Kamboj
Portrait of two unidentified men of the Kamboj (or Kamboh) tribe of Multan, ca.1862–72 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India • Pakistan | |
| Languages | |
| Punjabi • Dogri • Haryanvi • Hindi | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism • Sikhism • Islam |
The Kamboj (Devanagari: कंबोज, Nastaliq: کمبوج, Gurumukhi: ਕੰਬੋਜ ALA-LC: Kamboj), also Kamboh (Nastaliq: کمبوہ ALA-LC: Kamboh), is a tribe/caste and agrarian community of India and Pakistan that originated from the central Punjab region.[1][2]
Muslim Kamboj are known as Kamboh; they were particularly influential in the administration and the military of the Mughal Empire from the times of Akbar onward. Some famous personalities include Shahbaz Khan Kamboh and Shaikh Gadai Kamboh.[3]
Demographics
Caste hierarchisation
Kamboj’s of Punjab, or phonetically spelled as Kamboh because of regional variations, forms a backward section of Punjabi patriarchal society. According to the pre-nexus of governmental classification, they are recognised as a Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Punjab[4]. Historically, most of their proportionalized members were placed below the Jat community in the social hierarchy, distinct from the influential Jat Rulership.[5]
Religion
As per the 1931 census of British Punjab, most Kambojs followed Sikhism (42.4%) and Islam (41.5%), with a considerable minority following Hinduism (16.1%).[6]
Muslim members of the community are called as Kamboh. The Hindu Kambojs and the Sikh Kambojs are found in the Punjab, Haryana and Jammu regions in India, while most of the Muslim Kambohs are found in the province of Punjab in Pakistan.[7]
Numbers
Per the 2017 Pakistani census, Kamboh made up around 5% of Lahore's population, which back then amounted to some 550,000 individuals out of a total population of 11 million.[8]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Ali, Imran (14 July 2014). The Punjab Under Imperialism, 1885-1947. Princeton University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-4008-5958-0.
- ^ Singh, K. S.; Bhatia, A. K.; Sharma, Madan Lal (1994). Haryana. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 284. ISBN 978-81-7304-091-7.
- ^ Umar, Mohammad; Umar, Mohammed (1992). "The Kambohs: A Prominent Community of Indian Muslims in the Sixteenth Century (summary)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 53: 328–330. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44142802. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ Bassi, Tripti (1 July 2021). A Study of the Sikh Kanya Mahavidyalaya: Education, Religion and Gender Issues. Springer Nature. p. 124. ISBN 978-981-16-3219-8.
Sikh caste belonging to socially and economically dominant Jatt Sikhs were relatively few in numbers indicating that most of them studied in private English medium schools. The backward class and caste (OBC) students were of castes such as Kamboj, Nai, Kurmi, Lohar, etc.
- ^ Bhatnagar, S.; Goel, S. L. (1992). Development Planning and Administration: A Felicitation Volume in Honour of Professor B.S. Khanna. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 132. ISBN 978-81-7100-437-9.
2. Dominant caste- Jat Sikh
3. Backward castes-Kamboj (landless worker), Saini, Rai-Sikhs, Lohar, Ramgarhia, etc. - ^ Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables.: Census Reports - 1931 (Report). 1933. pp. 291–292. JSTOR saoa.crl.25793242. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (27 March 2014). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. OUP Oxford. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-19-100411-7.
- ^ "District Profile". District Lahore - Government of Punjab. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023.
Further reading
- Agrawal, S. P.; Aggarwal, J. C. (1991). Educational and Social Uplift of Backward Classes including Kambojas: At what Cost and How? : Mandal Commission and After. Concept Publishing Company. p. 143. ISBN 978-81-7022-339-9.