Kamboj Explained

Group:Kamboj
Popplace:India • Pakistan
Langs:PunjabiDogriHaryanviHindi

The Kamboj (Devanagari: कंबोज, Nastaliq: کمبوج, Gurumukhi: ਕੰਬੋਜ ALA-LC:), also Kamboh (Nastaliq: کمبوہ ALA-LC:), is a caste and cultivating 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

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%).[4]

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.[5]

Numbers

As per the 2017 Pakistani census, Kamboj made around 5% of Lahore's population, which back then amounted to some 550 000 individuals out of a total population of 11 million.[6]

Notable people

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ali, Imran . The Punjab Under Imperialism, 1885-1947 . 14 July 2014 . Princeton University Press . 978-1-4008-5958-0 . en. 47.
  2. Book: Singh . K. S. . Haryana . Bhatia . A. K. . Sharma . Madan Lal . 1994 . . 978-81-7304-091-7 . 284.
  3. Umar . Mohammad . Umar . Mohammed . The Kambohs: A Prominent Community of Indian Muslims in the Sixteenth Century (summary) . Proceedings of the Indian History Congress . 1992 . 53 . 328–330 . 44142802 . 2249-1937.
  4. Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables.: Census Reports - 1931 . 1933 . 291–292 . saoa.crl.25793242 .
  5. Book: Singh . Pashaura . Fenech . Louis E. . The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies . 27 March 2014 . OUP Oxford . 978-0-19-100411-7 . 84 .
  6. Web site: District Profile . https://web.archive.org/web/20231127195943/https://lahore.punjab.gov.pk/district_profile . 27 November 2023 . District Lahore - Government of Punjab.