Dodiya

Origin

The Dodiya / Dodia are Chandravanshi Rajput, according to their traditions, they were based in and around Multan in Punjab (now in Pakistan) during 12th and 13th centuries, when they built a fort near Multan by the name of Rohtashgarh. In the 14th century the Dodiya / Dodia Rajputs migrated to Gujarat and established their kingdom around Girnar Junagadh. The founder of this dynasty is the famous king deepang. He was followed by raja Phul Singh Dodiya / Dodia, and then followed by Rawat Soorsinghji, Rawat Chandrabhansinghji, Rawat Krishnaji, Rawat Chalotji and Rawat Arjundasji. A small number of the Dodiya / Dodia migrated to Mewar accompanying the Rajmata of Mewar as an escort. The Dodiyas / Dodias proved their valour in various battles in the service of Mewar, including the Battle of Haldighati, and were rewarded with the jagir of Lava (later called Sardargarh).They sacrificed for 9 generation for mewar. The "Dodiya/Dodia" are also in Malwa region.They have some states (jagir) there like Piploda,Tal,Mandawal,Sukheda, Chapaner,Asawati,Borwana,Uni and many little villages in malwa region.There is 400 villages of dodiyas in Ratlam and 198 villages in shajapur and some villages are in mandsaur and Ujjain.

The Remainder of the Dodiya / Dodia Remain in Gujarat.

The Dodia / Dodiya in Saurashtra were originally a clan of Rajputs without any political power and it appears that the whole clan was Rajputs. Clans without a political head would obviously be predisposed to lose their land and its fragmentation with unproductive expenditure must have hastened the process of decline.

A Dodia/Dodiya/Doad clan, claiming descent from the Chandravanshi dynasty, is also found in and around the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. The clan migrated from Udaipur around 1100 years ago to Garh Mandal and then onwards to Garhmukteshwar, present day Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh, which along with the surrounding area they conquered. From there Deo Chand went on to Jaijon in Hoshiarpur district. The town of Garhshankar was founded in 1000 AD by Shankar Sahai Doad. In old times this area was under one Doad King who controlled all villages from Garhi Mansowal. Over the course of centuries, the Dodiya's in Hoshiarpur lost large tracts of their lands in several battles with the Jaswal's, Katoch rulers and the Sikh kingdom. The Rana of Mansowal, however, maintained his position under the Sikhs as a jagirdar. In 1775, the Rana of The Ghorewahas conquered Garhshankar, killing the Doad King. Later during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, when he wanted to conquer the sub-mountainous region of Kandi, the Doads of Mansowal sent fifteen horse riders to help Maharaja Ranjit Singh in order to avenge their massacre by the Ghorewahas. In return, Ranjit Singh granted the Doads the property of the lands of Mansowal. On Ranjit Singh's invasion of the Manaswal plateau, the Rana was confirmed in his possessions, subject to a contingent of 15 horse.

Dodia's of Mewar

Once, on a pilgrimage to Gujarat, the mother of Maharana LAKHA (1382-1421) of Mewar and her party were attacked by dacoits (bandits). Siha Dodiya / Dodia came to the aid of the party. Unfortunately, Siha the Good Samaritan was killed in the skirmish, but two of his sons, Kalu and Dhaval, took the royal travellers to safety in the Dodiya / Dodia residence, then escorted them back to the Mewar border. Maharana Lakha later invited the two sons of Siha Dodiya / Dodia to Mewar, and gave them the jagir of Lawa (later called Sardargarh), with the status of 1st Rank Umrao's (Nobles) of Mewar. They also had a house in Udaipur, the DODIA-KI-HAVELI, where the family stayed whenever they were in the capital. The descendants of Sardargarh are of Dhaval Dodiya.

Feud with Shaktawats in Mewar

Sangram Singh Shaktawat captured the Dodia fort of Lawa (Sardargarh) in 1783 AD, it was later given back to Zorawarsingh Dodia by Maharana.