Dhillon

Dhillon is a prominent Jat gotra or clan found in Northern India.

Origin and history

There are may theories about the origins of the Dhillon gotra.

According to the family tree of the Dhillons of Amritsar, Dhillon was the son of Loh Sen, who in turn was the son of Karna, the famed warrior mentioned in the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata.

After Karna was killed at the Battle of Kurukshetra, his descendants first went to Rajasthan and then to Bathinda in present-day Punjab (India).

Another theory links the Dhillons to the royal house of the Pandavas. Yudhishtira was the eldest Pandava and the ruler of Hastinapur and Indraprastha, later known as Delhi. The third ruling dynasty in this line was Dhillon whose descendants are the present Jat gotras of Dhillon, Dhilwal and Dhill.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj, has in his book Satyarth Prakash ("The Light of Truth"), quoted from the famous book Chadrika Pushtika that from Yudhishtira to Harsha, one hundred and twenty four rulers ruled for four thousand two hundred and fifty seven years, nine months and fourteen days. Six dynasties ruled during this period. The first three dynasties had their capitals in Hastinapur, Indraprastha and Kausambi. During the reign of the fourth generation, the capital was changed to Magadha. It is also mentioned that during the reign of the fourth generation of Yudhisthra, Hastinapur was destroyed due to changes in the course of the Ganges. A ruler of the Dhillon dynasty, Raja Dhilu (or Dihlu) founded Delhi and the dynasty ruled from there from 800 BCE to 283 BCE.

According to Radhe Lal, who quotes Waqiate-panch Hazarsala, about eight hundred years before Christ, thirteen rulers of the Dhillon gotra ruled for about four hundred and fifty years. These include:

• Birmaha
• Mahaval
• Sarupval (Suryaval)
• Birsan
• Sanghamia (Manipal)
• Singhpal (Kalik)
• Tejpal (Jitmal)
• Kamsen (Kamdhan Birsen II)
• Udai Bhutt (Drutyaketu).

In the eighth century AD, the Tomaras had seized the throne of Delhi from the Dhillons and their kinsmen, the Sanghas, the Malhis, the Dosanjhs and the Dhindsas, all of whom were descendants of Shah Saroa (According to one theory, Raja Dhilu was a Tomara Rajput and the Tomaras were the founders of Delhi). Leaving Delhi, the Dhillons moved towards Rajasthan. After some time they migrated to the Bangar areas of Sirsa in Haryana and Bathinda. Some of them went beyond to Ludhiana and Firozpur. Most of the Dhillons from Firozpur migrated to Majha. Dhillons from Ludhiana went further into Doaba.

Religion

Dhillon Jats are mostly Sikhs or Muslims. Dhillon Sikhs founded the Bhangi Misls. In Punjab (India) and Haryana, Dhillons are mostly Sikh. In Punjab (Pakistan), they are mostly Muslim.

Geographical distribution

In Punjab (British India), the majority of Dhillons inhabited Amritsar and Gujranwala. In the 1881 Census, Dhillons numbered at 86563.

There are many villages named Dhillon or Dhilwan in the Punjab region.

Today, Dhillons are settled in large numbers in Bathinda, Moga, Sangrur, Rupnagar and Patiala in Punjab (India) as well as the Sirsa, Hisar, Ambala and Karnal areas of Haryana.

Most of the Jats in Sialkot, Lahore and Gujranwala are believed to be Dhillons.

Many Dhillons from Ludhiana and Doaba have migrated to foreign countries.

Among Rajputs

Dhillon is also a gotra among Saroa Rajputs.

Prominent Dhillon Jats

• Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, member of the Indian National Army
• Parkash Singh Badal, ex chief-minister of Punjab (India) and head of the Shiromani Akali Dal
• Gurinder Singh, present guru of the Radhaswamis of Beas
• Poonam Dhillon, Bollywood actress
• Gaurav Dhillon, founder and ex-CEO of Informatica Corp.
• Goldy Dhillon,founder and CEO of Point Zero Productins(Movie and music production company).

References

• History of Jatt Clans by H.S Duleh (Translation from original Punjabi work "Jattan da Itihas" by Gurjant Singh)