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{{short description|Pakistani Punjabi agricultural community}}
{{infobox ethnic group|
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|group= Arain
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{{Use Pakistani English|date=September 2023}}
|popplace = ] • ]
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|langs = ] • ] • ] • ] • ]
{{Infobox tribe
|rels= ]
| name = Arain
| local name =Raeen, Rain or Arai
| type =
| image = Arain men in Lahore.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Raeens or Arains, Lahore
| ethnicity = ]
| nisba =
| location = ], ] and ]
| varna =
| descended_label =
| descended =
| parent_tribe =
| population =
| demonym =
| branches =
| language =], ], ]
| religion = ]]
}} }}


'''Arain''' (also known as '''Raeen''') are a large ]<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Koul |first=Ashish |date=2016-12-03 |title=Making new Muslim Arains: reform and social mobility in colonial Punjab, 1890s-1910s |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19472498.2016.1260348 |journal=South Asian History and Culture |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1080/19472498.2016.1260348 |issn=1947-2498}}</ref> agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LfwqAQAAMAAJ&dq=Arain&pg=RA7-PA24 |website=The Punjab Record: Or, Reference Book for Civil Officers (page 24) via Google Books website|title=Arain |date=1905|access-date=17 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="Ewing1997">{{cite book|author=Katherine Pratt Ewing|title=Arguing sainthood: modernity, psychoanalysis, and Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_JQWAQAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=9780822320265|page=145}}</ref>
The '''Arain''' ({{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|آرائیں}}}}) are a ] tribe of ] who are found mainly in the ] province and also that of ]. They are chiefly associated with farming, with many being "peasant-proprietors"<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988 |first=Shahid Javed |last=Burki |journal=Asian Survey |volume=28 |issue=10 |date=October 1988 |pages=1082–1100 |jstor=2644708}} {{subscription required}}</ref> and some being ]s (landlords).


At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivators and landowners concentrated in four districts: ], ], ] and ], all in the ].<ref name=":1" /> Following the ], they are now mainly present in the ]i provinces of ] and ] with a small population in parts of ], ] and ].
== Origins ==
The Arains are historically exclusively ].<ref>{{cite book |title=A History Of Pakistan And Its Origins |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |authorlink=Christophe Jaffrelot |others=trans. Beaumont, Gilliam |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2004 |isbn=9781843311492 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Q9sI_Y2CKAcC&pg=PA154 |page=154 |accessdate=10 December 2012}}</ref> Their origins are uncertain, with some members of the community claiming a connection with the ]s. Others, with whom the historian and political scientist ] agrees, believe that they are probably displaced farming communities who moved to Punjab from Sindh and ] as Muslim armies encroached. Jaffrelot also believes the community to be related to the ].<ref name="Jaffrelotp208">{{cite book |title=A History Of Pakistan And Its Origins |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |authorlink=Christophe Jaffrelot |others=trans. Beaumont, Gilliam |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2004 |isbn=9781843311492 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Q9sI_Y2CKAcC&pg=PA208 |page=208 |accessdate=10 December 2012}}</ref>


A self-conscious community,<ref name=":1" /> several meetings were held to establish an organisation to represent the Arain community in the 1890s. Eventually, in 1915, Anjuman Ra’iyan-i-Hind emerged as such a body in ] and a national community newspaper, titled ''Al-Rai'', was established.<ref name="muhammad">{{cite thesis |last1=Ibrahim |first1=Muhammad |title=Role of Biradari System in Power Politics of Lahore: Post-Independence Period |year=2009 |url=http://173.208.131.244:9060/xmlui/handle/123456789/6403}}</ref>
There are claims that many Arain descend from ] who came to India with the invading armies of ]. Such claims are given credence by how nearly all Arain are, and have been, Sunni Muslim, much like the early Arabs accompanying Muhammad bin Qasim. This assertion is supported by numerous references made in several Urdu language texts&nbsp;— such as ''Tareekh-e-Arain'', ''Sham Ta Multan'', ''Tareekh Frishta'', ''Tohfa Tul Ikram'' and ''Aina-e-Haqeekat Numa'' - that trace the lineage of many notable Arains including ], ], and the ]. According to these sources, the word ''Arain'' is derived from ''Areeha'' which is the Arabic name for the city of ] in the ], Palestinian Territory, the place from where they came.<ref>2.Tarikh-i-Araian by Ali Asghar Chaudri, published by Ilmi Kitabkhana Urdu Bazar Lahore Pakistan in 1989</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2012}}<ref>Aina Haqeeqat Numa by Maulana Akbar Shah Khan pages 126,127</ref>


