Balhara
Balhara (Hindi:बलहारा) is a gotra of Jats found in Rajasthan and Haryana in India. The Balhara (Balahara) gotra is also found among the Sikhs.
Origin
Bal means strengh and hara means the possessor just as lakadhara means a wood-cutter and a kumbhhara means the possessor of "kumbh" i.e. "pitcher" and hence called Balhara. these people descended from Bhim who possessed a lot of strength in Mahabharatha. Dr Mahendra Singh Arya, Dharmpal Singh Dudi, Kishan Singh Faujdar & Vijendra Singh Narwar"> Dr Mahendra Singh Arya, Dharmpal Singh Dudi, Kishan Singh Faujdar & Vijendra Singh Narwar: Adhunik Jat Itihasa (The modern history of Jats), Agra 1998</ref>
History
Balhara Jats were the rulers in Sindh from 8th to 10th century. In 710 AD Muhammad bin Qasim occupied Sindh. Sindhu River had made them good navigators. They had fight with Alexander the great by boats. Brahman Raja Dahir was the ruler of Sindh at that time. Raja Dahir’s father Chach killed the Jat ruler of Deol state Sahasi Rai second of Rai Dynasty in year 650 AD by conspiracy and occupied the state. Other Jat states in Sindh were not powerful; they were also eliminated by the year 800 AD. This was the early period of Balhara Jat rulers in Sindh. Balharas ruled the area, which can be remembered as Bal Division. The area from Khambhat to Simari was under their rule and Manafir was their capital. Manafir was probably Mandore or Mandwagarh. It is likely that after nagas it was ruled by Balharas. The rule transferred from Balharas to Mauryas to Pawars to Chauhans to Parihars to Rathores.[1]
Sir Henry Elliot has mentioned that after defeat of Jat Raja Sahasi Rai second, Raja Matta of Shivistan attacked Alore (the capital of Chach) with brother of Raja of Kannauj and his army. The Jat Raja Ranmal was the ruler of Kannauj at that time. He was famous as Rana. After that the other Jat rulers were eliminated except the Balharas. The Balharas were strong rulers from Khambhat to Sambhar. 'Koyala Patan' which is now known as 'Kolia', was a single city from Kolia to 'Kalindi Katkeri' spread over about 36 km in length. There used to be bricks of one cubit long and half cubit thick. There are seven tanks of Balharas, Banka tank in the name of Banka Balhara and Lalani tank in name of Lalaji. There is one village named Balhara in Sikar district of Rajasthan. [2]
In 900 A D a King of this gotra was a powerful ruler in the Western Punjab. He has been greatly praised by historian Sulaiman Nadwi, who came to India as a trader. According to him this ruler was one of the four big rulers of world at that time in 857 A D. He was a friend of the Arabs and his army had a large number of elephants and camels. His country was called Kokan (Kaikan) 'near river Herat. [3]
The boundaries of this Kingdom extended from China to the Sea and his neighbors were the Takshak and Gujar kings. Their capital was Mankir.[4]
Notable people from this gotra
- Mahendra Chaudhry - ex prime minister of Fiji island is also a Balhara from Bahu Jamalpur in Haryana.