Bhangu
Encyclopedia
Bhangu, Bhangoo, or Bhango is a Jat gotra
or clan mainly found in the Punjab
state of North India
, Sindh
and Punjab province
of Pakistan
.
The tribe is also mentioned during the Arab attack on Sindh
in the 7th century A.D. The ruler of the lands at the time of Mohammad Bin Kasim’s invasion of Sindh
was the chief of the Bhangoo tribe, Kaka. The Bhangoos were the lords of "Budhiya" around present day Sehwan, Sindh
, Pakistan. Kaka was the son of Kotal, and the grandson of Bhandargu Bhangoo, a Jat of the Bhangoo tribe. The members of the Bhangoo tribe were the follower of the Buddhist faith as most of the Jat tribes were around the 7th century AD.
In the census reports of Punjab from 1883 and 1892, the Bhangoos have been described as one of the original Jat tribe and the earliest inhabitants of the Jhang
district. The Bhangoo tribe held the area around Shorkot. The Bhangoos were later displaced by the migration of Sials into Jhang. The Sials were subjects of the Bhangoo chiefs until the beginning of the 16th century AD.
They are fewer in number than other Jat clans but they are considered one of the most prominent Jatt clans because of their fierce nature and their royal ancestry. The Bhangoo clan is one of the oldest Jat clans.
wrote the first documented history of Sikhs, Prachin Panth Parkash.
In 1984, the expert in guerilla warfare Shabeg Singh
Bhangoo orchestrated the fortification in the defence of Sri Akal Takht
with Sikh Khalistani militants. He died 6 June that year defending the premises of Golden Temple against the Indian Army that had been sent to arrest the militant leader Bhindranwale. Jagtar Singh Hawara from village Hawara (Dist. Fatehgarh) who is a prominent sikh warrior from modern times also belongs to Bhangoo's.
In 1890 Sardar Harnam Singh, a Bhangu Jat Sikh is listed in the “Chiefs and Families of Note in the Delhi, Jalandhar, Peshawar and Derajat Divisions of the Panjab” he is described to be residing in Moron village. Sardar Harman Singh was appointed Honorary Magistrate and was considered the chief of the Bhangu clan during his time.
The descendants of Mahtab Singh and Rattan Singh Bhangu established an estate in Ludhiana. They formed a fort at Bhari and controlled surrounding villages. They were the part of Karor Singhia Sikh confederation, which defeated the Mughals at Sirhind in 1763 AD.
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
or clan mainly found in the Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
state of North India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
and Punjab province
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
History
The Bhangoo tribe was mentioned by the Greek historians, at the time of Alexander's invasion in the 4th century B.C. The Greek historians mention a ruler Phegelas or Phegus of a native tribe when Alexander approached the river Hyphasis (Beas) in 326 BC. The name is translated to Sanskrit as Bhagala or Bhagoo.The tribe is also mentioned during the Arab attack on Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
in the 7th century A.D. The ruler of the lands at the time of Mohammad Bin Kasim’s invasion of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
was the chief of the Bhangoo tribe, Kaka. The Bhangoos were the lords of "Budhiya" around present day Sehwan, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan. Kaka was the son of Kotal, and the grandson of Bhandargu Bhangoo, a Jat of the Bhangoo tribe. The members of the Bhangoo tribe were the follower of the Buddhist faith as most of the Jat tribes were around the 7th century AD.
In the census reports of Punjab from 1883 and 1892, the Bhangoos have been described as one of the original Jat tribe and the earliest inhabitants of the Jhang
Jhang
- Demographics :According to 1981 census of Pakistan population of Jhang was 1,970,944 with the 434,495 housing units in Jhang. In 1998 census, population of Jhang was 2,834,545, whose annually growth rate was 2.16%. Male population was 1,474,099 and female population was 1,360,446...
district. The Bhangoo tribe held the area around Shorkot. The Bhangoos were later displaced by the migration of Sials into Jhang. The Sials were subjects of the Bhangoo chiefs until the beginning of the 16th century AD.
