Thoha Khalsa (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

, ) is a village in

Kahuta Tehsil Kahuta Tehsil (Punjabi, Urdu ) is one of the seven tehsils (subdivisions) of Rawalpindi District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The neighbouring tehsil of Kallar Sayedan used to be part of Kahuta, but was later created as separate tehsil. The ...

Rawalpindi District Rawalpindi District (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ) is a Districts of Pakistan, district located in the northernmost part of the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province of Pakistan. Parts of the district form part of the Islamabad Rawalpindi metropo ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Province of

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# ...

Geography

It is located at 33°31'0N 73°25'60E at an altitude of 700 metres (2299 feet) and lies north of the city of

Kahuta Kahuta ( Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a census-designated place, city and tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan. The population of the Kahuta Tehsil is approximately 220,576 at the 2017 census. Kahuta is the home to the Kahuta Research ...

History

Thoha Khalsa is a village in

. The village is located in the South East of

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

city at the distance of 45 kilometers. The population is about 20,000 consisting different tribes named

Janjua The Janjua or Janjhua is a Punjabi Rajput clan found predominantly in the Pothohar Plateau of Pakistani Punjab, but also in the states of Punjab and Haryana in India. History and origin Origin The Janjuas had engaged in a long-running s ...

Gakhars The Gakhar () is a historical 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 with the Khokhars, who ...

Mirza Mirza may refer to: * Mirza (name), a name derived from a historical royal and noble title * ''Mirza'' (lemur), a genus of giant mouse lemurs * "Mirza", a 1965 French-language song by Nino Ferrer * Mirza, Kamrup, a town in Assam, India * Mirza me ...

Bhati Bhati (also romanised as Bhattī) is a Rajput clan. The Bhati clan historically ruled over several cities in present-day India and Pakistan with their final capital and kingdom being Jaisalmer, India. History The Bhatis of Jaisalmer bel ...

and few others. It is an historical village and was established by the

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

in early 19th Century. In 1947, during the course of the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, Muslim mobs from neighbouring villages attacked this village, looted, raped and

forced ''Forced'' is a single-player and co-op action role-playing game developed by BetaDwarf, released in October 2013 for Windows, OS X and Linux through the Steam platform as well as Wii U. It is about gladiators fighting for their freedom in a fant ...

local Sikh women to convert 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 ...

. This barbaric attack set in motion the mass killing spree in whole Punjab. Many Sikh women chose to drown themselves in a well in an act of mass suicide.

Historical importance

Avtar Singh Vahiria was a famous polemicist and scholar of

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

community, He was born on 12 June 1848 at Thoha Khalsa. As a small boy, he learnt to recite the Sikh psalms from his mother and maternal uncle, Prem Singh. After he had learnt Gurmukhi his own village Thoha Khalsa, he moved towards

city for further education. Nihal Singh Saint also known as Pandit Nihal Singh, a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

scholar well versed in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

as well as in

Gurbani Gurbani (, pronunciation: , lit. the Guru's words) is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib. In general, hymns in the central text of the Sikhs, the Gu ...

and

Ardās The Ardās (, pronunciation: ) is a set prayer in Sikhism. It is a part of worship service in a Gurdwara (Sikh temple), daily rituals such as the opening the ''Guru Granth Sahib'' for ''prakash'' (morning light) or closing it for ''sukhasan'' (n ...

. In 1870 Sant Pandit Nihal Singh set out on a pilgrimage to various

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

holy places, where he preached the Sikh faith through

kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

. In 1874 he moved to Thoha Khalsa, where he established a dera called Dukh Bhanjani. He continued his

recitals and Sikh missionary work till the end. Sant Avtar Singh is said to have frequently attended these recitals at Thoha Khalsa. Baba Khem Singh Bedi once took him on a preaching tour to Thoha Khalsa.

References

{{Neighbourhoods of Rawalpindi Populated places in Rawalpindi District Villages in Rawalpindi District

Geography

History

Historical importance

See also

References