The Janjua (also spelt janjua'', Junjua, Janjuah'') is a
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
clan found predominantly in Pakistan's
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
Pothohar Plateau
The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab.
Geography
Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...
.
History
Connection with the Hindu Shahis
The 10th century Arab historian
Masudi
Al-Mas'udi ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱلْمَسْعُودِيّ, '; –956) was an Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodot ...
mentioned that in his time the kings of
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...
were all called "
" (which has been variously read ''Hajaj'', ''J.haj'' or ''Ch'hach''), while the area of Gandhara itself was called "country of the ''Rahbūt''" (
Rajputs
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
). Elliot transliterated the character to "Hahaj" and
Cunningham
Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham.
Notable people sharing this surname
A–C
*Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player
*Abe Cunningham, American drummer
* Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...
had it equated to the Janjua tribe/clan, who were held to be descendants of
Juan-Juan Khaganate. Rahman doubts this theory and instead transliterates to "J.haj", an Arabicised form of ''
Chhachh
Chhachh or Chach ( Hindko and ur, چھچھ ) is a region located between Peshawar and Islamabad at the northern tip of Attock, consisting of an alluvial plain extending from Attock District of Punjab, Pakistan, southwest of Topi and Swabi.
...
'', which is even today the name of the region around the
Hindu Shahi
The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details ...
capital of
Hund.
Delhi Sultanate Period
The Janjuas were allies of the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
during the reign of
Balban, who launched a punitive expedition to the region, capturing a large number of horses. The author of the Tarikh-i Mubarak Shahi states that two sons of Raja Jodh waited on the Dehli Sultan and converted to Islam during this period, transpiring that the Janjuas went over to Balban. Janjuas continued allying themselves with the Mongols, but the region of
Koh-i-Jud was ravaged for the first time by the Mongols during the
Alai era for refusing to act as a guide for the Mongols. Sultan Alauddin, considering the Janjuas as his co-religionists, kept all the northern forts under their custody and acknowledged their suzerainty in the region.
Mughal period
In the 16th century, the
Mughal Emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...
Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
was usurped by the
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
king
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری)
(1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان)
, was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
, who constructed the
Rohtas Fort in
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
to check Humayun's entry into
Hindustan
''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used b ...
, and also to keep a check on the local tribes including
Gakhars
The Gakhar are a Punjabi clan found predominantly in the Jhelum District and Gujranwala District in Punjab province of Pakistan. The Gakhars now predominantly follow Islam after conversion from Hinduism during the Islamic rule of north India.
M ...
as well as Janjuas.
Sikh period
The expansion of the
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
, spearheaded by
Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...
, was met with a rebellion by the Janjua Sultan of Watli, Sultan Fateh Muhammad Khan. A six-month siege of Kusuk Fort in Watli followed and this was ended when the inhabitants ran short of water.
The ''Kala Khan'' branch of
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan ...
Janjuas fortunes were also eclipsed by the rise of the Sikh Empire.
British period
By the time the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
took an interest in conquering the
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...
in 1848–49, they were joined by opportunistic tribes such as the Janjua,
Gakhars
The Gakhar are a Punjabi clan found predominantly in the Jhelum District and Gujranwala District in Punjab province of Pakistan. The Gakhars now predominantly follow Islam after conversion from Hinduism during the Islamic rule of north India.
M ...
and
Awans who had lost control of their centuries-old ancestral kingdoms to the imperial
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
and sought revenge. Tai Yong Tan says that "Besides being impressed with their track record, the British saw in them, with their traditional and historical enmity against the Sikhs, an effective counterpoise against the latter."
The Janjua rebellion against the
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
was a political rebellion, as the Janjua were initially keen allies to the
Sukerchakia Misl
The Sukerchakia Misl was one of 12 Sikh Misls in Punjab during the 18th century concentrated in Gujranwala and Hafizabad district in Western Punjab (in modern-Pakistan) and ruled from (1752–1801). Misl was founded by Chaudhary Charat Singh ...
.
During the nineteenth century, they were listed as a
martial race
Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials in British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified each caste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. ...
.
During this period, due to their high aristocratic status, the Janjuas refused to serve in any regiment that was not commanded by either a Janjua or another commander of equal social standing.
This preference was honoured by the British when selecting regiments for them.
References
{{Authority control
Punjabi tribes
Social groups of Pakistan
History of Pakistan
Tribes of Rawalpindi District