Mahtam
Encyclopedia
Mahatams are a clan found among Punjabis of India
and Pakistan
. They are Hindus as well as Muslims, and in the 1920s the former were mainly cultivators and the latter were clearers of the jungle.
During British rule in India, they were placed under the Criminal Tribes Act
1871, hence stigmatized for a long time.
in the west, and Lahore
in the east, in Pakistan
.
When the defeated army of Maharana Partap went to the jungles to recollect the army. For the survival of the soldier they prey in the jungles.After some time the army spread to different part of old Punjab. The District was Alipur, Multan, Bhawalpur etc. No Historian told about that Rajputs which was with Maharana Partap. Mahtam appear to have migrated from these cities after patition they settled in the river bank of Yamuna in Haryana Punjab. The Known Districts are Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Rajpura Etc. They traced their ancestry from Raja Bhim Sain of Delhi, through his great grandson Mahi. In southern Punjab, the Mahtam were historically tenants, and their chief occupation was snaring wild pigs. The Rassiwat branch of the Mahtam were connected with rope making.
The Lahore
Mahtams claimed descent from two brothers, Jaimal and Fateh, who came from Delhi
. But the Jats were their great rivals, and after the Mughal
Emperor Akbar married a local Jat, the Mahtam were banished.
The Muslim
Mahtam of Multan
and Bahawalpur
claim, that they are, in fact, simply a clan of the Bhatti Rajputs. Most of them have always been associated with farming.
The Gujrat
and Sialkot
Mahtams were also known as Bahrupia. The Mahtam, thus had a number of differing account of their origin, as do many other Punjab tribes.
, Muslim
and Sikh
. According to the 1901 census of India, nearly half were Hindu, and a quarter were Sikh and Muslim.
, in 1947, the Hindu
and Sikh
branches of the tribe emigrated to India. They are now found mainly in Haryana
and Punjab
states.
The term Mahtam now only used for the Muslim and Hindu branches of the tribe, the Sikh branch are now known as Rai Sikhs.
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...
and 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...
. They are Hindus as well as Muslims, and in the 1920s the former were mainly cultivators and the latter were clearers of the jungle.
During British rule in India, they were placed under the Criminal Tribes Act
Criminal Tribes Act
The term Criminal Tribes Act applies to various successive pieces of legislation enforced in India during British rule; the first enacted in 1871 as applied mostly in North India The Act was extended to Bengal Presidency and other areas in 1876, and finally with the Criminal Tribes Act 1911, it...
1871, hence stigmatized for a long time.
History and origin
Historically, the Mahtam community were found mainly in region stretching from Dera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan is a city located in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan is one of the most populous cities in Southern Punjab, and it is the largest district in Punjab in terms of area, being approximately in extent....
in the west, and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
in the east, in 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...
.
When the defeated army of Maharana Partap went to the jungles to recollect the army. For the survival of the soldier they prey in the jungles.After some time the army spread to different part of old Punjab. The District was Alipur, Multan, Bhawalpur etc. No Historian told about that Rajputs which was with Maharana Partap. Mahtam appear to have migrated from these cities after patition they settled in the river bank of Yamuna in Haryana Punjab. The Known Districts are Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Rajpura Etc. They traced their ancestry from Raja Bhim Sain of Delhi, through his great grandson Mahi. In southern Punjab, the Mahtam were historically tenants, and their chief occupation was snaring wild pigs. The Rassiwat branch of the Mahtam were connected with rope making.
The Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
Mahtams claimed descent from two brothers, Jaimal and Fateh, who came from Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. But the Jats were their great rivals, and after the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Emperor Akbar married a local Jat, the Mahtam were banished.
The Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Mahtam of Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
and Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur , located in the province of Punjab, is the twelfth largest city in Pakistan. The city was once the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The city was home to various Nawabs and counted as part of the Rajputana states...
claim, that they are, in fact, simply a clan of the Bhatti Rajputs. Most of them have always been associated with farming.
The Gujrat
Gujrat
Gujrat is a city in Pakistan. It is the capital of Gujrat District and the Gujrat Tehsil subdivision in the Punjab Province. People living in Gujrat refer to themselves as Gujratis, which sometimes leads to confusion with people from the Indian state of Gujarat which adjoins Pakistan...
and Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
Mahtams were also known as Bahrupia. The Mahtam, thus had a number of differing account of their origin, as do many other Punjab tribes.
Religion
As many other communities in Punjab, they were found among all three of the religious groups in the Punjab, namely HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
. According to the 1901 census of India, nearly half were Hindu, and a quarter were Sikh and Muslim.
Mahtam clans or gots
- Baksawan, found in Multan
- Bawra, found in Multan
- Bhatti
- Bhichar
- Chauhan
- Dandal, in Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan
- Dosa
- Ghogha
- Ikwan
- Jandi
- Kachura
- Karnawal
- Katwal
- Khokhar
- Madha
- Malhi
- Mandal
- Manhanas
- Parbar
- Rai
- Rawari
- Sanora
- Sardia
- Seotara
- Sirari
- Sauni
- Taur
- Totum
- Tunwar
- Warwal
- Vanura
- War
- Wila
Current Situation
After the partition of IndiaPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, in 1947, the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
branches of the tribe emigrated to India. They are now found mainly in Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and 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...
states.
The term Mahtam now only used for the Muslim and Hindu branches of the tribe, the Sikh branch are now known as Rai Sikhs.