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HistoryAccording to the Indian Puranic tradition, the Ror are a people from the solar race of the Ikshvaku Kul.[4] Sri Rama of Ayodhya had a descendant called Devaneek in the eighth generation after him and this Devaneek had three sons according to the Puranas.[5] The three sons of Devaneek were called Ahinag (Aneeh), Roop and Ruru. Ruru is remembered by all Rors as their eponymous ancestor and the lineage from there on is well-preserved by their bards right up to King Dadror, whose descendants later started the fight with Aibak in 1207 by refusing to gift him any women. Evidence is also available to suggest that the Greeks used to call the Sauviras by names derived from the name of the Sauvira capital of Roruka.[6] [edit] Ror CapitalsRor clans historically ruled from Rori, the capital of Sind for a long time. Rori has been known by names such as Roruka and Rorik since antiquity. Buddhist Jataka stories talk about exchanges of gifts between King Rudrayan of Roruka and King Bimbisara of Magadh [2]. Divyavadana, the Buddhist chronicle has said that Rori historically competed with Patliputra in terms of political influence.[7] The importance of this town can not be underestimated as evident in the following JSTOR article. [3] The scholar T.W. Rhys Davids has mentioned Roruka as one of the most important cities of India in the seventh century B.C.[8] Roruka was founded and established for the first time by King Ruruk, who was the fifth Ikshvaku dynasty ruler in the lineage after Raja Harishchandra of Kashi [4]. An idea about the age of the city can be had by exploring the time line of the Ikshvaku dynasty. King Ruruk happened 29 generations before Sri Ram and should be dated to around 2500 BC using the most conservative estimates.[9] If we believe the traditional Puranic time-line for the Indian Civilization, King Ruruk may have lived around 5500 BC.[5] Thus, it can be seen that Roruka in the historical Sindhu-Sauvira area is quite an ancient seat of civilization dating back to the third millennium BC certainly. Shortly after the reign of Rudrayan, in the times of his son Shikhandi, Roruka got wiped out in a major sand storm.[10] This event is recorded in both Buddhist (Bhallatiya Jataka) and Jain (Story of Udayan and the town of Vitabhaya) annals. It was then that the legendary Dhaj, Ror Kumar built Rori Shankar[11] (the current Rohri and Sukkur) in the year 450 BC. The ancient city of Rori was also a major pilgrimage center where famous personalities like "Sant" Bhrithari, elder brother of the great King Vikramaditya, came to pay their respects to Shankar Bhagwan. After the Arab conquest of Sind, the invaders pulled down the ancient temple of Shiva but Rori still remains very important as a religious destination for the Sindhis. [edit] Bardic VersionAccording to bards' chronicles and accounts, Rors had two more capitals in India. King Mukan Dev of the Rors, who originally ruled from Palanpur in Gujarat, later extended his rule in the north of the country and established a second capital close to present-day Delhi in Badli, Jhajjar. In terms of evidence we have from inscriptions, the bards are definitely referring to Rudradaman I and his 150 A.D. campaign against the Yaudheya Kshatriyas when they say that the Ror king came from Gujarat and established his rule in Haryana.[12]
[edit] Golden AgeThe first few centuries of the Christian Era and a couple of centuries prior to that constitute the golden age of Ror history. Not only did Rors have ruling seats of power in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Sindh; during the times of Rai Dewaji in the 5th century AD, they consolidated their influence in the entire region from Afghanistan to Kanauj in India.[13] The fort at BhainsRor in Southern Rajasthan is supposed to have come up in the 2nd century B.C. and the Kagarol (Kaga Ror)[14] ruins near present-day Agra have also pointed to a similar time-line for another branch of Rors who ruled from there. The coins found in the Agra circle by Sir Alexander Cunningham [6] seem to indicate a close relationship between the Ror rulers of the area and the rulers of Hastinapur and Indraprastha. A few coins found close to the site have been dated to the 3rd century CE by Cunningham as a result of the general style of the coins and the type of Sanskrit used.[15] [edit] Ror rulers of SindhFollowing the foundation of Rori Shankar by Dhaj, Ror Kumar (Rai Diyach in Sindh), 41 kings followed him one after the other till Dadror. Listing them starting from 450 BC till 489 AD, the dynasty grew as follows:[16]
