Page 12 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer
P. 12
Chandias are living in various chaks and mauzas most noteworthy of which
is Patti Chandia.
Syeds
Syeds command and demand respect mostly by claiming their lineage to
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through his much-revered daughter, Fatima.
Most prominent among the Syeds are the Bukhari and Gilani clans; though
there are other less known divisions too such as the Hussaini, Maududi and
Shamsi.
The Makhdums of Seetpur in Tehsil Alipur are Syeds, and so are the
custodians of the shrine of Alam Pir at Shehr Sultan in Tehsil Jatoi. Both
these families are Bukhari Syeds, and have large following in the form of
mureeds.
Syeds are also settled in Tehsil Muzaffargarh, and are more numerous
towards the south in areas such as Bara Sadaat.
The Kahiris in the Tehsil Kot Addu prefer to call themselves Syeds too but
their claims are not accepted at all hands. In fact, there are others persons
or clans around too who return themselves as Syeds, but the claims so made
remain unreliable, to say the least.
Pathans
The Pathans came to this district from Balochistan as well as Kabul at the
end of the 18 and the beginning of the 19 centuries. They mostly belong
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to the Alizai, Babar, Tarin, Baddozai, Bamozai and Yusufzai tribes. The
Alizais are mostly settled in Tehsil Muzaffargarh. The Babars – to whom the
legendary Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan belonged – own most land in
Khangarh. The Tarins mostly reside in Qasba Gujrat of Tehsil Kot Addu.
The Pathans of Muzaffargarh are now Pathans or Pashtuns in name only.
One can hardly find the traits of Pushtunwali in them. In fact, living in Punjab
for centuries have fully indigenized them, and no one can set off a Pathan
from a Punjabi anymore.
Qureshis
The Qureshis, though less in numbers, wield considerable influence in the
district primarily because of their riches. Among them, those who owned land
near Karam Dad Qureshi and Qasba Gujrat once used to claim that they had
received land from a king of Delhi, and that their ancestors were counselors
and servants of the Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur nawabs and of Diwan
Sawan Mal. The Qureshis also own big landholdings in Thatta Qureshi and
the neighborhood on the bank of the Chenab between Muzaffargarh and
Khangarh. Qureshis have a good presence in Tehsil Kot Addu too, and
according to one estimate, are settled in at least 12 mauzas.
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