A Historical Glimpse of Kshatriyas (Rajputs) of Bulandshahr District in Uttar Pradesh —
The early history of the district of Bulandshahr is legendary .Thus it was included in the kingdom of the Pandavas, whose capital, Hastinapura, was not far away, and popular legend identifies Ahar with the chief town of the Pandavas after-Hastinapura was washed away. Another legend makes Ahar, which is certainly a site of great antiquity, the residence of the Nagar Brahmans who assisted Jannmejaya in the performance of the great snake-sacrifice. The present town of Bulandshahr is still known by its older name of Baran, which is also the name of the pargana in which it is situated. Bulandshahr simply means “high city,” and was evidently applied to Baran on account of its situation on the high bank of the Kalindi, now corrupted into Káli Nadi. Before the name Baran was given, the tradition goes that the fort was built by a Tomar or Pandava Chief of Ahar named Parmal, to protect the town which was called Banchhati or Forest-clearing. Baran is popularly derived from a Tomar Rája Ahibaran, but the derivation cannot be supported. It has also been suggested that Baran is the Varanavata mentioned in the 143rd chapter of the first book of the Mahabharat.
Buddhist remains of the fifth to seventh centuries have been found here, besides coins of much older date. In the eleventh century the town was the head-quarters of
HarDat, a Dor chieftain who ruled in this part of the Doab, with territory extending as far as Häpur and Meerut. In 1018 Mahmüd of Ghazni crossed the Jumna and reached Baran. In the words of the Persian historian, Har Dat ‘reflected that his safety would be best secured by conforming to the religion of Islam, since God’s sword was drawn from the scabbard and the whip of punishment was uplifted. He came forth, therefore, with 10,000 men, who all proclaimed their anxiety for conversion and their rejection of idols.’ The town was given back to Har Dat, but from a copperplate inscription the Dors appear to have been superseded for a time. They were restored; and Chandra Sen, the last Hindu ruler, died while gallantly defend ing his fort against Kutb-ud-din, the general of Muhammad Ghori, in 1193.
The Kshatriyas / Rajputs –—
After the occupation of Bhárata by Hunas, Shakas, Kushans etc., the Vedic Kshatriyas (Solar and Lunar race ) retained their identity with the word Rajaputra (Rajput) because these foreign invaders started calling themselves Kshatriyas by merging in the main stream of our country. When these Rajaputras got an opportunity to grab power, they did not miss it and occupied the power under the nomenclature ‘Rajput’; this is how they were commonly addressed by the masses .
Rajput (Sanskrit raja-putra, “son of a king”). – The warrior -and land owning race of Northern India, who are also known as Thakur, “lord” (Sanskrit thakkura), or Chhatri, the modern repre-sentative of the ancient Kshatriya. All or most of the Rajput tribes in these Provinces have legendary accounts of their origin from the country known as Rajwâra, Rajasthân or Rajputâna. As General Cunningham writes ¹:-“The term Rajputana is at present restricted to the States lying between the Jumna and Narbada, of which the Jumna forms the eastern boundary; but previous to the Mahratta conquest it really extended from the Satlaj on the west to the Chhota Sindh River of Mârwâr on the east.The Rajputs form the most important element amongst the land-owning and cultivating classes.
