I will preface this post by saying not every Medieval/Post era Punjabi Muslim figure with a sword was a hero.
The Gakhars as it has been said a few times on this site are one of the most dominant tribes in The Punjab’s history & a recurring topic especially in the military context. Once again, I will take a rain cheque on going into the tribe’s origins & a comprehensive post on the Gakhars. Therefore, this post will fast track to 18th century Punjab where Mughal order has been deteriorated & different parties are trying to establish their political will.
Muqarrab Khan was a Gakhar chief who ruled the Chaj Doab, but pledged allegiance to Ahmad Shah Abdali. [1] The Gakhars at this point were more than just a chiefdom, as they had enough autonomy to issue their own coins as seen below albeit as vassals previously to the Mughals & later the Durrani Afghans.
Some of the earlier mentions of Muqarrab Khan are when Khojam Kuli Khan Khattak of Attock captured the fortress of Rawalpindi with the help of Nawazish Ali Gakhar. So, then the Rawalpindi section of the Gakhars lead by Amir Khan Firuzal retaliated & slaughtered the entire Khattak legion & Khojam Quli Khan thus raised a force to attack Rawalpindi once again. Muqarrab Khan came to the rescue of his Gakhar kin & obliterated the Khattak Pashtuns [2] As, usual the biggest enemies of Punjabis are Punjabis themselves because it is the in-fighting of Punjabi Muslims that emboldens hostile elements to start pushing their weight around.
Muqarrab Khan then destroys Chaudhry Mehr of Jhelum for forcibly taking his men back who had sought refuge in Muqarrab’s domain & supports his Mirpuri Gakhar kin against Asalat Khan Chib of Mauza Punir. He would once again helped Mirpuri Gakhars, but this time against Mangrials of Jammu in destroying their country & killing their leader Malik Khan in the process [3] Before Ahmad Shah Abdali absorbed Nadir Shah’s empire & founded his own dynasty, Muqarrab Khan accompanied the Shah in his 1738 Indian campaign and was present at the Battle of Karnal which was February 1739. Upon the culmination of his campaign, Muqarrab was given the title Nawab for Shah’s empire as a native collaborator. [4]
However, with the rise of Sikhs in this region under Chart Singh & Gurbaksh Singh compelled Muqarrab Khan to leave Lahore & go back to his traditional territories. Later on in 1761 they would absorb his homeland as well by annexing the Gakhar country. There are three possible endings to the Muqarrab Khan story:
- he was slain in battle against Sikhs in Gujrat [5]
- he managed to escape but killed by rival Himmat Khan of Domeli [6]
- escape on an elephant riding in to a valley never to be heard again [7]
Remember, I prefaced this post by saying not every Punjabi Muslim figure from “back in the days” is a hero & to understand why, I would suggest further reading on the significance of Adina Beg to the Punjabi Muslim Narrative, an idea that I work on from time to time.
Sources:
[1] History of the Sikhs Vol 1. pg. 234
[2] Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. pg. 99
[3] Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. pg. 99
[4] Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal pg.99
[5] Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. pg.99
[6] History of the Sikhs Vol 1. pg. 234
[7] History of the Sikhs Vol 1. pg. 234
Punjabi Waseb 