Sakarwar

The Sakarwar (alternatively known as Sikarwar) are a clan found in certain parts of North and Eastern India. They belong to Rajput caste.[1]

In Bihar, the Sakarwar Rajputs established the settlements of Kudra, Chainpur and Bhabua.[2]

History

SIKARWARS established Vijaypur Sikari in 823 AD when Rana Bhatribhat was the ruler of Mewar in Rajasthan. Rao of Sikar was one of the invitees to Chitor during the coronation of Rana Sangram Singh (later popularly known as Rana Sanga) as mentioned in history books. Sikarwars also built the Agra fort, then known as Ajargarhi fort.


KAMDEV:-  Kamdev proceeded along with his army towards Madhya Pradesh in South and subjugated the Muslim aborigines called Cheras. He established himself in the area of MORENA, GWALIOR and JHANSI etc. Thus ancestors of SIKARWARS toward Morena etc had migrated much before the arrival Mughals.

DHAM DEV :- He was crowned as the ruler of Sikri in 1504 AD. Rana Sangram Singh (Rana Sanga)  who was still the prince of Mewar ( his coronation was in 1505 AD), attended the coronation on behalf of his father Rana Rai Mal. Both Dham Dev and Sangram Singh were known to be very close friends.

VIKRAM DEV:- While DHAM DEV was crowned as Ruler of Sikri, it was Vikram who managed most of the affairs of the state.

D

A detailed description of a queen from Sikri was given by Bhaduriya Rajputs. RAJA SHALYA DEV (1194-1208 AD) referred to as SELLA DEV by British historians, was an illustrious ruler of his age. Taking advantage of the disorder prevailing in the country during Ghouri Shah’s invasion, Raja Shalya Dev had attacked and plundered Meerut and Farrukhabad. When QUTUBUDDIN AIBAK attacked BHADAURA GARH in 1208, a fierce battle accompanied and great slaughter took place in which SHALYA DEV was slain. It is said that his pregnant wife who was daughter of Rao of SIKRI escaped and with the help of two loyal servants reached Sikri.

BATTLE OF KHANWA also spelled as Kanwah/ Kanhua)

During the battle of Khanwa ( village between Agra-Vijaypur Sikri) which commenced on 17 March,1527 AD, between the confederation of Rajputs lead by Rana Sanga and Mughal invader BABUR, DAM DEV not only joined the confederation but provided complete administrative, logistics & operational support to  Sanga. In fact the complete Rajput army  of 1.80 lakh stayed in side and around the Sikri fort for more than a month.  Each house hold of Sikri rose to the occasion to assist in the stay of the force including in cooking food to compensate shortage of cooks etc. Enough ration was also collected and stocked inside the fort, even before the battle started as Rana had planned to capture Agra.

           Earlier Sanga had liberated North India from Afghan ruler, Ibrahim Lodi and was confident of defeating Babur. Unfortunately this could not materialize as Mughals captured  Agra with speed. The Rajputs caused many a Mughal casualties during the night battle. This was after the Rajputs had lost during the day. The main reason for this sudden defeat was due to betrayal of one of the close aid, SILHADI (Siladitya), a TOMAR Rajput chieftain of North East Malwa,  who held a large contingent of 30,000 men, joined Babur’s camp at the critical moment of the battle.

Rana Sanga was badly wounded and had to be evacuated from the battle field. Thus the command of the Rajput’s withdrawing forces devolved on the shoulder of Dham Dev, which he  conducted with fair amount of discipline and control. The wounded Rana Sanga  and  also the SIKARWAR’S Deity- MATA KAMAKHYA, were loaded on camels and under  protection of a group of Rathor Rajput warriors, transported to the safety in the Aravali mountains. Mean while, walls of the Sikri fort were blown out with guns by Babur’s army and finally captured. The


The defeat in battle of Khanwa was a ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­major set-back in the history of Rajputs.While this resulted in the advent of Mughal rule in the region, the Rajputs had to disperse far and wide to safe their religion and families from the Babur’s atrocities. Sikarwars in particular, suffered more as the battle of Khanwa was fought in their ruled area and Babur considered Vijaypur Sikri as the main cantonment (Chawani) of the Rajputs confedera[1]ion army. After the victory, the town of Vijay pur Sikri was also re-named as Fatehpur Sik[1].[1]riby Babur. The area of Chainpur in Kaimur district of Bihar was historically ruled by Sakarwar Rajputs.[3] A document called the Kursinama purports to trace the ancestry of the Chainpur family to Fatehpur Sikri where the family was driven out during Babur's invasion. As they fled eastwards under the leadership of Lakshmi Mal, they eventually conquered Chainpur from the Chero tribe. Among the most important rulers of the Chainpur Sakarwars was Raja Salivahana who built Chainpur fort and was prominent in the region prior to the ascendancy of Sher Shah Suri.[2]

Uprising in 1857

Under the leadership of a local chieftain, Meghar Singh, many Sakarwars in Zamania in Ghazipur district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh took part in a rebellion against British rule.[4][5] The Sakarwars and the British initially had cordial relations with many Sakarwars serving as soldiers for the East India Company and their villages provided prime recruiting grounds. Meghar Singh's uprising seems to have been influenced by the movement of Kunwar Singh's forces through the region and in May 1858, many Sakarwars began looting in Eastern UP and Western Bihar.

Meghar Singh eventually accepted the leadership of Babu Amar Singh of Jagdishpur and the Sakarwars and the Ujjainiyas became allies. However, by November most of the rebels had surrendered.[4]

References
  1. Saiyad Hasan Ansari (1986). Evolution and Spatial Organization of Clan Settlements: A Case Study of Middle Ganga Valley. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 103–104. GGKEY:E73UZG9UQFE.
  2. Devendrakumar Rajaram Patil (22 December 2017). The antiquarian remains in Bihar. Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute. p. 75.
  3. Peter Gottschalk (2013). Religion, Science, and Empire: Classifying Hinduism and Islam in British India. OUP USA. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-19-539301-9.
  4. Troy Downs (2002). "Rural Insurgency During the Indian Revolt of 1857-59: Meghar Singh and the Uprising of the Sakarwars". South Asia Research. 22 (2): 123–143. doi:10.1177/026272800202200202.
  5. Troy Downs (2007). "Rajput revolt in Southern Mirzapur, 1857–58". Journal of South Asian Studies. 15 (2): 29–46. doi:10.1080/00856409208723166.
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