The Dor Rajputs—
In subordination to the paramount ruler were the Dor rajputs of Baran or Bulandshahr, whose genealogy for some 10 generations has been preserved(1-2). It is certain that the sway of the Dors extended over this district, but the names given in local tradition do not exactly agree with the list of kings given in the copperplate inscription of Manpur is the Bulandshar district. Here the accout states that in 372 AD. Baran was held by raja Vikrama Sen, whose brother Kali resided in Jalali, both being subject to Anang Pal of Delhi. This is of course impossible, for Anang Pal did not obtain the throne of Delhi till the Eighth century at the earliest and probably a good deal later, Mr. Vincent Smith ascribing his foundation of the red fort, where the Qutb Minar now stands, to the middle of the Tenth century. Now the Manpur plate contains the name of one Vikramaditya, the tenth of the Dor line, who was in possession in 1076 AD. The story goes on to say that Vikrama Sen had 2 sons, Indar and Mukindar, of whom the former succecded to Baran and the latter to Jalali, where he was followed by Gobind Sen. Then came the Latter’s son, Nahar Singh, the reputed founder of Sambhal, whose grandson, Dasrath Singh, built Jalesar and followed by his brother, Bijai Ram, the father of Budh Sen. This raja Budh Sen was the hero of story which erops up in many parts of the country. It is said the once, when journeying, from Jalai to Delhi, he came to kol or jhil, where he dismounted, as he had left his retinue far behind; that while he waited for their arrival he was attacked by a fox, which persisted in barking in barking and standing at bay, though bounded by Raja’s sword; and that when his followers pointed out that the air and soil must have some marvelous qualities to inspire so much courage in a mean and contemptible animal, he determined to built a city on so favourable on site, and therefore diggig up some clay form the jhil with his dagger, he laid the foundation of Koil.The city when completed became his capital ,and Budh Sen’s authority extended over Jalesar ,Kampil ,Patiali ,Baran ,
Sambhal and Badaun .After a reign of 55 years he was succeeded by his son , Mangal Sen , who made an alliance with Raja Bena of Atranji and Etawah , giving his daughter in marriage to Bena’s eldest son .The latter was murdered by his younger brother ,and the widowed Padmavati returned to Koil ,where her father built for her a lofty pillar , from which she could daily behold the sacred Ganges ,though another account avers that the unhappy lady was immured in the column .
For many reasons the story is hopeless .Budh Sen was sixth in descent from Vikrama Sen ,so that the traditional foundation of Koil would on this supposition take place in the second half of the 12th century ,and it is perfectly clear that the city was very much earlier origin .Mangal Sen could not have enjoyed so long a reign , for in 1193 A.D, Koil fell into other hands , while the legend of the pillar and the extent of the Dor kingdom is clearly absurd .On the other hand , it is perhaps significant that no mention is made of Koil in the account of the invasion by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 .The capture of Baran is narrated at length ,as also is that of Mahaban and Muttra ,which followed ;so that it seems clear that no important city then existed in the intervening country .
Baran was at that time held by Har Datt ,the father of Vikramaditya ,and it is certain that Mahmud ‘s vietories caused ,for a time at any rate , the decay of the Dors power. The Doab was overrun by Meos , and the Dors are said to have called to their assistance the Badgujars , who then for the first time established a hold on this district .These Badgujars are said to have fought for Prithvi Raj against the Chandels of Mahoba ,and to have been liberally rewarded by the victorious monarch .Perhaps too , they had assisted his grandfather , Visala Deva of Ajmer , in driving out the Tomars from Delhi and establishing the Chauhan dynasty .
The Dors still held Baran when Qutb-ud-din Aibak invaded the Duab with the armies of Islam in 1193 A,D .
The Badgujar Rajputs —
In Bulandshahr district amongst the Rajputs the Badgújars, who are highest numbered .
The entire south east area of Bulandshahr was under Badgujars where even today they have a large population in about hundred villages which are spread in Anupshahar, Dibai, Shikarpur, Khurja and Sayana . The famous villages of this clan are Banail, Belon, Anivas, Barauli etc.