The bards report that Dadror was poisoned by his head priest, Dewaji in 620 AD[17] and he was followed by five Brahmin kings before the capture of Rori or Al Ror by the Arabs. On the other hand, written records like the Chachnama report that the Brahmin usurper was Chach and not Dewaji.[18] Considering that the bards may have made a mistake in their orally transmitted reports from generation to generation, we can place a greater faith on the date of 620 AD and that corresponds well with Chach, the usurper's lifetime. That would mean that the dynasty reported as the Rai dynasty was a continuation of Ror rule in Sindh and Rai Sahasi II was not killed by Chach jumping onto his horse's back in an open field (as in Chachnama) but in cold blood by mixing poison in his food. Wink reports on the possibility of the corruption of the Sanskrit names and renders them as related in parenthesis in the following chronology of the Ror Rai rulers (489 - 632 AD) of Rori or Alor in Sindh:[19]
[edit] Loss of SindhRors continued to hold several big forts in Sindh till the Arab invasion of AD 711 and some of the longest battles between the Arabs and Indians were fought at the three forts of Rori (Raor), BahRor[23] and AghRor. Chachnama mentions the occurrence of a "Jauhar" during the siege of the BahRor fort. All men of the military class, Ror Thakurs and their relatives were put to death after the Arab victories. Elsewhere in Sindh, a noble by the name of Dahir Ror is said to have engaged Bin Qasim and his forces in an intense battle before the final engagement between the Arab forces and Raja Dahar's army.[24] After the occupation of Sind by the Arabs, the surviving Ror warriors came away and some of them settled in Ahar, from where the Aharya Ranas of Mewar derived their name. [edit] 8th century - 12th centuryExcavations at a small village about 18 miles from Agra led to the discovery of a Ror seat of power there. The place is now called Kagarol but Alexander Cunningham and his assistant A.C.L. Carlleyle are of the view that it was originally Kaga Ror or Khangar Ror (after the name of Ror King Khangar) and later got corrupted to the present Kagarol. This princely state based at Kaga Ror had 52 forts in the Agra area and was lost to the Turks in the times of Qutbuddin Aibak. Prithvi Raj Chauhan became the ruler of Delhi with the support of the Rors and he gave big chunks of Haryana and North Rajasthan to Balda gotra Rors as well as Mehla gotra Rors. In the Battle of Tarain, there were as many as seven Ror generals in Chauhan's army and it does not come as a surprise that they claim Rai Pithora to be one of their own blood. Rai Hari Ram Kadian, Bhup Singh Mehla, Pulhan Rai from Jhansi were all Ror generals in Chauhan's army and another notable person from this community was a lady called Kirpi, who led a battalion of women in the very same fashion as the Rani of Jhansi much later. A huge portion of the Indian Army, which was caught unawares by deceit in the wee hours of the morning by invaders who did not respect the Hindu code of war that does not allow for attack before sunrise, was made of Ror warriors. The Ror connection with Chittor is very old and an eternal monument to the Ror-Mewar relationship is the "thikana" of BhainsRor, which is named after Rors. This is a lasting proof of the ascendancy of Rors around Mewar as scholars believe BhainsRor has been inhabited and fortified since the second century B.C. at least. Raja Gandharv Sen, the father of "Samrat" Vikramaditya I and the King of Malwa, was the person who built the fort back then. Gandharv Sen is also called Gardabharupa as well as Gardabhilla as also Raja Gaj in the local tongue at different places.[25] In the golden era of their history, the Rors had built many forts and a few of them still maintain their names like Behror near Alwar, Dadror, Kahror near Multan and Kaga Ror, a name that has got corrupted to Kagarol and is located near present-day Fatehpur Sikri. [edit] Battle of BadliIn 1207 A.D. Chanda Rawal (name in a similar tradition as that of Bappa Rawal) was the King in Badli, Jhajjar. Rors had been ruling from this seat for more than a thousand years since Rudradaman I and his 150 A.D. campaign against the Yaudheya Kshatriyas. But times had suddenly turned hostile with the Turks having got the better of Prithviraj Chauhan and the Hindu army by deceitfully attacking in the early hours of dawn when the Indian army was still sleeping on the banks of the Ghaggar. The Turks under the slave Qutbuddin Aibak were particularly nasty and demanded 'dola' from all the kings around Delhi in order to rub salt into the festering wounds left by an undeserving defeat. They demanded the Rawal's daughter and the Rors refused stoutly. The Turks immediately laid a siege to Badli and the battle started in Samvat 1265 (A.D. 1207). It was a long siege and the Rors did not give ground to the forces of Aibak. All the Ror clans poured into Badli from their nearby seats of Dadror, Behror and Kaga Ror to fight against the Turks and Kachhwaha king Malaya Si, son of Pajjuna, sent 31 sons of his own to help defeat the invaders. After a year of unending warfare, the Turks scored a break as the "Raj-Purohit" defected and told them to attack on Govardhan Puja just before the festival of Diwali. The Turks attacked on Govardhan Puja when all the warriors were worshipping their weapons after collecting them in the center of the fort. The invaders massacred the unarmed Kshatriyas by staying true to their deceitful nature yet again.