Homie Khan's Namdar Page

Manj Rajputs

Bhatti Rajput Maharaja of Jaiselmer

Rajput Noble of Jaipur (probably Chauhan Rajput), Sketch by GP Jacomb-Hood (circa 1911)(Sketch courtesy of Ralph Lake)

Raja Salvihana, 3100 years from Krishna, from whom he was 26th in descent, had 84 sons, among whom were Tavesar, ancestor of the Tunwars, Ras Tavas, ancestor of the Taonis of Ambala, and Bisal, ancestor of the Bhattis. Rana Jundal, the 7th in descent from Bisal, ruled Bhatner. His son Achhal founded Jaiselmer. From him are decended the Manj and Bhatti tribes (see table below).

The Manj are the most widely distributed of all the sub-montane Rajputs. They hold the southwestern portion of Jullunder and the northwestern portion of Ludhiana, and are found in all the adjoining Districts and States. Some also appear in Rawalpindi, but whether or not they are of the same stock as the Manj of Ludhiana and Jullunder is more than doubtful. The Manj say that they are Bhatti Rajputs, descended from Raja Salvahan (Salivahana), father of Raja Rasalu of Sialkot. Some 600 years ago (13th Century) Shaikh Chachu and Shaikh Kilchi, two Manj Rajputs, are said to haved settled at Hatur in the southwest of Ludhiana, whence their descendents spread into the neighboring country; and the Jullunder traditions refer their conquest of the tract to the time of Ala-ud-din Khilji. As, however, they state that Tulsi Das (Tulsi Ram) was converted (to Islam) by Hazrat Makhdum Shah Jahaniya of Uchh, who died in 1383 A.D., it would appear that if the tradition has any foundation, Ala-ud-din Sayyid must be meant. Tulsi Ram assumed the name Shaikh Chachu (Reference: excerpts from the 1883 and 1892 Census Reports by Ibbetson and Maclagan)

After the dissolution of the Delhi empire the Manj Rais of Talwandi and Raikot ruled over an extensive territory south of the Sutlej, till dispossessed of it by the Ahluwalia Sikhs and Ranjit Singh; and even earlier than this the Manj Nawabs of Kot Isa Khan had attained considerable importance under the emporers. North of the Sutlej the Manj never succeeded in establishing a principality; but they had a large tract of country in the southwest of Jullunder District about Talwan, Nakodar, and Malsian, and held much of it in Jagir under the Mughals, but were dispossessed by Tara Singh Geba and the Sindhanwalia Sikhs.The Manj in Nabha claim to be descendents of Tulsi Ram (Tulsi Das or Shaikh Chachu), a descendent of Banni Pal, who flourished under Aurangzeb, and did much to allay the dissensions of the time. He earned many honors by military service and held charge of the Raikot State and a large part of the area now occupied by the Phulkian States (Nabha, Patiala, and Jind). See Sardar Wali Mohammed Khan's Page for the Manj Rajput Pedigree.The Manj are now all Musalman, though many were still Hindu after the time of Shaikh Chachu. In Ferozepur they still disallow karewa. Their genealogists live in Patiala, as do the Bhatti of Jullunder. In the Ain-i-Akbari the Manj are wrongly shown as Main, a title which is said to belong properly to the Ghorewaha of Ludhiana. See table below.(In the Kangri dialect the word Manj is said to mean 'in the middle')Manj of Jullunder.

Rana Jundal's son Achhal founded Jaisalmer. From him are descended the Manj and Bhatti Tribes. The following table appears in the Jullunder District Gazetteer of 1904.

Malsian Tradition

Malsian, about 8 miles west of Nakodar, is an old town, mentioned in Ain-i-Akbari under the name of Mailsi. It is said to have been founded by Mailsi, a Manj Rajput. The Mailsian tradition is that of the four uncles of Shaikh Chachu, Mailsi, Wairsi, Jairsi, and Udhasi, divided the country between them at Tihara on the Sutlej. Mailsi founded Malsian and most of the Rajputs there are descended from his son Dhir whose tomb is on the road to Shahkot, and those of Nabi Bakhsh's taraf are descended from a subsequest settler, Dargahi Khan, also of the Manj race. Talwan is stated to have fallen to Wairsi, and the share of Jairsi was allotted across the Sutlej.

Malsian is notorious as the headquarters of Mohammadan Sunars who were engaged in the manufacture of coins and coins of ancient mintage for many of the principal cities of India. Malsian is also said to have excelled in making wooden stamps for printing cotton. It also made buttons from shells from the river, and dyeing of wool is another of the trades carried out.

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