Dhaj the Great
Dhaj, often called Dhaj the Great or Rai Diyach, is a figure traditionally named in regional ballads and literary cycles connected with the story of Sorath Rai Diyach. The historicity, chronology, and details of Dhaj's life are **disputed**: some sources present Dhaj as an early monarch, while other scholars and commentators treat the tale as part of oral and literary tradition rather than a documented historical biography. [1][2][3]
| Dhaj the Great | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raja Ror / Founder of the Ror dynasty | |||||||||
_miniature_18th_century.jpg) Sorath Rai Diyach (Dhaj the Great) miniature, 18th century | |||||||||
| Various dates claimed; historicity disputed | |||||||||
| Various dates claimed | |||||||||
| Predecessor | Position established | ||||||||
| Successor | Kunak | ||||||||
| Born | Dhaj Ror Kumar Various dates claimed; historicity disputed Claimed: Rohri, Sindh | ||||||||
| Died | Various dates claimed; historicity disputed Claimed: Junagadh, Gujarat | ||||||||
| Issue | Kunak, Takshak, Prasenjit, Kardhaman, Raghu and Sharanjit | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| House | Ror dynasty | ||||||||
| Father | Indraman | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||
Historicity and origin theories
The figure of Dhaj/Rai Diyach appears prominently in Sindhi and neighbouring regional oral narratives and in later literary retellings. The historicity and dating of Dhaj have been debated: while some modern works present Dhaj as an ancient or early historic ruler, others treat the character as part of regional folklore whose precise historical basis is uncertain. [1]
Disputed historicity
Scholars and researchers caution that documentary evidence placing Dhaj or a formal "Ror dynasty" in a specific ancient century is lacking in primary archival sources and inscriptions. Many of the widely circulated chronological claims about Dhaj come from later literary traditions or popular accounts rather than contemporary epigraphic or administrative records. [3]
Maratha-origin hypothesis for the Ror community (post-1761)
A separate line of community tradition and some local researchers propose that the contemporary Ror community of Haryana and adjacent areas may in part descend from **Maratha soldiers and groups that moved northward after the Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761)**. According to this hypothesis, retreating or dispersed Maratha elements subsequently settled, intermarried, and assimilated with local populations — a process that could have contributed to the formation or renaming of local groups later identified as Ror. [4]
This Maratha-origin claim is presented in some community histories and oral accounts as a migration theory rather than an established historical fact. Independent archival, genealogical, or epigraphic evidence directly linking named Maratha regiments or lineages to the modern Ror community remains limited in academic publications. For this reason, the Maratha-origin view should be described as **a community tradition or migration hypothesis** that requires further documented evidence. [1]
Documentary record
The earliest systematic official mentions of the group called "Ror" in colonial records appear in British India publications and census materials from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (for example, the Census of India reports of the late 1800s and early 1900s and regional ethnographic accounts). These documents describe the Rors largely as an agricultural and landholding community in parts of present-day Haryana and neighbouring regions. [5][6][7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mehla, Ishwar Singh (2023). An Anthology On The Ror Caste. Notion Press. ISBN 979-8-88975-967-6.
- ↑ Menon, Anil (2017). Half of What I Say. Bloomsbury Publishing.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shah, Mushtaq Ali (2014). Mystic Melodies: Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. AuthorHouse.
- ↑ Eaton, Richard M. (2005). The Marathas in North India after 1761. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Census of India, 1881. Government of India.
- ↑ Census of India, 1901. Government of India.
- ↑ Ibbetson, Denzil (1883). Punjab Castes. Government Printing Office.
| Preceded by new state |
Maharaja of the Ror Empire dates and historicity disputed |
Succeeded by Kunak |
