Home7MOHIYALBRAHMINS:THEANCIENTRULERSOFPUNJAB&AFGHANISAN

MOHIYALBRAHMINS:THEANCIENTRULERSOF
PUNJAB&AFGHANISAN
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MOHIYAL BRAHMINS : THE ANCIENT RULERS OF PUNJAB &

AFGHANISAN
MohiyaltheMilitantBrahminsofPunjab
There is a saying that if you are to trace the house of the Mohyal in a Punjab
villagelookforthecrowssittingontheedgeoftheroof.lfyoufindaflight,just
go ahead of the house it is likely to be of Mohyals. Traditionally the Mohyals
have been known as the meat eaters or Jatt Brahmans of Punjab. They have a
very very noble heritage behind them. They were the sovereigns of the Punjab
beforetheadventofMuslimsemperors.Therearesomewhobelievethateven
Porus who faced Alexander the great was a Mohyal. They are known as
Brahmins but they never took to ritualism of Brahminism neither did they
accepted alms or Puja daan. Like his earlier famous articles on Khatris and
JattsofPunjab,itisB.S.Gorayaagainwhoturnsthepagesofhistoryandlinks
themtodateinhisavowedseriesonthecastesandtribesofthePunjab.

TheMohyalortheMujhaalBrahminsofthe
Punjab is a community on which the
Punjabis can take pride on. Unlike other
Brahmins they did not perform the priestly
services like performance of rituals for their
clients. Historically, they are the rulers of
ancient Punjab and Afghanistan who held
sway up to Arabia and Persia. Fair
complexioned with sturdy physique, tall
these Brahmins today hold important Govt.
and business posts. lnterestingly these
secular Brahmins are revered both by
Muslims, Sikhs and of course Hindus for
theirmagnificentroleinthehourfcrisesin
lslam and Sikhism. Many of us might have
read about the battle of Karbala where
Hussain the son of Hazret Mohammed

sahib's daughter Fatima's was martyred on

Oct. 18, 680 AD by the forces of Yajid. On
thisoccasionRahibaMohyalrulerfoughton
thesideofHassanandHussainvaliantlyand
defended the survivors until the enemy
forcescompelledhimtoretiretowardslndia.
The Mohyals claim that it is for this reason
theyarerespectedbytheMuslimsalso.The
Mohyals claim that their community had
been getting daughters even from the
Pathans while the other Hindus were being
lookeddownupon.SimilarlywhenGuruTeg
Bahadur the ninth Guru of Sikhs was
martyred by the court of Aurangzeb along
withhisthreecompaniesin1675AD,bothor
his two companion Bhai Mati
Das and
BhaiSatiDas,MohyalwereBrahmins.
ltissaidwhenMatiDaswasbeingsawedthe
Japuji of Guru Nanak was on his lips which
stunned the courtiers. Bhai Sati Das was
boiled alive. Bhai Mati Das's son Bhai
Gurbaksh Singh was a brave Sikh in the
army of Guru Gobind Singh who faced a
fighter elephant single handedly. The
present Governor of Punjab Mr. B.K.N.
Chhiber and Bhai Mahavir ex M.P. are the
descendants of Bhai Sati Das and Mati Das.
The
Mohyal
or
Munjhal
are

Bhai Mati Das was sawed in two pieces in 1675 A.D. while his other
companion Sati Das was boiled alive and the third Bhai Diala burnt
alive while buried in cotton from all side. The Mughal Court tried to
frieghtenGuruTegBahadurbeforehismartyrdom.TheChhibberswere
leading Sikhs after the demise of 10th Guru. However when the Sikh
StateofLahorewasannexedantiSikhismpropagandawaslaunchedby
theBritishonamassivescale.'Hindostanhasannexed'Punjab'(These
werethenthetermsinvogue)wasnowtheretoannexeitideologically
too.SwamiDayaNandwholaunchedhisideologyfromtheplatformof
gurudwaras became hostile to Sikhism and sowed the first seeds of
discord, which were later irrigated by the Singh Sabhaites and the
Akalis.TheresultisthepeoplewhobroughtupSikhismarenowaway
from it. (lt will be interesting to note that the same British who had
opposedSikhismbecameitswellwisherslateron.TheearlierBritish
policy was later to be consistently pursued by its successor the
Congress)

