The Khukhrain or Khokhrain[1] is a sub-group composed of eight clans of the Khatri caste that originally hailed from the areas of the Salt Range.
Khukhrain | |
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Khokhrain | |
Profile | |
Region | Punjab |
Ethnicity | Punjabi |
Khukhrain no longer has a chief, and is an armigerous clan | |
Historic seat | Bhera |
The Khukhrains spread over Khushab, Dhune Kheb, Chakwal, Pind Dadan Khan, Peshawar, Nowshera and Lahore.[2][full citation needed] They were a powerful tribe during the attacks of Mahmud of Ghazni and resisted him during his third invasion after the defeat of Jayapala at the Battle of Bhera in 1004-5. Bhera was the Khukhrain capital.[3][full citation needed]
When Bhera was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni, the Khukhrain king, Biji Rai preferred to commit suicide using his dagger rather than submit to Mahmud Ghaznavi.[2] Jaipal's son, Anandapala, received support of the Khukhrains against the Ghazni rule in 1008-9 at Wahind.[4][full citation needed]
The Khukhrain clan was originally Hindu. Later clan members embraced Sikhism and Islam. Khukhrains of all these faiths collectively form one kinship. In Pakistan there continues to be a large number of Muslim Khukhrains living especially in the Pakistani Punjab. Some scholars such as Muhammad Ikrām Chutai believe that a number of Khukhrains were converted to Islam by the Sufi Baba Farid.[5]
Encyclopædia Britannica notes that: "The Khukhrain sub-group of the "52"s claims descent from a son of Manu and several clan names are traced to military terms in support of the claim to Kshatriya descent.."[14]