Page 12 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer
P. 12

Chandias are living in various chaks and mauzas most noteworthy of which
               is Patti Chandia.

               Syeds
               Syeds  command  and  demand  respect  mostly  by  claiming  their  lineage  to
               Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through his much-revered daughter, Fatima.

               Most prominent among the Syeds are the Bukhari and Gilani clans; though
               there are other less known divisions too such as the Hussaini, Maududi and
               Shamsi.
               The  Makhdums  of  Seetpur  in  Tehsil  Alipur  are  Syeds,  and  so  are  the
               custodians of the shrine of Alam Pir at Shehr Sultan in Tehsil Jatoi. Both
               these families are  Bukhari  Syeds, and have large following  in the form of
               mureeds.
               Syeds  are  also  settled  in  Tehsil  Muzaffargarh,  and  are  more  numerous
               towards the south in areas such as Bara Sadaat.
               The Kahiris in the Tehsil Kot Addu prefer to call themselves Syeds too but
               their claims are not accepted at all hands. In fact, there are others persons
               or clans around too who return themselves as Syeds, but the claims so made
               remain unreliable, to say the least.

               Pathans
               The Pathans came to this district from Balochistan as well as Kabul at the
               end of the 18  and the beginning of the 19  centuries. They mostly belong
                             th
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               to  the  Alizai,  Babar,  Tarin,  Baddozai,  Bamozai  and  Yusufzai  tribes.  The
               Alizais are mostly settled in Tehsil Muzaffargarh. The Babars – to whom the
               legendary  Nawabzada  Nasrullah  Khan  belonged  –  own  most  land  in
               Khangarh. The Tarins mostly reside in Qasba Gujrat of Tehsil Kot Addu.
               The Pathans of Muzaffargarh are now Pathans or Pashtuns in name only.
               One can hardly find the traits of Pushtunwali in them. In fact, living in Punjab
               for centuries have fully indigenized them, and no one can set off a Pathan
               from a Punjabi anymore.

               Qureshis
               The Qureshis, though less in numbers, wield considerable influence in the
               district primarily because of their riches. Among them, those who owned land
               near Karam Dad Qureshi and Qasba Gujrat once used to claim that they had
               received land from a king of Delhi, and that their ancestors were counselors
               and servants of the Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur nawabs and of Diwan
               Sawan Mal. The Qureshis also own big landholdings in Thatta Qureshi and
               the  neighborhood  on  the  bank  of  the  Chenab  between  Muzaffargarh  and
               Khangarh.  Qureshis  have  a  good  presence  in  Tehsil  Kot  Addu  too,  and
               according to one estimate, are settled in at least 12 mauzas.





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