Rawe (Rajput clan)

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The Rawe (or Rave) Rajputs are the members of a sub-group of Rajput clans and are categorised as upper caste Rajputs. They claim descendancy from eminent rulers of aristocratic Rajput clans and are natives of the Indian states of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The variations of the name include Raya Rajput, Rawa Rajput & Rava Rajput. [1]

Origin[]

There are broadly two theories regarding the origin of the Rawa community.

1. Rajput Wahini Dal (Battalion of Rajputs)[]

In the whole period of Muslim perversion, there is only a single instance of a confederate action against the Ghaznavids when the Tomar Samants along with the 3 most celebrated Kings of their respective dynasties - Bhoj Parmar, Kalchuri Karna and Anahilla Chauhan united themselves under the leadership of Kumarpal Tomar to fight against the enemy on the common front. Some historians add the names of Chamundaraj Chauhan and Sandpal Shahi to this alliance as well. In 1043, Kumarpal Tomar began a campaign against the Muslim invader Mawdud and conquered not only Hansi (Asigarh) and Thanesar (Sthaneshwar) but Kangra (Nagarkot) and whole of Punjab till they reached Lahore. He reinstalled statues of Hindu deities in every fort he won and kept a small army with one of his brother to take care. He even besieged the forts of Lahore and Takishah (Takeshwar) and all the area between Lahore and Gwalior became Tomar territory. This army was named Rajput Wahini Dal and the Rajputs who constituted this army came to be known as Rawa Rajputs.

Rajput Wahini Dal -> RaWaD -> RaWa/RaWe [2][3][4]

2. Second Battle of Tarain[]

According to farishta, in Northern India, there existed a group of almost 150 kingdoms whose rulers considered the Tomar emperors of Delhi their Chief. The rulers of these kingdoms only participated in both the Battles of Tarain under the leadership of Tomar emperor Chahadpal Tomar (better known as Govind Rai) who was the cousion and commander in chief of Prithviraj Chauhan. After the Battle of tarain was over, the kings who surrendered in the battlefield were converted to Islam. But Tejpal 2 (son of Chahadpal) and a few other Tomar samants refused to surrender and ran towards the Lal Kot fort in the hope of giving a final resistance to the ghurid army. Though being highly outnumbered, they bravely fought the ghurid army. After a long siege, the Lal kot fort was finally captured by Aibak and all the kings along with their families were forced to vacate the fort. As they were the only Hindu kings who survived the battle, they were collectively referred to as Rahe (Left ones).

Rahe -> Raye -> Rawe [5][6][7]

History[]

The Rawa Rajput community is famous for their role in the First War of Independence. The Rawa Rajputs had completely sacrificed themselves in eradicating the British. The spirit, strength, self-confidence and unmatched unity with which they fought had left the British spirits down. A huge number of people of this community including the illustrious Landlord families had all perished in the rebellion. Their houses were burnt and their crops were destroyed.

After the revolt, the total population of this community was as follows:

  • Uttar Pradesh - 25,451 (1891 census)
    • Muzaffarnagar - 6,042
    • Meerut - 8,270
    • Bijnor - 11,139
  • Delhi - 2,285 (1901 census)

The Gujars were considered the traditional enemies of the Rawa rajputs. They used to come together in huge numbers and loot this wealthy community. One such incident took place at Barampur, a very big village of Rawa Rajputs in the Bijnor district. Thousands of Gujars gathered from both sides of the Ganges to make this attack. Some Meo muslims were also with them. They joined together to loot the village for eight days. Houses were dug up and property taken out. Houses were set alight. Taking into consideration all the assets looted, the total loss amounted to Rs. 3,00,000 which is equivalent to almost Rs. 5,00,00,000 of today. It is also well known that 30,000 maunds (11,19,600 kg) of coarse sugar was seized and later sold off at the going rate for wheat.[8][9][10][11]

Subdivisions[]

Rawa Rajputs are associated with only 6 of the 36 Rajput clans. The Vansh, Rishi Gotra, Ancestor and Shakhas of these clans are as follows : -

Suryavanshi[]

Main article: Solar dynasty

1. Gehlot/Sisodia (Vaishampayan gotra) : Descendants of Lav (Son of Lord Ram)

Shakhas - gahalot, ahaad/ahaadiyaan, baaliyaan and dhaakiyaan

2. Kushwaha (Manu/Maanav gotra) : Descendants of Kush (Son of Lord Ram)

Shakhas - kushavaaha, deshavaal, kaushik and karakachh

Chandravanshi[]

Main article: Lunar dynasty

3. Tanwar (Vyas gotra) : Descendants of Abhimanyu (Son of Pandav Arjun)

Shakhas - tanvar, sumaal, gandharv, moghaa, paatharaan, paandoo, chaudharaan, thakran, soorayaan, bharbhaaniyaa, sansaariyaa/chandsaariyaa, maalhayaan, malyan, bahue, rojhe, roliyaan, chaubiyaan, khose, chhanakate, katoch, beebe, jhab‍be, jhapaal, kapaasiyaa, dairwaar, jinwaar, kaaakteey, laakiyaan, laakhe and tibbal

4. Yaduvanshi (Atri gotra) : Descendants of Yadu (Ancestor of Lord Krishna)

Shakhas - yadu, paatalaan, khaariyaa, in‍doriyaa, chhokar/chochar and maahiyaan

Agnivanshi[]

