village. In Mirpur, the Bangyal claim descent from two brothers, Raj Khan and Shahu Khan, who are said to have come from Changa Bangial.
Like many of their neighbours such as the Kalyal, some groups of Bangial consider themselves as Jats, while other see themselves as Rajputs. In Gujranwala, Gujrat and Jhelum districts of Punjab, and Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, the Bangial strongly identify themselves as Jat, and intermarry with tribes of Jat status, such as the Warriach and Tarar. But as we move towards Dina and neighbouring Gujar Khan tehsils, almost all the Bangial claim Rajput ancestry, so briefly we can summarize, that the Jhelum River divides these two groups.
Bangial Population According 1911 Census
| District | Population |
| Jhelum | 1,869 |
| Gujrat | 1,679 |
| Rawalpindi | 1,204 |
| Total | 4,752 |
Looking at major Bangial villages in Rawalpindi District by tehsil:
Gujarkhan Tehsil
1) Changa Bangial (now actually a fair sized town)
2) Chehari Bangial
3) Dhok Bangial
4) Dhok Chaudrian
5) Khalabat
6) Jhanji Gangaal
7) Kor Nasib
8) Narali Jabbar
9) Pharwal Bangial
10) Pandori Gakhran
11) Sandal Bangial
12) Sangni
13) Wasla Bangial
Rawalpindi Tehsil:
1) Bajnial
2) Bura Bangial
3) Darihala Bangial
4) Kala Bangial
5) Marri Bangial
6) Pind Dara
Kahuta Tehsil
1) Maira Khurd
2) Suhot Bangial
Kallar Syedan Tehsil
1) Choa Khalsa
2) Dhok Bangial
3) Nala Musalmanan,
4) Pehr Hali,
5) Sahib Dhamial
6) Sahote Bangyal
7) Tamhali
Outside Rawalpindi
In the neighbouring Islamabad Capital territory, they have two villages, namely Jhanga Bangial and Bora Bangial. Outside this core area, Bangial are found in several villages near the town of Sohawa in Jhelum District, such as Bains Qassim, Kandyari, Khorakha, Mohra Kanyal and Mohra Alya. They are also found in the village of Nambal near Kallar Kahar, Gora Bangial in Attock District, and Bangial in Gujrat District. In addition to Bangial, they occupy a further 11 villages in Gujrat District. A small cluster of Bangial villages, such Bangialabad are found near the town of Darya Khan in Bhakkar District.
Bangial Jatt in Mirpur District
There are a number of Bangial villages in Mirpur District, which borders Gujarkhan tehsil, the two divided by the river Jhelum.
In Tehsil Mirpur:
The Bangyal Jatts are found in Bangyal, Panyam (affected by the Mangla Dam), who descend from Baba Kallu who migrated from Changa Bangyal. There is also a Bangyal / Bangyalay in Mirpur near Nathia, and there are also a few households in Palaak.
In Tehsil Dadyal:
These Bangial also claim to have come from Changa Bangyal, with one branch migrated to Jawaya near Bal Peeran (went under the Mangla Dam) and from there to Kandore and Sehnsa, Kotli. The Bangyal in Kandore claim descent from the Panwar Rajputs. Another branch went to Thara (Thara Haji Bagh Ali) as well as Chanaar near Thub, and Sehnsa too.
The branch in Nakka, Ratta are descended from an elder called baba Manji who came from Changar in the Pothohar, and before that from old Hill/Baghaam (alsp now under the Mangla Dam).
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