'sarsut' Brahmins. About a 100

years ,ago they were confined to the
Salt range (present Pakistan).
FamoushistorianslikeDr.HariRam
Gupta identify the Shahi rulers ofi
Punjab and Afghanistan with
Mohyals. The Shahis with their
capital at Nandana (present Sialkot
in
Pakistan)
had
given
stiff resistance to Mehmud Gazanvi
who invaded and plundered lndia 17
times. According to one source the
FAMOURMOHYALSOFFILMINDUSTRYSUNILDUTTANDNARGISDUTT
ShahisheldawayfromLaghmanand
Waziristan to Sirhand and from
KashmirtoMultanatthecloseof1OthCenturyAD.Mohyal,thesecularBrahmins,arequite
conscious of their honourable and noble heritage and have their community history in the
form of poetry called the 'Kabbits'. (This writer however could not lay his hands on any
versionoftheKabbits.)
Sikhism also owes a lot the Mohyals as at least two highly
respected history sources of Sikhism written in 18th century
belong to Mohyal Brahmins. Namely the Basanwalinama of
KesarSinghChhibberandRahitnamaofBhaiChaupaSingh.The
Mohyal claim that they are the 'rajrishis' i.e. the saints with
temporal pursuits as opposed to the other brahmins the
'Brahmrishis'wholedsecludedlife.

AccordingtoMohyallegendscenturiesagoPunjabwhichhadits
boundaries much beyond Peshawar wasruled by Brahmins and
Khatris and the present Mohyals are the descendants of ruler
BrahminsofthePunjab.TheBrahmindynastywhichruledfrom
KabulwasalsoMohyalone,itisbelieved.ln1911ADtheMohails
got their history translated into English under the title : The
Historyof the Mohyals, the militant BrahmanRace of lndia' by
P.T. Russel Stracey in Lahore. According to these sources the
Sarsut Brahmins with the following gotras or clan names are
theMohyals: Datt or Dutt, Vaid, Chhibber, Bali
, Mohan,
Lau, & Bhimwal, The Rai Sidh, Mohyal ruler, who helped
HussainatKarbalawasofDattgotraanditisanacknowledged
factthattheDuttswerecalledthePathans.Thereisalegendthat
whenRaiSidhDuttreturnedfrombattleofKarbalaafterhaving
SANJAYDUTT
lost all his seven sons he played chess with a Muslim Pir at
Nandana (Sialkot) The
stake in the game was losers head. The Pir had a
reputation of victories and invariably accepted losers
conversiontolslaminlieuofhead.ltwasmiraculous
thatRaiSidhDuttwonthreeheadsofthePir,hiswives
and the son of the Pir. But the 'Datta' or giver or the
generous just forgave the Pir unconditionally. Duttas
believe that they are the descendants of Dronacharya
of Mahabharata fame. Asthuthama the son of
Dronacharya settled in Arabia with a large following
andthattheDuttasareAsthuthaofAsvathama.During
the days of Mughal emperor Babur Rai Midh a
descendant of Rai Sidh took the possession of area of
Rajamin, around Pathankot which was under the
protection of Babur, and made his capital at Paniarh
(presentlyaprominentvillage8kmfromGurdaspur).
lnfuriated Babur despatched a force against the Dutta
and virtually annihilated the whole Datt people at the
battleofPaniar.ltisforthisreasonthatonDattwould
takeaglassofwaterfromPaniarhandpassanightthereandneverforgettheirdefeat.Itis
said that Babur was impressed by the chivalry of the Datts. To the survivors of Dutts he
assignedKanjrurwiththerevenueof15villages(KanjrurisinSialkotPakistan)andtoother
survivorassignedZafarwalDattan(againinSialkotDistrict).Britishhistoriansremarkthat
someDattsarestilldefinedasKhansfromthetitleofAlawalKhanwhichwasbestowedon
oneoftheirpredecessorswhowasthoughnotconvertedtolslam.
This present writer is wonder struck to note a parallel legend in the Goraya Jatts of the
GurdaspurandSialkotdistricts.AlmosteveryvillageofGorayagotrahasamemorialerected
inthenameofMidhandtheyclaimthatBabaMidhwasimprisonedby'emperorAkbar.
lmpressive mela in the memory Midh is held in the Goraya villages in the month of Katik
(October).ltissurprisingthatthenameofvillageofthepresentwriterisAlawalpur,maybe
itisgivenafterAlwalKhan.
TheMohyalsandSikhism:
DuringtheinterviewsconductedbyusaMohyalwhenaskedtocommentupontheoriginal
homeofthesemartialbrahminshesaid,"GorhediKathiterambedimuthi"i.ethesaddle
and the handle of the hoe are the two things the Mohyals, have ever remained struck to,
which means fighting and cultivation was their main profession in the ages. On the other
handSikhismdenouncetheconceptofrenounciationorwithdrawalfromsocietyandlifeand
it believes that man must participate in the natural processes of life. lt was for this region
thatthemilitantcasteswereattractedtowardsit.Nanakdidn'tbelieveinthetheoryof'pap

