Mughal Tribe

History and origin


The term Mughal (Persian: مغول) (Urdu: مغل) is simply the Persian form of the word Mongol, and many groups in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India use the term Mughal to describe themselves. In theory, the Mughals of South Asia and Iran are descended from the various Mongol armies that at one point or other conquered or settled in the region.


Aurangzeb spent more than 20years of his life fighting major and minor rebellions throughout the Mughal Empire.
In medieval period, descendants of various Mongol armies that invaded and conquered, Iran and South Asia under Genghis Khan, Timur and Babar were called Mughals. The term was also used for later immigrants from Iran, the Qizilbash community. During the 18th century; the attacks of the Maratthas and the intolerant views of Aurangzeb declined Mughal power in South Asia considerably. Even after the onslaught of Maratthas from South; they managed to survive by giving gifts and taxes to Maratthas. But their defeat at the hands of the British changed the meaning of being Mughal considerably.
In modern times, with the advent of British, the term acquired a completely different meaning. The royal family of the Mughal dynasty was completely crushed by the Britishers. The Mughal royals and soldiers of the royal military were either killed or declared absconding. The remaining Mughal and Turkic soldiers were assimilated in the middle-class and rich families of the native Muslim merchants. These merchants counted Mughals as the cause of their conversion to Islam and usually saw them in good favor. They gave shelter to the defeated, landless and unemployed Mughals and other Central Asian soldiers, married their daughters and eventually in the following centuries British counted these merchants as Mughals in their censuses. Not surprisingly, the census and gazettes of the 19th century by the British Government counted all these traders and the merchants of South Asia, specially those guarding or managing the Sarais and garrisons of erstwhile Mughals as Mughals. Thus the people counted as Mughals are much more higher in numbers as it included these Muslim merchants who had converted during Mughal rule and accepted the Mughal surname.
Today, the Mughals are largely derived from these trader converts to Islam and claim to be one of the four social groups that are referred to as the Ashraf.[2]But sadly the community is now landless and in poor situation. Specially those who were really Mughal royals or soldiers were the most affected by the British rule. The royal family of the Mughal dynasty was completely crushed by the British and the last emperor was sent to exile in Yangoon in present-day Burma/Myanmar. Since he lost all nominal powers and so could not have successor, theoretically the original Mughals were eliminated from India. Major Hodson himself shot dead three of the five sons of the last Moghul Emperor, Bahadur Shah II after stripping them naked and causing them to walk in public. (See Mirza Mughal. )But one son of Bahadur Shah II survived and thus continued the lineage of Mughals. The last of them is Sultana Begum, a Bengali speaking great grand daughter-in-law of Bahadur Shah Zafar and wife of Prince Mirza Muhammad Bedar Bakht. Her son is the only living heir to the Mughal lineage.[3]She lives in a slum and runs a tea stall to manage her family and is mostly unaware of her husband's royal descent. After the death of her husband Prince Mirza Bedar Bukht, heir to the erstwhile Mughal dynasty; it's a struggle for existence in the Howrah slums for the mother of five daughters (four of them married) and a son. She recently came in news because of her multiple appeals to the central government to finance the dowry of her daughters. Eventually she was offered Rs 2 lakhs and undisclosed amounts later by a pharmaceutical company owner Mr Madhusudan Aggrawal and an NGO by Shivanath Jha. Her benefactor, Vijay Darda, is a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra.[4] The organisation supporting her is “Bismillah: The Beginning Foundation”. It was originally started by a Delhi-based couple, Shivnath Jha, a journalist, and Neena Jha, a teacher to mitigate the economic problems face by famed late Ustad Bismillah Khan. A part of the aids collected by the organisation was donated to Sultana Begum as one of the last living member of erstwhile Mughal dynasty.[5][6] Later Coal India Chairman Partha Bhattacharyya offered employment to her remaining unmarried daughter Madhu to run errands. Finally, The Mahavir Mandir Trust offered the widow of Mirza Mohammad Bedar Bakht a job for one of her family members and funds to finance her grandson’s studies.[7]
[edit]Clans

The two clans that the original Mongol immigrants belonged to were the Chughtai and Barlas.[8] In Pakistan and North India, their main clans are the Qazilbash, Turkmen, Turk, Uzbek, Tajik, Kai and Chak, while in Punjab and on the border of Mansehra District, NWFP and Kashmir, the main clans are the Barlas and Chughtai.[9] There are also a number of other tribal groupings who claim Mughal ancestry. Here is a brief description of the five main Mughal clans found in South Asia.
[edit]Turks
The words Turk and Mughal are almost synonymous in South Asia. The first known mention of the term Turk applied to a Turkic group was in reference to the Göktürks in the sixth century. A letter by the Chinese Emperor written to a Göktürk Khan named Ishbara in 585 described him as "the Great Turk Khan." The Orhun inscriptions (AD 735) use the terms Turk and Turuk.
