History of Village BAKHLI - Before 20th Century

Pre-20th-Century History of Village Bakhli and its various  talukas(tahsils) and Districts -

According to the district gazetteer, Ambala district was constituted in 1847 from territories which had lapsed to the Government or been confiscated for “misbehaviour” during the period of 1809-1846. However, according to another reference, Ambala district came into being in 1849.

“The remainder of the district, as then constituted covering five tehsils, included the large areas held in jagir by the representatives of hitherto independent chiefs, whose sovereign powers had been finally been resumed in 1846-47. Village Bakhli under Tehsil Pipli was at that time a portion of the district of Thanesar, a district like Ambala formed from lapsed and forfeited territory, and was not added to Ambala till Thanesar district was broken up in 1862,” the gazetteer states.

The district of Thanesar included the estates of Thanesar, which lapsed in 1832 and the remainder in 1850, Kaithal, which lapsed in 1843 and Ladwa confiscated in 1846. “Upto 1849, these estates had been administered by the political agent of Ambala and his assistants. In that year, being incorporated with Punjab, they were formed into one district under a Deputy Commissioner subordinate to the Commissioner of the Cis-Sutlej Division.”

In 1862, the district was abolished as a separate charge and its territory distributed between the districts of Ambala and Karnal. “The parganahs of Shahabad, Ladwa and a part of Thanesar fell to Ambala and the remainder, including Kaithal went to Karnal. In the year 1866 the Pehowa parganah ( including Bakhli)  was transferred from Karnal to Ambala but in 1876, 14 villages and in 1889, 89 villages were again transferred from Pipli to Kaithal tehsil of Karnal,” the gazetteer states. This was the time when Bakhli was also transferred to Kaithal Tehsil of Karnal.

Initially  BAKHLI village was a part of  BRAHMVAIVART which falls between the Holy rivers Saraswati and the sacred Drishadvati .   The ancient Saraswati river was thought to have flowed throw Haryana but it has now disappeared. The river Ghaggar is its main seasonal river. It rises up in the outer Himalayas between the Yamuna and the Sutluj and enters Haryana near Pinjore, district Panchkula. Passing through Ambala and Hissar it reaches Bikaner in Rajasthan and runs a course of 290 miles before disappearing in the deserts of Rajasthan. 

The Markanda river's ancient name was Aruna. A seasonal stream like the Ghaggar, it originates from the lower Shivalik hills and enters Haryana near Ambala. During monsoons, this stream swells up into a raging torrent notorious for its devastating power. The surplus water is carried on to the Sanisa lake where the Markanda joins the Saraswati.

About 1000 B.C., with the advent of the Painted Grey Ware people, generally associated with the Aryans, a new era dawned upon this district. The people representing this new culture settled on the banks of the holy rivers Sarasvati and Drishadvati, and the region came to be known as the holy land of Kurukshetra . Thus the district of of Kurukshetra formed the northern boundary of Jind is indicated  by a later cultural development in the form of Yakshas or dvarapalas at Ramrai (Jind tahsil) and Barta (Narwana tahsil). The sacred Drishadvati, in fact, after crossing the Pehowa- Bakhli region  passed through some places like Hat, Assan, Brah, Jind, Dhundwa and Ramrai. The mention of various tirthas of the district in the Mahabharta and the Puranas3 points to the  continuance of activities of the Aryans. The region came under the sway of theVedic Bharatas, Purus and the Kurus and was included in the kingdom of the Pandavas under whom it touched the height of glory. King Parikshit, grandson of the Pandava had his second capital at Asandivat (Asandh in Karnal district), very close to the Jind district. Parikshit, however, lost his life in the struggle against the Nagas of Taxila. This defeat, later avenged by his son Janamejaya, is symbolised in the epic tradition of the snake sacrifice5 which possibly took place at Sarpi Darvi or Safidon. It may safely be inferred that this area was also included in the kingdom of the Kurus, which was one of the sixteen Mahajan apadas in the 6th century B.C. mentioned in the Buddhist 1iterature  It was a part of the Nanda empire, and its people are included by Panini  among the warior communities (Ayudha-jivins) of Punjab.

1. Mahabharata, Vanaparva, 83.4 (Ed. P. C. Roy, Calcutta).

2. Dhattarwal, Dhoop Singh, Archaeology Safidon Tahsil, District Jind (Haryana),

Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 1978, (MSS) p. 5.

3. Mahabharata, Vana, 81; Padma, Adi. 26; Narda, 64; Vamana, 13.

4. Raychaudhuri, H. C., Political History of Ancient India, 1953, p. 23.

5. Mahabharata, Adi.

6. Anguttara Nikaya, I, 213; Dighe Nikaya, II, 200.

7. Raychaudhuri, H. C., Political History of Ancient India, pp. 233-34.

8. Pani Later on, these people may have possibly assisted Chandragupta in his war of

liberation against the foreign Greeks. Archaeological remains of pre-Mauryan and

Mauryan times have been covered from a number of places in the district.1 Furthermore,

the discovery of an Ashokan Edict at Topra, pillars at Hisar and Fatehabad and stupas at

Chaneti and Thanesar in the adjoining districts suggests inclusion of the Jind area in the

Mauryan empire.

