Dhar (surname)

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Dar or Dhar
Language(s)Kashmiri, Hindi, Urdu
Origin
Language(s)Kashmiri
DerivationKashmir Valley

Dar or Dhar (Nastaleeq: در ,دار or ڈار, Devanagari: धर or डार) is a Kashmiri surname.[1][2][3] It is native to the Kashmir Valley in India, and common today[1] among Kashmiri Hindus[4] and Kashmiri Muslims of Hindu lineage (in context of Kalhana and Saligram).[5][6][7] Outside Kashmir, it is used by members of the Kashmiri diaspora, in places like Punjab,[8] Bengal,[9][10] Gujarat,[11] and Maharashtra,[11] and more commonly in recent times by the global Kashmiri Pandit diaspora following the Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in 1989–1990.

Dhar is also used as a surname by Barendra Kayasthas in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent and has similar spellings.[12]

History and origins[]

Dhar originated as an honorific given to a village head, strongman, or warlord of a jagir.[11][13][14] The title was widespread by the 12th century CE and continued until the 14th century CE.[11] The earliest available records of Dhar or Dar used as a surname date back to the 16th century CE.[11]

Furthermore, Kalhana has explained in Rajatarangini, a book considered vital by historians that the term Dhar comes from the word Dharra (Pronounced : Darra) which also happened to have a connection to an ancient mountain ridge called Kakodar. Kakodar in ancient times was known as Karkotadhara. Kalhana has used the word "similar" for both Dar and Dhar in Rajatrangini,[15] giving modern-day historians a hint of changing pronunciation claims to be true.[15][16]

Spelling variations of the surname in context of Kalhana[]

According to some Pandit historians the surname originates from the Sanskrit word Dharra which translates to "Lord" and historically this term was always used as a Suffix for the mountains of Kashmir e.g Karkotadharra which is now called Kakodar.[15] Thus the two spellings have a common origin.[11]

The spelling of the surname in Sanskrit was Dhar at the time when the prevalent writing system was the Sharada script; in spoken Kashmiri, the surname Dhar may have gotten distorted to Dar.[5] With the advent of Islam in Kashmir, new Muslims who had converted from Hinduism retained their surname, but may have modified the spelling to differentiate themselves from the Kashmiri Hindu from which they came.[5][6][7]

Pandit Historian Kalhana has specifically mentioned Dar/Dhar as a Brahman Family in his book Rajatarangini.[16]

Dar also should not be confused with Dangar or Damara. All these surnames have no connection based on historical evidence.[17]

History and origins in Context of Muhammad din Fauq[]

A survey of Kashmiri farmers and their tribes in 1891 put forward the census of Brahmin Cultivators of Kashmir. This census included following surnames : Pandit, Sofi, Butt, Ittu, Tantray, Dar, Rather, Rishi, Raina, Kandhi, Ganai.[18][19]

Fauq doubted this list and accepted only two surnames as Brahmins (i.e Butt and Pandit) claiming others to be Vaish and kshatriya. The superintendent also doubted the claims during the census. [19]

According to Fauq, Dar is a corrupted form of the word Damara which is historically used as an umbrella term to refer to both modern day Lone (Lavanya) and Dar (Dangar) tribes. In his Book Tareekh e Aqwam e Kashmir, he has specifically mentioned Dars as Troublesome and strong Warlords of ancient Kashmir who troubled the Hindu Kings. Damara are not defined as Hindu or being related to them in the book .[20]

Spelling Variations in Context of Muhammad Din Fauq[]

Fauq mentions in his book that many authors from Subcontinent when mentioning Dar and other Kashmiri tribes ignored the proper sound of the Urdu alphabet which resulted in corruption of Dar(ڈار) into Daar (دار) which is very close to Hindu surname Dhar (در).

Persian, Kashmiri Pandits and its effects[]