Previous use of similar terms are of unknown significance, although some strongly feel that they are evidence of the historical continuity of the term and the people as a linguistic unit since early times. There is a Chinese record of 1328 BC referring to a neighbouring people as Tu-Kiu.[10]


Map from Kashgari's Diwan, showing the distribution of Turkic tribes.


Timeline of Scythian kurgans in Asia and Europe (Per Fig.6 of Alekseev, A. Yu. et al., "Chronology of Eurasian Scythian Antiquities".[11]
According to Mahmud of Kashgar, an eleventh century Turkic scholar, and various other traditional Islamic scholars and historians, the name "Turk" stems from Tur, one of the sons of Japheth, and comes from the same lineage as Gomer (Cimmerians) and Ashkenaz (Scythians, Ishkuz) who, according to tradition, were some of the earliest Turks. For millennia, a long string of historical references specifically linked Herodotus' Scythians with various tribes such as the Hunno-Bulgars, Avars, Türks, Mongols, Khazars, etc.[12] Between 400 CE and the 16th century Byzantine sources use the name Σκΰθαι in reference to twelve different Türkic peoples[12] (most modern scholars believe these tribes to have been Iranian). A similar name, Dur, appears in mediaeval Hungarian legend as the name of a legendary chieftain of the Caucasian Alans (Arran, Iron) whose daughters supposedly bred with the Magyar ancestors Hunor and Magor. Alp Er Tunga is a mythical hero in Turkic tradition; the Göktürks of the sixth century carried on the tradition of Alp Er Tunga and they too had a myth according to which they themselves were descendants of a wolf.
There are two communities in South Asia which call themselves Turks, those of Punjab (Pakistan) and those of Uttar Pradesh. The Turks of Uttar Pradesh are a cultivating community found in the districts of Rampur and Bareilly and in the Terai region. These Turks are descendants of Turkish soldiers who were said to have been settled along the slopes of the Himalaya by the medieval Muslim ruler Mohammed Ghori.[13]
In Punjab, the term Turk refers to any inhabitant of Central Asia, or Turkestan, as the region was historically known. The Turks of the Punjab region include the Karlugh Turks of the Hazara Division, who were settled in the region by Tamerlane. In addition to these Turks, there was also a colony of Turks settled in Gurdaspur District who were once said to be ropemakers. They claim descent from Turk soldiers settled in Gurdaspur District by the Khilji sultans.[14]
[edit]Chughtai


The Chagatai Khanate and its neighbors in the late 13th century
The name Chughtai is a distorted form of Chaghadai, which comes from the Mongol Chagan (white) and the suffix –dai.[15] The word Chaghadai thus means he who is white. The clan gets its name from Chagatai Khan, a son of the legendary Genghis Khan. The mother of Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in South Asia, belonged to the Chughtai clan.
The Chughtai are perhaps the most widespread of any of the Mughal clans in South Asia; many came to parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India accompanying Babar. An early census of India conducted by British colonial authorities rather unsurprisingly showed the greatest concentrations of Chughtai to be in Delhi, the centre of Mughal power, in Lucknow, the capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, in the townships of western Uttar Pradesh, and in Punjab.
They remain the largest of the Mughal clans and are found throughout Punjab and Sindh in India.
[edit]Barlas
The Barlas trace their origin to Qarchar Barlas,[16] head of one of Chaghadai's regiments. According to The Secret History of the Mongols—a 13th century epic written during the reign of Ögedei Khan—Qarchar Barlas was a descendent of the legendary Mongol warlord 'Bodonchir (Bodon Achir; Bodon'ar Mungqaq) who was also considered to be the direct ancestor of Genghis Khan.[17]
Due to extensive contacts with the native population of Central Asia, the tribe had not only adopted the religion of Islam,[18] but also the Chagatai language, a Turkic language of the Qarluq branch which was heavily influenced by Arabic and Persian[19] and later evolved into the modern Uzbek language.[20][21]
The Barlas formed a significant part of the Mughal population in South Asia. Like the Chagtai, the Barlas were concentrated in cities such as Lahore, Pakistan, a major centre of the Mughal Empire, and a smaller number are believed to have settled in Lukhnow. They are principally found on the border between the district of Mansehra and Azad Kashmir, in Punjab and in Sindh provinces of Pakistan.
[edit]Qizilbash
The term Qizilbash refers to a number of Turkmen tribes from Eastern Anatolia and Azerbaijan who had helped Shah Ismail I to defeat the Aq Qoyunlu. As these tribes were by far the most important in number and influence, the name Kizilbash is usually applied to them only.[22] Some of these greater Turcoman tribes were subdivided into as many as eight or nine clans and included the:
Ustādjlu
Rumlu
Shāmlu (the most powerful clan during the reign of Shah Ismail I.)
