The Khugyani, Khogyani or Khogiani

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

is one of the Karlāṇī tribes of the

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

people. The tribe originated in the

Khogyani district Khogyani ( ps, خوږياڼي ولسوالۍ, fa, ولسوالی خوگیانی) is a district in the south of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, bordering on Pakistan. Its population is entirely Pashtun, and was estimated at 146,852 in 2002. ...

in Nangarhar province of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

. The Khogyani District is in eastern Nangarhar province of

, near the city of

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...

and the Kōh-i-Safēd (White mountain range). Formerly, the tribe name ''Khakwani'' was widely used. It's still current in the Indian subcontinent.

Background

The Khogyani tribal root is the Karlāṇī Pashtuns. In the folklore origin of the Karlāṇī tribal confederacy, of which the Khogyani form a part, Karlāṇī ( ps, کرلاڼي),the Karlāṇī branch of the Pashtuns descend. The Khogyani tribe itself consists of five clans: Mohsin zai, Daulat zai, Maroof zai, Saib zai and Chopan zai. A mountain people, Khogianis were often embroiled in wars against the Shinwari and the Ghilzai tribes. The Karlāṇī tribes in general have a reputation amongst other Pashtun tribes as especially skilled fighters. The Karlāṇī themselves maintain that they have never been subjugated by a foreign power and that they continue to live their lives by unchanged, age-old tradition.

Emergence in the subcontinent

The ancestors of this tribe came to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

some 450 years ago. The first Khogyani tribal head was Malik Shahpal, who was invited to attend the royal court by Emperor

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...

. Shahpal founded the colony Kiri Afghana in

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...

city. His tribe settled there and gained a substantial amount of power and influence. Following Malik Shahpal, came Khudadad Khan from

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

. From the Chopanzai clan, he settled in the district of Multan. His descendants influenced the region, with the help of the Afghan rulers. When Multan was annexed with Afghanistan,

Nawab Ali Mohammad Khan Khakwani Nawab Ali Mohammad Khan belonged to the Chopan Zai clan of the Khogyani tribe. He was given the title of Nawab by Ahmad Shah Durrani because he helped Multan become the part of Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ...

was appointed as governor. He built the Mosque 'Ali Mohammad Khan'. Khogyani peoples continued to live around Multan, holding vast tracts of land with substantial holdings in

Vehari Vehari also spelled Vihari (), is a city and the headquarters of Vehari District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 62nd largest city. Vehari is about from the historical city of Multan. Vehari is located at the Multan-Delhi ...

, Shujaabad,

Khanewal Khanewal () is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 36th largest city of Pakistan by population. Khanewal is named after the earliest settlers here who belonged to the caste ‘Daha’ (A Su ...

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

Bahawalnagar Bahawalnagar (Punjabi, ur, ), is the capital city of Bahawalnagar District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Bahawalnagar is the headquarter of the district and tehsil as well.

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan (), abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population. Lying west of the Indus River, it is the headquarters of Dera Ghazi Khan District and ...

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakista ...

, Rahimyar Khan, and

Layyah Layyah ( Saraiki and ur, ), previously spelled as Leiah, is a city in the Pakistan.Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. They are still a wealthy and influential family, and the single largest landowners of their region.

During Pashtun rule

Multan during the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

flourished and had good administrative control. However, as central control waned during the decline of the empire, it was ruled by the local Pashtun tribes. The Khogyani tribe had good relations with the Afghan Mughals, as well as the Bahawalpur state. Multan remained under the Khogyani for a long period of time. It is believed that the Khogyani gave refuge to Ahmad Shāh Durrānī's mother. Ahmad Shāh Durrānī was born in Multan. Later, the Khogyani paid taxes to the central government in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

and remained the

Nawab Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian, Punjabi , Sindhi, Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...

s for an extended period of time.

Other Karlāṇī tribes

Personalities

Hazrat Chopan Khan Khogiani was a famous

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

and his

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

is located in

Other people of note

* Nawab Haji Ghulam Mustafa Khan Khakwani * Nawab Haji Ghulam Qadir Khan Khakwani * Nawab Mohammad Yaar Khan Khakwani * Nawab Hafiz Khuda Baksh Khan Khakwani * Nawab Ahmad Yaar Khan Khakwani * Nawab Hamid Yaar Khan Khakwani

References

{{reflist # ^ Muraqay Mooltani # ^ Punjab Chiefs 1940 # ^ Tareekh-e-Multan Pashtun tribes Ethnic groups in Afghanistan