"The scholarship of the Pandits in Persian reached its high watermark during this period. They wrote exquisite poetry in Persian and were master writers in prose. Munshi Bhawani Das stands preeminent amongst the prose writers of the day. So also Lachhi Ram Saroor who rose very high at the Court of Nawabs of Oudh mainly because of his high poetical merit. Rai Rayan Anand Ram Karihalu was a great favourite of Shah Alam II and a great poet. He was a great Persian and Arabic scholar. So also Pandit Taba Ram Turki (1776 A.D. to 1847 A.D.), Sat Ram Baqaya, Pandit Daya Ram Kachru (1743 A.D. to 1811 A.D.) Aftab Bhan, Gobind Kaul, Kailas Dar (died 1772 A.D.) Lasa Kaul, Deva Kaul, Thakur Das, Gopal Dar (1735 A.D. to 1798 A.D.). Raja Kak Dar, Rugh Nath Kaul (1735 to 1807 A.D.) and many others. The contributions made by them to Persian literature have elicited the significant remarks from competent critics that in the mastery of the Persian language the Kashmiri Pandits were second only to the Persians. About pandit Anand Ram Karihalu it is remarked that his mastery of Arabic and Persian was so complete that even amongst the Muslims nobody could compete with him. Pandit Birbar Kachru (1789-1859 A.D.) to whom reference has been made in these pages has written a voluminous history of Kashmir. He has dealt with social and economic conditions of the people in a very detailed and lucid manner. Pandit Anand Ram Pahalwan has carried the History of Kashmir by Narain Kaul from 1712 A.D. to 1785 A.D. Birbar Kachru, besides being a historian, wrote good poetry as well. The Kashmir Pandits of this period were very orthodox in religion, but that did not cripple their minds. In outdoor life they hayed and described themselves as any other citizen would do. The use of words like Banda, Bandai Chas, Bandai Dargah, Ahqar, Ibn etc with their names would show this. Not only that. They offered sometimes their prayers also in Persian language, and prefixed even their Gods with such epithets as Hazrat."[21]

This specific passage explains the probability that there is a high chance many Sanskrit surnames may have been influenced by Persian in the Early Kashmiri Hindu community. Not to ignore that even in the Modern Era a Popular Pandit surname Bhatt is written as Batt / Butt by Potohari / Punjabi Speaking Muslims of Kashmiri descent (or ethnic bloodline) around the world which may also have similar reasons.[22]

Influence on Kashmir[]

Some Historical accounts clearly record the involvement of people belonging to modern day Dar tribe in Kashmir's politics.

When Hasan Shah wanted to settle Syeds in Kashmir his decision was greatly revolted by People belonging to Dar, Raina, Magre (Magray) and Thakar (Thakur) tribes of Kashmir.[23]

In another book it is mentioned that:

The defeat of the Sayyids brought to the fore front four Kashmiri Leaders. Jahangir Magre, Saif Dar, Idi Raina and Shams Chak. Jahangir Magre has said to be later overthrown by Malik Saif Dar. [24]

Furthermore, Sir Walter Roper Lawrence writes in his book Valley of Kashmir that "Among the leading Krams may be mentioned the following names:— Tikku, Razdan, Kak, Munshi, Mathu, Kachru, Pandit, Sapru, Bhan, Zitshu, Raina, Dar, Fotadar, Madan, Thusu, Wangnu, Muju, Hokhu, and Dulu. Of these the members of the Dar family have probably been the most influential, though proverbs suggest that their influence has not been beneficial"[25]

"Dar na baiyad guzisht be zangir"

The Dar's like doors should be locked up

- A Kashmiri proverb.

Notable people surnamed Dhar or Dar[]

Sportspeople[]