The Lálkháni family—
They are Musalman Badgújars, amongst whom the Pahásu family held 31 villages at the recent settlement, the Chhatári family held 33, the Danpur family 22, the Dharmpur branch 28, and the Pindráwal branch 24. A fur-ther account of these families is given subsequently. Other Badgújars held 99 villages in Bulandshahr in 1866, giving a total of 237 villages in the hands of this tribe, or nearly one-seventh of the total area. Their possessions are chiefly scattered over parganahs Baran, Shikárpur, Dibái, Pahásu, and Khúrja. They settled here about seven to nine hundred years ago under Partáb Singh, driving out the Meos and Dors. Tod says the Badgújars emigrated from Rajor in Mácheri, one of the principal divisions of Dhunder, to this district. They give the same account of themselves, and trace their descent from Lava, the elder son of Ráma, like the Gahlots. They are of the solar race, and were driven from their former seats by the Kachhwáhas. From Partáb Singh’s son, Játu, the Badgújars of Rohilkhand are derived, and of these we have an early notice in the Ráthor genealogies, which makes Bharat, the eleventh grandson of Nayan Pál, “conquer Koneksir under the northern hills from Rudrasen of the Badgújar tribe.” Nayan Pål is supposed to have lived in the fifth century, and this would perhaps give an extravagant antiquity to the settlement of the Badgújars at present existing in the Dunb. This much may, however, be advanced, that their colonies came here long anterior to the Musalman invasion. Almost all the Badgújars of the district, whether Hindus or Musalmáns, are divided into five families: Lálkháni, Ahmadkhani, Bikramkháni, Kamálkhani, and Ráimáni. The Musalman appellations were adepted during the reign of Jahangir. With the exception of some of the Lálkháni, they all continue their Hindu customs. They paint on their doors at weddings, and pay reverence to a figure representing the Kahárin who gave the first footing in the district to their ancestor Partáb Singh. They do not kill kine, nor do they marry into their own gotra, and they generally give two names–a Hindu and Muhammadan one-to their children. Many of them retain the Hindu honorific prefix of Thakur.
The Bais Rajputs —
The Bais call themselves true Tilokchandi Dais, and say that they came from Dundiakhera in Oudh in the twelfth century. They held shares in 18 villages, chiefly in Dibái, at the recent settlement.
Bhale Sultan Rajpúts —-
Bhal, Bhale Sultan-(Skt. bhala , a kind of arrow or spear.) They claim to be Solanki . The Bulandshahr tribe, according to one story, claim descent From Sidhráo Jai Sinh Solanki of Parpatan in Gujarat. After the defeat of Pirthi Raj ,Sawai Sinh, the ancestor of the family, obtained the title of Bhale Sultan or lords of the lance from Shahab-ud-din Ghori. Another story is that they are descended from Sarangdeo, a nephew of the Rája of Gujarat, who took service under Prithivi Raj of Delhi, with whom he was distantly connected, and perished in the war against Kanauj, when his descendant was rewarded with lands in Bulandshahr. It was his grandson, Hamir Singh, who took service with the Raja of Kanauj and obtained through him from Shahab-ud-din the title of Bhale Sultan. The seventh in descent, Kirat Sinh,
distinguished himself in the campaign of Ghayas-ud-din against the Meos and got their lands, and obtained possession of 84 villages in Khurja. He settled at the village of Arniyan, and divided the villages between himself and his cousins, who resided at Kakaur. During the rule of Khizar Khan,the protege of Timur., Khán Chand, seventh in descent from Kirát Singh, became a Musalman and served the right to half the estate under the name of Malha Khan. His son, Lad Khan, removed his head quarters to Khurja.They are found chiefly in pargana Dibai ,but holds about 76 villages in Khurja pargana of which 32 villages belongs toheads of Hindu branch and about 44 to the Muslman branch
The Tomar /Janghara Rajputs—
They are Chandravanshi rulers of Hastinapur during the Mahabharata period. Later Tomar’s branch of this dynasty ruled in Delhi. Nowadays two branches of Tomar dynasty of Rajputs are Janghara and Indoria .They are found in this district, in which 24 villages are in the area of Gulavathi Secunderabad road, in which Baral, Chhapravat, Pitovas, Bisaich are prominent.
Sisodiya / Gahlots Rajputs. —
They are called Bachhal also.They migrated in this district from Mathura.