Dulghadir (Arabic: Dhu 'l-Kadar)
Afshār
Qājār
Takkalu
Other tribes, such as the Turkman, Bahārlu, Qaramānlu, Warsāk, or Bayāt, were occasionally listed among these "seven great Aymaqs", or confederation of the Qizilbash.


The Qizilbash President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan of Pakistan with President Richard Nixon of USA, circa 1970
As the Qizilbash are a community of Turkic origin, they are considered to belong to the Mughal tribe in South Asia. Population estimates vary from 800,000 to 3,000,000 people who are descendants of the Qizilbash. They established several settlements principally in Pakistan in medieval times, as well as in the urban centres of Afghanistan. Entire villages and sometimes districts were settled by the Qizilbash where many of their descendants can still be found to this day. Their numbers were further increased by the arrival of tens of thousands of Qizilbash from neighbouring Afghanistan where they had been considered "enemies of the state" by the then Emir of Afghanistan for supposedly siding with the British in the First Anglo-Afghan War.
In Pakistan, the Qizilbash are predominantly Twelver Shia with a significant Hanafi Sunni minority. The Qizilbash are an influential group found in almost all segments of Pakistani society, particularly in the fertile provinces of Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, Balochistan and Sindh. There are sizeable populations in the cities of Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Sialkot, Hyderabad and Rawalpindi.
In India, the Qizilbash are found mainly in Lukhnow, where many prominent Qizilbash families were closely connected with the regime of the Nawabs of Awadh.
[edit]Turkmen
Etymologically the term Turkmen derives from Türk plus the Sogdian affix of similarity -myn ,-men, and means "resembling a Türk" or "co-Türk".[23] A prominent Turkic scholar Mahmud Kashgari also mentions the etymology Türk manand (like Turks). The language and ethnicity of the Turkmen were much influenced by their migration to the west. Kashgari calls the Karluks Turkmen as well, but the first time the term Turkmen in this etymological sense was used was by Makdisi in the second half of the 10th century AD. Like Kashgari, he wrote that the Karluks and Oghuz Turks were called Turkmen. Modern scholars agree that the element -man/-men acts as an intensifier, and have translated the word as "pure Turk" or "most Turk-like of the Turks".[24] Among Muslim chroniclers such as Ibn Kathir this etymological meaning was attributed to the mass conversion of two hundred thousand households in AH 349 (971 CE), causing them to be named Turk Iman, which is a combination of "Turk" and "Iman" إيمان (faith, belief), meaning "believing Turks", with the hard-to-pronounce hamza later being dropped.[25]
Historically, all of the Western or Oghuz Turks have been called Türkmen or derisively Turkoman; however, today the terms are usually restricted to two Turkic groups: the Turkmen people of Turkmenistan and adjacent parts of Central Asia, and the Turkomans of Iraq and Syria.
The modern Turkmen people descend, at least in part, from the Oghuz Turks of Transoxiana, the western portion of Turkestan, a region that largely corresponds to much of Central Asia as far east as Xinjiang. Oghuz tribes had moved westward from the Altay mountains in the 7th century CE, through the Siberian steppes, and settled in this region. They also penetrated as far west as the Volga basin and the Balkans. These early Turkmens are believed to have mixed with native Sogdian peoples and lived as pastoral nomads (Göçer) until the Russian conquest of the 19th century.[26]
A large number of Turkmen clans were settled by the Mughal rulers in North India. The Turkmen now form the principal Mughal clan among the Mughal community of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in North India.
[edit]Distribution

The Mughal settled all over Afghanistan and South Asia. According to the Joshua Project, there numbers were as follows, Afghanistan (200), Pakistan ( 1,150,000), India (1,476,000), Bangladesh (39,000) and Nepal (1,000).In India, they are found in the following states Uttar Pradesh (624,000), Maharashtra (176,000), Karnataka (138,000), Andhra Pradesh (102,000), Delhi (93,000), Gujarat (77,000), Madhya Pradesh (61,000), Tamil Nadu (41,000) and Bihar (22,000).In Pakistan they are found in the following provinces, Punjab, (549,000), Azad Kashmir (156,000), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (140,000), Sindh (137,000), Islamabad (43,000) and Baluchistan (900).[1]
In Pakistan, there are several clans that claim Mughal ancestry scattered over Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, North-West Frontier Province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where historically quite a few Central Asian tribes had settled.
[edit]Mughals of North India

The Mughal are found in the states of Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in North India.
