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The Potohar plateau, sometimes pronounced Pothohar Plateau (Urdu: سطح مرتفع پوٹھوہار), is a large region of plateau situated in northern Punjab, Pakistan. It is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the Indus River, on the north by the Kala Chitta Range and the Margalla Hills, and on the south by the Salt Range.
Contents
- Tribes of the region
- Qureshi
- Dhanial
- Dhund Abbasi
- Gujjar
- Janjua
- Khattar
- Jethal
- Langrial
- Chhachh Pathans
- References
The region roughly covers the modern-day Punjab districts of Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum and Rawalpindi and the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Tribes of the region
The Pothohar region is home to a number of tribal groupings, many of whom occupy distinct tracts. The Jhelum District Gazetteer gave the following account of the tribal groupings at the beginning of the 20th century.
The population is generally clearly sub-divided into tribes (quoms or zaats), having a common name and generally supposed to be descended from a traditional common ancestor by agnatic descent, i.e through males only.... Almost every tribe is again sub-divided into clans (muhi), or smaller groups of agnates, distinctly recognized as descended from a somewhat remote ancestor and usually bearing a common name.
More recent works by the British anthropologist Pnina Werbner have confirmed the continuing strength of tribal feelings among emigrant Pothoharis in the United Kingdom. This region was and still is an important source of recruitment into the old colonial British Indian army, and its successor, the Pakistan Army. Official recruitment policies have also encouraged the sense of tribal belonging among the Pothoharis.
The present Chakwal District was created out of the merger Talagang Tehsil of Attock District and Chakwal Tehsil of Jhelum District in 1985. The Islamabad Capital Territory was carved out of Rawalpindi District in 1959.
Qureshi
The name originally signified ancestry from the Arab tribe of Quraish.
Dhanial
The Dhanial occupy the Karor villaqa of Murree Tehsil, as well as the adjoining areas of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Dhanyal tribe is one of the biggest and stongest tribe of region. They dominate the region by population and area. Their population is scatarred in karor, kotli sattian, chirah, nilore, bara kahu and some areas of kahuta. Their ancents was Raja dahir who ruled the hindustan for a long time hence they are the real "Mahajaras" of the territoty.
Dhund Abbasi
The Dhund Abbasis are the most prominent of the Muree Hill tribes, and make up the bulk of the population of the Murree Tehsil. The They also dwell in villages named Khuian, Salamber, Sore, Keral and Salitha of Tehsil Kahuta, villages of town Mandrah of Tehsil Gujar Khan District Rawalpindi According to hostory books Dhunds were defeated by dhanyal and satti tribes in a battle before 1900. Hence they moved to the mountains to found a shelter. Therefore Murree and upper areas of the region is occupied by them and their name dhund is derived from local language which mean find the lost.
Gujjar
The origins of the Gujjars are uncertain. The Gujjar form a tribal element in the Pothohar region.
Janjua
The Janjua are a Rajput tribe found in every district of the Pothohar region, barring the hill tehsils of Murree, northern parts of Kahuta (where Dhund Abbasis & Satti tribes dwell) and Kotli Sattian.
Khattar
The Khattar clan have traditionally been regarded as a high, aristocratic caste and have held high positions such as generals, ministers and rulers. They have produced people such as Muhammad Hayat Khan, Sikandar Hayat Khan, Liaqat Hayat Khan, Shaukat Hayat Khan, Begum Mahmooda Salim Khan, Tahira Mazhar Ali, Bilquis Sheikh. They own the Mughal Garden Wah and they are in Wah Cantt and other parts of Attock.
Jethal
The Jethal are a Rajput clan who claim Bhatti Rajput descent. Their origin is traced to a Bhutta who 12 or 14 generations ago married the sister of a Ghori Sultan. The king, however, drove Bhutta with his 21 sons in the Kirana Bar. Bhutta eventually crossed the Jhelum River, and settled at Ratta Pind, now a mound near the town of Kandwal.
Langrial
The Langrial is a tribe of both Jat and Rajput status.
The Langrial are found throughout Punjab, the tribe has different traditions to its origin, depending on the region it inhabits.
The Multan Langrial, claim descent from a Brahmin of Bikaner. According to another tradition, they are Quraishi Arab, who held sawy over Thatta in Sindh under one Ghiasudin, who from the lavishness of his public kitchen (langar in Sindhi and Seraiki) obtained the title Langrial.
Chhachh Pathans
The Attock Pathans are found in two parts of the tehsil, those of Sarwala, and those of Chhachh. The Chhachh Pathans have very little in common with the Sagri Khattaks, as they are separated by the Kala Chita mountains. The Chhachhies are also known as Chhachi (Pashtun). The Chhachh have both Hindko and Pushto speaking communities, and have much in common with the Pashtun tribes settled in the neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Chhachh have Pukhtun culture and some people are following Pashtunwali code of conduct strictly like in KPK. Mostly Pathans in Chhachh came with Ghaznavi.
The Chhachh ilaqa is almost entirely held by the Pathans, as is the Nala estates, along the Haro river valey. The Attock Pathans were the earliest group of Pothoharis to start emigrating to Europe and North America. There are now large communities of Chhachh Pathan settled in British cities, such as Bradford, Birmingham and Manchester.