[26] Bardic as well as vernacular records indicate that 84 men had been smuggled out by Ror elders to ensure that some people survived to call themselves Ror even after this holocaust. These 84 Rors, who were thus made to leave the scene of the carnage at Badli, settled down in the dense Dhak Jungles of present-day Karnal and Kurukshetra districts in the 84 villages, which still comprise the nucleus of the entire Ror population. The rest of them embraced martyrdom following their traditional customs of Jauhar and Saka. Such a sanguine move to save a small nucleus has many parallels in our history. Maharana Hammir's father with other relatives was smuggled out during the first siege of Chittor when the Jauhar of Rani Padmini took place. Eighty four Ror clan names are derived from the names of these survivors of the "Battle of Badli" directly. [edit] Revolt of 1857In the Rebellion of 1857, the Rors fought heroically along with the Sainis in the districts of Karnal and Kurukshetra. This was the ancient warrior blood speaking yet again even though the population of Rors was recorded as no more than 50,000 in the Census of 1881, nearly 24 years later. Ror Gotra/Clan NamesRor villages are predominantly occupied by just one gotra. Nearly all Ror gotra or clans are listed here:-
[edit] NoteRor Tomar Kul is Suryavanshi; the Nishan is same as that of Arjun but that is a pure coincidence. The specifics of the Ror House of Tomar are as follows,
 Given information taken from wikipedia. |
 Social status[edit] HaryanaThe state of Haryana was a part of the United Punjab province during the period of British rule in India. Sir Denzil Ibbetson classified Rors of United Punjab as one of the "Other dominant tribes", a classification for which his definition was "All those castes which, while hardly less important in their particular territories, are less numerous and less widely distributed than the four great races already specified. Such are the Gakhars and Awans of the Salt Range, the Kharrals and Daudpotras of the Western Plains, the Rors and Dogars of the Eastern Plains, the Meos of Gurgaon and the Gujars of the hills".[27] The quoted text basically shows that Ibbetson observed the Ror and the other castes mentioned above to be equal in dominance to the mighty Pathans, the Baloch and the Rajputs in their own territory, the only difference being in numbers and the fact that they were found in a limited area rather than all over the Punjab region. Even Blunt, while compiling his famous work on the caste system in North India, classified Rors with Rajputs and Brahmins in a hierarchy prepared according to the severity of rules regarding the eating of cooked and uncooked food with other castes.[28] [edit] Western Uttar PradeshWriting about the Rajputs or the warrior clans of Western Uttar Pradesh in his book A sociological study of folklore: projected research in Kuru region, the author Satya Prakash Arya speaks thus about them,[29]
[edit] BaiswaraRors are found in parts of Baiswara in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In Baiswara, they are known as Ror Thakurs and are found to be on excellent terms with the Bais Thakurs.[30] [edit] BundelkhandA few villages in Jhansi district have some Ror populations residing there. Some of these villages are Shimla, Bakshiya, Nagarka etc. The Rors living in Bundelkhand are known as Ror Rajputs and share good relations with other Rajput clans of the area.[31] [edit] BiharThe Rors are one of the numerous Rajput clans in Bihar and are known as Maha Ror; which seems very much to be the same etymological relationship as that between Rishi and Maharishi. Quoting from the works of Robert Montgomery Martin,[32]
[edit] Himachal PradeshFew villages in Kangra and Hamirpur districts of Himachal have Ror Rajputs residing there. Some of these villages are Bhoda, Draman, Langa, Bhoura etc. The Suryavanshi Ror Rajput clan living in Himachal are known as Patial Rajputs and share good relationship with other Rajput clans of the area. Today, Rors find themselves at the crossroads of history and they are fast making a transition from a tranquil and contended life to one that is highly affected by the rigors and competition of the modern industrial age. The feudal sense of pride and haughtiness remains but the youth of the community is excelling in education and sports. Quite a few Rors can now be found in various towns across Australia as well where they have gone to study and make a name for themselves and their community.
