Kunduana, (Urdu alphabet: کندوآنہ) or Kundwana
Spelling variations
Kunduana has following spelling variations: Kanduana, Kundwana, Kunduana and Kundoana. Keeping in view the name of Kandu, their ancestor, spelling Kanduana seem to be more correct but odd to pronounce hence Kundwana, Kunduana or Kundoana.
Definition
A
Kunduana is a descendant of Kandu, a leading
Gujjar belonging to early modern period of
Gujrat District around the time when
Akbar inhabited the
Gujrat City in 1580 CE.
Lineage
The ancestor of
was Kandu, a resident of Makiana village in
Gujrat district,
Punjab,
Pakistan. His tomb is also situated in the same village. His grave has withstood the revolution of time despite that the area of
Gujrat district fell pray to anarchy during the years between
Mughal Empire and
Sikh Empire. "Situated as it is with the Imperial Road, the whole tract was sacked and ravaged again and again, the towns and villages burnt and pillaged, taken and retaken by the various armies passing and repassing," writes Captain A Elliott, former deputy commissioner of Gujrat.
Kandu's tomb
Whenever a male child was born in a Kunduana family, they used to make offering of
Ghugu Goray (fired clay horses) at the tomb of their forefather Kandu. The first head shave of the boy was also performed at the tomb. If for any reason, the boy could not be taken to the tomb immediately, a bunch of hair on his head was left unshaved. This bunch of hair was only shaved when the boy was taken to the tomb subsequently.
Kandu's grave had disappeared from the earth's surface by the revolution of time. Around 2008, it was rediscovered when digging for laying down natural gase pipelines was done. The grave was identified with the help of Ghugu Goray found on it.
Early modern period
Mughal Empire
During the reign of
Mughal emperors, when the modern day
Gujrat District was part of Subah of Lahore, the Ilaqa of
Gujrat District had three
. Out of these, the
Pargana of
Gujrat Tehsil had eight Tappas. One of these Tappas was named after the ancestor of
and called Tappa of Kandu.
This Tappa had six Topes
and 320 villages out of which 209 were
Uslee (original) and 111
Dakhlee (internal).
was the last
Mughal emperor having sway over
Gujrat District.
The following were the district administration subdivisions under the
Mughal emperors:
-
Ilaqa (علاقہ)
-
Pargana (پرگنہ) or Taraf (طرف)
[
]
See section 'Administration' for Taraf. -- headed by Shiqdar (police chief at the Pargana level who also had to perform duties of Kotwal) and Amin (revenue collector).
-
Tappa (تپہ) -- manned by Tapedar (treasurer), Qanungo (keeper of land record) and Bitikchis (clerks). Its head might have the same powers as the modern day Tapedar in Sindh. A Tappa during the Mughal rule corresponded to a Zail under the Sikh Empire and British Raj.
[Shahan-e-Gujjar (Urdu), by Maulvi Abdul Malik, Second Edition 1986, p. 439]
-
Tope (توپ) -- headed by a Chaudhary.
-
Mauza (موضع) -- manned by Muqaddam (head of the village), Patwari (performing the duties of an accountant) and Chowkidar (watchman).
The Tappa of Kandu (
Mughal India) had six Topes,
detail of which is as follows:
Durrani Empire
After the
Mughal Empire,
Gujrat District went under the
Durrani Empire.
Sikh Confederacy
After the
Durrani Empire,
Gujrat District went under the
Sikh Confederacy.
Sikh Empire
During the
Sikh Empire, administrative unit
Pargana was replaced with Ilaqa while Tappa was renamed as Zail and number of Ilaqas and Zails was increased as compared to their previous counterparts. The Zails were made when
Ranjit Singh assumed direct government, by his astute ministers
Fakir Nuruddin and
Fakir Azizuddin.
The name of Kandu was not carried forward in the newly formed Zails. The only available list of the Zails during the
Sikh Empire is the one which stood immediately before the advent of the
British Raj. This list does not show any Zail with the name of Kandu. However, many
were appointed as
during the
Sikh Empire.
The district administration units under the
Sikh Empire were as follows:
Modern period
East India Company rule
After decline of the
Sikh Empire, the present-day
Gujrat District went under the control of Bengal Presidency with capital at
Calcutta.
British Raj
The
British Raj adopted the administrative unit Zail introduced by the
Sikh Empire.
[
]
Pakistan
In
Pakistan,
Kunduana offshoot is found in
Gujrat District,
Gujranwala,
Lahore,
Faisalabad,
Chakwal,
Sialkot District,
Sahiwal District, Sargodha, Hafizabad,
Narowal District, Bahawalpur,
Multan, Bahawalnagar and
Sheikhupura districts of Punjab.
India
In
India,
reside mainly in the Punjab and the Indian-administered Kashmir. In Punjab, five villages have only
. In
Kashmir, they are found in the
tehsil of
Srinagar.
Religion
The majority of
are
Muslim. The
Muslim population of
live predominantly in
Pakistan.
External links
