Many Arain claim Arab descent[10], doubtless based upon the demographic that nearly all Arain are, and have been, Sunni Muslim, as were the early Arabs of Muhammad bin Qasim's expedition[11]. The Arain, despite being majority Muslim, do have Sikh and Hindu members[12], as do the other agricultural castes of the Punjab (the Jats, Gujjars and Rajputs)[13]. The Arab origin claim can therefore be larg
ely viewed as a desire for claiming an unbroken practise of Islam through the ages, for current prestige rather than accurate genealogical designation[14]. Local indigenous ancestry is claimed from other tribes of the Punjab such as the Surajbansi Rajput[15], or from Persia[16], and the majority of Muslim agricultural tribes are certainly converts to Islam[17]. A study by the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences on blood types of the major ethnicities in the Punjab showed that O is the most common blood group (among all ethnicities), except among the Arain where B is most common[18], the difference being statistically significant[19]. Whilst not proof of non-local ancestry, it does illustrate a difference between the Arain and the other castes inhabiting the Punjab. Obviously, more research is needed for greater detail on the caste's migratory provenance[20]. The Arain during the British Raj
The Arain land holders should not be confused with the more gentrified zamindars such as the feudal Rajput landlords of vast holdings. Polo, partridge shoots and tea parties were therefore not associated attributes. Neither were the more negative and profligate practises such as "...dancing girls, drunken evenings listening to poetry, or numerous marriages..."[21]. When the British wanted land developed in the Punjab after its annexation, Arain were brought in to cultivate lands around the cities, forming irrigated colonies[22]. The Arain were so favoured for their "hard work, frugality and sense of discipline"[23]. Subsequent development of towns and cities and increasing urbanisation resulted in the value of the land settled by Arain to rise significantly, and Arain families thus flourished[24]. Education was prioritised with the new found wealth[25] and the Arain came to dominate the legal profession amongst urban Punjabi Muslims. The Arain were classified as a "non-martial race" by the British[27], a classification deemed arbitrary and based on prejudices prevalent at the time (see martial race). Prominent Arain
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the sixth President of Pakistan (and Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army) was an Arain from Jalandhar[28]. Chaudhry Mohammad Ali, a Civil Servant from Jalandhar, became Pakistan's second Finance Minister (1951-1956) and Pakistan's fourth Prime Minister (1956-1957)[29]. Mian Sir[30] Fazli Husain, the first Chief Minister of the Punjab[31]. Mian Amiruddin, mayor of Lahore at the time of the Partition[32]. Mian Sir Muhammad Shah Nawaz, an influential politician of the Punjab in the 1920s[33]. Mian Iftikharuddin[34], a politician[35], landlord and founder of the Imroze and Pakistan Times newspapers (later to be nationalized by the Ayub government). He was to play an important role in turning the Muslim community of urban Punjab towards favouring an independent Pakistan[36]. Origin
Arain were people who lived in areas of Islamic Empire, mostly Arabia i.e. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Palestine and Syria. They were converted to Islam and later came to subcontinent as immigrants (for trade), Islamic preachers or soldiers of Muslim armies later on . Muhammad bin Qasim
When Muhammad bin Qasim started gathering forces for expedition to subcontinent. He visited different villages from Damascus to Makran(Pakistani Baluchistan) and asked locals to join him. That is how he raised an army of 12 thousand which included many arain who remained in subcontinent later on for administration and inhabit it. Ghaznavids, Tughlaqs and Ghaurids
Arains were considered as power of these dynasties as their most skilled army men.They held same place in their armies as Pathans holds place in armies of Mughals later on. They also enjoyed higher posts in courts of Sultans belonging to these Dynasties. Arain of lahore have descent to those people who were brought in lahore by Mahmood Ghaznavi for increasing his power in this area. It includes subcasts Mithay, kattay and Kugukoray.