==History==
== British Raj period ==
The British considered the Arain as a landholding 'agricultural' caste. When the British wanted land developed in the Punjab after its annexation, Arain were brought in to cultivate lands around the cities, and were preferred to assist with the opening up of the new agrarian frontier in canal colonies of the Punjab between 1906 – 1940. The Arain received 86% of the land that was allotted to Muslim agricultural castes, and were thus the largest Muslim land holders in Punjab during British rule.<ref>Punjab Colony Manual (Lahore, 1936), p. 13; and Chenab Colony Settlement Report (1915)</ref><ref>"The Punjab Canal Colonies', 1885-1940", Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University, 1980; and Imran Ali, The Punjab Under Imperialism, 1885-1947 (Princeton University Press,Princeton, New Jersey, 1988).</ref>


=== Origins ===
The British considered the Arain the best cultivators amongst all the castes, and were favoured for their "hard work, frugality and sense of discipline".<ref name="ReferenceA">''Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988'', Shahid Javed Burki.</ref>{{full|date=February 2013}}<ref>Castes The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir, by Sir James McCrone Douie. Printed in India at Deluxe Offset Press, Daya Basti, Delhi-110035 and Published by Seema Publications, Delhi-110007</ref>{{Page needed|date=February 2013}}{{dubious|date=February 2013}} Subsequent development of towns and cities and increasing urbanisation resulted in the value of the land settled by Arain to rise significantly, and Arain families thus flourished.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Education was prioritised with the new-found wealth<ref>"...the Arain families put their money into education and reaped quick rewards.", ''Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988'', Shahid Javed Burki.</ref>{{Page needed|date=February 2013}} and the Arain came to dominate the legal profession amongst urban Punjabi Muslims. Many used law to enter politics.<ref>"Soon they came to dominate the legal profession... ...and... ...spring into politics.", ''Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988'', Shahid Javed Burki.</ref>{{Page needed|date=February 2013}}
The historian and political scientist ] believes that the Arain are displaced farming communities who moved to Punjab from Sindh and ] as ]; they originally practised ] but many later converted to Islam. He says that the community is related to the ] and ] communities mainly located in northern India and eastern Pakistan.<ref name="Jaffrelot">{{cite book |title=A History of Pakistan and its Origins |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |others=trans. Beaumont, Gilliam |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2004 |isbn=9781843311492 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9sI_Y2CKAcC&pg=PA154 |pages=154, 208}}</ref>


], a political scientist who is also a member of the Arain community, acknowledges that some early Arain texts ascribe a ] Rajput origin, while others note a ]n one to reflect to others the status of being "conquerors". He believes that the Arains "are a mix of many ethnicities and races", similar to other "farming castes of the Punjab and Haryana".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/18-Apr-2006/comment-there-is-many-a-slip-betwixt-cup-and-lip-ishtiaq-ahmed |title=There is many a slip betwixt cup and lip |first=Ishtiaq |last=Ahmed |work=Daily Times |location=Pakistan |date=18 April 2006 |access-date=2014-06-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715223745/http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/18-Apr-2006/comment-there-is-many-a-slip-betwixt-cup-and-lip-ishtiaq-ahmed |archive-date=15 July 2014 }}</ref>
The Arain also contributed to military service predating and during British rule in India. Lt. Col. J. M. Wikeley acknowledged Arain presence in the military; "They (Arains) may be designated as a fighting race which has produced many Civil and Military officers who have rendered good services to the nation."<ref>Punjabi Musalmans, 1915, reprinted 1991, p 66, J. M. Wikeley - Ethnology</ref> Their lack of classification as a ] was most probably a consequence of rebellions against British rule. One notable rebellion occurred in the ], when the Arain ] led an inter-communal uprising in ] against the ].<ref>http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/news-33/</ref>


