Jamwal
Encyclopedia
| Rajput Clan Jamwal |
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| Vansh | Suryavansha Suryavansha The Sooryavamsham or Suryavansh or Suryavamsa or Sun Dynasty or Solar Dynasty was one of the most prominent dynasties in the mythical history of India, along with the "Chandra-vaṃśa" or Lunar Dynasty.-Introduction:... |
| Descended from: | Rama Rama Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian... |
| Branch: | Minhas Minhas Minhas or Manhas or Minhas-Dogra is a Suryavanshi Rajput clan from the Punjab region and Jammu & Kashmir in India and Pakistan. It is an off-shoot of Jamwal-Dogra Rajputs, the founders of the city and state of Jammu and its rulers from ancient times to 1948 CE... |
| Ruled in | Mainly Jammu & Kashmir, Panjab, Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east... & 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... |
| Princely states: | Awadh Awadh Awadh , also known in various British historical texts as Oudh or Oude derived from Ayodhya, is a region in the centre of the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh... , Koshal Koshal Koshal/ Kaushals are descendants of Raja Hawaha and Kachwaha because of their equestrian prowess they came to be known as ghorewaha Rajputs.Being a martial race they had a flair of riding and breeding warrior horses... , Rajputana Rajputana Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana... |
| Population Location: | 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... , Nepal Nepal Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India... and 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... |
| Languages: | Dogri |
Jamwal is a suryavanshi Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
clan of Chattari lineage in Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
that claims solar origin by direct descent from Sri Rama Chandra of Raghav (Raghuvanshi)
Raghav (Raghuvanshi)
Badgujars rajputs, Jayas rajputs clans claim descent from Suryavanshi king Raghu and his grandson Lord Rama and his son Lava and write Raghav as their surname. They ruled some kingdoms and princely states.-Etymology:...
Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
clan. Jamwal traditions state that their ancestor, Raja Agnigarba, came from Ayodhya and founded a small state on the banks of River Tawi
Tawi River
The Tawi is a river that flows through the city of Jammu. Tawi river is also considered sacred and holy, as is generally the case with most rivers in India....
. A few generations later, Raja Jambu Lochan founded the city and state of Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
. In Rajputana
Rajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
their closest cousins are Raghav (Raghuvanshi)
Raghav (Raghuvanshi)
Badgujars rajputs, Jayas rajputs clans claim descent from Suryavanshi king Raghu and his grandson Lord Rama and his son Lava and write Raghav as their surname. They ruled some kingdoms and princely states.-Etymology:...
& Kachwaha
Kachwaha
Kachwaha are a Suryavanshi Kshatriya clan who ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states in India such as Alwar, Maihar, Talcher, while the largest kingdom was Jaipur which was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727...
Rajputs of Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
.
The Dogra
Dogra
The Dogras are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group in South Asia. Being a diversified group, the Dogras include both Savarnas such as Brahmins, Rajputs and Non-savarnas. The Dogras also incluide merchant castes such as Mahajans...
Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir belong to this clan. Minhas
Minhas
Minhas or Manhas or Minhas-Dogra is a Suryavanshi Rajput clan from the Punjab region and Jammu & Kashmir in India and Pakistan. It is an off-shoot of Jamwal-Dogra Rajputs, the founders of the city and state of Jammu and its rulers from ancient times to 1948 CE...
or Manhas, Nagyal
Nagyal
Nagyal, sometimes pronounced as Nangyal and also written as Nagial are a Rajput-Jat tribe found mainly in Rawalpindi District, Gujar Khan, Daultala, Jhelum and Gujrat Districts of Punjab, Mirpur District of Azad Jammu and Kashmir...
, Thakial and Bersal
Bersal
The Bersal are a Suryavanshi Rajput clan, and was Rajas of Kashmir and Kangra. The Hindu branch provided the Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir.-History and origin:...
and Kohaal Rajputs are also an offshoot of this clan. It is said that one Raja Malan Hans took up agriculture and left the throne to his younger brother, Raja Suraj Hans. Since that time Rajputs who took up agriculture are styled Minhas, whereas the name 'Jamwal' is confined to the royal branch.
