Marhal

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The Marhal also prononounced Mandal, Marral or Mahal, are sometime pronounced Mandal, are a Jat gotra, now found mainly in Punjab, although some are still found in Jarauda in Muzaffarnagar District of Uttar Pradesh. They are one of the larger Muley Jat clans.

History and origin[]

The Marhal are a predominantly Muslim Jat tribe with a small Hindu section originating in Samana and later also settling in Karnal, in what is now Haryana. It acquired the name Mahal from an ancestor who was found newly born by his dead mother's side. In the local dialect of Hindi and Urdu (Haryanwi), marhi designates a tomb or shrine.^[1]

According to tradition, they are descended from Yazdgerd III, the last Sassanian ruler of Iran. They migrated to Kabul, during the rule of Prithviraj Chauhan, under a Malik Salahauddin. On the recommendation of the nawab of Samana, the Malik received a grant of a 100 villages (referred to as mandal in the Hindi language), from Khanda Rao, a brother of Prithvi Raj. . In the time of the Sultan Alauddin Khilji, the Mahal received the jagirs of Samana and Malkana. Although this tradition is problematic due to the existence of a small Hindu branch^[2]

Another less popular origin theory of the tribe comes from Cecil Henry Buck, who was a soldier with no background in history, he posits that since in some traditions Mandals called themselves " Mandal-i-Nausherani," they may have been descendants of Nausherwani chiefs have held sway at Kharan in Baluchistan who could have accompanied Nadir Shah for the invasion of Delhi in 1738 A.D. ; possibly some Nausherani family remained at Samana in possession of a tract which was then conquered, and that the present Mandals are descended from him. However, this theory is problematic because the tribe has been documented in the area of Samana far before 1738, intermarries and follows customs of other Jats, and has no oral history of such a recent migration.^[3]

The Family of the Nawabs of Karnal[]

The most prominent Mahal family was that of the Nawabs of Karnal. They first appear in history in 1780 A,D, when the family was residing at Samana, Nawab Majid-ul-daula granted to Nawab Sher-ul-din Khan, their ancestor, the parganas of Muzaffarnagar, Shoran and Chitrawal in the Muzaffarnagar District on condition that he furnished for Government service 200 horsemen fully equipped ; on the death of the grantee in 1789 the grant was continued on the same terms to his brother Mahomdi Khan by Daulat Rao Scindia.^[3]

In 1806 this Mahomdi Khan, his nephew Mahomed Ishaq and his cousin Ghairat AH Khan were in possession of these estates, and, in accordance with the policy of , they were induced to accept a tract west of the Jumna in exchange. Thus the Mandals came to settle in Karnal.

Nawab Ahmad AH Khan, gave assisted the British authorities during the mutiny and for his services the quit-rent of Rs. 5,000 payable by him was remitted in perpetuity ; he was also presented with a khillat of Rs. 10,000 in Darbar and permitted to retain two cannon and one hundred armed retainers ; these honours have been continued to his suc- cessors. He died in 1867 and was succeeded by Azmat AH Khan, his eldest surviving son, who was given the title of " Nawab Bahadur." Azmat AH Khan died childless in 1909, and his half brother Muhammad Rustam AH Khan succeeded to the title of Nawab and the jagir, while he and his brother Muhammad Umar Daraz AH Khan inherited his estate. Before his death Azmat AH Khan, who was on bad terms with his half brothers, attempted to alienate his property, but it was brought under the Court of Wards and there is now litigation by the would-be donees to obtain possession thereof.^[3]

For good services Rustam Ali Khan received the personal title of " Nawab Bahadur " and Umar Daraz AH Khan that of Khan Bahadur. The latter was also an Honorary Sub-Registrar, Munsif and Magistrate of the 1st class.

Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, was the younger son of Rustam Ali Khan. The fact that the Samana branch spoke Punjabi, has historically created debates over the ethnic identity of Liaquat. Both the Karnal and Muzaffarnagar branches of the tribe spoke Urdu, as did other Mulla Jats.

Present situation[]

Presently, both the Samana and Karnal branches of the tribe emigrated to Pakistan, many are now found in the city of Punjab and Sindh. But many of the Jarauda Marhal are still found in India.

See also[]

• Ranghar

External links[]

Full text of the Annals of Karnal https://archive.org/stream/annalsofkarnal00buckrich/annalsofkarnal00buckrich_djvu.txt

References[]