Manj

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Manj (or Manjj) are a Rajput and Jat sub-clan from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.

Origin and history

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 descended 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, The Manj say that they are Bhatti Rajputs because they hold common ancestry, descended from Raja Salvahan (Salivahana), father of Raja Rasalu of Sialkot. Some 600 years ago (14th Century) Shaikh Chachu and Shaikh Kilchi, two Manj Rajputs, are said to have settled at Hatur in the southwest of Ludhiana, from 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.^{[1][Full citation needed]}

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 emperors. 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 Muslim, 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

"Rai Kalha III of Raikot, who appears to have been a ruler of very great ability, extended his power up to Ludhiana. He established independent power over the whole of Jagraon (the place of the Rais) and the greater part of Ludhiana Tahsils, and also a large portion of the Ferozepur District." The last chief of the Rai family of Raikot was Khan Bahadur Rai Inayat Khan Ref: Ludhiana Dist Gazetteers 1888-1904, Rajas Of Punjab 1870 by Sir Lepel Griffin, Chiefs of Punjab 1890, 1909, 1940.

Tulsi Das or Shaikh Chachu, who flourished under Muslim rulers. He earned many honors and held charge of the Raikot State and a large part of the area later occupied by the Phulkian States.^[2]

Mughal Empire

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After the dissolution of the Mughal Empire, the Manj Rais of Talwandi and Raikot ruled over an extensive territory south of the Satluj, till dispossessed of it by the Ahluwalia Sikhs and later by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

See also

• Indo-Aryan peoples

References