Doad

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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 village Jalwehra have changed their family name to Jalwehra or Dodd. In the earlier British accounts the Doad history was recorded under the "Dod Clan". The history of the Doad clan is beautifully described in A Glossary of the Tribes and castes of the Punjab and North -West Frontier Province compiled by H. A. Rose and based on the Census Report for the Punjab 1883, by Sir Denzil Ibbetson, and the census report for the Punjab 1892 by Sir Edward Maclagan. Published By the Asian Educational Services, pages 243-244. This is listed under the "Dod" Rajput clan of Hoshiarpur.

[edit] History

The origin of Doad tribe is linked with the Yadav, a branch of the Ahir caste. Krishna (a Hindu divinity) was born in Yadav tribe. Twelve Rajput tribe (out of the total of 36 Rajput tribes) which belong to the family of Krishna call themselves “Chandarbansi”. In seventh or eight century A.D., a Yadav tribe (which was also “Chandarbansi) ruled over Orissa, a state in present-day India. According to the tradition, they succeeded in defeating an enemy who was 1 ½ times as numerous themselves. That is why they began to be called deoda (or Deorha: which means 1 ½ ). As time passed, the word deoda began to be pronounced as “Doad”. At the beginning of 9th century, Raja Deochand Doad went to Udaipur, a city in the Rajistan state, with tribesmen and his army. From Udaipur, he progressed towards Delhi by passing through Garh Mandala (a small city in the district Bhilwara in Rajastan). On his way from Orissa to Delhi, he had to fight many battles. He defeated all his enemies and finally managed to arrive in Delhi. At that time, Delhi was ruled by Tunwars (or Turs) tribe. A battle took place between the Doads and Tunwars in the region of Delhi. The Tunwars were defeated in that battle. Thereafter, the Doads progressed towards Punjab. They conquered the town of Garh Muktesar and its surroundings in the present-day Ferozepur district. A historian wrote the following lines in Pitchasi (the old Punjabi ) related to the above-mentioned military expedition of the Doads:

*Orissa se charhiya Raja Deo Chand Baryahan Tika ae,

• Tur Raja auliyan jo thake fauj rachae.

• Tur chhadde nathke jo mil baithe hai,

• Dod Garh Muktesar men jo mile chare thaon.

Raja Deo Chand gave that area to his brothers. Nowadays, the Doads live in Ferozepur, Faridkot and Bathinda. Deo Chand left with his army toward Doaba conquered it. After all these conquests, he finally established his empire in Doaba. He chose Jaijon as the capital of his empire. Raja Deo Chand's descendant Raja Jai Chand gave his name to the town of Jaijon which was still the capital of his empire. Later, a Jaswal Rajput King, defeated Raja Jai Chand and became king of his empire. The Jaswal King nominated Raja Jai Chand the Governor of that region. According to District and Status Gazetteer p. 423, the Doad Rajputs, in these days, founded the town of Mansowal (in east Garhshankar, at the center of the plains of Shivalik mountains). They also constructed a fort in that town, because of which, the town sometimes is referred to as Garhi or Garrhi Mansowal. Jai Chand had 4 sons. They were granted freedom from the Jaswals. From the four, one took Jaijon, the second took Saroya, the third took Kungrat area of Una district and the fourth of Garhi Mansowal.

[edit] Doad Estate's

1. Estate of Jaijon - Jaswals again succeeded in conquering the estate of Jaijon again from the Doads.

2. Estate of Saroya - Jaswals also succeeded in conquering the estate of Saroya again from the Doads.

3. Estate of Kungrat - Jaswals tried hard to conquer Kungrat. They fought many battles to conquer it but each time had to retreat. Finally, in 1800, there was an agreement between both tribes, in which they had finalised each others territory. By this the centuries old enemity of both tribes turned into friendship. In 1800, the ruler of Kangra, Sansar Chand Katoch attacked the Jaswals. In this battle, the Doads helped the Jaswals. Raja Sansar Chand lost and retreated back. At this time, Deo Chand's 41st generation was ruling Kungrat, under which 22 villages were dependant. Those 22 villages became a part of Sikh Kingdom (of Maharaj Ranjit Singh) in 1809. Nowadays Doads are found in parts of Una.

4. Estate of Mansowal - Around 1000 A.D., Deo Chand's 8 generation, King Shankar Sahai Doad, the ruler of the Mansowal Estate, founded the city of Garh Shankar. King Shankar Sahai transferred the capital from Mansowal to Garh Shankar. Around 1775, Shankar Sahai's 31st generation was ruling Garh Shankar (Mansowal). At that time, the stakes were high between Doad tribe and the neighboring Ghorewaha (They are descendent of Ram, Raja Man Singh who was sixth in line from Ram had two sons Kushwaha and Ghorewaha, many Ghorewahas became 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. Although there are some Hindu Ghorewahas in the regions of Doaba.) tribes. Doad tribe always overcame the Ghorewaha tribe.

The Ghorewaha 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 1775. The Doads who managed to escape that slaughter migrated to other areas in Punjab (like Dandiyan, Mansowal, ...).

Garhi Mansowal's Doad Rajput's regaining their power

During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, when he wanted to conquer the sub-mountainious region of Kandi, the Doads of Mansowal sent fifteen horse riders to help Maharaja Ranjit Singh, thus helping him in his conquest. 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. This information is recorded on page 67 in Final Report of Revised Settlement, Hoshiarpur District, 1877-1884, by J. A. L. Montgomery, published 1885, Calcutta Central Press Co.

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 Doads of Hoshiarpur started becoming Sikhs during Akali Baba Phula Singhs time. The first one was Nihang Koom Singh Doad (of vill. Jalwehra), who was the son of Ghamandi, and the great-grandson of the last king of Garhshankar. The Rajput residents of villages Jalwehra, Thakarwal and New Thakarwal (Randhirgarh) are descendents of the last Raja of Garhshankar who was killed by Ghorewahas.

Some Doads also reside in Pakistani areas of Sahiwal etc.

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

(In ancient times, anyone (of any caste) who started farming and/or married a daughter of a farmer, was also called a farmer and belonged to the caste Jatt).

A significant number of Doads (between 3000-4000) also reside in the village of Dulehar, Santosgarh in current Himachal Pradesh. These Doad Rajputs are reminant of the larger Doad clan. This village apparently has a glorious history and nearly 100 soldier laid down their lives during World Wars 1 and 2. The new generations of king family are now settled in garhshankar .

[edit] 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

[edit] Notable persons of the Doad clan

[edit] External links