After the fall of the Mauryas, the region witnessed the rise of several important

republican people. Among these the most important were, of course the Yaudheyas who

spread over an extensive area from Ludhiana to Bharatpur in Rajasthan. The Yaudheyas

later submitted to the superior power of the Kushanas whose coins have been found

throughout Kashmir, Punjab, and Haryana. Mathura and other regions. An Athsho (an

Iranian fire deity) type coin of Kanishka (c. 78-101 AD.) was recovered from village

Anta (Safidon tahsil): The Sonipat hoard of Kushana coins, their coin moulds from

Norangabad (Bhiwani district) and crude imitation of coin types of Vasudeva I from

other places including those from this district, 4 and also the discovery of typical pottery

of Kushana times from the districtS suggest that the Kushanas ruled here. With the

decline of the Kushana power after Huvishaka (138 AD.) the Yaudheyas again asserted

their independence some time during ｷthe third century AD. Their coins belonging to

this period have been found throughout Haryana, e.g., Sonipat, Rohtak, Raia, Anawali.

Karontha, Narangabad, Hansi, Sirsa, Hisar, Assan, Jaijaiwanti and Anta.o In the fourth

century A.D. the region alongwith the Yaudheyas submitted to Samudra-gupta7 and,

after the fall of the imperial Guptas, to the Hunas. In the seventh century AD. It formed

part of the region called Srikantha and was under the Pushpabhutis of Thanesar.8 Under

the Pushpahautis, the region attained the pinnacle of glory but after the death of Harsha

what became of the region is not precisely known. Towards the end of seventh century

AD., the army of Yasovarman, the king of Kanauj passed through this region9. In the

ninth and tenth centuries, the district formed part of the Pratihara empire whose

inscriptions have been found at Sirsa, Pehowa and Delhi. Later on, the Tomaras, the

feudatories of the Pratiharas came to power here .

1. Dhattarwal, Dhoop Singh, Archaeology of Safidon Tehsil, District Jind (Haryana), Kurukshetra

University, Kurukshetra, 1973, (MSS), p. 111.

2. Phadke H. A., Buddhism in Kurudesa International Seminar on Buddhism and Jainism, Cuttack, 1975

Proceedings, p.p. 154-8.

3. Dhattarwal, Dhoop 'Singh, op. cit, p. 77.

4. Silak Ram, Archaeoloqy of Rohtak and Hisar Districts, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 1972 (MSS),

p. 261.

5. Dhattarwal. Dhoop Singh, Archaeology of Safidon Tahsil, District Jind (Haryana), Kurukshetra University.

Kurukshetra, 1978 (MSS), p. 63.

6. Ibid pn. 75-6: also see Silak Ram. op. cit.., pp. 129, 259.

7. Allahabad Pillar. Inscription of Samudra-gupta, Line 22.

8. Rana Harsh-charita. III.

9. Vakpatiraja, Gaudavaho (Ed. s.pip. Pandit) v.484...,ni, Ashtadhyayi, IV. I. 178.

As indicated in the Palam Boali and Delhi Museum inscriptions,1 the Tomaras

ruled the Haryana country from their capital Dhillika, modern Delhi till the middle of

twelfth century when they were overthrown by the Chahamana VigraharClja IV

(Visaladeva): Hansi, Sirsa, Pinjore, and Bhatinda were the chief centres of political

activity during this period. The Chahamana supremacy in this region, however, could

not last long. The defeat of the forces of Prithviraja by Shihab-ud-din (Muizz-ud-din)

Ghuri in the decisive battle of Tarain (1192 AD.) and the flight of Prithviraja towards

Sirsa, his capture and subsequent death,3 gave a definite turn to the political fortune of

the region. With almost the whole of the north. west of India, it passed on to the

Muslim rule for centuries to come.

Medieval PERIOD

After the demise of Shihab-ud-din Ghuri, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, his favourite

general established Turkish rule in northern India in 1206. The Haryana territory,

including 'the present Jind district, formed a part of the Sultanate of Aibak who placed

the , district under the iqta of Hansi. Officers mostly belonging to the army, were put

in charge of the administration to preserve law and order and collect taxes, in the

towns of Jind, ,Dhatrat and Safidon. The villagers were left to themselves; none

interfered in their affairs if they paid their revenue in time.

This position continued throughout the reign of Aibak and his successors, up to

AD. 1283.5 But the Khaljis under Ala-ud-din, the greatest of the kings of this dynasty

made definite changes. He took the region in his tight grip by placing it under direct

control of the central government. The change was for the worse. Ala-ud-din squeezed

the people of their incomes in such a ruthless manner that they literally became

paupers.6 Unfortunately the two TughluqsGhiyas-ud-din (AD. 1320-1325) and

Muhammad Tughluq (AD. 1325-1351) who came after him were in no way better than

him.

1. (i) Palam Baoli Inscription, v. 3, Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, XLIII, pt. I, 1874, ',Calcutta,

pp 104-110.

(ii) Delhi Museum Inscription,' Epigraphia Indica, I, .p. 98 f, v. 4.

