Lohana

Lohana (also referred to as Loharana, Thakkar, and Barai) are a trading or mercantile jāti mostly
in India and also in Pakistan.[1][2]

The Lohanas are divided into many separate Lohana

cultural groups as a result of centuries apart in
Regions with significant populations
different regions. Thus there are significant
differences between the culture, language, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Europe
professions and societies of Gujarati Lohanas
Languages
and Kutchi Lohanas from Gujarat, India and
Sindhi Lohanas from Sindh, Pakistan (the Primarily Gujarati, Kutchi, Sindhi

latter having largely migrated to India as well).

Religion

Origin mainly Hinduism and Islam

Related ethnic groups

They claim Kshatriya origin based on their
belief that they are from the lineage of Ram. Gujarati people • Sindhi people • Khoja •
Memon • Dawoodi Bohras • Sulaymani Bohras
They claim that they are the descendants of
• Alavi Bohras
Lava of the Ramayana. This claim was more
common in the Lohanas of Sindh as per
Schaflechner. A "mytho-historic" legend prevalent in the community is that the Hindu God Varuna
built an iron fort for some Rathore Rajputs to protect them. Lohanas claim that the fort
"disappeared" after 21 days and the Rathores were then called "Lohana", a word the community
interprets as "those of iron".[3][4]

According to André Wink, at least in the Muslim sources, Lohanas appear to be subdivisions of
the Jats or to be put on a par with the Jats of Chacha's Sind.[5] According to David Cheesman, the
Lohana who immigrated from Punjab to Sindh in the distant past, may have been descended
from the people also known as Lohana who fled from Sindh after the Arab conquest of 711.[6]
Matthew A. Cook argues that many Punjabis migrated to Sindh during the eighteenth century and
got assimilated into the Lohana community.[7]

U.T Thakur writes that there are many similarities between Aroras, Khatris, Bhanushalis and
Lohanas, all of whom recruited Saraswat Brahmins as priests. Lari says the Bhatias, Khatris and
Lohanas even intermarried.[8] Schaflechner cites the historian Rowe who states that "low
ranking"[a] Saraswat Brahmins originating in Balochistan formed a symbiotic relationship with
castes such as Khatris, Lohanas, etc. who were trying to raise their varna status – which in turn
would benefit the Saraswat Brahmins as well. For this purpose, certain religious texts were
written during the British Raj era.[9]

However, as per Pierre Lachaier, their name derives from the city of Lohargadh in Lahore district
of Punjab (now in Pakistan).[10] Before their traditional occupation of traders, both the Lohanas
and Bhatias were involved in the profession of agriculture. Goswami states that their ritual
position was "ambiguous", and, "they were considered neither a high nor a low caste".[11]

Sub-divisions

Sindhi Lohana

Vast majority of Sindhi Hindus are Lohanas.[12] Sindhi Lohanas have since been divided into
several groups, among which are a traditionally more educated "upper section" called "Amils",
who served as scribes to the Muslim rulers and a less educated "lower section" called
"Bhaibands", who were traders:[13][14]

Sindhi Lohana Amil's.

Amils : The "upper section" of educated Lohanas who served the Muslim dynasties as scribes
in Sindh. In the 18th–19th century, they began working for the British. They currently are
generally involved in clerical jobs in government offices, as working in posts of revenue
collectors and other senior positions. They originally composed 10–15% of the Lohana
community continued to draw members from those castes.[15][14]

Bhaibands : The less educated of "lower section", mainly involved in trade and commerce and
so mostly merchants. Most were shopkeepers and money-lenders. The community was
involved in international and trade in interior of Sindh even before the arrival of the British.
They also played an important part in the development of the city of Karachi.[14]

Sahitis: placed somewhere between Amils and Bhaibands, they could be either in government
service or traders.
For hundreds of years, the Sindhi Lohanas absorbed other communities from the western Indian
subcontinent.[15] The Lohanas of Sindh became an important trading community in Sindh during
the Kalhora rule.[16]

History

Ala al-Din Khilji (1296–1316) mounted a number of campaigns in the region battling the Sumra
princes whose cycle of capitulation/rebellion could be charted exactly to the perceived military
stress on the metropole. Yet, the Delhi Sultans and their governor rarely resorted to invading
Sumra held territories – relying, instead, on alliances with tribal elite and local power struggles.
Against the Sumras, Khiljl advanced the cause of the Lohana tribe of Samma. The conflict
guaranteed a rolling supply of princes and tribal chiefs wanting alliances with the center. The
tussle for dominance between the Sumras and the Samma lasted until the reign of Firuz Shah
Tughluq (1351–1388), when the Jam emirs of Samma were finally able to end Sumra dominance,
taking over lower Sindh.[17]

Lohana women in western India (c.