=== Medieval period ===
==Present day==
According to Ahmed, during the ] and ] periods Arain held prominent positions, such as governors and army generals; he also believes that numerous names adopted by the community may indicate a tradition of military employment.<ref name="ahmed2007"/>
Although gardening and market-gardening were considered historically to be ritually impure occupations and thus those engaged in such activities were considered to be of low standing, the Arains have proven to be industrious and disciplined practitioners. In the present day, they are the largest agricultural community in Pakistan and they often have a wealth that belies their low ritual status.<ref name="Jaffrelotp208" />


== Distribution == === Colonial period ===
During the ], Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi, an Arain, led an uprising from ] to ] where he was killed. In the aftermath, the British viewed the Arain as a disloyal community, and categorised them as a ] which denied them entry into the ].<ref name="ahmed2007">{{cite news |title=An Arain freedom fighter |first=Ishtiaq |last= Ahmed |work=The News |date=15 December 2007 |url=http://apnaorg.com/prose-content/english-articles/page-44/article-6/index.html}}</ref> Due to lobbying by the Arain community, in the early 20th century the Arain were officially re-classified as an "agricultural tribe", then effectively synonymous with the martial race classification.<ref name="Mazumder2003">{{cite book|author=Rajit K. Mazumder|title=The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4Wop9vwS9sC&pg=PA104|year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-059-6|pages=104–105}}</ref>
Historically, the Arain community was concentrated in territory that is now part of ], especially the Jalandhar Doab. According to 1911 ], the highest concentrations of Arains was in the ], where they accounted for 16% of the population, and neighbouring ], where they formed 15% (about one third of the Muslim population) of the population. By the late 19th Century, the Arain were encouraged by the British colonial authorities to settle in the new canal colonies in the ] and ] regions, and by 1911 Arain formed 12% of the population of ] and 7% of ]. Other districts with large Arain populations were ] (10%), ] (7%), ] (6%), ], ] (6%) and ] (5%).<ref name="Punjab Part 1 pages 438">Census of India 1911 Vol 14, Punjab Part 1, A Report by Pundit Harkishan Kaul pages 438 to 439 and 445</ref> In the Phulkhian States, Hoshiarpur, Karnal, Delhi and Hissar they formed less than five percentage of the population. North and west of the Jhelum, they were practically absent in the ] region, the Salt Range and the Thal Dessert, where their place was and still taken by the ] ]. Those few Arains who were found in this region are often treated as sub-tribe of the ].<ref name="Punjab Part 1 pages 438"/> In essence the Arain were found in territory stretching from the ] in the west to the ] in the east, in what was the ] speaking heartland of the British colonial province of Punjab. This was also the region that suffered the worst violence during the ] in 1947, with almost the entire Arain population of Indian Punjab migrating to Pakistani territory. However, there are still a small number of Muslim Arains still found in ], ] and ] districts.<ref>People of India Punjab Volume XXXVII edited by I.J.S Bansal and Swaran Singh pages 37 to 42 Manohar</ref>


