Dhund (ڈھونڈ), also known as Abbasi (), is a tribe mainly inhabiting Murree in Punjab, and the surrounding areas of Hazara and Azad Kashmir. They natively speak Pahari, Urdu and Hindko languages.
They have adopted several titles such as "Khan", "Sardar" and "Raja".
Origin According to the anthropologist Hastings Donnan who did fieldwork on the Dhund tribe in the 1980s, the Dhund claim their ancestors to have arrived in Murree and the surrounding region with the invading armies of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim from Arabia in 712 CE, and further claim an Arab descent from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of prophet Muhammad. The tradition of the Arab descent put forwarded by the Dhund has been noted by the British colonial officials since the early 20th century, though with much scepticism. According to Donnan, the tradition of descent from Muhammad's uncle and the usage of the surname Abbasi by the Dhund may suggest "recent Islamization of the name of the group".
Another theory posits an indigenous origins of the tribe, and in the 1881, 1891 and 1901 Censuses of British India the Dhund are recorded to have returned themselves as Rajputs.
History Mughal and Durrani empires
During the decline of the Mughal empire, from the late 18th to early 19th century, the Karrals and Dhunds began to assert to themselves some independence of the Gakhars.Gazetteer of the Hazara District 1883-4 - Compiled and Published under the authority of the Punjab Government.
According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India (Provincial series) of 1908 "Hazara plain formed part of the Attock governorship, while other parts of the modern District were held by the same Gakhars who played so prominent part in the history of Rawalpindi. When the Mughal dynasty declined and the Afghan peoples from across the Indus grew more aggressive, they found Hazara an easy prey; Gakhar rule had grown weak, and the old families of the Gujars, Kharrals, and Dhunds were losing their vitality. In 1752, Hazara passed definitely under the sway of Ahmad Shah Durrani, The District formed the most convenient route to Kashmir and also a useful recruiting area. Hence the Durranis were at pains to repress disorder, but troubled themselves little about the internal administration or even the revenue payments of the tract.IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA PROVINCIAL SERIES NORTH-WEST FRONTIERPROVINCE
M. A. Sherring writing in 1879 described the Gukkurs and their neighbours the Dhunds, the Gukkurs were described as living in the south of Hazara District with their chief at Khanpoor and the "territory to the east of that held by the Gukkurs, as far as the Jhelum, is inhabited by the Dhoonds, a rocky country traversed by torrents, in which a wild and hardy people, led by fanatical priests, could, in former times, successfully defy their enemies".HINDU TRIBES AND CASTES; TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE MAHOMEDAN TRIBES OF THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER AND OF THE ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF THE CENTRAL PROVINCES. VOL. II. 1879
Sikh Empire During the latter years of the Sikh Empire the Dhunds rebelled against Gulab Singh, Singh apparently had hunted in vain "for escaped ringleaders" until he came up with the idea of imprisoning the headmen of the neighbourhood – this then allowed him to get his hands on the ringleaders – the British were later to borrow this tactic against the Dhunds in 1857.Punjab Mutiny Report
In 1837, twenty years prior to the rebellion against the British, rebellion against the Sikh Empire broke out – as the Dhunds, Sattis and other mountain tribes had taken the opportunity of the difficulties faced by the Sikhs at the Battle of Jamrud and the death of Hari Singh Nalwa, to rise in revolt. Their country had been made over to Gulab Singh, and after defeating the Yusufzai he marched with 20,000 men, regulars and irregulars, to crush revolt in the Murree and Hazara hills.Sir Lepel H. Griffin, The Panjab Chiefs., (T. C. McCarthy, Chronicle Press, 1865)
At first the insurgents were successful. Under the leadership of Shamas Khan, a Sudhan, who had been a confidential follower of Raja Dhyan Singh, the whole country had risen, and all the hill forts of the Jammu Raja had fallen into their hands . But Gulab Singh bided his time. He made Kahuta his headquarters, and very soon his promises and bribes brought disunion into the hostile camp. When he had so worked upon the chiefs that none knew whom to trust, he marched into the hills, burning the crops and the villages as he advanced, and offering a reward of a rupee for the head of every man, woman or child connected with the insurgents.
Sir Lepel H. Griffin writing in The Panjab Chiefs described their situation as follows:
"The wretched people, divided among themselves, and confounded by this display of ferocity in their enemy, made little resistance. They were hunted down like wild beasts in every direction and massacred without pity men and women alike. At length Gulab Singh ordered the women to be spared, and kept as prisoners with the army, and there was soon to be seen, following each division, a troop of half-clothed starving females, driven like cattle by day, and at night, penned like cattle in a thorn enclosure, and exposed to the utmost brutality of the soldiery. Only a few hundred of these women, out of several thousand, reached Jammu. These, with the exception of a few of the handsomest reserved for Gulab Singh's Zanana, were sold as slaves."
Griffin notes it "may be an exaggeration, that twelve thousand of the Dhoonds, Sattis and Sudhans perished in this hill campaign." However he goes on to say that it was certain that "some parts of the hills, before well peopled and fertile, became as a desert; men were not left sufficient to till the fields, and a famine the next year swept off many of the miserable survivors of Gulab Singh's revenge."
