Sarmal Kshatriya Rajput Clan
Sarmal Kshatriya Rajput Clan is a Pahari and Dogri-speaking Rajput Clan[citation needed][1] found along the southern slopes of the Pir Panjal region. This covers the Indian-administered regions of Jammu and Kashmir plus Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Sarmal (including Sadmal or Surmal) who are predominantly Pahari Rajputs are popularly known as Pahari Raje and are thought/believed to belong to Suryavanshi Lineage of Hindu Kshatriya Class. These Pahari Rajputs as lived in the lower hills of Dugar Desh (also known as the Dogra Rajputs). In Rajatarngini, there is mention of Thakkuras, the chiefs of the hills who acknowledged their suzerainty to strong Kashmir rulers. They are being addressed as the Lords of the country by Kalhana. Sarmals are believed to be the offshoot of these Feudal Lords so referred to as Thakkuras.
| Sarmal Kshatriya Rajput Clan | |
| Classification | Forward caste, the Kshatriya by Hindu Varna System |
| Religions | Predominantly Hinduism |
| Languages | Dogri, Urdu, Pahari , Hindi
& Punjabi, |
| Region | Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, East Punjab in India and Azad Kashmir, West Punjab in Pakistan |
| Related groups | Indo-Aryans, Thakur[disambiguation needed], Rajput |
Contribution in feudal setup of Kashmir[edit]
Mohd. Habib regards them as the actual fighters in India, much like the knights of Europe. In his words, "the thakur could face death, that was easy for him, but he could not risk captivity".[2] They were so proficient in fighting that their spirit could be successfully maintained by them until old age. They provided the sure quota of soldiers required during the wars and monarch set up of Kashmir. They were lovers of horses, archery and swords.[3]
In Kalhana Rajatarngini, these Hill-Rajas or Thakurs,[4] are presented as playing a significant role in Kashmiri politics from the 11th century onward. The Hill-Rajas allied their houses with the royal house of Kashmir through marriage. The kings of Kashmir played a correspondingly powerful role in the local politics of the Hill-Rajas. The goodwill or obedience of the Hill-Rajas must always have been a desideratum for the kings of Kashmir, in order to regulate contact between themselves and the powers of the north Indian plains.
Vansh and dynasty[edit]
Sarmals belongs to Survayansha Dynasty. It is the dynasty in which Incarnation of Lord Ram took place.
- VANSH= Suryavansh
- GOTRA= Bhardwaj
Sun dynasty is oldest among the kshatriyas.
Etymology[edit]
The societies in the Himalayan region, from Jammu to Himachal Pradesh and from Himachal to Uttrakhand have a similar pattern of history, where numerous small kingdoms were scattered over hills and small valleys. To term it more precisely, these kingdoms was rather fortified villages of warrior—landlords known as Thakurs and Ranas.[5][6][7]
These Feudal Lords were Rajputs by lineage. Most of the Rajput groups in this region originated from these kingdoms, the name of which became the name of their clan. There is a historical legend behind origin of the Sarmal Clan that they actually had their roots in the ancient samba state which was situated to the east of jammu. Samba was originally in the possession of a local tribe Ghotar, of Suryavanshi Rajput descent. Into this clan married Malho or Malh Dev, a grandson of Raja Sangram Dev, the founder of Lakhanpur State, who after his marriage took up his residence at Samba.[8] After a time he succeeded, with the help of Muhammadan force, in dispossessing the Ghotar family, and made himself the master of the tract, with Samba as the capital. After this possession, the Ghotar family with the help of Thakkuras of Vallapur made their settlement at the Sauram hills and clan started to be known as Sarmals.[9]
Demographics[edit]
A majority of them are concentrated in the Samba District of the Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir. Moreover, they are also scattered in Jammu, Kathua, Doda, Katra, Bhadrawah and neighbouring states like Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
References[edit]
- ↑ Srivastava, R.P. (1983). Punjab painting. p. 5. ISBN 978-8-17017-174-4. Search this book on
- ↑ Mohd. Habib, Introd. to Elliot & Dowson, Vol. II, p.44. Search this book on
- ↑ Jean Philippe Vogel, John Hutchinson (1994). History of the Panjab Hill States (Reprint ed.). New Delhi, India: J Jately For AES. ISBN 81-206-0943-3. Search this book on
- ↑ Stein, M. A. (2007). Kalhana's Rajatarangini: A Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir. 1–3 (Reprint ed.). Srinagar, India: Saujanya Books. ISBN 81-8339-043-9. Search this book on
- ↑ Aśoka Jeratha (1998), Dogra Legends of Art & Culture, Indus publishing company, New Delhi, p. 23, ISBN 81-7387-082-9
- ↑ Hutchison, J & Vogel (1915), The Ranas and Thakurs of Western Hills,Vol. 111(2), Journal of Punjab History Society
- ↑ Manjit Singh Ahluwalia (1998), Social, Cultural, and Economic History of Himachal Pradesh, Univ. of Shimla, p. 23 & 24, ISBN 81-7387-089-6
- ↑ J Hutchison (1921), History of Jammu State, Journal of the Panjab Historical Society Volume 8, No.2, p. 148
- ↑ Sufi, G. M. D. (1949), Kashīr, being a history of Kashmīr from the earliest times to our own, Univ. of Panjab, p. 35
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