[edit]In Uttar Pradesh
In Uttar Pradesh (UP), their main clans are the Chughtai, Barlas, Qazilbash, Tatar, Turkmen, Turk, Uzbek, Tajik, Kai and Chak.[9] The Mughals of Uttar Pradesh belong to both the Sunni and Shia sects, with the majority belonging to the Sunni Hanafi sect. Sunni Mughals are usually orthodox in their religious outlook. The Shia Mughal of Awadh trace their entry into the region to the year 1750. The Mughal of UP are a endogamous community, marrying within their own community, or in communities of a similar status such as the Pathan, Shaikh Siddiqui, Shamsi and Muslim Rajput. The rural Mughal are farmers, and many own orchards, especially mango orchards, while in towns they are engaged in trade, handicrafts, and carpet weaving. Carpet weaving is an activity particularly associated with the UP Mughals, perhaps reflecting their Turkic and Central Asian ancestry.[27]
The Mughal are found in almost every district of Uttar Pradesh. In the Doab region of western Uttar Pradesh, they belong mainly to the Turkmen and Chughtai clans. The Turkman are predominantly Shia , while the Chughtai are all orthodox Sunnis of the Deobandi school of thought. In Saharanpur District, the Mughals are found mainly in Nakur and Saharanpur tehsils, and belong mainly to the Chughtai and Turkmen. The Shia Turkmen of Lakhnauti in Saharanpur District are a prominent family, having settled in the district during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Babar.[28] These Turkmen also extend into the neighbouring Muzaffarnagar District, and are found mainly in Budhana Tehsil.[29] In Bulandshahr District, the main clans are the Qazilbash, Chughtai and Turkmen. Their principal settlement is the village of Mughalpura, about 1 mile (2 km) south west of the city of Bulandshahr. The Mughalpura Mughals are descended from Mirza Bedar Beg, who was said to have been killed by a mad elephant of the Emperor Jahangir, who gave a revenue free grant to his family by way of compensation.[30] In Agra District, they belong mainly to the Chughtai clan, and their main settlement is Chandwar, near the town of Firuzabad; they are descended from one Mohammed Beg.[31]
In the Rohilkhand region, the Mughals are concentrated mainly in Moradabad District, where they belong mainly to the Turk, Chughtai and Turkmen clans. They are concentrated in Moradabad, Bilari and Sambhal tehsils. The Turk clans are found mainly in the Terai region and the Rampur District.[32] After Moradabad, Bareilly District is also home to a large community of Mughals. The Chughtai, Turkmen and Qazilbash are found mainly in Nawabganj and Bareilly tehsils, while the Turks are found mainly in Baheri tehsil, which adjoins the neighbouring Terai region.[33]
In Awadh, the Mughal are concentrated in the city of Lukhnow, home to more Mughals then any other region of Uttar Pradesh. The history of the Mughals in Lukhnow is connected with the Nawabs of Awadh, with a large community of Qazilbash being settled in the city in the 18th century. The Qazilbash Nawabs of Behta were a prominent family of Mughal talukdars. Three quarters of the Awadh Mughal are Shia. Other than the Qazilbash, Lukhnow is also home to small numbers of Chughtais and Tatars, with many of the latter being Sunni. The town of Malihabad, near Lukhnow, is also home to a large community of Chughtai Mughals, while Kakori is home to a small number of Sunni Tatars and Chughtais.[34]
[edit]In Bihar
In Bihar, the Mughals are found in all the districts with a sizeable Muslim population, especially Patna, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda, Nawada, Gaya, Jahanabad, Munger and other citiesThey comprise mainly the urban middle class and are involved in trade and businesses. Many have migrated to large cities like Delhi and Kolkata in search of a livelihood. They are mostly Sunni Muslims. While the Mughal of Darbhanga and Madhubani follow the Salafi and Deobandi aqeedah, the Mughal of Gaya, Nalanda and Nawada are mostly Barelwi Sunnis.
