Sandhu
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Sandhu' is a Jat gotra or clan originally from the Northern Indian state of Punjab. ..
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[edit] Etymology
According to one theory, the word Sandhu could be a corruption of the word Sindhu, the Vedic Sanskrit name of the Indus river. In the Mahabharata, Jayadratha, called as Sindhu Naresh or "king of the Sindhus" ruled over Sindh and is believed to have been a Sandhu Jat.
Another theory is that the name "Sandhu" comes from the apical ancestor of the clan, the heroic Sandhu Rao.
[edit] Origin
Sandhu Jats claim descent from the Raghuvanshi dynasty of Sri Rama of Ayodhya.
In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana gave his sister, Dushala in marriage to Jaydratha Sindhu (or Sandhu) to earn the friendship of the Sandhu Jats. The Sandhu Jats also took part in the Kurukshetra War.
Sir Lepel Griffin’s opinion is that the Sandhus came into the Punjab region from northwestern Rajputana (modern Rajasthan). The noted historian, K.C. Yadav says that most of the Jat tribes came to the Punjab in eleventh century during the days of Mahmud of Ghazni. Sandhus too are believed to have migrated to the province at this time.
H.A. Rose writes in his book that the Sandhus have eighty-four branches. According to the Sialkot Gazette of 1883-84, there were five main branches of Sandhus.
[edit] Geographical distribution
The Sandhu clan is the second-largest Jat clan in Punjab after the Sidhu-Brars.
[edit] Pre-Partition
In Punjab (British India), the Sandhus numbered at 135732 in the Census of 1881. The clan had twelve villages in the Lahore area of Majha among which, Raja Jang and Jodhu were prominent ones. The Sandhus of Lahore were notorious for being quarrelsome and tenacious fighters. After migrating to erstwhile East Punjab (comprising of today's Punjab (India), Haryana and Himachal Pradesh) following the Partition of India, they have completely merged with the Malwai community (the residents of the Malwa region of Punjab (India).
[edit] Sandhus today
Today, the Sandhus are found throughout Punjab (India), Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and a few are scattered in Pakistan and the eastern regions of Gujarat (although they are the descendants of Sandhus who migrated from Punjab and Haryana).
The Sandhus have twenty-two villages in the area of Sirhali. This area is known as Bahia of Sandhus. They have seventeen villages in the area of Bhakna.The Narli Family which is one of the most known and widespread family of punjab also belongs to the sandhu surname.It is seen that like the narli sandhu family many such sandhus have moved across seven seas ,mostly in UK,USA and Canada.
Sandhus are settled on both sides of the Satluj river in the Trans-Sutlej and the Cis-Sutlej areas.
In Malwa, along the Satluj and from Faridkot to Muktsar, the Sandhus have the prominent villages of jhoke tehal singh" , "Saian Wala, Chughe Kalan, Vire Wala, Bhag Singh Wala, Marh, Sakka Wali, Kanian Wali and Khurhanj. The Sandhus of Rukhala came from Sirhali. The village of Sandhuan in Faridkot was also founded by the Sandhus but later occupied by the Brars. There are many villages of the Sandhus in Ludhiana.
Some of Sandhus went further to Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur in Doaba. Some of the Majhail Sandhus migrated to the Bathinda and Mansa areas after repeated disturbances created by Muslim invaders. Presently, the Sandhus are spread all over Punjab.
In Haryana, Sandhus are found in large numbers in Ambala,kurukshetra,karnal,yamunanagar,pehowa.In Rajashtan, sandhus are found in large numebers in Ganaganagar , Hanumangarh,karanapur disst. In Pakistan, they are spread up to Sialkot and the hill areas of Gujranwala.
[edit] Related clans
Sandhu, Sindhu and Sindhar are the same clan.
[edit] Among Tarkhans
Sandhus are also found among Tarkhans. Those Sandhus who married into Tarkhan families, subsequently merged with them.
[edit] Religion
Sandhu Jats are found in Muslim, Hindu as well as in Sikh communities. Impressed by the teachings of Gautama Buddha, the Sandhus of Sindh converted to Buddhism. After the Arab Muslim invasion, these Sandhus further embraced Islam, Sikhism or Hinduism.
[edit] Famous Sandhu Jats
- Bhai Bala, disciple of Guru Nanak Dev
- Bhagat Singh
- Suprinder Singh
- Balwinder Sandhu
- Sardar Hira Singh Sandhu M.L.C
- and lot many more who have made their contribution nationaly as well as internationally.
