Tomars
The Tomar or 'Tanwar is a northwestern Indian Chandervanshi Rajputs clan, most of whom are populated in northern part of India. The Tomars are the descendents of Pandavas, descended from Arjun through his son Abhimanyu and grandson, Prikshit. A Tomar king Anangpal II mentioned this in a book written by him where he connected himself with very ancient king Parikshit. That is why it is believed that Tomars are the descendents of Pandavas of Mahabharata. King Yudhishtra founded Indraprashtha, now Delhi, but he later abdicated in favour of his nephew Prikshit. Tomar Rajputs (King Anangpal Tomar-I)conquered and re-estabhished/ founded the city of Dhillika (later Delhi) in 736 AD, and which is the capital city of Modern India.
Anangpal Tomar II is said to have been overthrown by his grandson Prithviraj Chauhan, Some records say that the kingdom was handed over to Prithviraj Chauhan as Anangpal Tomar II had left no heir.
According to the 'Jagas' of Tomar/Tanwar Rajputs, King Anangpal made Prithviraj only as 'Caretaker' when he went on a religious pilgrimage, as his own sons were very young at that time, but when he returned Prithviraj refused to hand over the kingdom to King anangpal.It should be mentioned that 'Jagas' are a caste in Rajasthan who are hereditary keepers of genealogical record of Rajputs. Present families of 'Jagas' of Tomar/ Tanwar Rajputs reside near Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The Tomars were replaced by Chauhans in 1162 as the rulers of Delhi. There is some discrepancy here as a Tomar is described to be in power in Delhi in 1192 CE. Some historians believe that Prithviraj Chauhan was mostly a caretaker king as long as Anangpal Tomar II, his grandfather(Maternal) was alive and ruling. The fact that Prithviraj's coronation to crown never happened makes this confusion even more apparent.
Following their loss of Delhi, a branch of the Tomar clan established themselves in the area of modern Gwalior in northern Madhya Pradesh. One of the greatest Tomar kings Man Singh built the fortress citadel which still stands there. A debatable topic is that Tomars did not loose any battle. Anangpal-II made Prithviraj Chauhan (The son of Karpuri Devi, the daughter of king Anangpal II), his grandson the heir apparently to The Throne since he was probably the most efficient warrior and leader of his time. It is said that Anangpal II's younger brothers then left Delhi and moved to Gwalior, Rajasthan and other areas of northern India in disbelief and anger.
The Chauhans were defeated by the Muhammad Ghori and the Sultans of Delhi at the end of the 12th century.The Mughal emperor Akbar captured Gwalior in 1559.
A few of them converted to Islam during the Muslim-Mughal rule. Tomar Muslims are found is wetern Rajasthan and eastern Pakistan and Sind
Tomars moved to Karnal in Haryana to Punjab and to Rajasthan from Delhi. They are spread from Punjab, to Haryana, to Western Uttar Pradesh (Meerut, Baraut, Muzaffarnagar Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Bulandshahr), to western Rajastan to Northern Madhya Pradesh and even some in Pakistan, known Towars. In northern India, there are some Tomars of 'Jat' caste as well. Tomars of 'Jat' caste are mainly spread across Badaut in Baghpat district of western UP. However, they are in no way connected with Tomar/Tanwar 'Rajputs'.
Major Tomar Rajput Kingdoms
Delhi (Dhillika)
- Chronology of Tomar Kings of Delhi
- Anangpal I 736 A.D.
- Visal 752
- Gangeya 772
- Prithvimal 793
- Jagdev 812
- Narpal 833
- Udaysangh 848
- Jaidas 863
- Vachhal 879
- Pavak 901
- Vihangpal 923
- Tolpal 944
- Gopal 965
- Sulakhan 983
- Jaspal 1009
- Kanvarpal 1025 (Masud captured Hansi briefly in 1038)
- Anangpal I 1046 (1052 inscription on the Iron pillar at Mahrauli)
- Tejpal 1076
- Mahipal 1100
- Dakatpal (Arkpal or Anangpal II) 1115 A.D.
Gwalior
- Chronology of Tomars Kings of Gwalior
- Vir Singh Deo (1438- )
- Uddhharan Deo (1400- )
- Vikram Deo
- Ganapati Deo (1419- )
- Dugarendra Singh
- Kirti Singh
- Kalyan Malla
- Man Singh (1486- ) 'Father of Dhrupad'
Demographics of Tomar/ Tanwar Rajputs in India
Mostly Tomars are found in Western UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana states of modern India.
Uttar Pradesh
There are many Tomar Rajput villages in Uttar Pradesh; Tomars, in UP state of India, are spread across Meerut, Ghaziabad, Muzaffar Nagar, Bulandshahr and Aligarh districts of Western Uttar Pradesh where Tomar Rajputs have approximately 400+ villages in Western Uttar Pradesh. citations?