[edit]In Delhi
The city of Delhi has always been associated with the Mughal, being the seat of the Mughal dynasty that ruled India for four centuries. Their settlements in Old Delhi date back to the 16th century when the first Mughal courtiers arrived with Babar. The Taimuri clan claims direct descent from the Mughal dynasty. Other sub-groups include the Chughtai, Turkman, Changezi, Tatar, Barlas, Bakhst and Qazilbash. A large number of Mughals from old Delhi emigrated to Pakistan at partition. A small rump community is left in Delhi. They are still an endogamous community, marrying among themselves, or on occasions with communities of a similar status, such the Sayyid and Pathan. The Taimuri are Sunni, while the Qazilbash and Turkmen are Shia.[35]
[edit]In Rajasthan
The Mughal of Rajasthan are concentrated in Bikaner District and in the adjoining districts of Jaipur and Jodhpur. They claim to be descendants of Mughal soldiers in the service of the various Rajput Rajahs of the region. The community has two sub-divisions, the Balla and Chakda, both of which are endogamous. There are however some cases of hypergamous marriages with neighbouring Muslim Rajput groups. The Mughal are mainly a community of cultivators. Camel carting is an important secondary occupation. They are Sunni Muslims, and unlike other Mughal communities in North India, have a traditional council known as the nayat. The nayat traditionally resolves any disputes within the community.[36]
[edit]In Gujarat
The Mughal community of Gujarat is said to have settled there during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, when the state was conquered by the Mughals. Historically, the Mughals of Gujarat were divided into two distinct groups, the Iranian Mughal and the Indian Mughal. Many of the Indian Mughals are descendants of Timurid princes, who were granted refuge by Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat (1526–1536) when the Mughal power in Delhi was toppled by Sher Shah Suri. The act of giving to a Timurid prince, Mohamed Zaman Mirza, by the Sultan of Gujarat led the invasion of the country by the Emperor Humayun. This Mohamed Zaman brought along many camp followers, from whom a significant portion of the Mughal community descended. A second wave of Mughals arrived with Sultan Hussain of Khurasan, who sought refuge in Gujarat after falling with the Emperor Akbar. The descendants of Sultan Hussain settled in Vadodara, Surat and Bharuch. These Indian Mughals are Sunni, and almost all belong to the Taimuri clan. During the 18th century, Iran was in political turmoil as the Safavid dynasty fell from power and the Nader Shah made himself the supreme ruler of Iran. A good many Iranian refugees fled to Gujarat, settling in the ports of Surat and Bharuch. This community is often referred to as the Mirzas, rather the Mughal, and is distinct from other Gujarat Mughals in that they are Shia.[37]
They are now in Sabarkantha, [Bansakantha, Kutch, Mehsana, Junagadh, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Surendranagar, Kheda, Panchmahal, Vadodara, Surat and the Dangs. The Mughal community speak Urdu, mixed with Gujarati or Kutchi. In terms of sectarian affiliation, the community is split into groups, the Sunni Baig, and Shia Mirza.[38]
The Mughal of Gujarat are now effectively a landless community, as many of their estates were split up by the Bombay Tenancy Act. Their economic conditions worsened with the ending of princely rule in Gujarat, as the Mughal lost their traditional occupation as courtiers and petty officials. Unlike most Muslim communities in Gujarat, they do not have their own jamat, but are members of the mohallah jamat or neighbourhood council, along with other Sunni Muslim communities. The Shia Mughal together with the Shia Sayyid are members of the Ithna Ashri Jamat.[38]
[edit]Mughals of South India

[edit]In Andra Pradesh
[edit]Mughal of Pakistan

In Pakistan, Mughal communities are found in Sindh and Punjab provinces.Throughout Pakistan,they belong to the low artisan class referred to as Kammis.
[edit]In Punjab
The Mughal (Mistry) are considered directly descended from the Mughal dynasty that ruled India. During the fall of the Mughal empire most of the Mughals that survived were forced to flee, leaving their land and wealth behind. They escaped into the mountains of Kashmir and gradually settled in (Azaad Kashmir - Pakistan). With their love for Architecture, they took to work as builders (Mistry). Others took to metal work (Lohar) and Carpentry (Tarkhan)Tarkhan Dynasty.They are known to have replaced the tribal tradition and opted for the Indian caste system similar to tribal law. Mughals in Mirpur are skilled builders, skilled carpenters (Tarkhan)Tarkhan and skilled black smiths (Lohars)but are not confined to this. Mughals have superb artistic and creative skills and are regarded as the highest caste in the artisan classes. Their skills can be seen in the mosques and buildings that have been built by them. The region of Punjab is also home to a large number of Mughal communities. Historically, they were found in the largest numbers in and around the city of Delhi, and the Rawalpindi Division. The Mughal of the Rawalpindi Division belong to local agricultural tribes locally known by their tribal names, such as the Satti, Gheba, Phaphra and kassar tribes of the Barlas Mughals and Chughtai are also found in the Punjab[39] In addition to these agriculture tribes, members of the Lohar community found in the Punjab also claim Mughal ancestry.[40] A brief description of the major tribal groupings in Punjab that claim Mughal ancestry follows.
[edit]Phaphra
Several tribal groupings in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan claim Mughal ancestry. One such tribe are the Phaphra. They occupy a compact area of about 25 square miles (65 km2) at the foot of the Salt Range, east of Pind Dadan Khan in Jhelum District in Pakistan.
The tribe claims to be Mughals, but British ethnographers writing at the beginning of the 20th century expressed doubts.[8] According to their tradition, the tribe came from the direction of Faridkot in Punjab, and settled in the district as traders and agriculturists. The tribe claims descent from a Phaphra who settled in the district in the 15th century.
