Jhojha

The Jhojha (, ) are a Muslim community or caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in India. Some members of this community migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and have settled in Karachi, Sindh.

History and origin

The Jhojha claim descent from the Hindu Rajput community. According to their traditions, there was an individual by the name of Abdullah Bhati, a Bhati Rajput by caste, who lived in a village near the city of Lahore, in what is now Pakistan, during the rule of the Mughal. He is said to have looked at the royal treasure, as it was being carried to the Mughal Emperor's treasury. This annoyed the Emperor, who chased Abdullah and his clan all the way to the town of Roorkee. When Abdullah and his clan reached Roorkee, the bards of the tribe praised Abdullah, for being so brave as to have resisted the Mughals. They used the term jhujh, which in the local Hindi language, means someone who fights with courage. The word jhujh over time, became Jhojha.

According to other traditions, the Jhojha are, in fact, Mughals, having come to India, with the armies of the Mughal emperor Babar.

The Jhojha have two sub-divisions, the bangarwale and the khaderwale. The Jhojha of Muzaffarnagar District are bangerwale, while those of Saharanpur District are khaderwale.

The community is basically made of small peasants, concentrated in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh. They have a village-based caste council, which exercise social control. In terms of religion, they are fairly orthodox Sunni Muslims, and have customs similar to other neighbouring Muslim peasant castes, such as the Kamboh, Garha, Gujjar, Jat and Ranghar.

The Jhojha have a state wide caste association, Tanzim Anjuman Jhojha (Organization of Jhojha associations).

Distribution

They are found in the districts of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor and Bulandshahr of Uttar Pradesh.

The majority of the Jhojha are still found in Saharanpur District, with the tehsil of Roorkee remaining a stronghold of the tribe. In Muzaffarnagar District, they are concentrated in the tehsil of Jansath, and GeneRally found in the east of the district.

In Bijnor District, they are found mainly in Bijnor tehsil, and near the Ganges river.

A Small number of Jhojha are also found in Sindh, Pakistan, where they assimilated into other Urdu speaking Muslim peasent castes, such as the Rohilla and Ranghar.

See also

• Bhati
• Ranghar
• Garha
• Gaurwa