Main article: Agnivansha

5. Chauhan (Vats/Vakchhas gotra) :

Shakhas - chauhaan, khaaree/khair, chanchal, kataaria, boodhiyaan, baadiyaan/baadhiyaan, gurood/gared, kanhaidaa/kaanhad, dhaariyaa, daahiwaal, gaangiyaan, sahcharaan/sachchraan and maakal/maakad/baakad/bhaakad

6. Panwar (Vashishth gotra) :

Shakhas - panvaar, tondak, vaashish‍thaan, ojalaan, daahariya, udiyaan, kiranapaal and bhatede[12]

Knowingly or unknowingly, people have started using these shakhas (branches) of the clans as gotra. This increases the chances of marriage within the same gotra which is otherwise prohibited.[13]

Present culture[]

The Rawa Rajput community is a small one with the total population of around 1 lakh. They speak Khari boli as well as standard Hindi. Most of them use either Singh, Verma or their gotra as surname. They are credited to have started widow remarriage among the rajputs.

Bhaatts[]

Their genealogical records are maintained by their family Bhaatts. The Bhaatts sing those records traditionally from their "Pothis" (diaries) and get duly rewarded.

Deities[]

They are Hindu and mainly worship their Devtas (spirits of the departed ancestors) through the medium of Thaan (a miniature hut like structure made on an elevated base where Devtas are believed to be residing). They also occasionally worship their Gram Devtas.

Rawa Sammelan[]

The community has a caste council known as the Rawa Sammelan to resolve disputes and deal with the problems within the community at the village and inter-village levels. The caste council is headed by a Chaudhary of the Biradri.

Doyaj fair of Shahbazpur[]

There is a 2 day fair held around the Budhe Baba's temple in Shahbazpur village of Mandawar, Bijnor. It is locally called as Kelawala ki Doyaj. This fair is well known for the fact that the Rawa Rajput community of Bijnor had a tradition of fixing their marriages in it. The youth of the community used to reach there on the pretext of the fair and upon the approval of both boy and girl, their marriage was fixed by the elders.[14][15][16][17]

Villages[]

Rawa Rajputs are mainly settled in the western districts of Uttar Pradesh. With time, settled agriculture and animal husbandry became their primary occupation. The villages of the community in Uttar Pradesh are as follows -

Some members of the community came back to Delhi during the reign of Shah Jahan when Red Fort was being built. The villages of the community in Delhi are as follows -

  • Aryapura
  • Basai Darapur
  • Khampur
  • Madipur
  • Nangal Raya
  • Wazirpur
  • Naraina
  • Titarpur [18][19][20]

Notable personalities[]

References[]

  1. ^ Talbot, Cynthia (2015). The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107118560.
  2. ^ History of Tomars, Part1 - Tomars of Delhi by Harihar niwas Dwivedi. Gwalior: Vidyamandir publications. 1983.
  3. ^ Tarikh-i-Firishta, tr. Briggs, Vol.1. p. 26.
  4. ^ History of the Paramara Dynasty by D.C. Ganguly. 1933.
  5. ^ History of Tomars, Part1 - Tomars of Delhi by Harihar niwas Dwivedi. Gwalior: Vidyamandir publications. 1983.
  6. ^ Tarikh-i-Firishta, tr. Briggs, Vol.1. p. 26.
  7. ^ "Itihas Darpan". Bhartiya Itihas Sankalan Yojna. 5. 20 May 1998.
  8. ^ "01chapter". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  9. ^ "सांप्रदायिक सौहार्द को नहीं तोड़ सकी थी अंग्रेजी हुकुमत". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  10. ^ Rajput Vanshavali by Ishwar Singh Madahd. Rajasthani Granthar Publications. 2013. p. 152.
  11. ^ Shatriy Rajput Vanshavali by Indramani Pathak. DPB Publications. 2000. p. 130.
  12. ^ North Indian Brahmin Gotra Shasnawali by Dr. Mahavir Prasad Sharma. Rajasthani Granthagar. 2017. ISBN 9385593900.
  13. ^ North Indian Brahmin Gotra Shasnawali by Dr. Mahavir Prasad Sharma. Rajasthani Granthagar. 2017. ISBN 9385593900.
  14. ^ "बूढ़े बाबा के मंदिर पर लगा दो दिवसीय दोयज का मेला". Hindustan (in Hindi). Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  15. ^ Project, Joshua. "Rajput Rawa in India". joshuaproject.net. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  16. ^ Rajput Vanshavali by Ishwar Singh Madahd. Rajasthani Granthar Publications. 2013. p. 152.
  17. ^ Shatriy Rajput Vanshavali by Indramani Pathak. DPB Publications. 2000. p. 130.
  18. ^ Rajput Vanshavali by Ishwar Singh Madahd. Rajasthani Granthar Publications. 2013. p. 152.
  19. ^ Shatriy Rajput Vanshavali by Indramani Pathak. DPB Publications. 2000. p. 130.
  20. ^ "Farmers at heart, still". Hindustan Times. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  21. ^ Rajput Vanshavali by Ishwar Singh Madahd. Rajasthani Granthar Publications. 2013. p. 152.
  22. ^ Shatriy Rajput Vanshavali by Indramani Pathak. DPB Publications. 2000. p. 130.
  23. ^ "सांप्रदायिक सौहार्द को नहीं तोड़ सकी थी अंग्रेजी हुकुमत". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 23 July 2021.
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