Sardar Gujjar Singh Bhangi

Sardar Gujjar Singh Bhangi (d. 1788)

Gujjar Singh Bhangi was one of the triumvirate who ruled over Lahore for thirty years before its occupation by Ranjit Singh, was son of a cultivator of modest means, Nattha Singh. Strong and well built, Gujjar Singh received the vows of the Khalsa at the hands of his maternal grandfather Gurbakhsh Singh Roranvala, who presented him with a horse and recruited him a member of his band. As Gurbakhsh singh was growing old, he made Gujjar Singh head of his band. Soon the band was united to the force of Hari Singh, head of the Bhangi Misl of chiefship. Gujjar Singh set out on a career of conquest and plunder. In 1765, he along with Lahina singh ,adopted son of Gurbakhsh Singh, and Sobha Singh, an associate of Jai Singh Kanhaiya , captured Lahore, from the Afghans. As Lahina Singh was senior in relationship, being his maternal uncle, Gujjar Singh allowed Lahina Singh to take possession of the city and the fort, himself occupying eastern part of the city, then a jungle. Gujjar Singh erected part of the city, then a jungle. Gujjar Singh erected a mud fortress and invited people to settle there. He sank wells to supply water. A mosque was built for muslims. The area, the site of present-day railway station of Lahore, still bears his name and is known as Qila Gujjar Singh. Gujjar Singh next captured Eminabad, Wazirabad, Sodhra and about 150 villages in Gujranwala district. He then took Gujarat from Sultan Muqarrab Khan whom he defeated under the walls of the city in December 1765, capturing both the city and the adjoining country, and making Gujrat his headquarters. Next year, he overran Jammu, seized Islamgarh, Punchh, Dev Batala and extended his territory as far as the Bhimbar hills in the North and the Majha country in the south. DuringAhmad Shah Durrani's eighth invasion, Gujjar Singh along with other Sikh Sardars offered him strong opposition. When in January 1767, the Durrani commander-in-chief reached Amritsar at the hed of 15,000 troops, the Sikh Sardars routed the Afghan horde. Soon afterwards Gujjar Singh laid siege to the famous fort of Rohtas, held by the Gakkhars, with the assistance of Charat Singh Sukkarchakia , who was on the most amicable terms with him and gave his daughter, Raj Kaur, in marriage to his son, Sahib Singh. Gujjar Singh subjugated the warlike tribes in the northwestern Punjab and occupied portions of Pothohar, Rawalpindi and Hasan Abdal. Gujjar Singh died at Lahore in 1788.

22 March Gujjar International Day

Pir Samiullah gujjar khatana

Pir Samiullah gujjar khatana was the first tribal leader in Swat to raise a lashkar, or tribal army, to oppose the Taliban. He claimed to have organized more than 10,000 tribesmen to oppose the Taliban and protect 20 villages. Samiullah and his followers are members of the Gujjar community, which is a group distinct from the dominant Pashtun tribal confederations that support the Taliban.

Pir was rival tribal and religious leader opposing Mullah Fazlullah's forces in the Matta region of Swat. Pir and eight of his followers were killed in a Taliban assault on Dec. 16 2008. Two of his aides were subsequently beheaded in public, while an estimated 40 of his followers have been captured. The Taliban also torched the houses of Samiullah and 15 elders of his group.

Battle of Rajasthan

Battle of Rajasthan

Junaid, the successor of Qasim, finally subdued the Hindu resistance within Sindh. Taking advantage of the conditions in Western India, which at that time was covered with several small states, Junaid led a large army into the region in early 738 CE. Dividing this force into two he plundered several cities in southern Rajasthan, western Malwa, and Gujarat.

Indian inscriptions confirm this invasion but record the Arab success only against the smaller states in Gujarat. They also record the defeat of the Arabs at two places. The southern army moving south into Gujarat was repulsed at Navsari by the south Indian Emperor Vikramaditya II of the Chalukya dynasty and Rashtrakutas. The army that went east, after sacking several places, reached Avanti whose ruler Nagabhata (Gurjar-Pratihara) trounced the invaders and forced them to flee. After his victory Nagabhata took advantage of the disturbed conditions to acquire control over the numerous small states up to the border of Sindh.

