Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 02:14, 29 September 2012

The Arain (Punjabi, Template:Lang-ur), are a Muslim agricultural caste settled mainly in the Punjab, with significant numbers also in Sindh. They are chiefly associated with farming, traditionally being landlords or zamindars.

Origins

In the Punjab Census Report (1911), Pandit Harikishan Kaul points out that members of the Arain tribe are “mostly Muhammadans,” (in the Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province, Denzil Ibbetson also refers to the Arains as, “Almost to a man Muhammadans”).

Kaul also states that the term ‘Arain’ is, “derived probably from Rain or Rahin, equivalent to Rahak (tiller of soil).” This is consistent with the Arains traditionally being chiefly associated with market-gardening.

Almost to a man Muhammadans and strongly inclined to orthodoxy the Arains came to be immigrants from Uch and have some affinities with the Kambohs. On the other hand some of the Arain and Hindu Saini clan names are identical, and those not always merely names of other and dominant tribes. From Uch they migrated to Sirsa and thence into the Punjab.

In Sirsa the Sutlej Arains meet those of the Ghaggar. The two do not intermarry, but the Arains of the Ghaggar valley say they were Rajputs living on the Panjnad near Multan who were ejected some four centuries ago by Sayad Jalal-ul-din of Uch. They claim some sort of connection with Jaisalmer.

The Sutlej Arains in Sirsa say they are, like the Arains of Lahore and Montgomery, connected by orign with the Hindu Kambohs. Mr Wilson thinks it probable that both classes are really Kambohs who have become Musalmans. However, other British writers discounted this viewpoint since many Kambohs are also Muslims. Lt. Col. J. M. Wikeley, in 1915, wrote a handbook for the Indian Army, Punjabi Musalmans, which described the history of the people of Punjab and in which he rejected "any supposed relationship between the Kambohs and the Arains".

The nucleus of this caste was probably a body of Hindu Saini or Kamboh cultivators who were converted to Islam at an early period . Thus in Jullundur the Arains say they came from Sirsa, Rania, and Delhi and claim descent from Rai Jaj (grandson of Lau, founder of Lahore), who ruled Sirsa: that they were converted in the 12th century and migrated to the Jullundar Doab about 300 years ago. But the Bhuttas claim descent from Raja Bhutta, fifth in descent from Raja Karn and say they were forcibly converted even earlier — by Mahmud of Ghazni – and driven from Uch.

Some Arain however propose descent from Arabs belonging to Muhammad bin Qasim's expeditionary force to India. Such claims are given credance by how nearly all Arain are, and have been, Sunni Muslim, much like the early Arabs accompanying Muhammad bin Qasim. This assertion is supported by numerous references made in several Urdu language texts; Tareekh-e-Arain, Sham Ta Multan, Tareekh Frishta, Tohfa Tul Ikram and Aina-e-Haqeekat Numa, that reliably trace the lineage of many notable Arain including Zia Ul-Haq and the famous Mian Family of Bhaghbanpura. According to these sources, the word Arain is derived from Areeha which is the Arabic name for the city of Jericho in the West Bank, Palestinian Territory, the place from where they allegedly came.

The Arain during the British Raj

The British considered the Arain as a landholding 'agricultural' caste. When the British wanted land developed in the Punjab after its annexation, Arain were brought in to cultivate lands around the cities, and alongside the Jats were preferred to assist with the opening up of the new agrarian frontier in canal colonies of the Punjab between 1906 – 1940. The Arain, all of whom were Muslims, received 86% of the land that was allotted to Muslim agricultural castes, and were thus the largest Muslim land holders in Punjab during British rule.

The Arain land holders should not be confused with the more gentrified zamindars such as the feudal Rajput landlords of vast holdings. Polo, partridge shoots and tea parties were therefore not associated attributes. Neither were the more negative and profligate practises such as "...dancing girls, drunken evenings listening to poetry, or numerous marriages..".

The British considered the Arain the best cultivators amongst all the castes, and were favoured for their "hard work, frugality and sense of discipline". Subsequent development of towns and cities and increasing urbanisation resulted in the value of the land settled by Arain to rise significantly, and Arain families thus flourished. Education was prioritised with the new found wealth and the Arain came to dominate the legal profession amongst urban Punjabi Muslims. Many used law to enter politics.

The Arain were classified as a "non-martial race" by the British, a classification deemed arbitrary and based on prejudices prevalent at the time (see Martial Race).

The Arain also contributed to military service predating and during British rule in India. Lt. Col. J. M. Wikely acknowledged Arain presence in the military; "They (Arains) may be designated as a fighting race which has produced many Civil and Military officers who have rendered good services to the nation." Their lack of classification as a martial race was most probably a consequence of rebellions against British rule. One notable rebellion occurred in the Mutiny of 1857, when the Arain Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi led an inter-communal uprising in Ludhiana against the British East India Company.

