This post won’t discuss the history of Gakhars, but briefly its a Punjabi Muslim tribe indigenous to the Potohar, Hazara & AJK regions known for their military prowess, the tribe since the time of Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire were loyal allies. This loyalty is the reason why Sher Shah Suri met such stiff resistance by Sarang Khan, when he overthrew the Mughals to exert his own political will on Hindustan.
To give the readers an idea of the type of resistance Suris felt by the Punjabi Muslims, an entire Rohtas Fort was erected to keep the tribe in check due to their constant rebellion & disregard for the Suri political order. Nizamuddin Ahmed (1551-1621) in his work, Tabaqat-i-Akbari writes that when Sher Shah became master of Hindustan he wanted to subdue the Gakhars “but made little progress until he succeeded, after much trouble, in getting Sarang Sultan into his hands as a prisoner” [1] The details of the engagement along with history of Gakhars shall be covered in another post.
Sultan Adam Khan became ruler of the Punjabi Muslim Gakhars & continued to oppose the Afghans (Pashtuns) in which his nephew & Sarang Khan’s son, Kamal Khan was taken as a prisoner. By now Salim Khan was ruling the Suri Empire, who ordered the Gwaliar Fort to be blown up, more specifically the prison. However, God’s mercy would have it that Kamal Khan survived & for that Salim Khan would pardon the rebel. [2] Kamal Khan in order to avoid any issues with his uncle, Sultan Adam, who was now the Gakhar ruler, would live a life of obscurity alongside brother Saad Khan. [3]
After the reinstatement of the Mughal Sultanate specifically Akbar’s rule, Kamal Khan would pay his respects & was accepted as an officer. In Akbar’s 3rd year, he was sent against Afghans in the Malwa region of India in order to subdue these rebels in which he would succeed. In the 6th year, Kamal would again see action against Afghan rebels & this would culminate with a summoning to the Court, but this was in Akbar’s 8th year. [4] With an Emperor’s favour at his disposal, Kamal Khan Gakhar wanted nothing more than ruling his ancestral home in Potohar, which was still being ruled by Sultan Adam [5] Ironically, & this has to be pointed out that Kamal Khan Gakhar found redemption & built his career off the same Afghans (Pashtuns) whose kin had subjected him to a life of misery & inflicted hell on his homeland.
Emperor Akbar would order his officers in Punjab to thus divide the Gakhar lands among Sultan Adam & Kamal Khan, the resistance by Sultan Adam to be met by force. Kamal Khan would enter Gakhar lands and after severe fighting would capture his uncle Sultan Adam, who would later die as his prisoner. Kamal Khan Gakhar was part of the Mughal Nobility or “Mansabadar” with a rank of 5000 troops. The brother Said Khan who was mentioned earlier would also be awarded a rank of 1500 troops. [6]
For further reading refer to Punjabi Muslims in Mughal Nobility
[1] History of India as told by its own Historians Vol 5. pg. 278
[2] History of India as told by its own Historians Vol 5. pg. 278-279
[3] Ain-i-Akbari pg. 456
[4] Ain-i-Akari pg. 456
[5] Ain-i-Akbari pg. 456
[6] Ain-i-Akbari pg. 457
[7] Ain-i-Akbari pg. 457
Punjabi Waseb 