[edit]Gheba
The Gheba are another tribe from the Pothohar region, being one of the principal tribes of the Attock District. They are found mainly in Fateh Jang Tehsil of Attock and claim descent from Gheba khan, who was said to be a Barlas Mughal.[9]
[edit]Khamb
The Khamb is another tribe claiming to be Mughal, and found mainly in the Pothohar region of northern Punjab. According to their traditions, the ancestors of the Khamb arrived from Kathiawar, in what is now the modern state of Gujerat in India.
The Khamb were settled in their present abode by a Hashmat Khan, a chief of the Thathal tribe, who are natives of the Pothohar region. This Hashmat Khan was appointed as a garrison commander of Khambhat in Kathiawar by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. When Hashmat returned to the Pothohar region of Pakistan, he was accompanied by members of the garrison at Khambait. These troops were of a mixed origin and included troopers of Mongol and Afghan origin from Badakshan. He ordered villages to be built named Khambi Qaleechpur and Khanpur, and the Khamb tribe was granted land in and around the new town.[41]
The Khamb, being of at least partly Turkic extraction are now considered to be a clan of the Mughal tribe. Local tradition makes the Moghul tribe to be called Barlas. At present they live in Khambi Qaleechpur and Khanpur in the Gujrat district of Punjab.
[edit]Kassar
The Kassar are a Mughal tribe and one of the three major land-owning tribes in the Dhani country of Chakwal District in Punjab province, Pakistan.[42] They occupy the northern part of Dhani, called Babial and Chaupeda. According to the Jhelum District settlement report of 1862, they are mentioned as having come from Jammu along with the Mair-Minhas tribe and been settled in this area by the Mughal Emperor, Zaheerudin Babur. According to their traditions, they claim descent from a kinsmen of the Emperor Babur, Kassar. He was said to be a distant cousin of Babur. In addition to Chakwal, they are also found in Sargodha, Jhelum, Attock, Khoshab, Rawalpindi, Tehsil Sohawa, Badin (Sindh), Larkana (Sindh), Muzafar Abad (Kashmir), Ponch (Kashmir), Cakothi(Kashmir).
[edit]Jandran
The Jandran are a tribe of Mughal status, found mainly Jhang, Khanewal, Vehari, Lodhran and Sargodha districts of Punjab.[8]
[edit]Turk Mughal
In Punjab, the term Turk refers to any inhabitant of Central Asia, or Turkestan, as the region was historically known. The Turks of the Punjab region include the Karlugh Turks of the Hazara Division, who were settled in the region by Timur. These Karlugh Turks resumed the title of "Raja" by which locals used to call them during their rule of Pakhli state, while some Turk clans use "Usmani" as their surname, probably due to their Turkish origin. In addition to these Turks, there was also a colony of Turks settled in Gurdaspur District who were once said to be ropemakers. They claim descent from Turk soldiers settled in Gurdaspur District by the Khilji sultans. These Turks are now settled in and around the city of Faisalabad.[14]
[edit]Other clans
Baig Mughal
Mirza Mughal
Ginhal Mughal
Bandey Mughal
Mir Mughal
Mangval Mughal
Langryal Mughal
Bich Mughal
Gani Mughal
Ashaie Mughal
Bub Mughal
Ganju Gharhi Mughal
Batlla Mughal
Babri Mughal
Salour Mughal
Numbeli mughal (tribe of murree)
Manjotha mughal
Marrar Mughal Barlas
Mughalzai
Mughal khel
Mangal
orya khel
Mughal Lal Khail
[edit]In Sindh
In Sindh, two Mughal dynasties, the Arghun and Tarkhan, held power for a short periods in the 16th Century. Most of the Sindhi Mughals are descended from Central Asian immigrants who settled in the province during the rule of these two dynasties, these two dynasties were later subdued by Babur. Many Sindhi Mughal's also claim to have arrived in the region during the rebellion of Sher Shah Suri against the Mughal heir-apparent Humayun, in fact many Mughal's settled in Umarkot, and young Akbar was born there. in Sindh the Mughals ruled with the assistance of the Kalhora tribe. Among the famous Mughal administrators of Sindh was Mirza Ghazi Beg, during his rule many Sindhi's entered the service of the Mughal Emperors.
