Kamboj
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India • Pakistan | |
| Languages | |
| Punjabi • Dogri • Hindi • Urdu | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism • Islam • Sikhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Muslim Kamboh |
The Kamboj's (Hindi: कम्बोज Kamboj, Urdu: کمبوہ ALA-LC: Kamboh, Punjabi: ਕੰਬੋ Kamboj), also Kamboj, is a community mainly in the Northern India and eastern Pakistan.
During the early years of Islam in India, one of the groups of this clan embraced Islam at the instance of Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya Suhrawardi (of Multan) and his son Shaikh Sadruddin.
Some Kamboj, such as Shahbaz Khan Kamboh, occupied key military and civil positions during the Turkic and the Moghul reign in northern India. The historian M. Athar Ali said that "The Sayyids and the Kambohs among the Indian Muslims were specially favoured for high military and civil positions during Moghul rule".
Muhammad Umar writes:
The (Muslim) Kamboh distinguished themselves by their courage, generosity and high spirits. They were famous for their excellent manners and were particularly gifted with wisdom and nobility....In terms of social stratification, the Kambohs were counted among the Shaikhs ... Among the Indian Muslims, the Kambohs were regarded as the noblest of all. However, perhaps with a view to maintaining the purity of their descent, or because of pride of nobility, they confined their matrimonial relationships within their own groups and did not establish marriage connections with other Muslim groups including even the Saiyids and the Mughals. Some members of this clan like Shahbaz Khan Kamboh, Nawab Abu Muhammad Khan, Bahadur Khan and Nawab Khair Andesh Khan rose to high positions during the reign of Mughals.
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Wikipedia