Traditionally associated with farming, when the British wanted land developed in the ], Arain were brought in to cultivate lands around cities, and were one of the agricultural communities given preference to assist with opening up the agrarian frontier in the ] between 1885 and 1940.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Punjab Canal Colonies, 1885-1940 (Ph.D. thesis) |first=Imran |last=Ali |publisher=Australian National University |year=1979 |page=29 |doi=10.25911/5d74e7b3b71c9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Binay Bhushan Chaudhuri|title=Peasant History of Late Pre-colonial and Colonial India, Volume 8 |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ljmIJySEm4UC&q=arain%20gardening&pg=PA195|publisher=Center for studies in Civilization |page=195 |isbn=9788131716885 |access-date=11 February 2015 }}</ref><ref name="low">{{cite book|first=Donald Anthony|last=Low|author-link=Donald Anthony Low|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfD02m8q8eYC&pg=PA375|title=Soundings in Modern South Asian History|year=1968|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0520007703|page=375}}</ref> ] says that the British favoured the Arain for their "hard work, frugality and sense of discipline". The development of towns and cities and increasing urbanisation resulted in the value of the land settled by Arain to rise significantly, and Arain families flourished. Education was prioritised with the new-found wealth and Arain came to dominate the legal profession amongst urban Punjabi Muslims. Many used law to enter politics.<ref name="Burki">{{cite journal |title=Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988 |first=Shahid Javed |last=Burki |journal=Asian Survey |volume=28 |issue=10 |date=October 1988 |pages=1082–1100 |jstor=2644708 |doi=10.2307/2644708 |issn = 0004-4687 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>
The bulk of the Arain population is now settled in the districts of ], ] and ],<ref>Kinship and continuity: Pakistani families in BritainAlison Shaw Page 121</ref>{{full|date=December 2012}} with a large number of refugees settled by the Thal Development Authority in the districts of Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar and Layyah.<ref>Three Pakistan villages by John Joseph Honigmann</ref>{{full|date=December 2012}}


During the colonial era, detailed decadal census reports covered the plethora of ], subcastes and tribes that existed throughout ]. Information regarding the Arains was highlighted in census reports taken from ].
== Related communities in North India ==
{{quote|''"Arains are mostly Muhammadans. They have been declared an agricultural tribe throughout the Province with the exception of the ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] Districts, where their number is very limited. Apparently a functional caste with a strong nucleus of converted Kambohs, some of whom still call themselves Kamboh Arains. There are still 1,186 Hindu Arains, mostly in ] (803) and ] (290), and the Kambohs have a sub-caste called Arain. The term is derived probably from Rain or Rahin, equivalent to Rahak (tiller of soil)."''.<ref name="punjab1911">{{cite web|url=https://jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25393787|title=Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 1, Report.|year=1912 |jstor=saoa.crl.25393787 |access-date=16 August 2022}}</ref>{{rp|445}}|Excerpt from the ] (Punjab Province)|1911 AD}}
There are a number of communities in ], that claim kinship with the Arain of ]. The ] of ] claim to be descended from Arains who settled in Delhi during the rule of the ] Emperor ].<ref>''People of India Delhi'' Volume XX edited by T Ghosh & S Nath pages 49 to 52, Manohar Publications</ref>


== Demographics ==
Another community that is connected with the Arain are the ], who are a ] tribe found in ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] districts of ], ].<ref>A People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII</ref>


=== Numbers ===
Rayeen in Rohilkhand region mainly immigrated from the villages of ], ] and ] around 1780 AD due to famines in their native ].<ref>Page no 140, Tarrekh Arain, 5th Ed, Chaudhry Asgahr Ali, Ilimi Kutub Khana, LahoreAD</ref>
In 1921, Arains formed 9,5% of ]'s total Muslim population, up from 8,3% in 1901 and 6,6% in 1881.<ref>Ibbetson, ''Report on the Census of the Punjab'', vol. 1, 266 and v. 2, Tables I and III ; ''Imperial Gazetteer of India Provincial Series on Punjab'', v. 1, p. 48 and 50 ; J. T. Marten, ''Census of India, 1921'', v. 1, part II, 40, 43, 162. See Tables VI and XIII.</ref>

At the time of the ], Arains constituted the largest community of the ], making up 40% of the district's total population or 4,45 million out of the total of 11 million back then, followed by ] (30%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=District Profile |url=https://lahore.punjab.gov.pk/district_profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127195943/https://lahore.punjab.gov.pk/district_profile |archive-date=27 November 2023 |website=District Lahore - ]}}</ref>

