Harni

The Harni are a Muslim community found in the province of Punjab, Pakistan.[1]

Origin

Historically, the Harni were found in what is now Indian Punjab, in particular on the districts of Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Hoshiarpur. In Jalandhar District, the Harni were found in the villages of Mari Harnian and Sadachak. According to their traditions, the Harni are descended from Najaf Khan, a Pathan, who with his eight sons accompanied Mahmud of Ghazna on his attacks on India. The sons took Hindu Rajput wives, and as such became part of the Rajput community. Their initial settlement was in Bikaner in Rajasthan, and from there they spread to Bhatner and Uch. Famine drove the Harni from Rajasthan to Kapurthala, where they were granted land by the Bhatti Nawabs. With the rise of Ahluwalia Sikhs, the harni were expelled from Kapurthala and settled in Jallandhar and Ludhiana. The word Harni is derived from the word Hindi heri meaning a huntsman, which was their traditional occupation. In the Colonial period, Harni were listed under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, as being a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences."[2]

The Harni are further divided into clans, called gots derived from the Sanskrit word gotra meaning clan. The main gots are the Bhatti Sejpal, Bhatti Bharipal, Bhatti Rahmasurke, Bhatti Rahdir, Naru, Dhadda, Bhanas, Chauhan, Walha, Sangri, Mori, Jitang, Tur, Mandanar, Pawanr, Ladhar, Padhasr and Shadiwal. Historically, the gots were important, as marriages were forbidden within the clan, but this is no longer the case. Their customs are similar to other Punjabi Muslims, and the Harni are now found mainly in Sahiwal, Okara, vehari, Faisalabad and Gujranwala district of Pakistani Punjab. They are entirely Sunni, and were historically cultivators.[3]

References

  1. ↑ A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of Punjab and the North West Frontier Province Volume II by H A Rose pages 327 to 329
  2. ↑ Nanta Village The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908, v. 18, p. 367.
  3. ↑ A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of Punjab and the North West Frontier Province Volume II by H A Rose pages 327 to 329
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, August 25, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.