They are fewer in number than other Jat clans but they are considered one of the most prominent Jatt clans because of their fierce nature and their royal ancestry. The Bhangoo clan is one of the oldest Jat clans.
Protectors of the faith
Several members of the Bhangoo clan have died in the service of the Khalsa. In 1740 Bhai Mehtab Singh Bhangoo killed Massa Ranghar and helped to liberate the Golden Temple from the Mughal clutches. He later achieved martyrdom in Lahore. In 1841 his grandson Bhai Rattan Singh BhanguRattan Singh Bhangu
Rattan Singh Bhangu was a Sikh nobleman who wrote the history of Sikh struggles and rise to power in North India.In the beginning of the 19th century the British East India Company approached the Punjab frontier...
wrote the first documented history of Sikhs, Prachin Panth Parkash.
In 1984, the expert in guerilla warfare Shabeg Singh
Shabeg Singh
Major General Shabeg Singh AVSM and PVSM , was an Indian Army officer noted for his service in training of Mukti Bahini volunteers during the Bangladesh Liberation War, and later for his role in training Sikh militants in their occupation of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar.- Early days :General...
Bhangoo orchestrated the fortification in the defence of Sri Akal Takht
Akal Takht
The Akal Takht of the Timeless One or Seat of God. It is one of the five seats of temporal authority of the Sikhs equivalent to any parliament of world sovereign country. Akal means The Timeless One - another term for God. Takht means 'seat' or 'throne' in Persian...
with Sikh Khalistani militants. He died 6 June that year defending the premises of Golden Temple against the Indian Army that had been sent to arrest the militant leader Bhindranwale. Jagtar Singh Hawara from village Hawara (Dist. Fatehgarh) who is a prominent sikh warrior from modern times also belongs to Bhangoo's.
Old customs
The customs and traditions are not in practice now and were current until the 19th century. The Bhangu clan was amongst the many Jats who denied a widow’s right to adopt in the 19th century. In Ludhiana district the Bhangu clan used to follow the chhatra tradition in which the bridegroom's forehead was to be marked with blood, from a severed goat's ear.Chiefs of Punjab
In 1851, a Jodh Singh Bhangu was mentioned to be a former Jagirdar of Nurpur Suhutti, district Jhelum (present day district Chakwal, Punjab, Pakistan).In 1890 Sardar Harnam Singh, a Bhangu Jat Sikh is listed in the “Chiefs and Families of Note in the Delhi, Jalandhar, Peshawar and Derajat Divisions of the Panjab” he is described to be residing in Moron village. Sardar Harman Singh was appointed Honorary Magistrate and was considered the chief of the Bhangu clan during his time.
The descendants of Mahtab Singh and Rattan Singh Bhangu established an estate in Ludhiana. They formed a fort at Bhari and controlled surrounding villages. They were the part of Karor Singhia Sikh confederation, which defeated the Mughals at Sirhind in 1763 AD.
Geographical distribution
The Bhangoo clan is found in Amritsar, Patiala (Rajpura), Ropar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur (Sunam, Barnala), Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Mansa and Hoshiapur districts of Indian Punjab. They are also found in the district of Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan since the 1920s. In the Punjab Province of Pakistan they are in Sialkot, Narowal, Montgomery (Sahiwal), Gujranwala, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Jhang districts. The Bhangoos hold large villages in the district of Amritsar. In the Sindh province of Pakistan the Bhangoo are found in Khairpur district.Sub-divisions
The Bhangoos in the adjoining Fatehgarh Sahib and Ropar districts use Hir-Bhangoo, Bhangoo (Bhangu)-Hira or Hira as their surname. "Hir" in these areas is a sub-division of Bhangoos. In 1923–1924 the population of the Hir-Bhangoo subdivision was approximately 2176 people.Further reading
- Massy CF 1890 Chiefs and Families of Note in the Delhi, Jalandhar, Peshawar and Derajat Divisions of the Panjab.