Doad

Doad is a clan or gotra of Rajputs in Punjab, India & Himachal Pradesh . The most Doads are settled down in a small villages in Hoshiarpur. But there are also Doads found in Faridkot, Bathinda, Ferozpur etc. Some Doads who have immigrated to North America and Europe from Jalwehra have changed their clan name to Jalwehra or Dodd.

History

Doad Rajput tribe was founded between the 6th and 7th century. At that time, Doad a Kshatriya tribe (which became Rajput) ruled in Orissa. According to the tradition, they once succeeded in defeating an army which was one and half times stronger than them. After this victory, that tribe began to be called “deoda” which means one and half. In the course of time, the word deoda became doad. About the end of the eighth century A.D. Raja Deo Chand Doad marched towards Delhi from Orissa with whole of his tribe. On his way, he had to fight the kings who refused to give him way. He succeeded in defeating all those kings and finally arrived at Delhi. At that time, Delhi was ruled by Tomra Rajput tribe. Near Delhi, a battle took place between Tomra and Doad Rajputs and Tomra Rajputs were defeated.

Then, Raja Deo Chand Doad marched towards Punjab. He finally declared his rule over the sub-mountainous region in the present-day district of Hoshiarpur. His son Raja Jai Chand founded the town of Jaijon and ruled Doaba. Doad rulers, also founded the town of Mansowal (in east Garhshankar, at the center of the plains of Shivalik mountains). They also constructed a fort (Garh)in Mansowal. The town of Mansowal is also called Garhi Mansowal. Doad rulers selected Garhi Mansowal as the capital of their state. They also expanded their territory by conquering the towns of Saroya (Nawanshahr), Gunachaur (Nawanshahr) etc.

Around tenth century, Raja Shankar Sahai Doad founded the city of Garh Shankar. Raja Shankar Sahai transferred the capital from Mansowal to Garh Shankar. At that time, the stakes were high between Doad tribe and the neighboring Korewan(Ghorewaha seems more appropriate name they are descendent of Ram, Raja Man Singh who was sixth in line from Ram had two sons Kushwaha and Ghorewaha, all Ghorewahas are muslims and migrated to Pakistan after partition, the most notabele person from this tribe would be Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhary, these days they use Rana as their family title) tribes. Doad tribe always overcame the Korewan tribe.

The Korewan made a deadly plot against the Doads. They managed to buy Bharadwaj, the high priest of the Doad tribe. The priest Bharadwaj told Doad Rajputs that their bad days were coming and the only way to escape was to have their heads completely shaven, be without weapons and organize special payers in the temples. Their venerable priest also told them that if they see a Palanquin descending from the sky during the prayer it will be a sign of their prayer being accepted by God.

Doad Rajputs followed the advice of their Lord Priest and the date of the prayer celebrations was fixed. When the Doads were busy in the prayer, four members of the Korewan tribe entered the temple according to a well defined plan. The Palanquin was full of weapons. Doads were extremely happy to see the Palanquin coming because for them it was symbolizing the acceptance of there payer. In the meantime, the Korewan army surrounded the temple and attacked the armless Doads who were busy in prayer.

They killed brutally the Doads and fill the tank of the temple with dead bodies of the Doads. Thus, the Korewans finally succeeded in conquering Garhshankar. This event took place around 1770-1775. The Doads who managed to escape that slaughter migrated to Mansowal, Dandiyan, Badala, Bathinda, Faridkot and Ferozepur etc.

During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Doads of Mansowal sent fifteen horse riders to help Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In return, Maharaja granted the Doads the property of the lands of Mansowal. The British Empire also granted the property of eight villages to Doad Rajputs of Mansowal.

After the slaughter of Doads at Garh Shankar, five grandsons of the last Doad King survived. The youngest grandson of the last Doad King, who was also killed Korewans, was married to a girl from Ajnoha. During the Garhshankar tragedy, the wife of the youngest prince was at her parents house in Ajnoha because she was expecting a baby. She gave birth to a son.

In those days, it was not considered good to keep the son of a daughter in the village. Therefore, when the young prince became an adult in 1800, the villagers of Ajnoha built a house for him in the land of another village, Panchhat.

In the course of time, his cousins, the sons of his two uncles, who were homeless uptil then, finally came to live with him in Panchhat. The son of his third uncle, whose name was Ghamandi, also came to live in with him. The brother of Ghamandi, named Jattu, went to live in Thakarwal.

The descends of Jattu, went to live in New Thakarwal (Randhirgarh) and others came to live with the son of the youngest prince. Sometime later, they also brought the people of lower castes from Garhshankar to their place. Their place of residence was located in the low land. In the rainy season, their village remained full of water for many days. That is why their village began to be called “Jalwehra” meaning "terrace of water".

In the beginning, the villagers of Panchhat opposed the creation of Jalwehra village in their lands. Many clashes took place between the two villages. Among the villagers of Jalwehra, Baba Mith Singh and Baba Bir Bhan Singh sacrificed their life to protect their village. Their memorials are today a place of worship in the village. A gurudwara honouring Baba Bir Bhan Singh was recently built on the site of the original memorial.

The Rajput residents of villages Jalwehra, Thakarwal and New Thakarwal (Randhirgarh) are descendents of the last Raja of Garhshankar who was killed by Korwans.

The Doads have also been associated with Guru Nanak Dev ji, as per the Bala Janamsakhi. On one of his journeys, Guru Nanak Dev ji along with his companion Mardana set up camp on the banks of the river Ravi. A Doad from a nearby village befriended Guru Nanak. It is said that Doad and his wife brought Guru ji milk on a daily basis and with Guru ji’s blessings, Doad’s family flourished and became prosperous. Guru Nanak Dev ji eventually settled at this site and it became to be known as Kartarpur. See http://www.globalsikhstudies.net/index.htm, English version of the Janamsakhi Tradition

A significant number of Doads (between 3000-4000) also reside in the village of Dulehar, Santosgarh in current Himachal Pradesh. Whether, these Doad Rajputs are descendents of the Garh Shankar survivors or a totally separate settlement needs to be elicidated. This village apparently has a glorious history and nearly 100 soldier laid down their lives during World Wars 1 and 2.

Note: I think that the last Doad King, Shankar Sahai, to have lived in tenth century because he was the founder of the town Garhshankar. I think we should try to find out the exact time of the creation of the Garhshankar town to know the exact time when Shankar Sahai lived.

Regions in India with Doad population

Districts

In these districts there are a few villages with significant number of Doads.

1. Hoshiarpur, Punjab.
2. Faridkot, Punjab.
3. Ferozepur, Punjab.
4. Bathinda, Punjab.
5. Una district, Himachal Pradesh.

Villages

Notable persons of the Doad clan