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Slave Dynasty
When Qutub-ul-din Aibak started Slave Dynasty Arain were his main power in military as Khorasanis. Arain who served Qutub-ul-din at that time are known as QutubShahi. Today majority of them are related to Agriculture in Punjab, Sindh and Kashmir regions of Paksiatn and India. Propaganda by Hindus
But as part of Akhand Bharat propaganda some Hindus try to relate every nation living in Sub-Continent to some of their Raja and try ro say that due to same race subcontinent should reunite into Akhand Bharat. This is obviously wrong as Subcontinent has a great history of foreign invasions and thousands of races of different origins live in subcontinent. Some of their points are:“ Almost to a man Muhammadans and strongly inclined to orthodoxy the Arains came to be immigrants from Uch and have some affinities with the Kambohs. On the other hand some of the Arain and Hindu Saini clan names are identical, and those not always merely names of other and dominant tribes. From Uch they migrated to Sirsa and thence into the Punjab.[5] ”
“ In Sirsa the Sutlej Arains meet those of the Ghaggar. The two do not intermarry, but the Arains of the Ghaggar valley say they were Rajputs living on the Panjnad near Multan who were ejected some four centuries ago by Sayad Jalal-ul-din of Uch. They claim some sort of connection with Jaisalmer.[5] ”
“ The Sutlej Arains in Sirsa say they are, like the Arains of Lahore and Montgomery, connected by orign with the Hindu Kambohs. Mr Wilson thinks it probable that both classes are really Kambohs who have become Musalmans.[5] However, other British writers discounted this viewpoint since many Kambohs are also Muslims.[6][7] Lt. Wikeley, in 1915, wrote a handbook for the Indian Army, Punjabi Musalmans, which described the history of the people of Punjab and in which he rejected "any supposed relationship between the Kambohs and the Arains".[8] ”
“ The nucleus of this caste was probably a body of Hindu Saini or Kamboh cultivators who were converted to Islam at an early period . Thus in Jullundur the Arains say they came from Sirsa, Rania, and Delhi and claim descent from Rai Jaj (grandson of Lau, founder of Lahore), who ruled Sirsa: that they were converted in the 12th century and migrated to the Jullundar Doab about 300 years ago. But the Bhuttas claim descent from Raja Bhutta, fifth in descent from Raja Karn and say they were forcibly converted even earlier — by Mahmud of Ghazni – and driven from Uch.[9] ”
Some Arain however propose descent from Arabs belonging to Muhammad bin Qasim's expeditionary force to India. Such claims are given credance by how nearly all Arain are, and have been, Sunni Muslim, much like the early Arabs accompanying Muhammad bin Qasim. This assertion is supported by numerous references made in several Urdu language texts; Tareekh-e-Arain, Sham Ta Multan, Tareekh Frishta, Tohfa Tul Ikram and Aina-e-Haqeekat Numa, that reliably trace the lineage of many notable Arain including Zia Ul-Haq and the famous Mian Family of Bhaghbanpura. According to these sources, the word Arain is derived from Areeha which is the Arabic name for the city of Jericho in the West Bank, Palestinian Territory, the place from where they allegedly came.[10][11]
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Distribution
Historically, the Arain community was concentrated in territory that is now part of Indian Punjab, especially the Jalandhar Doab. According to 1911 Census of India, the highest concentrations of Arains was in the Kapurthala State, where they accounted for 93% of the population, and neighbouring Jalandhar District, where they formed 85% (about four fifth of the Muslim population) of the population. By the late 19th Century, the Arain were encouraged by the British colonial authorities to settle in the new canal colonies in the Sandal and Neeli bar regions, and by 1911 Arain formed 95% of the population of Lyalpur District and 88% of Montgommery District. Other districts with large Arain populations were Lahore (85%), Gurdaspur (45%), Ferozepur (95%), Gujranwala, Sialkot (75%) and Multan (15%).[12] In the Phulkhian States, Hoshiarpur, Karnal, Delhi and Hissar they formed less than five percentage of the population. North and west of the Jhelum, they were practically absent in the Pothohar region, the Salt Range and the Thal Dessert, where there place was and still taken by the Maliar caste. Those few Arains who were found in this region are often treated as sub-tribe of the Jats.[12] In essence the Arain were found in territory stretching from the Chenab in the west to the Sultlej in the east, in what was the Punjabi speaking heartland of the British colonial province of Punjab. This was also the region that suffered the worst violence during the partition of India in 1947, with almost the entire Arain population of Indian Punjab migrating to Pakistani territory. However, there are still a small number of Muslim Arains still found in Malerkotla, Sangrur and Patiala districts.[13]
The bulk of the Arain population is now settled in the districts of Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Toba Tek Singh,[14] with a large number of refugees settled by the Thal Development Authority in Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar and Layyah.[15]
Related communities in North India
There are a number of communities in North India, that claim kinship with the Arain of Punjab. The Arain of Delhi claim to be descended from Arains, who settled in Delhi during the rule of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.[16]
Another community that is connected with the Arain are the Rain/Arain are Muslim tribe found in Bareilly, Pilibhit, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Rampur, Bijnor and Saharanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh, India.[17] According to Sir Denzil Ibbetson, it was after the famines of 1783 AD many of the Arains emigrated from Ghaghhar valley and setteled in the area near Bareilly i.e. Rohilkhand.[18] Rains/Arains in Rohilkhand region mainly immigrate from the villages of Jallandhar, Sirsa and Ferozpur around 1780 AD due to the distrubnace in their native homeland i.e. Punjab. .[19] They usually used Mian and Sheikh as a appellation. Arain Migration
Like many other Punjabis, a significant number of Arain migrated after the India/Pakistan partition. With incomes mainly based on zamindari many Arain Punjabis from the Indian Punjab struggled financially on substandard land in Pakistan choosing instead to migrate. Arain migrated more freely than other Punjabis mainly due to better education and communities can be found in many areas of Europe, Africa and North America. Countries with well known significant Arain populations include:
USA - with a significant numbers in Chicago and New York
Canada
UK - there is a small but active Arain community, mainly settled in the South of England and Scotland
Norway
South Africa
Kenya