pun'i.esinandgood.SikhismbelievesthattheuniverseisadramaenactedbyGodhimself
inwhichanindividualshouldparticipate.GuruadviseshisSikhsthatinthisdramaofGod
theSikhshouldsidewiththeforcesofgoodopposingthevillainsofevilandshouldnothave
fearofdeathasthesoulisimmortal.Duringarmedstruggleorperformanceofnoblecause
'sewa'ifthisbodyislostthesoulwillstraightawaymergewiththesupremesoulandtheman
will be liberated from the circle of life and death. ln this way the Mohyals way of life was
approved.SecondlytheSikhismdidnotparticularlyprohibitedeatingofmeatwhichagain
suitedtheMohyalhabit.
It is believed that at one point of history the Mohyals had a state of Bhadrawatiwith the
capitalatplacenearthepresentShahpurdistrict(Pakistan).AccordingtoanEnglishwriter
theremnantsofthefortressarestilltraceableatChakQazinearthenewBhera.Thelegend
has it that one King Dahr defeated one of the Sultans even at the time of Bahlol Lodhi,
Gautam one of the descendents of Dahr faced the Lodhi emperor losing his army and
himself. These upon Baba Piraga son of Gautama founded Kariala in the Chakwal tehsil of
Jhelum(Pakistan).
According to some sources Baba Piraga wis the first Chhibber to fell at the feet of Gurtr
NanakwiththeresultthatfuturegenerationsoftheChhibberswereintimatelylinkedtothe
Sikhism. Chaupa Singh the tutor of Guru Gobind Singh, was the son of Bhai Perha son of
Gautam. Chaupa Singh wrote the important Sikh code of conduct which is highly revered
document.
AccordingtoanotherSikhsourcetherewasonePiragewhowasaSikhoftheVlthNanakand
laiddownhislifeinthebattleofRuhelein1621AD.Piraga'ssisterSarsutiwasmarriedto
AthuRamofKashmir.HersonKirpaRamwastheteacherofGuruGobindSinghwhoalso
laiddownhislifealongwithhisbrotherSanmukhSinghinthebattleofChamkaurwherethe
Gurulosthistwosons.TheywereagainfromthefamilyofBhaiMatiDasandSatiDasthe
famousmartyrs.
DwarkaDasandhissonDargahMalwerealsofrom
the same family who served the Vll and Vlll gurus.
Dargah Mal's son Bhai Dharam Chand was care
takerofGuruGobindSingh'scourtwhilethehouse
holdscaretakerwasSahibChandsonofBhai Mati
Das Gurbaksh Singh son of Dharam Chand
managed Golden Temple in the crises days (1727
AD)
Gurbaksh's son Kesar Singh Chhibberwrote
Bansawalinama again a highlyrespected document
in Sikhism. Kesar Singh's brother Sant Singh
Chhibberwasalsoawriter'whowroteJanamSakhi
GuruNanakShahibki'Kesar'ssonSewaSinghwas
also a poet and Sewa's two sons Mehar Singh and
Sahai Singh were also poets. Mehar Singh taught
PunjabitoEnglishofficers.
A close study of Sikh history reveals that Mohyals
were not merely followers of Sikhism they were
rathertheleadersofthefaithaftertheGurus.Many
oftheSikhcampaignsof18to19thcenturywereled
by the Mohyals. Maharaja Ranjit Singh's many
generals were Mohyals. Today you talk to any
Mohyalandifheisconsciousabouthisfamilytree
hewillnamehisancestorswhosenamesendupin
Singhs.ThatshowshowalltheMuhialswereSikhs
some100yearsago.