Distribution

Historically, the Arain community was concentrated in territory that is now part of Indian Punjab, especially the Jalandhar Doab. According to 1911 Census of India, the highest concentrations of Arains was in the Kapurthala State, where they accounted for 16% of the population, and neighbouring Jalandhar District, where they formed 15% (about one third of the Muslim population) of the population. By the late 19th Century, the Arain were encouraged by the British colonial authorities to settle in the new canal colonies in the Sandal Bar and Neeli Bar regions, and by 1911 Arain formed 12% of the population of Lyalpur District and 7% of Montgommery District. Other districts with large Arain populations were Lahore (10%), Gurdaspur (7%), Ferozepur (6%), Gujranwala, Sialkot (6%) and Multan (5%). In the Phulkhian States, Hoshiarpur, Karnal, Delhi and Hissar they formed less than five percentage of the population. North and west of the Jhelum, they were practically absent in the Pothohar region, the Salt Range and the Thal Dessert, where there place was and still taken by the Maliar caste. Those few Arains who were found in this region are often treated as sub-tribe of the Jats. In essence the Arain were found in territory stretching from the Chenab in the west to the Sultlej in the east, in what was the Punjabi speaking heartland of the British colonial province of Punjab. This was also the region that suffered the worst violence during the partition of India in 1947, with almost the entire Arain population of Indian Punjab migrating to Pakistani territory. However, there are still a small number of Muslim Arains still found in Malerkotla, Sangrur and Patiala districts.

The bulk of the Arain population is now settled in the districts of Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh, with a large number of refugees settled by the Thal Development Authority in the districts of Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar and Layyah.

Related communities in North India

There are a number of communities in North India, that claim kinship with the Arain of Punjab. The Arain of Delhi claim to be descended from Arains, who settled in Delhi during the rule of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.

Another community that is connected with the Arain are the Rayeen, who are a Muslim tribe found in Bareilly, Pilibhit, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Rampur, Bijnor and Saharanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. According to Sir Denzil Ibbetson, it was after the famines of 1783 AD many of the Arains emigrated from Ghaghhar valley and setteled in the area near Bareilly i.e. Rohilkhand. Rayeen in Rohilkhand region mainly immigrated from the villages of Jallandhar, Sirsa and Ferozpur around 1780 AD due to distrubnace in their native homeland i.e. Punjab. .

Arain migration

Like many other Punjabis, a significant number of Arain migrated after the India/Pakistan partition. With incomes mainly based on zamindari, many Arain Punjabis from the Indian Punjab struggled financially on substandard land in Pakistan choosing instead to migrate. Arain migrated more freely than other Punjabis mainly due to better education and communities can now be found in many areas of Europe, Africa and North America. Countries with well known significant Arain populations include:

• Canada
• Kenya
• Norway
• South Africa
• United Kingdom - there is a small but active Arain community, mainly settled in the South of England and Scotland
• USA - with a significant numbers in Chicago and New York
• United Arab Emirates

Notable Arains

• Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Fourth Prime Minister of Pakistan.
• Mian Muhammad Aslam Advocate Former Vice President of High court Bar Association.
• Sardar Aseff Ahmad Ali, a renowned politician and painter belonging to district Kasur.
• Justice Mian Shah Din, the first Muslim judge in British India.
• Lieutenant Karam ud Din, Tamgha-i-Khidmat(M), ex Pakistan Navy officer
• Muhammad Farooq, journalist, Qari and Naat Khawan.
• General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, president of Pakistan from July 1977 to 1988.
• Sir Fazli Husain, an eminent British Indian politician and a founder of the Unionist Party.
• Mian Iftikharuddin, a politician and landlord who played an important role in turning the Muslim community of urban Punjab towards favouring an independent Pakistan.
• Mian Tufail Mohammad, lawyer and politician, former Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami.
• Mian Sir Muhammad Shah Nawaz, an influential politician of the Punjab in the 1920s.
• Pir Shah Inayat Qadiri Shattari, a Sufi saint and the spiritual guide of Baba Bulleh Shah.
• Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
• Sir Abdul Rashid, first Chief Justice of Pakistan.
• Mohammed Sarwar, the first British Muslim member of the UK Parliament.
• Sir Muhammad Shafi, president of the All India Muslim League.
• Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir, Pakistan's Chief of Naval Staff.
• Naseem Hijazi, Famous Urdu novelist of Indo-Pak.
• Ch.Muhammad Saleem Akhtar, Former Senior Vice President.2007-2008.The Chamber of Commerce and Industry FCCI. Pakistan
• Adina Beg, Governor of Punjab in 1758.
• Wasim Akram, Cricketer
• Kamran Akmal, Cricketer
• Umer Akmal, Cricketer
• Sarfraz Nawaz, Cricketer
• Samina Khalid Ghurki, Politician representing the Pakistani People's Party
• Imran Nazir Famous Cricket Player.

