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Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
agricultural tribe with strong political identity and organisation, found mainly in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh with a small population in parts of
Indian Punjab Punjab (; ) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and R ...
, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.


Origins

The historian and political scientist
Christophe Jaffrelot Christophe Jaffrelot (born 12 February 1964) is a French political scientist and Indologist specialising in South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan. He is a professor of South Asian politics and history the ''Centre d'études et de recherches ...
believes that the Arain are displaced farming communities who moved to Punjab from Sindh and Multan as Arab Muslim armies encroached; they originally practised Hinduism but many later converted to Islam. He says that the community is related to the
Kamboj The Kamboj ( pa, ਕੰਬੋਜ ''Kamboj'', hi, कंबोज ''Kamboj''), also Kamboh ( ur, ALA-LC: ), is a cultivating community of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India, spanning a region from the Sutlej Valley to the north, the ...
Rajput community mainly located in northern India and eastern Pakistan. Ishtiaq Ahmed, a political scientist who is also a member of the Arain community, acknowledges that some early Arain texts ascribe a Suryavanshi Rajput origin, while others note a Persian one to reflect to others the status of being "conquerors". He believes that the Arains "are a mix of many ethnicities and races", similar to other "farming castes of the Punjab and Haryana".


History

According to Ahmed, during the Mughal and Sikh periods Arain held prominent positions, such as governors and army generals; he also believes that numerous names adopted by the community may indicate a tradition of military employment. During the Indian rebellion of 1857, Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi, an Arain, led an uprising from
Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. I ...
to Delhi where he was killed. In the aftermath, the British viewed the Arain as a disloyal community, and categorised them as a non-martial caste which denied them entry into the
Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Govern ...
. Due to lobbying by the Arain community, in the early 20th century the Arain were officially re-classified as an "agricultural tribe", then effectively synonymous with the martial race classification. Traditionally associated with farming, when the British wanted land developed in the Punjab, Arain were brought in to cultivate lands around cities, and were one of the agricultural communities given preference to assist with opening up the agrarian frontier in the Canal Colonies between 1885 and 1940.
Shahid Javed Burki Shahid Javed Burki ( ur, ) is a Pakistani-American professional economist who has served as Vice President of the World Bank and as de facto Finance Minister of Pakistan on a caretaker basis. He has written extensively on economic develop ...
says that the British favoured the Arain for their "hard work, frugality and sense of discipline". The development of towns and cities and increasing urbanisation resulted in the value of the land settled by Arain to rise significantly, and Arain families flourished. Education was prioritised with the new-found wealth and Arain came to dominate the legal profession amongst urban Punjabi Muslims. Many used law to enter politics. During the colonial era, detailed decadal census reports covered the plethora of
castes Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...
, subcastes and tribes that existed throughout
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Information regarding the Arains was highlighted in census reports taken from Punjab Province.


Organisation

Several meetings were held to establish an organisation to represent the Arain community in the 1890s. Eventually, in 1915, Anjuman Ra’iyan-i-Hind emerged as such a body in Lahore and a national community newspaper, titled ''Al-Rai'', was established.


Culture

The Arains are in majority in Lahore and this biradari is also active in industrial and commercial activities. A few families play a significant role in the politics of Lahore at national and local level.


Diaspora

There are several
diasporic A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews afte ...
Arain communities in British towns and cities, such as Manchester, Glasgow and Oxford. The tribe has its own organisation, Arain Council UK, which was established as Anjuman-e-Arains in the 1980s and renamed in 2008. British Conservative Party politician
Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
's family were farmers from the village of
Rajana Rajana is a town of district Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, Pakistan. It is 15 km away from Toba Tek Singh. It is located west of Faisalabad, east of Multan, south of Toba Tek Singh and north of Kamalia Kamalia ( pa, , ur, ) is a city i ...
near
Toba Tek Singh Toba Tek Singh ( pnb, , ur, ) is a city and capital of Toba Tek Singh District in the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is surrounded by cities of Gojra, Kamalia, Rajana, Pir Mahal and Shorkot. History The city and district is named a ...
, Punjab, from where they migrated to the UK in the 1960s; Javid speaks some
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
. Javid was the first
British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
to hold one of the British Great Offices of State, being first
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
(2018–2019) and then Chancellor of the Exchequer (2019–2020).


Notable people

*
Sonia Ahmed Sonia Ahmed (Urdu: سونیا احمد) (born 23 August 1980) as Sonia Iqbal Ahmed, is a Kuwait-born Canadian Pakistani and founder of Miss Canada Pakistan Inc., now known as Miss Pakistan World, Mr. Pakistan World and Mrs. Pakistan World that ...
, President of
Miss Pakistan World Miss Pakistan World is a beauty pageant for women of Pakistani descent from around the world. The event is held annually in Canada. History The pageant was originally launched in 2002 by Sonia Ahmed under the name of Miss Canada Pakistan. ...
Mrs. Pakistan World *
Adina Beg Adina Mirza Beg Khan ( pa, ; 1710 - 15 September 1758) was a Punjabi General and administrator who served as the last governor of Punjab of the Mughal Empire, including the provinces of Lahore and Multan. He was the last Nawab of Punjab, d ...
, last Mughal Governor of Punjab. *
Mian Shah Din Mian Shah Din (2 April 1868 - 2 July 1918) was a Punjabi lawyer and politician in British India. In October, 1908 he was the first Muslim appointed a judge of the Chief Court of the Punjab, now known as the Lahore High Court. ...
, first Muslim judge at the Chief Court of the Punjab *
Mian Iftikharuddin Mian Iftikharuddin ( Punjabi, ur, میاں افتخارالدیں; 8 April 1907 – 6 June 1962) was a Pakistani politician, activist of the Indian National Congress, who later joined the All-India Muslim League and worked for the cause of Pakis ...
, activist and politician, founder of the Pakistan Times *
Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
, former British
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
and Chancellor of the Exchequer * Sir Mian Abdul Rashid, first
Chief Justice of Pakistan } The Chief Justice of Pakistan (Urdu: ) (initials as CJP) is head of the court system of Pakistan (the judicature branch of government) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The officeholder is the senior most of 17 senior j ...
*
Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016, having been Member of Parli ...
, leader of the Scottish Labour Party * Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, businessman, Labour Party MP and 33rd Governor of the Punjab * Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi, lawyer and co-founder of
All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subconti ...
*
Jahanara Shahnawaz Begum Jahanara Shahnawaz (7 April 1896 – 27 November 1979) was a politician and Muslim League activist. She was the daughter of Sir Muhammad Shafi. Her husband was Mian Shah Nawaz. She studied at Queen Mary College, Lahore, British India ...
, politician and All-India Muslim League activist * Sir Mian Muhammad Shahnawaz, politicianInternational Journal of Punjab Studies. India, Sage Publications, 1994. * Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the 6th President of Pakistan


References


Further reading

*{{cite journal , title=Making new Muslim Arains: reform and social mobility in colonial Punjab, 1890s-1910s , journal=South Asian History and Culture , year=2017, volume=8 , issue=1 , first=Ashish , last=Koul , pages=1–18 , doi=10.1080/19472498.2016.1260348, s2cid=151332565 Punjabi tribes Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan Social groups of Sindh Social groups of Uttar Pradesh