1855–1862).

Lohana men in western India (c.

1855–1862).
Formation of Khoja and Memon Islamic communities

The community's oral history says that the decline of their kingdom began after the death of Veer
Dada Jashraj. It also says that their name derives from the city of Lohargadh (/Lohanpur/Lohkot)
in Lahore, from which they migrated in the 13th century after the establishment of Muslim rule
there.[10]

Pir Sadardin converted some Lohanas to the Shia Ismaili Nizari sect of Islam in the 15th century.
As Lohanas were worshippers of Shakti, the emergence of a devotional Ismaili oral tradition that
incorporated indigenous conceptions of religion, known as ginans, played a role in the forming of
a new ethnic caste-like grouping. This group came to be known as Khojas (from Khawaja), a title
given by Sadardin, that would predominantly merge into what is now understood as the Nizari
Ismaili branch of Shia Islam.[18]

In 1422, Jam Rai Dan was tribal leader in Sindh during the Samma Dynasty; he was converted to
Islam by Sayad Eusuf-ud-Din and he adopted a new name Makrab Khan. At that time a person
named Mankeji was head of 84 nukhs of Lohanas, who were in favour in court of that Samma
king. He was persuaded by ruler and the Qadri to convert to Islam. However, not all Lohanas were
ready to convert from Hinduism. But 700 Lohana families comprising some 6,178 persons
converted in Thatta, Sindh. These are now known as Memons (from Mumins).[19]

Post-partition

After the partition of India in 1947, Lohanas from Kutch and Sindh migrated in large numbers to
Gujarat, mostly to Kutch, Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Many also settled in Maharashtra in
Mumbai, Mulund, Pune, and Nagpur.[20]

Overseas diaspora

Thousands of Hindu Gujaratis left India between 1880–1920 and migrated to British colonies in
the African Great Lakes region of Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika. A significant number of these
came from the Patidar and Gujarati Lohana communities.[21] At that time, however, there was
already a bustling merchant class diaspora of Gujarati Muslims in these countries.[22]

The Lohana migrants to East Africa, of which there were 40,000 in 1970,[23] came mainly from
the Saurashtran cities of Jamnagar and Rajkot.[24] Many Lohanas set up businesses in those
countries, two of the most successful being those set up by Nanji Kalidas Mehta and Muljibhai
Madhvani.[25][26]
In the later part of 20th century, following the independence of British colonies, and particularly
after Idi Amin's expulsion order for South Asians in 1972, most Lohanas moved to the United
Kingdom, and to a lesser extent to United States and Canada.[27] In the UK, the highest
concentration of Lohanas and other Gujarati Hindu communities is around the West London
suburbs of Wembley and Harrow, and the city of Leicester in the East Midlands region of
England.[28][29]

Society and culture

Lohanas largely follow Hindu rituals and worship Hindu deities such as Krishna. They worship
avatars of Vishnu such as Rama with his consort Sita and Krishna in the form of Shrinathji. They
worship Shakti in the form of Ravirandal Mataji, and Ambika. The 19th century saints Jalaram
Bapa, and Yogiji Maharaj, also attract many Lohana devotees. Their main clan deities are Veer
Dada Jashraj, Harkor Ba, Sindhvi Shree Sikotar Mata and Dariyalal. The Sun is also worshipped
by the community.[10] Some Lohana branches worship Hinglaj as a clan goddess.[8]

Sindhi Lohanas eat meat and drink alcohol.[30]

Surnames

Sub-Caste Surnames[31][32][33]

Akhani Adwani Aahiya, Adhia, Ajwani, Ambiya, Amlani,Motwani,Mirchandani, Adatia, Anadkat, Barai,
Bhatadi, Bhayani, Bhimani, Bhimjiyani, Bhojani,Chugani, Chadupotra, Chandan, Chandarana, Chug,
Dattani, Davda, Devani, Dhanak, Dhakar, Gadhiya, Gajan, Gajjar, Gakhar, Gandhi, Gatha,Gokani,
Gujarati
Hindocha, Jobanputra, Kataria,Kakkad, Kanabar, Kanani, Katira, Khakkar,Khandhadiya,Khilochia, Kotak,
and Kutchi
Kotecha, Ladhak, Lodhiya,Manghirmalani Madan, Madlani, Madhvani, Majithia,Mamtora, Manek,
Lohana
Mapara,Kariya, Thakkar, Ganatra, Mahtani Mashru, Nathwani, Pandhi, Popat, Pujara, Raimagia, Raja,
Rajvir, Rariya, Ruparel, Raychura, Sachdev, Shakrani, Sejpal,Sunchak, Tanna, Pabari, Thakaral, Unadkat,
Vasani, Vasant, Vithlani.

