The Kathia are a rajput Muslim tribe, found in Punjab, Pakistan. According to the Census of India 1931, their male population numbered 1,600.

Locality

The Kathias are found in the 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 ....

 river valley of the 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...

 and 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...

 districts, also in the south of the Jhang District

Jhang District

Jhang District is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Jhang is the district's capital. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district's population was 2.8 million, of which 23 percent lived in urban areas. By 2008, according to estimates, the population had...

, They are also settled in th district of Toba Tek Singh

Toba Tek Singh

Toba Tek Singh District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located between 30°33' to 31°2' Degree north latitudes and 72°08' to 72°48' Degree longitudes.-Origins of Name:...

. They are considered as the famous land lords or feudal lords of their respective areas. The Kathia's are one of the most wealthy,respectable and famous rural caste of the Ravi belt. They originated from the Kathiawar.

History and origin

The Kathias claim to be Panwar Rajputs descended from a Rajput prince named Kathia who lived about the time of their conversion to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, in the reign of the Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 Emperor Akbar. An attempt has been made to identify the tribe with the Kathoei, who
in their stronghold at Sangla Hill

Sangla Hill

Sangla Hill is a tehsil located in Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab Province of Pakistan.- Introduction :Sangla hill is a tehsil under district Nankana Sahib...

, so stoutly resisted the victorious army of Alexandar the Great, but it cannot be said that anything definite is known about the tribe.

According to their traditions, the Kathia are descended from the legendary Rajah Karan

Karan

Karan is a small town in Mali. As of 1998 the commune had a population of 9876. Sharn More, a Canadian singer, was born in Mali.Karan is as well the name of 18th son of Kaveh Ahangar, a famous story in Iranian poet book, Shahnameh. This book is an enormous poetic opus written by the Persian poet...

 of the Mahabharat.Originally they resided in Bikaner, whence they migrated and founded the state of Kathiawar

Kathiawar

Kathiawar or Kathiawad is a peninsula in western India, which is part of the Saurashtra region on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state. It is bounded on the north by the great wetland of the Rann of Kutch, on the northwest by the Gulf of Kutch, on the west and south by the Arabian Sea, and on...

, which takes its name from the Kathia tribe, and is in modern day Gujerat State of 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...

. From there they went to Sirsa and then 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...

. In this migration, they were accompanied by a few families of the Baghela tribe. Next they crossed over to Kabula stream and went on to Daira Dinpanah. From this place they spread over to Kamalia

Kamalia

Kamalia is a city and tehsil of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It is part of Toba Tek Singh District, which is part of the erstwhile Faisalabad Division.-History:...

. The Kathia, like other Neeli Bar

Neeli Bar

Neeli Bar is a geographical region in Punjab, Pakistan. It is between the rivers Ravi and Satluj. "Bar" is the name given to areas in Punjab which were thick forests before the arrival of the modern canal irrigation system. Its soil is very fertile, as this plain is formed by the mud that has been...

 tribes were pastorolist.

During the reign of the Emperor Akbar, the Kathia were required to give their daughters in marriage to Emperor Akbar. The Kathia refused, and a Mughal army was sent against them. The Kathia were defeated, and the Raja was made a prisoner. He was then conducted with great honour to the Court of Delhi, where the Emperor Akbar treated him with great kindness. This behaviour led to the Rajah deciding to embrace Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

.

Notable Personalities

• Mian Fareed Abbas Kathia (Bhussi)
• Mian Khizar Hayat Kathia (Bhussi)
• Mian Ghulam Fareed Kathia (Sahiwal)
• Mian Qamar Hayat Kathia (Shorkot)
• Mian Sarfraz Kathia (Old Chichawatni)