The Mangral are a Pothwari-Punjabi

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

tribe found in

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Potohar Plateau The Pothohar Plateau (, : ''Pо̄ṭhoā̀r Paṭhār''; , ''Satāh Murtafā Pо̄ṭhohār''), also spelled Pothwar, is a plateau in the Sind Sagar Doab of northern Punjab, Pakistan, located between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. Etymology A ...

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

History

They claim to be descended from Raja Mangar Pal, a

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

(prince). Raja Mangar Pal emigrated from present day

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

Rajauri Rajouri or Rajauri (; ; ) is a city in the Rajouri district in the Jammu division of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on the Poonch Highway. History The first ruler ...

, Poonch in what is now

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. His descendants settled there and Kotli Mangrallan town emerged. His grandson Raja Sehns Pal converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and the towns of

Sehnsa Sehnsa Tehsil is a large Tehsil in Pakistan Administered Azad Kashmir which lies on the west of Gulpur on the Kotli-Rawalpindi road. Sehnsa is a sub-divisional (Tehsil) headquarters of Kotli district in the center of Sehnsa valley. 2005 eart ...

and Chowki Moong are named after him. The Mangrals ruled Kotli State in what is now

until 1815, when it was incorporated into the State of

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

by the Sikh ruler

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

. The Mangrals are a distinct community with a notable social standing. Although sometimes referred to as Mangral Gakkhars, historical evidence does not support a direct lineage with the

Gakkhars The Gakhar () is a historical List of Punjabi tribes, Punjabi tribe, originating in the Pothohar Plateau of Punjab, Pakistan. They predominantly adhere to Islam. History In the Muslim historiography, the Gakhars have been frequently confused ...

. This association may stem from social customs, such as their practice of not marrying their daughters to any tribe except Gakkhars. Following the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan, the Mangral community was divided geographically and along kinship lines. Some members had previously migrated from Chowki Moong and settled in grazing lands that later became part of India. After partition, they permanently established themselves in regions such as Mendhar in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Prominent individuals from this group include Raja Ghulam Muhammad Khan, Said Mohammad Khan, Sher Khan, Munshi Khan, Raja Ali Muhammad Khan, Raja Farooq, Yaqoob Khan, Ayoub Khan, Raja Mohammad Afsar Khan, and Raja Mahsood Ahmed Khan. Their descendants remain in villages such as Balnoi, Sakhi Maidan, and Harni.

References

Muslim communities of Pakistan {{pakistan-ethno-stub

History

See also

References