Advani, Ahuja, Ajwani, barai,Bathija, Bhavnani, Bijlani, Chhablani, Chugan, Dadlani, Daryani, Dudani,
Sindhi Gidwani, Hingorani, Idnani, Issrani, Jagtiani, Jhangiani, Kandharani, Karnani, Kewalramani,
Amil Khubchandani, Kriplani, Lalwani, Mahtani, Makhija, Malkani, Manghirmalani. Manshani, Mansukhani,
Lohana Mirchandani, Mukhija, Panjwani, Punwani, Ramchandani, Rijhsanghani, Sadarangani, Shahani,
Sipahimalani, Sippy, Sitlani, Takthani, Thadani, Vaswani, Wadhwani and Uttamsinghani

Aishani, Agahni, Anandani, Aneja, Ambwani, Asija, Bablani, Bajaj, Bhagwani, Bhaglani, Bhagnani, Balani,
Baharwani, Biyani, Bodhani, Chhabria, Channa, Chothani, Dalwani, Damani, Dhingria, Dolani, Dudeja,
Ganda ,Gajwani, Gangwani, Ganglani, Gyanani, Gulrajani, Hotwani, Harwani, Jamtani, Jobanputra,
Sindhi
Juneja, Jumani, Kateja, Kodwani, Khabrani, Khairajani, Khanchandani, Lakhani, Lanjwani, Longan,
Bhaiband
Lachhwani, Ludhwani, Lulia, Lokwani, Mamtani, Mirani, Mirwani, Mohinani, Mulchandani, Nihalani,
Lohana
Nankani, Nathani, Parwani, Phull, Qaimkhani, Ratlani, Rajpal, Rustamani, Ruprela, Sambhavani,
Santdasani, Soneji, Sethia, Sewani, Tewani, Tejwani, Tilokani, Tirthani, Wassan, Vangani, Vishnani,
Visrani, Virwani and Valbani
See also

Bhanushali

References

1. Tapan Raychaudhuri; Dharma Kumar; Irfan Habib; Meghnad Desai (1983). The Cambridge Economic
History of India: Volume 2, C.1757-c.1970 (https://books.google.com/books?id=9ew8AAAAIAAJ&pg=P
A340) . CUP Archive. pp. 340–. ISBN 978-0-521-22802-2.

2. Yasir Suleiman (21 April 2010). Living Islamic History: Studies in Honour of Professor Carole Hillenbrand
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(https://books.google.com/books?id=7StVEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA32) . BRILL. pp. 32–. ISBN 978-90-474-
0603-7. "With the exception of Bhatias and Brahmins, the various Hindu Sindhi jatis are all grouped
under the Lohana caste which subsumes a vast conglomerate of Vaishya jatis. Lohanas are usually
distinguished as being either Sindhi or Kutchi. These two share a common kinship metaphor and myth
of (Kshatriya) origin."

4. Mrinal Pande (24 June 2022). Popular Hinduism, Stories and Mobile Performances: The Voice of Morari
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5. Wink, A. (2002). Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Early medieval India and the expansion of
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Publishers. pp. 158–159. ISBN 978-0-391-04125-7. Retrieved 2022-08-02. "The Lohana, Lakha, Samma,
Sahtah, Chand (Channa)....which appear, at least in the Muslim sources, to be subdivisions of the Jats
or to be put on a par with the Jats."

6. Cheesman, David (2013). Landlord Power and Rural Indebtedness in Colonial Sind. Routledge. pp. 45–
46. ISBN 9781136794490. "The majority of Hindus in Sind were not Rajputs. They were Lohanos who
had emigrated from the Punjab in the distant past. They may have been descended from the people
also known as Lohanos who fled from Sind after the Arab conquest of 711."

7. Kothari, Rita; Thadhani, Jasbirkaur (October 2016). "Sindhi Sikhs in India: The Missing People" (https://
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vast majority of the Hindus of Sindh."

8. Schaflechner 2018, pp. 71–75.

 9. Schaflechner 2018, pp. 59–60.

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a. These Saraswat Brahmins from Balochistan were considered low caste and called 'Sindhur'.

Bibliography

Works related to Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Lohana at Wikisource

Schaflechner, Jürgen (2018). Hinglaj Devi: Identity, Change, and Solidification at a Hindu Temple
in Pakistan (https://books.google.com/books?id=khBADwAAQBAJ) . Oxford University Press.
ISBN 978-0-19-085052-4.

Media related to Lohana at Wikimedia Commons