BhaiMahavir,GovernerMadhya,
Pradesh (an old photo), Bhai
Sahib is the son of famous
freedom fighter Bhai Permanand
ChhibberandnephewofBhaiBal
Mukand Chhibber who had
hurled a bomb on lord Hardinge

HowtheMohyalsdriftedawayfromSikhism
in 19I2 when Delhi was being
is a topic of deep interest. After the British had
inaugurated as the capital of
annexedPunjabwithheavycasualitieseverfacedby
India. They are descendents of
them any where in lndia they became highly
BhaiMatiDas.
suspicious of the Sikhs .They knew that the Sikhs
drew inspiration from the strugglesome history of
them and thus became envious of the religion. On the other hand Swami Daya Nand had
startedreclaimingHindusfromotherreligionsandhetreatedSikhismareligionhostileto
thefaithofVedas.ThoughinitiallytheRishiwasnothostiletoSikhismandratherstartedhis
missionary activities from the platform of gurudwaras. Many Sikhs were attracted by the
Rishi who in turn intensified further gathering of followers. Arya Samaj's influence had
growntoanimpressivenumbersinthePunjabcitieslikeLahore,Rawalpindietc.Laterthe
Singh Sabha and Akali movement further drifted the Mohyals from Sikhism. Earlier the
Mohyalstookdaughtersinmarriagefromthemartialracesi.eKhatrisandAfghansinsome
casesasculturallytheywereclosertothem.Laterapracticeofgivingandtakingdaughters
fromtheotherBrahmingotrasoftheSarsutclassstartedwhichhasnowbecomecommonas
a result of which the Mohyal characters in person are diluted and slowly the Mohyals are
becomingandbehavinglikeanyotherSarsutBrahminofPunjab.
ln Delhi many Mohyals are having close social interaction with the Gaur i.e U. P brand
Brahmins.AsamatteroffacttheMohyalsthemselveswereearlieroutcastastheyatemeat
while the other Sarsut Brahmins were highly opposed to it. Besides some Brahmin priests
wereoustedfromthegurudwarasinthetwentiesduringtheAkaliMovementandtheJatts
becometheunquestionedleadersofthefaith.TheBrahminsthusdistancedthemselvesfrom
the faith and were slowly absorbed in the mainstream. This had a direct impact on the
MohyalSikhrelationsaswellsincetheaMohyalsmicroscopiccommunityinBrahminsarea
surroundedbytheritualisticBrahminseverywhere.
The whole history of the Mohyals is thus
linkedwiththegoldenheritageofthisarea.
The Vaids claim descent from Rai Gorakh
whowasacourtierofPrithviRajChauhan.
On the Chauhan debacle at Thanesar
Gorakh fled to Shimla hills. One of the
Vaids obtained fiefdom at the hands of
Jammu king when he rescued Hindu
captives from the clutches of Timur. The
Lau clan is closely associated with Bajwara
of the Hoshiarpur region. Once Lau Ballar
Sain and lnder Sain assisted Teimur who
granted them the fief of Bajwara. The later
Laus forefieted the fief as the Laus did not
support Aurangzeb's feudals of the region. Indias liquor tycoon Brigadier Kapil
TheMohanMohyalsalsofoundfavourwith Mohan, MD, Mohan Meakin Breweries Ltd.
Timur who invaded lndia 17 times to examining and testing his produce before it
plunderitswealth.Heappointedoneofthe goes down the palate of millions of
Mohans as his Dewan. Under Babur also drunkards. Mr. Mohan is a Mohiyal Punjabi
Harjas Mohan became his dewan. and unfortunately his produce is being
Mohammedan titles were then bestowed consumed by more in the Punjab than any
upon the Mohans but the Mohans retained other state. So much so liquor consumption
their faith in those tough times. Another inBathindadistrictismorethatthewholeof
notable Mohan rose to the position of a UttarPradeshstate.
dewan during the Mughal rule and helped
theDattstoretainGhuramfromwhichtheyweredispossessedbytheJatts.Viramisnow
intheArowaldistrictofPakistan.HavingfacedtwoconsequentbattlestheMohanswereon
the verge of extinction. interestingly on this occasion Sobha Ram Mohan married his own

