1 210
2 PANJAB CASTES.
3 though they do
4 odour of sanc-
5 504. The Nekokara and Jhandir. — The Kokara or Nekokara, who are
6 chiefly found in the Jhang district, claim to be Hashmi Qu:-eshis, who came
7 from Bahawalpur some 450 years ago. They hold land in Gujranwala also,
8 but are not a very important tribe. In Gujranwala many of them are faqirs,
9 and they generally bear a semi-religious character.
10 The Jhandir — are also said to be of Qm'eshi origin, and
11 not openly profess to be religious directors, there is a certain
12 tity about the tribe. Most of them can read and write, and they are
13 " particularly free from ill deeds of every description." They own land in the
14 extreme south of the Jhang district. Tliey are said to have been the standard-
15 bearers of one of the great saint«, whence their name.
16 505. The Sarai, Miana, and others. — Sarai. — The Sarai family are the
17 descendant^ of the Kalhora Kings of Sindh who have settled at Hajipur in
18 Dei-ah Ghazi Khan. Some account of their history will be found in
19 Mr. Fryer's report on that district, and in Mr. O'Brien's Glossary. They
20 were included with Shekh in the divisional office, and I have no separate
21 figures for them as yet. Tod makes the Sarai descendants, or perhaps only
22 namesakes, of Sehl, a Kaurava Rajput and in ancient times prince of Sindh
23 and founder of Ai-or on the Indus. He says : " Sehl or Sehr became a titular
24 " appellation of the country, its princes, and its inhabitants the Sehrai."
25 (See further Sarai under Jats of the western snb-montane, section 4-33).
26 Miana. — Mian is nsed in the west of the Panjab to denote any holy man
27 and his descendants will often style themselves IMiana.
28 Thus the head of the Sarai family just described is
29 known as the Midn Sahib Sarai. But in Hazara at
30 least and probably in other parts of the fi'ontier, any
31 new convert to Mahomedanism is often called a Miana,
32 and most of them are cultivators. I have ■nath some
33 hesitation classed them as Shekh rather than with
34 Ulama. There are 3,282 in the Rawal])indi and 188
35 in the Derajat division.
36 Besides the classes discussed above, the castes shown
37 in the margin appear from a rough examination of the
38 Shekh sub-divisions to have returned themselves as
39 Shekhs in the numbers shown against each. They
40 are described in their proper places. Of the Bodlas
41 returned as Shekhs 144 are in Hissar, 749 in Sirsa,
42 339 in Firozpur, 349 in Montgomery, and 254 in
43 Bahawalpur. Of the Daudpotras 1,287 are in Multan.
44 Besides these, men returning themselves under the
45 following names have been classed as Shekh : Shekhraj a > intemptuous
46 diminutive of Shekh ; Pirzadah, or descendants of a pir or Musa
47 guide ; Shekhzadah, or son of a Shekh. There appear to have
48 of the fii-st, 19 of the second, and 17 of the third. In the L
49 the Bharais (caste No. 48j have been most erroneously classec
50 the number of 1,444 in Lahore, 2,2.56 in Gujranwala, and 1,646
51 506. The Turk (Caste No. 126).— I shall not attempt to t
52 much debated question of the distinction between Turks and ged. Conse-
53 will be sufficient to say that a Turk in the Panjab means, probahd it is to be
54 a Turkoman native of Turkistdn and of Mongolian race. In t',hemselves as
55 Ebtuesed as Shekhs.
56 Number
57 Name of Castes.
58 returned
59 as
60 Shekhs.
61 Bodla
62 2,435
63 Daiidpotra ...
64 1,421
65 Kalal
66 270
67 Awin
68 449
69 Maliar
70 221
71 Tarkhan
72 118
73 Mochi
74 107
75 Rajput
76 106
77 29 other castes,
78 1 685
79 mostly low.
80 4n spiritual
81 ' 6,383
82 3,901
83 4,636
84 and