| Gakhars | |
|---|---|
| Religions |  Islam |
| Languages | Pothwari |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Region | Punjab |
| Ethnicity | Punjabi |
TheGakhar (Punjabi:گکھڑ,romanized: Gakkhaṛ) is a historicalPunjabi tribe, originating in thePothohar Plateau ofPunjab, Pakistan. They predominantly adhere toIslam.[1][2][3][4]
In the Muslim historiography, the Gakhars have been frequently confused with theKhokhars, who inhabited the same region, and it has been challenging to separate the events of both tribes. Gakhars formed an important part of the army ofShāhis ofGandhāra. Around 30,000 Gakhars fought againstMaḥmūd of Ghazna in 1008 CE nearPeshawar but were defeated.[5] By the time of SultanMuʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad Ghūrī Gakhars had converted to Islam.[5]
In the following centuries, Gakhars engaged in a long-running struggle for sovereignty over theSalt Range with the neighbouring tribes:[6]
The history of this region (the Salt Range) from the thirteenth century onward had been a sickening record of wars between various dominant landowning and ruling clans of Punjabi Muslims including theJanjuas, Gakhars, Thathals andBhattis for political ascendancy.[7]
For a period, Gakhars were superseded by the Khokhars who under their chieftainJasrat gained control of most of upper Punjab in the 15th century. However, by the time of Mughal emperorBābur's invasion of subcontinent, Gakhars had regained power. Under their chief Hātī Khān, Gakhars attacked Babūr in 1525 when he marched against the Delhi Sultanate. Babūr seized Gakhar fortress ofPhaŕwāla and Hātī Khān fled, but when Hātī Khān offered his submission to Babūr and provided supplies for the Mughal army, he compensated Hātī Khān well and conferred on him the title of Sultan.[5]
During the reign ofHumāyūn,Sulṭān Sārang Khān gained much prominence. He refused to acknowledgeShēr Shāh Sūr as new emperor when the latter defeated Humāyūn, as a result Shēr Shāh led an expedition against Sārang Khān who was defeated and executed. His tomb is inRawāt.[5]
Sārang Khān's brother, Ādam Khān succeeded him. In 1552, Humāyūn's rebel brother princeKamrān sought shelter with Ādam Khān but he was betrayed and given up to Humāyūn, who rewarded Ādam Khān with the insignia of nobility for the treachery.[5]
In 1555, Ādam Khān was defeated and killed by his nephew Kamāl Khān, a son of Sārang Khān, possibly on the instigation by emperorAkbar to strengthen his hold over the Gakhars. Further a daughter of Kamāl Khān's brother, Sayd Khān was married to princeSalim.[5]
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In 1738 Nader Shahinvaded India, during this invasion the city ofGujrat was sacked and after Shah returned to Persia, the city was then taken over by Gakhar chief Mukarrab Khan.[8]
M. A. Sherring writing in 1879 described the Gakhars as an "aboriginal race subdued byPathan invaders from beyond the Indus." Sherring writing ofHazara District wrote that "they are found to the south of the district. The Gukkur chief resides at Khanpoor. Formerly, the Gukkurs, secure in their mountain fastnesses, set the rulers of the Punjab at defiance, and even exacted blackmail from them." In Hazara the Gakhars were neighbours of theDhund tribe who similarly seemed to be able to challenge outsiders.
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The story of most of the Gakhars is that they conquered Kashmir and ruled in that region for many generations but were eventually driven back to Kabul whence they entered the Punjab. They professed the Hindu faith and were converted to Islam, probably after the Ghori rule.
After this period, we do not hear of any Hindu Gakhars or Khokhars, for during the next two or three centuries they had all come to accept Islam.
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