Politicians[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Explore Kashmiri Pandits. Dharma Publications. ISBN 9780963479860. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  2. ^ Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, Volumes 62–63. Dr. A. M. Ghatage. 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Hence Kashmiri speech community can be viewed as the population united by sharing social norms; acquire Kashmiri as their native language; and use Kashmiri language to meet ... The surnames like Bhat, Pandit, Munshi, Dhar, Dar, Handoo, ...
  3. ^ a b Explore Kashmiri Pandits. Bansi Pandit. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-9634798-6-0.
  4. ^ D. D. (Dhruv Dev). Sharma (2005). Panorama of Indian Anthroponomy: An Historical, Socio-Cultural and Linguistic Analysis of Indian Personal Names. Mittal Publication. ISBN 9788183240789. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Similar is the case of Hindus and Christians in Kerala, eg (Krisna Panikkar; George Panikkar), and Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir or Hindus and Sikhs in Punjab who have many common surnames, eg (Kashmir): Bhat, Dar, Malik, Rana, Pandit (Saleem Pandit), etc. and (Punjab): Arora, Bedi, Kapoor, Bjaj, Sahney, Maini, Ahloowalia, etc. In such cases reference to a person by his surname, as Mr. Bhat or Mr. Arora does not indicate whether the person under reference is a Hindu, a Muslim or a Sikh.
  5. ^ a b c Bhatt, Saligram (2008). Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace: Proceedings of National Seminar by Kashmir Education Culture & Science Society (K.E.C.S.S.), New Delhi. APH Publishing. p. 134. ISBN 978-81-313-0402-0. With the advent of Islam many such Dara's had converted and to differentiate themselves from Brahmin Dara's, convertee's modified it to Dar while Brahmins persisted with Dhar. ... It is essential to understand that Dhar and Dar is question of writing these in then prevalent script Sharda (then Upbrahmbasha), which could have introduced this subtle discrepancy in pronunciation more so if it was uttered in Sanskrit, which got distorted while speaking Kashmeeri.
  6. ^ a b Saligram Bhatt; Jānakīnātha Kaula (2004). Kashmiri Pandits, a cultural heritage. . Retrieved 25 March 2007. Incidentally it may be stated that many Kashmiri Muslims still have the surnames of the pandits, like Kaul, Bhatt, Pandit, Dar, etc. With the accession to throne of Hari Singh in 1925, the State was given a 'new look'.
  7. ^ a b Proceedings - Indian History Congress, Volume 63. Indian History Congress. 2003. p. 867. Retrieved 30 December 2016. ...the Muslims also retained their Hindu caste-names known as Krams e.g. Tantre, Nayak, Magre, Rather, Lone, Bat, Dar, Parray, Mantu, Yatoo.....
  8. ^ A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province. Nirmal Publishers and Distributors. 1997. ISBN 9788185297699. Retrieved 25 March 2007. The most important Kashmiri element in the Punjab is found in the cities of Ludhiana and Amritsar, which still contain large colonies of weavers, employed in weaving carpets and finer fabrics.
  9. ^ Saligram Bhatt (2008). Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. ISBN 9788131304020. Retrieved 25 March 2007. A recent article by a Kashmeeri writer has propounded that Dhar's were those who migrated to Gauda {Bengal} and retained their Dhar surname once they returned to the valley.
  10. ^ Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects: An Exposition of the Origin of the Hindu Caste System and the Bearing of the Sects Towards Each Other and Towards Other Religious Systems. Nabu Press. p. 575. Dhar–A Surname–1. (1) Of the Dakshin Rarhi Kayasthas of Bengal–179. (2) Of the Bangaja Kayasthas of East Bengal–184. (3) Of the Barendra Kayasthas of North bengal–184.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Saligram Bhatt (2008). Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace. A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. ISBN 9788131304020. Retrieved 25 March 2007. The genesis in outline is that Dhar was the honorific given to a village head, strongman or a warlord of smaller jagir/estate; called Dara pronounced as Dhara. This honorific was prevalent during 12th Century {Jaisimha} and continue to be used till about 14th Century.
  12. ^ Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects: An Exposition of the Origin of the Hindu Caste System and the Bearing of the Sects Towards Each Other and Towards Other Religious Systems. Thacker, Spink. p. 184.
  13. ^ Kumar Suresh Singh; Tapash Kumar Ghosh; Surendra Nath (1992). People of India: Delhi. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 9788185579092. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Some of their surnames are derived from location, occupation, tide, status, family history and so. These are Kaul, Dhar, ...
  14. ^ Barbara Anne Brower; Barbara Rose Johnston (15 September 2007). Disappearing peoples?: indigenous groups and ethnic minorities in South and Central Asia. Left Coast Press. ISBN 9781598741209. Retrieved 25 March 2007. Their surnames (kram) designate their original professions or their ancestors' nicknames (eg, Hakim, Kaul, Dhar, Raina, ...
  15. ^ a b c Kalhaṇa (1900). Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī: A Chronicle of the Kings of Kaśmīr. Kulhana. p. 126.
  16. ^ a b Kalhana (1989). Kalhana's Rajatarangini: A Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir: Vol 1 & 2. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 505. ISBN 978-81-208-0370-1.
  17. ^ Explore Kashmiri Pandits. Bansi Pandit. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-9634798-6-0.
  18. ^ "Tareekh Aqwam-e-Kashmir Volume-001 by Mohammaduddin Fauq". Rekhta. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  19. ^ a b Fauq, Muhammad din (1996). Tareekh e Aqwam e Kashmir (in Urdu). Srinagar: Gulshan Publishers, Srinagar, Kashmir. p. 296.
  20. ^ Fauq, Muhammad Din (1996). Tareekh e Aqwam e Kashmir (in Urdu). Srinagar: Gulshan Publishers, Srinagar. pp. 289–290.
  21. ^ Bakshi, S. R. (1997). Kashmir: History and People. Sarup & Sons. p. 138. ISBN 978-81-85431-96-3.
  22. ^ P.K. Kaul (2006). Pahāṛi and other tribal dialects of Jammu, Volume 1. Eastern Book Linkers. ISBN 9788178541013. The But/Butt of Punjab were originally Brahmin migrants from Kashmir during 1878 famine.
  23. ^ Bakshi, Shiri Ram (1997). Kashmir: Valley and Its Culture. Sarup & Sons. p. 231. ISBN 978-81-85431-97-0.
  24. ^ Parmu, R. K. (1969). A History of Muslim Rule in Kashmir, 1320-1819. People's Publishing House. pp. 186, 189.
  25. ^ Lawrence, Sir Walter Roper (2005). The Valley of Kashmir. Asian Educational Services. p. 304. ISBN 978-81-206-1630-1.
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