2. Dashratha Sharma, Early Chauhana Dynasties, Delhi, 1959, pp 59-60.

3. Ibid, Pp. 86-87.

4. The historical literature of the period does but little justice to the district. Except for one reference made bv Minhaj-ud-din in Sirai-ud-din, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri (Bib. Ind, 1873-81), p. 236, that Malik Nasirud-din Tyasi was the Mukta of Jind, Barwala and Hansi, we do not get references

concerning the history of the district. This reference is, however, very valuable, for besides giving the name of the Mukta, it also gives the jurisdiction of Iqta of Hansi in this period.

5. For general discussion of the administrative system of the mamuk's in Panjab and Haryana

(includinp: Jinn di!':trict). l'ee Fauia Singh (Ed.) History of the PanJab (Patiala. 1972) Vol. III.pp 126-40: Butlha Prakash, Haryana Throuah the A qes (Kurukshetra : 1963) pp. 45-46; K. C. Yadav, Har1Jan(1 Ka Itihas (Jullundur . 1975) no. 63-64

6. K. C. Yadav, op. cit. p. 63 : Buddha Prakash, op. cit., pp. 45-46.

There is one important event of this time which needs to be mentioned. Timur launched a fierce attack on northern India in AD. 1398. He entered Haryana from Punjab side and overran the districts of Sirsa and Hisar. Fortunately, the district of Jind did not suffer much at his hands; during his march from Tohana to Kaithal and then from Kaithal to Panipat he touched only the outskirts of the district except for a short distance of a few kilometres from Moana (a small village near the Karnal-Jind border) to Safidon and a little beyond. The inhabitants of these places ran away before his advent and the invader could not lay his hands on any thing except for burning the fort of Safidon.' After Timur's return from India, the same old situation again arose. There was no king and no government for the people of  Haryana region for quite some time. The Sayyids could not effect any improvement in the situation, but their successors, the Lodis brought the district under their control in AD. 1451 and retained it until 1526 when Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire in India snatched it from the weak hands of the last of their rulers, Ibrahim Lodi. Babur gave the entire Hisar division including the Jind district to Humayun as a reward for his meritorious services during the last campaign. Humayun retained it until 1530 when Babur died .

1. Phulkian. States (Patiala, .Jind and Nabha,), Gazetteer, 1904, p. 274.

2. S.A.A. RIZVI,. Tughlaq Kalin Bharat, Vol. N. pp. 73-76, 224.

3 Sharaf-ud-dln Yazdi, Zafar-namah (Calcutta: 1865), Vol. II,pp, 84-85.

People speak bangru which is a slight variation of the Haryanvi dialect

having its own peculiarities. People in the urban areas use some words of the

Haryanvi, but they are switching towards a standard form of Hindi. In the areas adjoining the Rohtak district, the quality of speech resembles that of the people of Rohtak. When we proceed towards Narwana, we find gradual phonetic changes so much so that the aspirated consonants' 'gha', 'jha', 'dhh' and 'bha.' reflect their separated aspiration and the vocables of the dialect fall in line with the dialect of the people of the area forming Kaithal tahsil of Kurukshetra District. Again initial and middle 'aa' .change into 'ai' in the dialect of this area. Here one finds some words which are totally different from those spoken by the Rohtak people, but these words are fully intelligible to the people of Jind area. For example, we can .consider giman (manger), Guar (cattle yard), bakse (land where cattle heads assemble before departing for

1, Statistical Abstract of Jind District, 1975-76, p. 3.

2. Statistical Abstract of Hargrazng), Khail (big pitcher), rane (dry piece of dung), dhamanjer (bad cold), takhari (balance).

In the area adjoining Narwana, aspiration or 'h' sound plays prominent role in determining the accent and the tone of the whole speech. Hindi consonants 'gh', 'jha', 'dha', 'dhha' and 'bha' are aspirated sounds and aspiration is completely blended whereas these consonants seem to possess a joint when spoken by people of this area. For example, in dhara 'dha' are an aspirated sound in Hindi and an aspirated joint sound in the dialect of this area which may be denoted as dahara. The pronunciation of 'h' sound is very interesting. Sometimes it has changed its place as in hara which is pronounced as ahara in this dialect. Similarly, 'hari' becomes ahari and buhari becomes buahri. Again 'h' sound is disappearing in some cases as am for ham. The sound feature conspicuous in the dialect is the change of 'aa' sound into 'a'. The examples may be given as gail for gal, dail for dal, pail for pal, aig for ag. But there are some exceptions to this rule such as pala. It is pronounced as pala everywhere. The displaced persons who settled in the district after the partition speak Panjabi. In Government offices and educational institutions, Hindi is spoken by the majority. The various scripts used are : Devnagari for Hindi, Gurmukhi for Panjabi, Persian for Urdu, Roman for English, and lande for book keeping .After the migration of muslims in 1947, the use of Urdu has gradually given place to Hindi. Its use is now limited to the older generation. The younger generation mostly uses Hindi and English in speech and writing; The business  community stills more or less uses lande in maintaining their account books.