It is part of Jhelum Tehsil,[1] and is located at
33°10'48N 72°57'59E with an altitude of 467
metres (1535 feet).[2]
Kala Gujran is near Jhelum City. Pakistan To***co
Company is based at Jada which is a suburb of
Kala Gujran. Until its recent demise the Fauji Mill
complex was a major employer in the area, it
used to produce cloth for export and distribution
all across Pakistan. There is an annual
Daand Mela (Bull race fair) held
in the outskirts of Kala Gujran in Jada. Held in
March every year it is an established event dating
back many hundreds of years, It is held in
collaboration within a circuit of melas including
kantrili and Chakmal in Gujrat
The organisers and people in charge of the 2006
bull racing events at Jada and Kantrili
History
Kala Gujran is strategically located on the route of
the old GT road and predates the city of Jhelum in
its importance. It has been a significant market
town and Gujjar stronghold since ancients times
with the Hindu and then the Sikhs rulers leaving
their marks in the town. If you look around the
old bazaar you will still find relics of these ancient
cultures. In particular the area surrounding the old school
has lakes locally known as the five sisters, so
called as they drained into each other with five
pippal trees planted in line. There were five
ancient but important Hindu temples mandirs on
the site, abandoned and subsequently destroyed
during partition. The leading temple had a
traceable underground tunnel leading directly to a
covered "kooh" (Persian water wheel irrigation
system in an outpost agricultural settlement) on
the towns northbound outskirts, along the Chak
Jamal Rd. This was reputedly run by a powerful
courtesan presumably to afford safe passage for
the chieftains or priests during times of conflict. There are reports of some local "koohs" having
tablets of stone at the bottom with carvings
dating back many hundreds of years. There are also planted Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa)
"Pippal" trees in a line going all the way from Kala
Gujran up to what is now known as the Mangla
Fort affording an identifiable safe route passage all
the way to the fort at Mangla also known as
Ramkot. It is not known if the passages could be
traced from Rohtas or Tilla Jogian to Mangla forts
but part of it most definitely passes from Kala
Gujran to Mangla. In Tilla Jogian and ancient
ramkot now mangla there are also similar lakes
or tanks that drain into each other. The elders and
historian bards of the Kala Gujran locale speak of
many people even in recent times having their
ears pierced in line with what has been happening
in the Tilla Jogian and Kala Gujran areas for
centuries. The lakes and the school are currently
in a very dilapidated and neglected state the
mandirs have gone with the only trace being left
is a few marble foor tiles. In common with most
of region - little thought being given to the
preservation of its rich and important cultural
history. The sporting traditions with the kara or
annual bull race is still kept very much alive, in
recent years it has been preserved and promoted
by the Pakistani Diaspora based in the UK. In 2006 the lead being held by the influential
Gujjar Ch Gulam Abbas of Kantrili
The Gujjars of the area have variously been
described as a problematic but powerful tribe in
particular the Tikri Gujjar clan. They have an
interesting history and genetic lineage, traceable
back to Georgia and Salauddinsaladin. The tribe
had some admirable and historically important
battles against Christianity alongside their
chief Saladin in the crusades of the Middle Ages. It
is of some notoriety that the infamous Saddam
Hussain shares the same lineage having
originated from Tikrit in northern Iraq. The lineage
can also be traced to the courts at Ajmer Sharif in
India. There are numerous references to the Tikkri
Gujjars being an important tribe in the area and
beyond with many towns and regions named
after the tribe. There were significant Sikh and Muslim Gujjars
from this area leading in the nearby Battle of
Chillianwala. Fought during the Second Anglo-
Sikh War in the Chillianwala region of Punjab. The
battle was one of the bloodiest fought by the
British East India Company. It was a strategic
check to immediate British ambitions in India and
a shock to British military prestige. In essence the
British got a thoroughly good beating forcing
them to retire with tails withdrawn.[neutrality is
disputed] They however returned with numerous
reinforcements and carried out wholesale
massacres in the city of Gujrat making the
Chenab run red. They subsequently set up a
battalion in Jhelum and named it "the city of
soldiers"
The Battle of the Hydaspes River was fought by
Alexander the Great in 326 BC against the Hindu
King Porus (Pururava in Sanskrit) on the banks of
the Hydaspes River (Jhelum River) In those days
Kala Gujran would have been the favoured large
city in the area. The Paurava kingdom of King
Porus was situated here and many elite trained
personnel would have been conscripted from
Kala Gujran or Kamboja. The Hydaspes was the
last major and most costly battle fought by
Alexander.[15] King Porus and his Tikri Gujjar
men put up a fierce resistance against the
invading Macedonian army which won the
admiration and respect of Alexander.[16]
Although victorious, Alexander's exhausted army
mutinied soon after, when he made plans to
cross river Hydaspes (Beas River), and refused to
go further into India. Ancient vedic texts describe the area as being part
of Kamboja kingdom, dominated by Hun warrior
classes excelling at hand to hand combat,
horsemanship and a mercenary attitude. The war
horses of Kamboja were famous through all
periods of Indian History. In the great battle
fought on the fields of Kurukshetra, the fastest
and powerful horses of Kamboja were of greatest
service. There is significantly mention that the
people were distinctly different to the rest of the
kingdom in their appearance, stature, physical
prowess, dress religious beliefs and practises,
further reference and conjecture to the Huns or
A***n theories as described in history. This also
cross references with ancient and recent historical
battles and famous or infamous individuals with
direct lineage to the Gujjar Tikkri clans. Indeed the Gujjars were once the most influential
group and chieftains of Kala Gujran (hence the
name). It is of no surprise then that the British
when they did take over the region decided to not
allow the Gujjars to join the military or civil
service citing them as unreliable, unfit and
associated very strongly to the criminal and
mercenary Thuggee gangs. Going so far as to
criminalise them with the introduction of Criminal
Tribes Act of 1871. A rather nefarious concept
given the area is famously known as the land of
martyrs and warriors and many specialised as
mercenary fighters. When it was eventually
repealed and the Gujjars were allowed to join the
ranks they were instrumental during the 1857
uprisings, indian mutiny. During subsequent periods the Gujjars in this
area did not take advantage of the political
process being easily manipulated by puppet
regimes instilled by the colonial British rulers to
tactfully divide and rule the princely states. A
process so deeply engrained that relics of it still
create problems to this day. The following
celebrities were born in this town;
Mirza Mohammad Ibrahim, Labour Leader
Inder Kumar Gujral, former Prime Minister of
India
Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora of the
Indian Army
Sufi Muhammad Din Zar A great poet author of
book :Tazkara e Jhelum:
Darshan Singh Awara ( A great poet author of
book :Baghawat:
Iqbal Kausar (A great poet author of book :
Mere raaste mere hamsafar:
Professor Yousaf Hassan International
philosopher
Professor Tarab Ahmed siddiqui A great poet
author of book : Miti da maa