Ancient history
The history of the Jamwals dates back to the RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
period. They trace their ancestry to the Ikshvaku
Ikshvaku
Ikshvaku pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.-In Hinduism:He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king...
(Solar) Dynasty of Raghav (Raghuvanshi)
Raghav (Raghuvanshi)
Badgujars rajputs, Jayas rajputs clans claim descent from Suryavanshi king Raghu and his grandson Lord Rama and his son Lava and write Raghav as their surname. They ruled some kingdoms and princely states.-Etymology:...
Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
s of Northern India (the same clan in which Lord Rama was born; therefore, he is the 'kuldevta' – family deity – of the Dogras). A Raghav (Raghuvanshi)
Raghav (Raghuvanshi)
Badgujars rajputs, Jayas rajputs clans claim descent from Suryavanshi king Raghu and his grandson Lord Rama and his son Lava and write Raghav as their surname. They ruled some kingdoms and princely states.-Etymology:...
, 'Agnigarba', who was living as a recluse, came to Nagarkote (Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
), in the Shivalik hills. When the Raja of Kangra came to know about this person's ancestry, he offered him the hand of his daughter and a part of kingdom. At the time, the river Ravi
Ravi River
The Ravi is a trans-boundary river flowing through Northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of the six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region ....
was then the boundary of Nagarkote. Agnigarba crossed it and captured some villages in the Kathua
Kathua
Kathua is the largest city of the Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir. It is the third largest city in the Jammu region and the sixth largest in the state. The word "Kathua" is derived from the word "Thuan" in Dogri which means "Scorpios". The city was the land of Scorpios before the settling of...
area and declared himself as sovereign king.
After his death, his son Bayusharva (1530–1500 BC) married the princess of Parole (Kathua), Erwan, who died young. The Raja founded a city after her which is still found near Parole, though now a small village, and at the 'Samādhi
Samadhi
Samadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
' of the queen, a 'Mela' (fair) is held at every 'Baisakhi' (13th or 14 April) every year. Bayusharva extended the boundaries up to the river Ujh. Bayusharva's great grandson, Bahulochan, was enthroned after his death. He migrated from Erwan and built his fort on the banks of river Tawi. When Bahulochan died in a bloody battle with Chadaras, the Raja of Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
(Shayalkot) and his younger brother Jambulochan (1320–1290 BC) ascended the throne. In those days the area beyond Tawi (the present city of Jammu) was used for hunting. Tradition has it that one day Jambulochan came to this area and while he was sitting behind a bush to ambush some bird or animal, he saw a lion (a tiger in some accounts) and a goat drinking water from the same pond. This peaceful coexistence encouraged him to found the city of Jammu, which some say is named after him. One of his descendants, Raja Shaktikaran (1200–1177 BC) introduced the Dogri
Dogri language
Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking...
script. Another of his descendants, Jasdev, founded the city of Jasrota
Jasrota
Jasrota is the capital city of the Jasrotia rajputs, founded by Jasdev, a descendant of The Royal House of Jammu and Kashmir.Their castle was a protection fort and was built to fight the Sikhs or any external threats which they perceived from the other rulers of the time. The palace of the...
on the bank of river Ujh, and another Raja, Karan Dev, built a fort on the banks of the river Basantar.
In the early centuries of the first millennium the area came under the sway of the Indo-Greeks, with their capital at Sakala
Sakala
Sakala may refer to:* Sagala, a city of ancient India* Sakala County, an ancient county in Estonia * Sakala , an Estonian academic corporation* Sakala , an Estonian newspaper...
(Sialkot).
Suryavamshi claim descent from Surya.MINHAS or Manhas are royal branch of Jamwal Rajputs. shoots. The Sun Dynasty is oldest among Kshatriyas. The first person of this dynasty was "Vivaswan," who by the meaning of his name is considered to be "Surya." Ikshvaku was the first important king of this dynasty. Other important kings were Kakutsth Harishchandra, Sagar, Dileepa, Bhagiratha, Raghu Dashratha and Rama. The poet Kalidasa wrote the great epic Raghuvamsa about the dynasty of Raghu including the great king born in the Sun Dynasty.