A small number of Qazilbash tribesmen settled in Sindh in the 18th Century. A small number of Mughal families are descended from Georgian immigrants, such as the family of Mirza Qilich Beg, the famous Sindhi, who came to during the invasion of Nadir Shah and flourished during the rule of Talpurs. The Sindh Mughals are Sunni, and now entirely speak Sindhi.[43] a famous name Dr. Tasadduq Mughal the 1st Civil Surgeon of The Sevices Hospital Karachi after the separation of Indo-Pak....(late) Dr. Tasadduq arranged his sister Begum Badarunisa mughal's marriage with Sardar A.B Abro (Add.Secretary West Pakistan Govt.) and left for higher studies/practice in U.S.A. Married with a German lady and settled in United States. His sister (late) Begum Badarunisa Mughal spend her life in Sindh with her Loving husband and 6 kids,2 boys are presently Govt. Officers (Salahuddin Abro Asst. Director F.I.A and Shujauddin Abro Add. Secretary/Member Chief Minister's Inspection & Enquiry Team). Manzoor mughal (D.I.G)Deputy inspector general of police investigations Karachi.Now present Director Intelligence Karachi.Ghulam Nabi Mughal, an eminent writer of sindhi language and retired Regional Director Food Deppt. (Govt. Sindh), belongs to Hyderabad since 1915-20. His family lineage revealed that they were first came into Nasrpur (Sindh, period approximately in the end of 17th century) from the region of kashmir.
[edit]In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
[edit]Hazara
In Hazara, the Mughals are found in all the Division, especially Haripur,Abbottabad,and Mansrhra.Tehsil Ghazi also have Mughals.First Settler was Ghazi Baig.
[edit]Mughal of Jammu and Kashmir

The Mughal of Jammu and Kashmir are divided into two large linguistic groupings, the Beg of the Kashmir valley, and Pahari speaking Mughals of Jammu and Azad Kashmir. Each has different traditions as to their migration and settlement in the region.[44]
[edit]Beg
The Beg or Baig are said to be descendents of Mughal soldiers, who were custodians of the treasury. They are an urban community, found in their own quarters in the cities of Anantnag, Baramulla, Badgam and Hazara. According to some traditions, the Beg are in fact descended from Uighur of Kashgar, and many also refers to themselves as Kashgari. They remained a community distinct from other Kashmiri Muslims and were only granted state citizenship in 1939. They are now a Kashmiri speaking community, and are no longer endogamous. Many are still involved in their traditional occupation of carpet weaving and embroidery. The Beg are entirely Sunni Muslim, and historically affiliated to the Barelvi sect, with many belonging the Dastigiri Sufi order. A few of the Mughal also follow the Deobandi sect.[44] one of such clans is presently living in village Chogal of Handwara Tehsil, District Kupwara. they carry surname Khan but revenue records show that their surname is Beig and are known by the surname Khan. They speak generally Punjabi Language, identifying themselves with Punjabi dialect. They are distinct from other peer groups speaking Pahari, Hindko, Gujjari or other similar languages. They claim to have descended fro the Mughals rulers of Delhi.
[edit]Mughal of Jammu and Mirpur
The Mughal of Jammu and Azad Kashmir share many culture similarities with the Mughal of Punjab. There are number of agrarian tribes, such as the Douli, Junhal Maldial and Hoteel who claim Mughal ancestry. These Mughal tribes all claim to have settled in the Jammu and Mirpur region during the rule of the Mughal Emperor Babar. The Emperor is said to have settled these tribes as a bulwark against the local Rajput tribes, who were continuously rebelling against the Mughal authority. The Chughtai Mughal families of Jammu city are descended from a Mirza Jan Beg, a Mughal nobleman who fled Delhi after the failure of the Indian mutiny of 1857.[45]
The Mughal in the Jammu region are settled mainly in Jammu, Nawshera, Rajauri and Poonch. Those of Jammu are a Punjabi speaking community, while those of Rajauri and Poonch speak Pahari. The Jammu city Chughtai Mughal are an urban community, many of whom migrated to Pakistan at the time of the partition of India, an event which also led to the division of Jammu and Kashmir. The Mughal tribes of Rajauri and Poonch region are effectively separated from their kinsmen by the line of control. These division especially affects the Junhal and Douli tribes, who villages are literally bisected by the line of control. The Mughals in Azad Kashmir are found mainly in the southern districts of Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber, and are culturally the same as Jammu Mughals. Other than the Chughtai of Jammu, who are Shia, the other Mughal communities are Sunni, equally divided between Barelvis and Deobandi.[45]
The Mughal of Azad Kashmir and Rajauri-Poonch are an agrarian community, living in mult-community villages and cultivating their own fields. They are not endogamous, marrying into neighbouring Pahari Rajput communities.
Here is a brief descriptions of the main clans:
[edit]Mirza
Mirza title used by many clans of mughal descent. Found mainly in Azad Kashmir and provinces of punjab. The word Mīrzā is derived from the Persian term ‘Amīrzāde which literally means "child of the ‘Amīr" or "child of the leader" in Persia and Kurdistan. ‘Amīrzād in turn consists of the Arabic title ‘Amīr (engl. Emir), meaning "commander", and the Persian suffix -zād, meaning "birth" or "lineage".
