Rajputs of District Sialkot

RAJPUTS

The principal Rajput clans of the Sialkot district are the following

Bajju

Manhas

Salehria

Bhatti

Khokhar

BAJJU

The Bajju clan inhabit the eastern portion of the Bajwat which is named after them. Their origin has already been noticed in connection with their relations to the Bajwa Jats. The Bajjus are all Dogars, generally of short stature and weak physique.

Owing to the dampness of the climate they suffer much from fever. Goitre is also prevalent in the Bajwat and impotence is said to be common. Like all Dogars they take a less somber view of life than does the Jat. They revere an ancestor named Baj, a Sidh or saint, whose samadh exists at Chak Khoja.

According to them Baz was a holy faqir who worshipped on the bank of the Chenab at Chak Khoja. God in the shape of Lakmanji appeared to him out of the river. So did the Jal Pir, presiding spirit of the waters. Then he became a Sidh, that is a famous saint. When he died he was buried, not burned, and his samadh or tomb is at Chak Khoja. When Baz was recognized by the Gods and became a Sidh, the Bajjus all put on necklaces of tulsi as a sign that they had become his followers. Bajjus are Hindus; Bajwas are Hindu, Sikh or Musalman.

The Bajjus take girls in marriage from the Thakur castes inhabiting Jammu territory. They give daughters to Minhas Chib and Bahu Rajputs. But towards the end of 1915 the Bajjus resolved to give up the system of hyper gamy and now they say that they will give their daughters only to clans who are ready to reciprocate.

JAM WALS AND MANHAS

The Bajwat contains a few villages belonging to Jamwals and the western half of the tract is occupied by the Manhas clan. The Jamwals and Manhas ar said to have a common solar origin. They came originally from ajudhia. In the wars of the Mahabharata they fought on the side of Kauravas against the Pandavas and after the fight at Kurukshetra fled to Kashmir and then to Mankot where their ancestor Jamu Lochar defeated Chandar Hans, the ruler of the territory now known as Jammu. The victor founded the city of that name. The Jamwals may not touch the plough, and when one of them took to agriculture he was cast off and founded the Manhas clan. The Manhas of th Bajwat claim to have fallen later than other branches of the clan and pride themselves on the fact. The Manhas give daughters in marriage to the Chib, Bahu, Jaswal, Pathani and Galeria clans. They say that they receive daughters from those clans dohra natta and also take dauhjters from the Charak, Salehria, Saroch, Sin, Bajju and lange clans. Jamwals like the Bajjus are all Hindus. Some Manhas have been converted to Islam. The Hindus supply a considerable number of recruits to Dogra regiments.

SALEHRIA RAJPUT

The Salehria clan is found mainly in the north -east of the Zafarwal Tehsil and is mainly Muhammadan. They are of lunar origin. Two different accounts of their history are given in the "Glossary of Tribes and Castes" and they need not be repeated here. Suffice is to say, that they claim among their ancestors Raja Sal who was, according to one story, the founder of Sialkot. The Hindu members of the clan have combined with Charaks and others
to refuse daughters to them. Salehrias have enlisted well during the Great War under the guidance of Subadar Hashim Khan, late of the 58th Rifles, a fine old native officer who was once orderly to Lord Roberts in Afghanistan.

BHATTIS

Bhatti Rajputs are all Musalmans. They are found in many parts of the Punjab and are met with in different Tehsils of this district. Tradition connects them with Bikaner Jaisulmir and the old fortress of Bhatner and they claim descent from Raja Salivahan, the founder of Sialkot. The Bhattis are the most industrious of all the Rajput tribes.