They hold shares in 25 villages in the north-west corner of the district, and came here with Khuman Rao, alias Gobind Rao, son of the Raja of Chitor in Pirithiraj’s time. Presently they are found in 12 villages, including Amarthal (Unchgaon), Narsena, Sabdalpur, Pali, Raghunathpur, Shakarpur, Naglia, Kamalpur, Payana etc.
The Panwars —
ThePanwars in early times held considerable possessions in the district and were contemporaries of the Meos and Dors in Dibái; they now hold but 4 villages, whilst a spurious branch, called Khidmatias, hold 4 villages in parganah Baran.
The Chhonkar Jádon Rajputs—
They are of the Jádon clan of Tahangarh near Karauli took possession of Jewar .
In the 12 th century of the Vikramaditya’s Samvat Era ,when the crusade against the Mewati tribes was being generally prosecuted in this area of Bulandshahr district. The Brahamans of Jewar invited the Chhonkar Jadon rajput of Tainagar in Bharatpur district to expelle their oppressors, the Meos .They compiled with the request and possessed themselves of paragana Jewar and also of Jewar khas from the Brahamans , to whom they gave five Meos villages in exchange.
The Chhonkar Rajputs of the Jadon Clan took possession of Jewar under their leader Ahardeo or Deopal , and expelled the Mewatis of Jewar . They have share in 30 villages chiefly in Jewar .Chhonkar jadon Rajputs continued to be the are Chaudharis of the place (Jewar ) till the beginning of the 12th century . Some historian say that Some descendants of raja Uday pala Helraj and Sawahan ruled the Mewati muslims around Jewar and conquered the whole of the estate .First village made by Chhonkars often this was Mundrean .
The Gaurwas —
They formerly held Málágarh, then known as Ráthora, which was purchased from them by Hakdád Khán, Amil of Baran, the grandfather of the notorious rebel Walidád Khán. They also at one time owned a great part of the Ahar and Sikandarabad parganahs, from which they were ousted by the Pathans.
The Bhattis / Jaiswár Rajputs —
They hold in 40 villages, of which about one-half are in Jewar. They say that they came to Bulandshahr under Kansal or ,as other say ,Deo ana Kare ,in the time of Prithviraj ,having ejected the Meos.They are divided in two clans ,Bhatti and Jaiswar .
The Jadons ( Sanskrit Yadava) —
A Sept of Kshatriya’s who claim their descent and name from Yadu , son of Yayati , the fifth monarch of the Lunar race.
The Yaduvansi kshatriyas as claiming to be the direct descendants of Lord Shri Krishna , the god and hero of Braj or Mathura .The first historical name is Dharma Pala 77th in descent from Krishna and 74th from Vajranabha great grand son of Lord Krishna ,who was the ancestor of Karauli jadon family.Dharma Pala’s title “Pala”has come down to the present Karauli rajas.His date is about 800 A.D.His capital was Bayana .After 11 generation later from Dharma Pala ,Maharaja Bijaipala ,who appears to be the first of the line likely to prove an historical character .He came from Mathura to the hill Mani ,where in Sambat 1052 (A.D.995 ) he settled in Bayana and built a fort ,under the protecting shadow of which the well -known town of Bayana , now in Bharatpur district.His descendants were driven out by Muhammad Ghori , and Kutb-ud-din Aibak who took first Bayana and then Tahangarh in 1196 A.D ., whereupon Kunwarpala , the chief of Bayana ,evacuated his capital and entrenched himself in the fort of Tahangarh (Thangarh or Tribhuvanagiri ) which he surrender after a short siege .Both the forts of Vijayamandirgarh and Tahangarh were then occupied by the invaders .”The several strongholds and strategic outposts of the locality were then occupied and garrisoned , and the command of this frontier between Rajputana and Doab was entrusted to Bahauddin Tughril .
