Khokhar

In 1240 CE, Razia, daughter of Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, and her husband, Altunia, attempted to recapture the throne from her brother, Muizuddin Bahram Shah. She is reported to have led an army composed mostly of mercenaries from the Khokhars of Punjab.[20] [21] From 1246 to 1247, Balban mounted an expedition as far as the Salt Range to eliminate the Khokhars which he saw as a threat.[22]

Although Lahore was controlled by the government in Delhi in 1251, it remained in ruins for the next twenty years, being attacked multiple times by the Mongols and their Khokhar allies.[23] Around the same time, a Mongol commander named Hulechu occupied Lahore, and forged an alliance with Khokhar chief Gul Khokhar, the erstwhile ally of Muhammad's father.[24]

The Khokhars, who were among the earliest to convert to Islam, were further converted due to the influence of Baba Farid, who gave their daughters in marriage to the families of the head of the shrine. The Jawahar-i-Faridi records out of the twenty-three of such marriages, fourteen were Khokhars, whose names were prefixed with Malik, which implied an association with political power. The names of the tribes associated with the shrine of Pakpattan included twenty clans, the Khokhars, Khankhwanis, Bahlis, Adhkhans, Jhakarvalis, Yakkan, Meharkhan, Siyans, Khawalis, Sankhwalis, Siyals, Baghotis, Bartis, Dudhis, Joeyeas, Naharwanis, Tobis and Dogars.[25]

Ghazi Malik founded the Tughlaq Dynasty in Delhi by a rebellion with the support of the Khokhar tribes who were placed as advance-guards of the army.[26] The Khokhars enjoyed the favours of the Tughluqs for a considerable period till the revolt of Gul Khokhar.[27] The tribes then took the opportunity to raise the standard of rebellion whenever the chance offered itself.[28] Ainul Mulk Multani, the governor of Multan, exclaimed anxiety about his family and his dependents' journey from Ajodhan (Pakpattan) to Multan, since an uprising of the Khokhars had made the road unsafe.[29] The Khokhars conquered Lahore in 1342 during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq and again in 1394 led by the chief Shaikha Khokhar, the former governor of Lahore during the reign of Sultan Mahmud Tughlaq.[30][31] They grew powerful during the period of Firuz Shah, who led an expedition against the Khokhar chief in Sambhal.[32][33] Nusrat Khokhar, the governor of Lahore, was one of main important nobles in the Delhi Sultanate along with Sarang Khan, Mallu Iqbal and Muqarrab Khan, the latter who were nobles of convert origin.[34][35][36][37][38] The governor of Nagaur, Rajasthan, appointed by the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate was Jalal Khan Khokhar. Jalal Khan Khokhar married the sister of the wife of Rana Chunda, the ruler of the emergent Marwar kingdom.[39] Rana Chunda was killed in a battle against Jalal Khokhar.[40]

There are multiple theories of origin of Khizr Khan, the viceroy of Timur in Delhi and founder of the Sayyid dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, according to Richard M. Eaton, Khizr Khan was a Khokhar chieftain,[41] who travelled to Samarkand and profited from the contacts he made with the Timurid society.[42]

Mustafa Jasrat Khokhar (sometimes Jasrath or Dashrath)[43] was the son of Shaikha Khokhar. He became leader of the Khokhars after the death of Shaikha Khokhar. Later, he returned to Punjab. He supported Shahi Khan in the war for control of Kashmir against Ali Shah of Sayyid dynasty and was later rewarded for his victory. Later, he attempted to conquer Delhi, after the death of Khizr Khan. He succeeded only partially, while winning campaigns at Talwandi and Jullundur, he was hampered by seasonal rains in his attempt to take over Sirhind.[44]

In Rajasthan in 1755, Jayappaji Rao Scindia, the Maratha general in Nagaur was killed by a Khokhar named Kesar Khan Khokhar, who had found the garrison of Nagaur fort hard pressed. Kesar Khan was killed after the stabbing of Sindhia in his camp.[45]

Punjabi Muslim soldiers, WW1

In reference to the British Raj's recruitment policies in the Punjab Province of colonial India, vis-à-vis the British Indian Army, Tan Tai Yong remarks:

The choice of Muslims was not merely one of physical suitability. As in the case of the Sikhs, recruiting authorities showed a clear bias in favor of the dominant landowning tribes of the region, and recruitment of Punjabi Muslims was limited to those who belonged to tribes of high social standing or reputation - the "blood proud" and once politically dominant aristocracy of the tract. Consequently, socially dominant Muslim tribes such as the Gakkhars, Janjuas and Awans, and a few Rajput tribes, concentrated in the Rawalpindi and Jhelum districts, ... accounted for more than ninety percent of Punjabi Muslim recruits.[46]

In reference to the historical residence of Khokhars at their traditional seat, the Salt Range:

The history of this region (the Salt Range) from the thirteenth century onward had been a sickening record of wars between various dominant landowning and ruling clans of Punjabi Muslims including the Janjuas, Gakhars, Thathals and Bhattis for political ascendancy.[47][48]