1 Muhidl clans.
2 135
3 Timui'’a Hindu captives in 1382 this noble so distinguished himself
4 that he obtained the dheri or fief of Sdmba with the title of Rai and his
5 descendants rank as dhenddrs, but in the Sindh Sdgar Do6b the
6 Auwd-na Vaids take that rank, though in the Punjab proper the Vaids
7 of Samba are recognised as senior to the Auwdna.
8 The Lau clan is closely associated with Bajwdra, the old capital of
9 what is now the Hoshiarpur District. Ballar Sain, son of Indar Sain
10 Lau, aided Timur on his return inarch along the foot of the Siwaliks
11 and acted as intermediary between him and the Hill chiefs. In return
12 Timur granted him the fief of Bajwdra but his descendants forfeited
13 it for not assisting Aurangzeb’s forces against 'the Sikhs. Still the
14 descendants of Sur Sain, a descendant of Ballar Sain, rank as dheriddra
15 of Bajw^ra.
16 The Bhimwdls claim descent from the Rajd, Nandana who held the
17 fort of that name* in the Find Dddan Khan tahsil of Jhelum. They
18 were driven from Makhidla by the Janjuas, but they still have their
19 crematorium there.
20 The Mohans also found favour with Timur, who is said to have
21 appointed one of them his Dfwdn, and during the reign of Sult^^n
22 Muhammad Khdn two Mohans founded Dhankot on the Indus. Under
23 Bdbur Harjas Rai Mohan became Diwdr, and Muhammadan titles were
24 bestowed on the clan, but they retained their faith. He made or
25 allowed them to become masters of Mamdot, but Humilyun checked
26 their progress. Nevertheless Sobha Rdni Thdkur rose to eminence at
27 the Delhi court and was able to restore all their lands to the Datts of
28 Viram in Gurddspur when they had been dispossessed by the Jdfs. The
29 clan was, however, only just saved from extinction. Under Muham-
30 mad Shah’s rule Jai Rdm, the son of Diw’dn Sd,dhu Ram Mohan, was
31 half forced to embrace Isldm under the name of Thdkur Shdh, but the
32 Mohans determined to rescue him. They challenged the emperor and
33 he sent an army against f Mamdot. When it reached Dhankott the
34 Mohans were called upon to submit, but they refused and defended
35 Mamdot with success, until the emperor brought up avast force and
36 defeated them with great slaughter near DhankoL For the second
37 time the Mohans were nearly exterminated but, as on the former oc-
38 casion, Thdkur Shah induced his father to remarry, and in commemo-
39 ration of- his exertions the Mohans give alms and distribute sweets at
40 weddings and other festivals in the name of Jai Rdm or Khoja or Bab4
41 Janjuan as he was also called. On such occasions Mohan females also
42 give away a lota and food in memory of Sobha Ram Thdkur’s sur-
43 render of his Datt bride to his father when the Mohans were once be-
44 fore on the verge of extinction.
45 The Mohans claim that they obtained a grant of Mamdot mjdgir from
46 Ala-ud-Uln Khilji early in the 14th century. However this may be,
47 the descendants of Phanan Rao are called dheriddrs from the dhen of
48 • Its ruins are said to be still visible near Baganwila.
49 ■ ' •which they lost
50 to SulUn M4'sud, it is said.
51 of the jbiokhars (not the Ghakkhars probably) and then migrated to Hindustan.