See also

• Arain of Delhi
• Rayeen
• Tribes of the Bar Region of the Punjab

Bibliography

• Punjab Census Report, 1911, Pandit Harikishan Kaul
• A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, H. A. Rose
• Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani Families in Britain, Alison Shaw
• Tareekh-e-Arain, Asghar Ali Chaudhry
• Sham Ta Multan, Muhammad Idrees Advocate

References

1. "...communities: 1. Acharaj. 2. Ad-Dharmi. 3. Aheri. 4. Ahir. 5. Ahluwalia. 6. Arain. 7. Arora. 8. Bahurupia...", "The land of the five rivers was known as panchanad in the ancient period, and as Punjab in the medieval period.", People of India: Punjab: Volume XXXVII, edited I J S. Bansal and Swaran Singh, New Delhi, ISBN 81-7304-123-7, https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no34962.htm
2. "Behind them an angry farmer brandished a bamboo pole. He was a market-gardener, Arain by caste, growing vegetables and flowers for Umballa city, and well Kim knew the breed." (Kim, Rudyard Kipling).
3. "...from other zamindar (landowning) categories: Arain (5), Jat (2), Gujar (2), ...", Kinship, cultural preference and immigration: consanguineous marriage among British Pakistanis, Alison Shaw, Brunel University (http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/1467-9655.00065).
4. "The Arain were small peasant-proprietors...", Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988, Shahid Javed Burki (http://www.jstor.org/view/00044687/di014466/01p0206e/2?frame=noframe&userID=a301f288@ox.ac.uk/01cce4405f00501b38b9c&dpi=3&config=jstor).
5. ^ Denzil Ibbetson, Edward MacLagan, H.A. Rose "A Glossary of The Tribes & Casts of The Punjab & North-West Frontier Province", 1911 AD, Page 13, Vol II,
6. A Glossary of the Tribes & Castes of the Punjab & North-west Frontier Provinces, 1911, p 14, H. A. Rose
7. Punjabi Musalmans, 1915, reprinted 1991, p 89, J. M. Wikeley — Ethnology
8. Punjabi Musalmans, 1915 edition, reprinted 1991, p 88-89, J. M. Wikeley — Ethnology; Punjabi Musalmans, 1968 edition, p 109, J. M. Wikeley, Rana Rehman Zafar — Ethnology
9. Denzil Ibbetson, Edward MacLagan, H.A. Rose "A Glossary of The Tribes & Casts of The Punjab & North-West Frontier Province", 1911 AD, Page 15, Vol II,
10. Tareekh-e-Arain Asghar Ali Chaudhry, Publisher (Ilmi Khitab Khana) 1989
11. Aina-e-Haqeekat Numa by Moulana Akbar Shah Khan Najeebabadi
12. Punjab Colony Manual (Lahore, 1936), p. 13; and Chenab Colony Settlement Report (1915)
13. "The Punjab Canal Colonies', 1885-1940", Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University, 1980; and Imran Ali, The Punjab Under Imperialism, 1885-1947 (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1988).
14. ^ Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988, Shahid Javed Burki.
15. Castes The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir, by Sir James McCrone Douie. Printed in India at Deluxe Offset Press, Daya Basti, Delhi-110035 and Published by Seema Publications, Delhi-110007
16. "...the Arain families put their money into education and reaped quick rewards.", Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988, Shahid Javed Burki.
17. "Soon they came to dominate the legal profession... ...and... ...spring into politics.", Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988, Shahid Javed Burki.
18. "The army was an unusual career for an Arain youngster; the British had not regarded the community as one of India's "martial races"...", Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988, Shahid Javed Burki.
19. Punjabi Musalmans, 1915, reprinted 1991, p 66, J. M. Wikeley - Ethnology
20. http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/news-33/
21. ^ Census of India 1911 Vol 14, Punjab Part 1, A Report by Pundit Harkishan Kaul pages 438 to 439 and 445
22. People of India Punjab Volume XXXVII edited by I.J.S Bansal and Swaran Singh pages 37 to 42 Manohar
23. Kinship and continuity: Pakistani families in BritainAlison Shaw Page 121
24. Three Pakistan villages by John Joseph Honigmann
25. People of India Delhi Volume XX edited by T Ghosh & S Nath pages 49 to 52 Manohar Publications
26. A People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII
27. A GLOSSARY OF THE TRIBES AND CASTES OF THE Punjab and North^West Frontier Province Vol II, 1911 AD
28. Page no 140, Tarrekh Arain, 5th Ed, Chaudhry Asgahr Ali, Ilimi Kutub Khana, LahoreAD
29. Title Justice Mian Shah Din by Bashir Ahmad (1962)
30. Ḥaqqānī, Husain (2005). Pakistan: between mosque and military. Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 112. ISBN 0-87003-214-3. Retrieved 2010-05-23. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
31. Pakistan under Zia 1977-1988 by Shahid Javed Burki. Asian Survey. Vol. 28, No. 10 (Oct., 1988), pp. 1082-1100
32. http://mianfamily.tripod.com
33. Tarrekh Arain
34. http://www.fcci.com.pk/staff-past-senior-vice-presidents.html (2007-2008)

• Arain
• Punjabi tribes
• Seraiki tribes
• Pre-Islamic heritage of Pakistan
• Social groups of Pakistan
• Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan
• Social groups of Punjab, India
• Muslim communities
• Ethnic groups in Pakistan