The Tomars have 5 villages near Khurja in Bulandshahr district of UP. They are Dharpa, Kirra, Dudupur, Khalsia and Dinaul. Dharpa is the biggest village among these 5 villages. There is a story behind these 5 villages. In the old times, the locals demanded some Zamidars to be stationed here as this area was getting disturbed by some barbarion tribsmen. Then the main Tomar king sent 5 chieftains (Zamidars) and consequently these 5 villages came into existence. It is believed that NO TOMAR WILL KILL A FELLOW TOMAR Rajput in these villages and history is a witness that there is not even a single such instance till date.
There are 24 villages near Baraal in Bulandshahr district and 84 villages near Pilkhua in Ghaziabad district. There is a huge statue of King Anangpal in Pilkhua town. It is a customary in this region to install the statue of Tomar Rajput Kings with military armoury.
There are 12 Tomar Rajput villages near Siana (Bulandshahr District)and 12 some in Meerut district on Meerut - Garhmukteshwar Road.
The summary of villages of Tomar Rajputs in Western UP is as below:
- 84 villages (Chaurasi of Tomars) near Pilkhua in Ghaziabad District.
- 5 villages near Khurja in Bulandshahr district.
- 24 villages (Chaubisee) near Baraal in Bulandshar district.
- 24 villages (Chaubisee) near GarhMukteshawar in Meerut district.
- 1 village (Javand) Khatauli tehsil of Muzaffarnagar district.
- 12 villages (Barhi) near Siana in Bulandshahr district.
- 1 village (Banail) near Khurja in Bulandshahr district.
- ?? villages near Khair in Aligarh district.
- ?? villages in Mathura, Agra, Etah districts.
CONTINUED......
No citation or reference given to substantiate claims
Haryana
Tomar or Tanwar Rajputs are found in Bhiwani, Karnal and Mahendergarh Districts of Haryana.
There are several Tanwar Rajput villages in Bhiwani District of Haryana, namely Bapaura, Dinod,Devsar,Tigrana,Haluwas,Paluwas,Kairu,Bajina, Dhani Mahu etc, and a significant proportion of Bhiwani city consists of Tanwar Rajputs.
Also,there are several Tanwar Rajput villages in Mahendergarh District of Haryana, one of the largest being Kheri-Talwana, and others being Bhandor Unchi, Chitlang, Pali, Nimbi, Bojawasm Pathera etc.
Rajasthan
Some of the descendants of the Tomars moved to Rajasthan and established the Patan state near Jaipur which was called Tanwarawati in Rajashthan. The modern state of Dholpur was founded by a Tomar chieftain Raja Dholan (Dhawal or Deo) in 11th century and it was named as Dholera or Dhawalpuri after him.
Madhya Pradesh
Some Tomar Rajputs, known as Tonwar Thakurs, live in Morena District northwest of Gwalior; The district was formerly known as Tonwarghar. Tomar Rajputs founded the kingdom of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. Their main and very popular king was Man Singh who built The Famous fort of Gwalior. In 1517 AD, the Gwalior fort was taken by Ibrahim Lodhi and subsequently by Babar.
Modern Tomar Personalities
Politics
- Late Rajendra Singh Tomar (Rajju Bhaiyya, RSS)
- Dr. Ramesh Chand Tomar (Former 2 times BJP MP from Hapur Constituency, UP)
- Usha Rani Tomar (Jat) (Former MP from Aligarh, UP)
- Shokhinder Singh Tomar -- Wrestler
- Narendra Singh Tomar - President BJP MP State
- Satendra Singh Tomar - President N.S.U.I Gwalior M.P
Civil Services & Administration
Defense
Academics
Prof Ram Singh Tomar renowned Professor of Hindi and a polyglot. He established a schoolin the ravine of Kuari river near Ambah, Morena MP.
Sports
- Alka Tomar - Bronze Medalist, 63 KG Women's Freestyle Wrestling Competition - Doha Asian Games
Business
- Devendra Tanwar - Entrepreneur
Art, Culture, Cinema & Fashion Industry
Miscellaneous
- Pravesh Kumar Tomar - Renowned IT Professional (Computer Sciences Corporation)
- Ram Prasad Bismil - Freedom fighter and revolutionary
See also
- Maratha clan system
References
- Gwalior Rajya Ke Abhilekh(Inscription Of Gwalior State)
Author:-Harihar Niwas Dwiwedi
Pub. :-Madhya Bharat Puratattv Vibhag (Arch.Dept.of Central India) Gwalior 1947
- "Tomaron ka Ithihaas", or "The history of the Tomars" by Harihar Dvivedi, Gwalior
Gvāliyar ke Tomar tathā Mālwā ke Tomar, Sīsaudiyā Sāmant Rām Singh, Mugulon ke Tomar Sāmant, Sānskritik pravrittiyān tathā amrit manthan, Murār (Gwalior): Vidyā Mandir Prakāśan, 1976 (Tomāron kā itihās, vol. 2). [22-16-439 p., 32 plates]