This title was also heavily used by the "Baigs" of a Turkic clan called Barlas. The Barlas clan commonly used the name Baig (also spelt Beg) to identify high ranked members of their clan. For the Barlas people Mirza was used as a title, and Baig was attached as the surname to all the patriarchs, thus creating the Mirza Baig lineage. (e.g. Mirza Mansur Baig or even Mansur Mirza Baig). The names Mirza and Baig are still used today, to identify Mughal ancestry. (See Baig) The title was also adopted by some Rajput Clans of India like Jarral of Jummu and Kashmir, subsequent to Mughal conquest of India.
[edit]Maldiyal
The Maldiyal are found in Bagh District and Tehsil Abbaspur of Poonch District in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. The Word "Maldyal" is derived from the name of Mirza Moloud Baig, a Chughtai Mughal, who is said to have settled in Poonch in the 15th century. They are one of a number of clans found in the Pothohar region and adjoining areas of Azad Kashmir and Hazara which claim Mughal ancestry. Maldiyal are the highest sub castes of mughal mostly found in villages of Samni, Dharian, Chatar & Salian of Bagh district. There are many tribes in this sub caste.
[edit]Hoteel
The Hoteel are sub-tribe of Mughal. They are found in Punjab and Azad Kashmir. In Punjab they are scattered in many districts. Hoteel is a huge part of Punjab's population. In Azad Kashmir this tribe is mainly found in Bangion,Jandala and timrota Rawalakot else. Hoteels are also residing in many other parts of Azad Kashmir. The people of this tribe living in Azad Kashmir speak Pahari. Hoteels called Chughtai as well.
[edit]Junhal
The Junhal are a tribe found in Poonch District, which is now split by the line of control. A good many Junhal are also found in the Kahuta Tehsil of Rawalpindi District in Pakistan. They were once a numerous and powerful tribe but were nearly all destroyed by the Gakhars. More than any other tribal grouping in Jammu and Kashmir, the Junhal have been particularly affected by the division of Kashmir, as their villages lie exactly on the line of control, with some now in the Indian zone, while others are in the Pakistani zone.[46]
[edit]Douli
The Douli are a tribe of Mughal status, found mainly in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Douli are also found mainly in both Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered districts of Poonch. They are one of the many clans in the Poonch region . Their villages are mainly along the line of control in Poonch District, including Dara Sher Khan, Mandhole, Sahra, Batal, Dahramsal, Tetrinote, Madhar Pore, Mahndala, Abbaspur, Serarri and regions of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan
[edit]Mughal(Mistry)
The Khan Mughal are tribe of Mughal status found in Azad Kashmir, They are locally referred to as Kamagar, which is drived from word Kaman Gar, which means weapon makers in the Persian language. According to their traditions, they were part of the Mughal armies that invaded India under the leadership of Babur. They were mainly concerned with manufacturing arms and weapons.[47]
The Mughal (Mistry) are considered directly descended from the Mughal dynasty that ruled India.Mughal families of Jammu city are descended from a Mirza Jan Beg, a Mughal nobleman who fled Delhi after the failure of the Indian mutiny of 1857.[45]
During the fall of the Mughal empire most of the mughals that survived were forced to flee, leaving their land and wealth behind. They escaped into the mountains of Kashmir and gradually settled in (Azaad Kashmir - Pakistan). With their love for Architecture, they took to work as builders (Mistry). Others took to metal work (Lohar) and Carpentry (Tarkhan)Tarkhan Dynasty.They are known to have replaced the tribal tradition and opted for the Indian caste system. Mughal's in Mirpur are skilled builders, skilled carpenters (Tarkhan)Tarkhan and skilled black smiths (Lohars)but are not confined to this. Mughal's have superb artistic and creative skills and have awarded themselves as the highest caste in the artisan classes of Kashmir. Their skills can be seen in the mosques and buildings that have been built by them.
[edit]Khan, Beig, Mirza, Mughal (Ghambir Mughlan)
The Khan, Mirza [48] Beig Mughal are tribe of Mughal status found in Ghambir Mughlan[49] and,[50] Rajdhani, Mendhar, Poonch, especially in Rajouri & Poonch District. The Parent Tree of Ghambir Mughlan's Mughal [51] The parent tree of Mirza Mohammed Riaz Khan Muslim reference as under:[52]
They are locally referred to as MIrza, Khan and Beig, which is drived from word Kingdom, Kaman Gar and advisor respectively. According to their traditions, they were part of the Mughal armies that invaded India under the leadership of Babur. They were mainly concerned with manufacturing arms and weapons.[53]