Jadons have 20 villages in Khúrja and Jewar.Jadons in Bulandshahr district came from Aligarh ,Eta and Mathura districts in former time.There is no own estate of Jadon’s in this district. Only the Jadons of Hadtauli and Machkoli migrated directly from Bayana and Tahangarh .
The Bargalas—
This clan is a Sept of the Yaduvansi lunar race kshatriya.The Bargala Rajput claim to be belong Bhatti rajputs .They are descent from two brothers named Drigpal and Bhatipal , who are said to have emigrant from Ujjain or Indore in Malva and settled in Doab and to have held important commands in the royal forces at Delhi in the attack on Prithviraj .They lost most of their villages for rebellion in 1857.They are found chiefly in the Gurgaon and Bulandshahr districts .They hold 32 villages in this district and 20 more on the west bank of the Jumna.
The Chauhan Rajputs —
The chauhans of the royal stock of Dehli possess shares in 45 villages in different parganahs. In Agauta they formerly held 32 villages known as the Chauhanon-ke-batísa, but of these they now retain only two entire villages, with shares in thirteen others. Omitting the Bhål and Badgújar tribes, Rajputs held at the recent settlement altogether 151 entire villages besides numerous shares. During the reign of Chauhans, a Jagir of 32 villages of Chauhan Rajputs was established in the north of Bulandshahr district, whose headquarter was at Sentha. This is called Battisa of Chauhans. After Taimur’s invasion of Delhi, a civil war broke out among the Tughlaqs, in which Nusrat Shah captured Delhi and became the Sultan. His opponent, Mallu Iqbal Khan, the most powerful ally of the outgoing Sultan Muhammad Shah, ruled the Doab from Baran. Sultan Nusrat Shah sent a large army under the leadership of Shahab Khan to eliminate Mallu Iqbal Khan in Baran. But this army encountered the Chauhans of Battisa on the way and the Chauhans cut Shahab Khan’s neck and wiped out the entire army of the Sultan. As a punishment, Battisa’s entire jagir was confiscated and to save the entire khap, her Chaudhary had to become a Muslim. Now there are only a few villages left of this khap, which include Agauta, Pavsara, Visundhara and Bhainsroli.
Apart from these, there are many villages of Chauhans scattered in the district. Some villages are close to the border of Aligarh district. There are also some Nirban Chauhans in Jewar area.
References—
1- Growse’s Bulandshahr ,p.30-35.
2-Mr. W. C. Bennett’s note on the Bais of the Rai Bareli district, Oudh Set. Rec., 1866.
3-Raja Lachhman Singh , Bulandshahr Memo ,pp.,158,160 ,162.
4-Crooke William C.A.1886 .The Tribes and Castes of North-Western India.Voll.I to V.
5-The Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North -West Frontier section IV.by H.A.Rose.
6-J.R.A.S.,1903,pp.1 et seq.see also p.334.
7-J.A.S.B.,XLIII,21,363,C.A.S.HR.,XII,38-67.
8-S.H.M.Elliot .Supplemental Glossary of Terms used in N.W.P
9-Hand book on Rajputs by Captain A.H.Bingley.
10-Historical and Statistical Memoirs of Zila Bulandshahr (Allahabad ).1874 .
11-Nevill.H.R.Bulandshahr :A Gazetter ,Vol .V., of district Gazetted of the United Provinces Agra and Wish (Lucknow ) 1922 .
11-Imperial Gazetter of India ,v9,p.49-58.
12-Statitical descriptive and Historical accounts of the Nirth-Western Provinces of India,3,Meerut Div.part2,Vol.3,1878.Editor Alkinson,E. T.
13-Census Report ,1865 ,I.,App.19.
Author -Dr Dhirendra Singh Jadaun
Village -Larhota near Sasni
District -Hatharas ,UP.
Principal Govt Girls P.G.College , Sawaimadhopur , Rajasthan