Sikh rajput
Sikh Rajputs are the followers of Sikhism belonging to the Rajput Ethnic group. According to the 1901 British census of India, there were 20,000 Rajput converts to Sikhism.
Sikh Rajputs have a long-standing tradition in Punjab and in Sikh history. During the Mughal era, many Punjabi families followed the teachings of the Guru and were baptized as Khalsa and joined the Guru's order of followers. Many Punjabi Rajput families also enrolled in the Guru's Army, or Khalsa Panth, and baptized as Khalsa Sikhs.
There are many Sikh Rajputs in the history of Sikhism: Banda Singh Bahadur,
Baba Nidhan Singh of Hazoor Sahib, Bhai Sangat Singh Minhas, Bhai Bachittar Singh Minhas and many families whose kin are followers of Sikhism today. There are many Sikh Rajputs today with common Rajput family names.
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Diaspora
Some Rajput villages in the Punjab Region converted, wholly or partially, to Sikhism. The extent of conversion depended on the influence of Sikhism in that region. The majority of these villages are located in the central Punjab districts of Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Faridkot, Moga, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. Yet, others have migrated from West Punjab districts of Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad, Montgomery, Lahore etc. after the Partition of India. However, there are some Sikh Rajput villages in Ambala and Nalagarh districts of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, as well. There are Sikh Rajputs from clans such as Minhas( Manhas), Bhatti, Chauhan, Parmar, Parihar, Pawar(Village Ghurial), Rathore, Manj, Doad, Saroya, Sulehria, Toor, Tiwana, Janjua, Jaswal (Villages Bham, Nurur, Baddon), Rana etc. spread across villages in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Sikh Rajput Clans
There are Sikh Rajputs with from clans such as Minhas, Manhas, Naru, Bhatti, Chauhan, Parmar, Parihar, Pawar (Village Ghurial), Rathore, Manj, Doad, Saroya, Toor, Tiwana, Janjua, Jaswal (Villages Bham, Nurur, Baddon), Rana, and Waraich etc. spread across villages in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
The medieval forts of Saroya Sikh Rajput Chiefs in the Punjab villages of Chukhiara, Bhungarni, Dihana and Bohan are evidence of their heritage. While others, such as the ancestral fort of Minhas Sikh Rajputs of Daroli Kalan, Adampur Doaba was destroyed in a battle with the British.
During the later half of the 19th century, the entire area came under British control, following which Sikh Rajputs were enlisted in the British Indian Army in great numbers. A number of Sikh Rajputs soldiers in the British Army lost their lives during the Second World War, in Europe (against the Germans and the Italians), in North Africa (against the Germans), and in Burma (against the Japanese).
Sikh Rajputs in Khalsa
Banda reorganised the Khalsa Army and declared a war against the Mughal administration. From the Doaba region, he got help from Sikh Rajputs including:
- Budh Singh Parmar
- Dasaundha Singh Parmar
- Mehboob Singh Jaswal
- Dharam Singh Minhas
- Gursahai Singh Bhatti
- Hargopal Singh Chauhan
- Jiwan Singh Parmar
- Diwar Singh Khurmi
- Kanwar Singh Parmar
- Jodha Singh Khurmi
- Khan Singh Parmar
- Krishan Singh Minhas
- Punjab Singh Parmar
- Ram Singh Manj
- Karam Singh Saroya
Banda won almost half of the province and he offered Jagirs to his army commanders including the Rajputs, whose heirs are still holding their forts in the villages Chukhiara, Bhungarni, Dihana and Bohan.