daughter in law and continued his race. The

vahuti or bahu was from the Datt parents.
Mamdot had been the capital of the Mohans
which they obtained as a grant
from Alauddin Khilji. ln the day of
Aurangzeb the Mamdot Mohans were
converted to lslam and the present Nawabs
ofMemdotareMohans.DuringthePartition
daysoneNawabofMamdotMianAbdulBari
was in news more often than not. He might
havebecomesomeministerafterthefreedom
andformationofPakistan.TheMomdotshad
supportedtheSikharmiesduringtheEnglishSikhwars.KatasRajtemplewherenowadays
HindusgoforapilgrimagewasonceinthepossessionofBalisandratherthewholecreditfor
itseminencegotothem.Theyyethaveanotherpilgrimagesplacesandthatisincidentallyin
thisparti.eatMaloutTarlokNath'sshrine.AscomparedtotheothergotrastheBhirnwals
are perhaps less numerous as we do not very often come across Balis, Chhibbers, Dutts,.
TheBhimwalsclaimdescentfromRajaNandanwhoheldafortinthePindiDadanKhanof
Jhelum.FemaleinfanticidewasrathertoocommonamongtheMohyals.ltsbasicreasonwas
that they being martial people had often to rush to places flee and at times face debacles
whence the daughters were defiled by the Muslim invaders they often faced. The other
reasonwasthattheMohyalsnevertoleratedanygivingawayofdaughterstootherBrahmans
from which the would accept 'daughters. The third reason was that there was a strict and
tough dowry custom. What ever dowry a daughter received from her parents the same
amountofgiftsshemustgetasandwhenshevisitedherparentsafterthemarriage.Thusthe
daughters were considered as dead for the parents
afterthemarriageandtheyseldomvisitedparents.

TheMohyalsToday
AfterPartitiontheMohyalshavesettledwhereevertheirKhatricounterpartshave.Having
settled mostly in the majo rcities of north lndia today they are no longer engaged in the
professionofagricultureandafewarejoiningthearmynow.Theymostlyareingovernment
civiljobsorarepettybusinessmen.Howeverafewofthemhavedistinguishedthemselvesin
the business too. The Mohan Meakin group of Sahibabad near Delhi is perhaps lndia's
pioneer liquor manufarcturer, there are accordingly some more Mohyal industrialists in,
Ludhiana, Karnal and Jalandhar. ln the order of Mohyal population Delhi today leads,
followedbyChandigrh,Ludhiana,JalandharandAmritsarZ