Bodla is a Punjabi

Punjabi people

The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...

 tribe found along the banks of the Sutlej River in 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...

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History and origin

The Bodla are found in the lower and middle Sutlej valley in Pakistan. They were at one time an entirely pastoral tribe, and are said to have come from Multan

Multan

Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...

 through Bahawalpur to Sahiwal. They claim to have originally settled in Multan

Multan

Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...

, at the time of Bahuaudin Zakariya (also a Qureshi by caste) the famous Sufi saint. From Sahiwal

Sahiwal

Sahiwal is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is approximately 180 km from the major city Lahore and is the city between Lahore and Multan...

, the Bodla spread to Sirsa

Sirsa

Sirsa is a city and a municipal council in Sirsa district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is a town in the westernmost region of the state, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. Its history dates back to the time of Mahabharata...

, where they occupied the Bahak parganna, as a jagir. Historically, they were found in Firozpur

Firozpur District

Ferozepur district is one of the twenty two th districts in the state of Punjab in North-West Republic of India.It comprises an area of 11,142 km². The surface is level, with the exception of a few sand-hills in the south and south-east...

 and Sirsa

Sirsa district

Sirsa district is one of the districts of Haryana state, India. Sirsa is the district headquarters, and is located on National Highway 10 and 250 km away from Delhi.-Origin of name:The district is named after its headquarters, Sirsa...

 districts in modern day Indian 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...

 and 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...

. In what became Pakistani territory, they were found in Sahiwal

Sahiwal District

Sahiwal District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. As of 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were located in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District along with Okara District and Pakpattan District has comprised the Sahiwal Division...

, Pakpattan

Pakpattan District

Pakpattan District is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan, Pakpattan is the district capital. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, it had a population of 1,286,680 of which 14% were urban...

 and Vehari

Vehari District

Vehari District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan - the city of Vehari is the capital of the district. The district was created in 1976 out of the three tehsils of Multan District . The name Vehari means low lying settlement by a flood water channel...

 districts.

According to the traditions of the of the tribe, their ancestor Sheikh Shahabulmulik Quraishi Sadiqui was the first one to whom this surname was given. The word Bodla is derived from the Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 word Bou-E-Dil which literally means "Fragrance of heart" but it can also be said to mean a person who knows feeling of heart. They thus claim to be of Shaikh Siddiqui

Siddiqui

Siddiqui, is a Muslim family name, found in the South Asia and the Middle East. Shaikh is an additional title used occasionally by Siddiqui/Siddique to signify their Arab heritage...

 ancestry.

Distribution

In what became Pakistani territory, they were found in Sahiwal

Sahiwal District

Sahiwal District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. As of 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were located in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District along with Okara District and Pakpattan District has comprised the Sahiwal Division...

, Pakpattan

Pakpattan

Pakpattan is the capital city of the Pakpattan District in the Sahiwal Division in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Pakpattan is one of the ancient cities of Pakistan. It is the city that has the shrine of the well-known Sufi of all times, Baba Fareed...

 and Vehari

Vehari

Vehari is a city in the Punjab province in Pakistan. The city, which is the capital of the district and tehsil of the same name, is located at 30°1'0N 72°21'0E at an altitude of 135m , lies about from the regional metropolis of Multan and about north of the river Sutlej - the southernmost of...

 Shujabad

Shujabad

Shujabad is the oldest tehsil of Multan District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located about 45 km in south from Multan. Chenab River is situated in the west of city. Neighbouring settlements include Jalalpur Pirwala, Multan and Lodhran. Its population is about 600,000 .Shujabad is...

 in Multan

Multan

Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...

, Bahawalpur

Bahawalpur

Bahawalpur , located in the province of Punjab, is the twelfth largest city in Pakistan. The city was once the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The city was home to various Nawabs and counted as part of the Rajputana states...

, and Bahawalnagar

Bahawalnagar District

Bahawalnagar District is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan. The district is situated on the border, before the independence of Pakistan, Bahawal Nagar was a part of Bahawalpur state governed by the Nawab of Bahawalpur...

 districts. The Bodlas of East Punjab

East Punjab

East Punjab was the part of the Punjab region that went to India following the Partition of the Punjab Province of British India between India and Pakistan in 1947...

 and 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...

 moved to Pakistan, at the time of the partition of India

Partition of India

The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

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Bodla Villages

In Pakpattan District

Pakpattan District

Pakpattan District is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan, Pakpattan is the district capital. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, it had a population of 1,286,680 of which 14% were urban...

, important Bodla villages include Paka Sidhar, Azmat Chishti, Salim Shah Bodla, Nothain Bodla, Kot Bodla, Chak Ghullah, Ghumandpura, Khai Bodla, Chak 19/S.P , Bodla Farm Chak 31/S.P, Chak Sardul , Mehmoodpur, Arifabad, Chak Gadai Shah , Chak Kalyana, Chak Thathaee , Chak 51/SP , Nangpaal and 41/SP

In Bahawalnagar District

Bahawalnagar District

Bahawalnagar District is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan. The district is situated on the border, before the independence of Pakistan, Bahawal Nagar was a part of Bahawalpur state governed by the Nawab of Bahawalpur...

, there villages near the town of Minchinabad

Minchinabad

Minchinabad is a city of Bahawalnagar District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Minchinabad Tehsil. It underwent rapid development in the late 1860s and 1870s.-References:...

, the main ones being Qalandar.Bodla, Tawakal.Bodla,and Heno Wala. Another cluster of villages is found near the town of Haroonabad

Haroonabad

Haroonabad may refer to:* Haroonabad in Punjab, Pakistan* Haroonabad in Sindh, Pakistan-See also:* Harun, the Islamic form of the name of Aaron, the elder brother of Moses* Haroon a Muslim name...

 such as Tiba Noor Shah Bodla and Tobian.
In Multan District

Multan District

Multan District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 3,116,851 of which 41.64% were urban. Its capital is the city of Multan....

, there villages are found near the town of Shujabad

Shujabad

Shujabad is the oldest tehsil of Multan District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located about 45 km in south from Multan. Chenab River is situated in the west of city. Neighbouring settlements include Jalalpur Pirwala, Multan and Lodhran. Its population is about 600,000 .Shujabad is...

  such as Bodla Colony and some surrounding areas and villages.

In Layyah District

Layyah District

Layyah District is a district in the Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the southern part of the province. The capital is Layyah.-History:...

, there main settlement is at the village of Lalazar (132/TDA).

There are still a few settlements of Bodla 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...

, such as Shaker Shah Bodla 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...

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