CharacterRors are the only Kshatriya group in India who did not give daughters to either Turks or Mughals. Furthermore, there is no record of any Ror ever converting to Islam or serving a Mughal/Turk or an Afghan invader in the history of India. It has been recorded that Rajputs(67% Hindu, 33% Muslim),[33][34] Jats (47% Hindu, 33% Muslim)[35] and Gujjars (77% Hindu, 20% Muslim)[36][37] are big communities among Muslims. Some in these Kshatriya groups such as Rajputs,[38] Jats,[39] etc. also gave daughters to Turks and Mughals, under pressure from the invaders. In similar situations, the Rors decided to fight to the last instead of giving in to the invaders' demands. For this reason, they consider themselves the foremost Vedic Kshatriyas and do not intermarry with Rajputs. Rors uphold and cherish the ideals of Maharana Pratap, who in his time had banned intermarriages with those Rajputs who had given their daughters to Mughals. In Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, the author James Tod has mentioned Pratap's stopping marriages between Rajputs who gave their daughters to Mughals and those Rajputs who were supporting Pratap:[40]
In his book "Ror Itihaas ki Jhalak" (Hindi) (English translation - "Ror history: A glimpse"), the author Dr. Raj Pal Singh clearly says:
Ror elders were considered excellent judges by not just their own brethren but even by the people of other castes. Usually, the problems related to any particular caste were arbitrated upon by its own senior people (the "Panch"), but if they failed to do so, the elderly Ror in that village played the role of arbitrators and these decisions were accepted as binding.[41] Umri, a village on the GT Road right before Kurukshetra as you approach from the direction of Delhi, is the perfect place to check this out. The Ror are in a minority in this village and a different land-owning caste resides in bigger numbers but the Sarpanch (Headman) is mostly a Ror.
Social Customs[edit] Religious BeliefsRors are staunch Hindus. Many Rors did join the Sikh Panth to fight the Mughals on the request of Guru Gobind Singh. Most of the Sikh Rors are to be found in Kurukshetra and Karnal districts of Haryana. But it is hard to separate the two groups and there is no practical distinction as they intermarry freely. A few Rors are also followers of Swami Dayanand's Arya Samaj and believe in Yajna and Gayatri. [edit] Child BirthDashautan ceremony is held after child birth. [edit] MarriageA mare was given in dowry in marriage. Married Ror women still follow Purdah, which amongst Hindus is only followed by royal families. Ror women wear Gold jewellery on their feet as a tradition. Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur explains:
Ordinarily, Rajput women and women of all other Kshatriya groups use silver jewellery on their feet. In considering proposals for marriage, four gotras are excluded by Ror families: [edit] SatiRor women were known to perform Sati till late 19th century. Only two Kshatriya groups had this custom, Ror and Rajput. In the 19th century a girl from Amin village, who was married to a man of village Bastara performed Sati. A shrine has been erected at that spot and it can still be seen (being worshipped every year on the eve of Deepawali) right on the G T Road passing by the village.[43]Katlaheri, a village on the Karnal-Jind road between Jundla and Pyont, has a shrine dedicated to Sati as well and it is venerated by all Ror families of the village. [edit] Dress and AppearanceRor men wore "Angrakha" and parted their beards in the middle.
DescentThe descent of the Ror from Ikshvaku, the Suryavanshi is as follows:- Ikshvaku - The Suryavanshi
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