The Treaty of Amritsar in 1846 would see Gulab Singh become a British ally and recognised as Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
Writing in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Griffin had the following to say about the fate of Dhunds:
"This terrible punishment was, however, soon forgotten by the Dhoonds. In September, 1857, thinking a time favourable for revolt had arrived, they conspired with the Khurals and their kinsmen of Hazara, and planned an attack on the hill station of Murree. But warning had been received in time of the proposed attack, and when the enemy 300 strong, advanced on the night of the 2nd expecting an easy victory and abundant spoil, they were surprised and driven back, and the next day, on the arrival of troops from Rawalpindi, the Dhoond country to the north west of Murree was entered and eleven villages of the rebels burnt; while fifteen of the ringleaders, who were subsequently captured, suffered death."
East India Company rule In 1847 General James Abbott was tasked with the pacification of Hazara, only two tribes stood in the way of total conquest, the hardest to deal with being the Eastern Dhund - Abbott described them as: Patrick Vans Agnew sought to negotiate with them but described them as "intractable" and "conceited beyond measure".Charles Allen, Soldier Sahibs: The Men Who Made the North-West Frontier, Hachette UK, 21 Jun 2012 Despite eventually going to war against them Abbott wrote:
Abbott had previously written the following about the tribe on 3 June 1847 in his journal,
On 13 June, Abbott, who had halted at Garhi Habibullah, received Vans Agnew and wrote the following about this: "I remained at this spot to enable Mr. Vans Agnew to rejoin me. During his absence all intercourse was cut off between us, for the Dhoonds, with whom that gentleman was negotiating, are too divided amongst themselves to be able to aid in the transmission of letters. I became rather anxious at Mr. Agnew’s protracted absence and silence, but on the evening of the 13th he joined my camp and gave me the particulars of his negotiation. From this it would seem that the Dhoonds and Karlal, two tribes occupying the strongest country of Hazara and separated by blood and hereditary prejudices from the Pathan, Mogul, and Gukka tribes of that country, live in a state of equality, acknowledging at present no ruler and being amenable to no authority that they settle their political dealings by assemblies called jirgas, and from their isolated position amongst wild mountains and fastnesses have little idea of any world but their own petty province. Three Sayyids, Shurff Shah, Syud Shah and Mhaitab Shah by name, exercise some influence over the Dhoonds, but it is limited and uncertain. Amongst the Kurrals, Hussun All is the hereditary chief of one clan and Fatteh Ali Khaun of another The country of the Dhoonds is a small tract lying between the right bank of the Jelum and a huge spur from the predominant summit of Mochpoora, then turning westward by south and occupying the valley of one of the feeders of the Hurro river. The Kurral country lies at the south-western foot of the Mochpoora summit in the corner formed by the Dhoonds of the Jelum and those of the Hurro The country of both tribes is very difficult, and a large force is requisite to give certainty to any attack upon it Mr, Vans Agnew recommends that roads be made along the ridges leading in two directions into the heart of the country so as to render the passage of an army comparatively certain. This appears to me very sound advice of its feasibility I can better judge when I shall know more of the country".JOURNALS AND DIARIES OF THE ASSISTANTS TO THE RESIDENT AT LAHORE - No. 12,—Journal of Captain James Abbott, Boundary Commissioner, Punjaub, from llth to 20tb June 1847.
Abbott notes that the "Dhoonds and Kurrals were brought under subjection by the Sikh Government" and that "Hussun Ali, in addition to his jaghir of about 3,500 rupees, was allowed half the actual revenue of the Kurral country for keeping up a force to overawe the people and ensure the Kardar from molestation. It would seem that for this consideration, amounting to about 6,000 rupees, he was expected to exercise this influence over the Dhoonds also, and that until the whole country fell into confusion he was tolerably punctual to his engagement. At present the tribes are in a state of rebellion and the difficulty will be to cause Hussun Ali to make the proper submission. Should he do so, I am of opinion that he should be reinstated in his former possessions (the chowth) as the simplest, and indeed only, method, not involving loss of controlling so strong a country. He has not come in to Mr. Vans Agnew, but has sent messages. It appears that he is extremely suspicious. The Syuds of the Dhoonds were conciliated by the Sikh Government with a jaghir and a yearly pension of 500 rupees, but this salary was extended to only two of the houses, and the third, Mhaitab Shah, was not provided for. He has come in to Mr. Agnew and lent him all the aid in his power, and I think it will be wise to follow Mr. Agnew’s suggestion and give him a salary of 250 rupees a year from the revenue of the Dhoond country on their return to allegiance."
Abbott then noted at "the suggestion of Mr. Vans Agnew, in which I concur, I have paid in advance to the Syuds, Syud Shah and Shuiff Shah, one half of their yearly pension commencing with the rain crops of the current year not yet collected and given them a purwana assuring them that, on the return to allegiance of the Dhoonds, their salary shall be punctually paid them. I have also granted a purwana to the Syud Mhaitab Shah promising him a salary of 250 rupees yearly on return of the Dhoonds to allegiance.