The Rajwar, a cultivating caste of Bihar and Chota nagpur who claim Surajvansi Rajput descent, but is not generally admitted. The Surajvansi are sometimes also called Kaushilya or Kaushal (after Kush), while the chandravansi are called Kaushik. The Kausik(a) rajput tribe is also found in considerable numbers in Ghazipur, Azimgarh and Gorakhpur, claiming descent from Kausik, father of Gadhi, founder of Gadhipur Ghazipur
Ghazipur
Ghazipur , or Ghazipur City, previously spelt Ghazeepore, is a city/town and a municipal corporation and headquarter of Ghazipur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghazipur Division and Sub-division...
.
suryavansh clans: Balla, Bargujar, Gehlot, Haiwaha, Hul, , Jamwal, Jayash, Kachwaha, Minhas, Nagyal, Rathor, Senghar,Bersal,Kohal,
British India
Among the enlightened rulers of Jammu was Raja Ranjit Dev, (1728–1780) who introduced certain social reforms such as a ban on 'Sati' (immolationImmolation
Immolation, from Latin immolare, "to sacrifice", originally "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal" , in modern English since the 16th century may refer to:* Fire sacrifice** Holocaust * Cremation...
of the wife on the pyre of the husband) and female infanticide. Later, under Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
, the state became part of the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
. Ranjit Singh rendered this state to his general, Maharaja Gulab Singh, who belonged to the Jamwal Rajput clan that ruled Jammu. He extended the boundaries of Jammu to western Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
with the help of General Zorawar Singh
Zorawar Singh
Zorawar Singh may refer to:* General Zorawar Singh, general in the army of Maharaja Gulab Singh* Sahibzada Zorawar Singh, third son of Guru Gobind Singh* Kanwar Zorawar Singh, Indian Army general...
, who has been referred to by British historians as the 'Napoleon of India'. Dogra rule extended beyond the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley to the Tibetan Buddhist Kingdom of Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
and the Emirates of Hunza, Gilgit
Gilgit Agency
The Gilgit Agency was a political unit of British India, which administered the northern half of the Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Gilgit Agency was created in 1877 and was overseen by a political agent of the Governor-General of British India. The seat of the agent was Srinagar...
and Nagar
State of Nagar
Nagar was a princely state in the northernmost part of Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan, which existed until 1974. The state bordered the Gilgit Agency to the south and west, and the former princely state of Hunza to the north and east. The state capital was the town of Nagar. The area of...
. After the Second Anglo-Sikh War
Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Second Anglo-Sikh War took place in 1848 and 1849, between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the East India Company.-Background...
in 1846, Jammu again became an independent Rajput kingdom under Maharaja Gulab Singh, as per the treaties signed between the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Sikhs. Maharaja Pratap Singh, enthroned in 1885, saw the construction of Banihal Cart Road (B.C. Road) mainly to facilitate telegraph services.
Modern history
The last ruler of J&K was Maharaja Hari SinghHari Singh
Maharaja Hari Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in India.He was married four times...
, who ascended the throne in 1925. The Maharaja was one the most progressive Rulers of his times. He was a progressive ruler and much loved by his subjects. He made primary education compulsory in the state, introduced laws prohibiting child marriage
Child marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...
and threw open places of worship for the low caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
s. His reign saw the accession of Jammu & Kashmir to the newly independent Indian Union in 1947. Although he originally manouvred to maintain his independence by playing off 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...
and 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...
against each other, Maharaja Hari Singh, the last king of the Rajput kingdom of Jammu & Kashmir, ceded his kingdom to the Indian Union in 1947. In 1951 Maharaja Hari Singh's rule was terminated by the assembly and his son Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh
Karan Singh
Karan Singh is an MP in the Rajya Sabha, a senior member of the ruling Indian National Congress Party serving as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Department, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations , India's Ambassador to UNESCO, Chairman of the Auroville Foundation and of the Temple...
was made 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' ('President of the State') and Governor of the State in 1964.