Junaid probably died from the wounds inflicted in the battle with the Gurjar-Pratihara. His successor Tamin organized a fresh army and attempted to avenge Junaid’s defeat towards the close of the year 738 CE. But this time Nagabhata], with his Chauhan and Guhilot feudatories, met the Muslim army before it could leave the borders of Sindh. The battle resulted in the complete rout of the Arabs who fled broken into Sindh with the Gurjar-Pratihara close behind them.

In the words of the Arab chronicler, a place of refuge to which the Muslims might flee was not to be found. The Arabs crossed over to the other side of the Indus River, abandoning all their lands to the victorious Hindus. The local chieftains took advantage of these conditions to re-establish their independence. Subsequently the Arabs constructed the city of Mansurah on the other side of the wide and deep Indus, which was safe from attack. This became their new capital in Sindh. Thus began the reign of the imperial Gurjar-Pratiharas.

In the Gwalior inscription, it is recorded that Gurjar-Pratihara emperor Nagabhata "crushed the large army of the powerful Mlechcha king." This large army consisted of cavalry, infantry, siege artillery, and probably a force of camels. Since Tamin was a new governor he had a force of Syrian cavalry from Damascus, local Arab contingents, converted Hindus of Sindh, and foreign mercenaries like the Turkics. All together the invading army may have had anywhere between 10–15,000 cavalry, 5000 infantry, and 2000 camels.

The Arab chronicler Sulaiman describes the army of the Pratiharas as it stood in 851 CE, "The ruler of Gurjars maintains numerous forces and no other Indian prince has so fine a cavalry. He is unfriendly to the Arabs, still he acknowledges that the king of the Arabs is the greatest of rulers. Among the princes of India there is no greater foe of the Islamic faith than he. He has got riches, and his camels and horses are numerous."[21]

At the time of the Battle of Rajasthan the Gurjar-Pratiharas had only just risen to power. In fact, Nagabhata was their first prominent ruler. But the composition of his army, which was predominantly cavalry, is clear from the description. There are other anecdotal references to the Indian rulers and commanders riding elephants to have a clear view of the battlefield. The infantry stood behind the elephants and the cavalry formed the wings and advanced guard.

At the time of the battle the Gurjar-Pratihara may have had up to 5,000 cavalry, while their Tomar, Guhilot and Chauhan feudatories may have had 2,000 horsemen each, added to which we may include infantry, camels, and elephants. So all told the Hindu and Muslim armies were evenly matched with the better cavalry in the former.

Pakistan Army ..............Gujjar Pakistani Soldiers

Pakistan Army ..............Gujjar Pakistani Soldiers

There are several Gujjar who served in the different core of Pakistan Army. They are un-countable number of Gujjar sons and daughters who served in Pakistan Armed Forces but in this list only those will be mentioned who reached the ranks of Generals, Air Chief Marshalland other respective higher ranks,

Major General Muzaffar-ud-Din, Governor of East Pakistan 1966 AD to 1968 AD.

Lt General (R)Sajjad Akram Ex Cor Commander Pakistan Army

Lt General Muzmal

Air Marshal Rahim Khan Commander in Chief Pakistan Air Force

Air Vice Marshal Asif Chauhan Additional Secretary Ministry of Defence Pakistan

Major General Muhammad Afzal Chaudhry (E & ME)

Flight Lt. Salman Mahmood Chaudhry (No. 27 Squadron Pakistan Air Force ............................................ ..... Air Marshal (R)Arshad Ch .............................................. Maj General(R) Javeed Iqbal .............................

Maj General(R) Liaquat Ali

........................ Maj General(R) Zia Ul Haq Noor ................ Maj General(R) Sardar M Khalid ........... Maj General(R) Dr M Anwer .......... Air Vice Marshal( R) Sardar Asif ............. Air Vice Marshal( R) Shahzad Ch .......... Air Vice Marshal( R) Saleem Arshad......... Air Marshal( R) M.Yousaf