The Arain ] is particularly active in Lahore's industrial and commercial activities as well as in its politics.<ref name="muhammad" />

=== Religion ===
The 1881 Census of India detailed the Arain population was 795,032 in Punjab, of which 791,552 (99.56&nbsp;percent) were Muslims, 2,628 (0.33&nbsp;percent) were Hindus, 848 (0.11&nbsp;percent) were Sikhs, and 4 (0.0005&nbsp;percent) were Christians.<ref name="Census1881B">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.25057657 |jstor=saoa.crl.25057657 |access-date=7 April 2024 |title=Census of India, 1881 Report on the Census of the Panjáb Taken on the 17th of February 1881, vol. II. |year=1881 |pages=104 }}</ref>{{efn|Population excludes districts that would ultimately form part of the ].}}

As of 1931 Census of India, out of the total Arain population of 1,331,295 in Punjab, 1,330,057 (99.91%) were Muslims, 1,146 (0.086%) were Hindus, 67 (0.005%) were Sikhs and 5 (0.00038%) were Christians.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Khan Ahmed Hasan |url=https://www.indianculture.gov.in/flipbook/30158 |title=Census of India Punjab Part II Tables Vol. XVII, 1931 |publisher=Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore |page=283 |access-date=2023-04-25 |via=], New Delhi}}</ref>

Academic Ashish Koul, who specializes in the history of the group, has said of the Arains that they have been "a distinctive Muslim community with innately Islamic attributes."<ref name=":1" />

=== Diaspora ===
There are several ] Arain communities in British towns and cities, such as ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Shaw |first=Alison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVQ5Lxd8rNMC |title=Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani Families in Britain |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-90-5823-075-1 |page=121}}</ref> The tribe has its own organisation, Arain Council UK, which was established as Anjuman-e-Arains in the 1980s and renamed in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=http://www.araincounciluk.com/?page_id=10 |access-date=2020-05-22 |publisher=Arain Council UK}}</ref>

British ] politician ]'s family were farmers from the village of ] near ], Punjab, from where they migrated to the UK in the 1960s; Javid speaks some ].<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=8 May 2018 |title=British home secy belongs to TT Singh |url=https://nation.com.pk/08-May-2018/british-home-secy-belongs-to-tt-singh |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002072850/https://nation.com.pk/08-May-2018/british-home-secy-belongs-to-tt-singh |archive-date=2 October 2019 |access-date=2 October 2019 |work=The Nation |quote=Newly appointed British Home Secretary Sajid Javed belongs to a Toba Tek Singh village.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2 October 2019 |title='Did you ever think we'd be here today?' UK's Sajid Javid asks mother in Punjabi |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2069916/9-ever-think-wed-today-uks-sajid-javid-asks-mother-punjabi/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119161549/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2069916/9-ever-think-wed-today-uks-sajid-javid-asks-mother-punjabi/ |archive-date=19 November 2019 |access-date=2 October 2019 |work=The Express Tribune}}</ref> Javid was the first ] to hold one of the British ], being first ] (2018–2019) and then ] (2019–2020).<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-04-30 |title=Javid replaces Rudd as home secretary |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-43946845 |access-date=2020-09-06 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-07-24 |title=Boris Johnson overhauls cabinet on first day as PM |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49102466 |access-date=2020-09-06 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>


== Notable people == == Notable people ==
<!--Notability means only people with their own pages on Misplaced Pages should be added to this list--> <!--Notability means only people with their own pages on Misplaced Pages should be added to this list. The entries must have a source & if the person is alive that source must show them self-identifying as a member of the community.-->
===Politics===
*], last ] and the only ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Dina Arain: the master 'double game' player|url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/dina-arain-the-master-double-game-player.html}}</ref>
*], first Muslim judge at the ]<ref>Individuals and Ideas in Modern India: Nine Interpretative Studies. India, Firma KLM, 1982.</ref>
*], activist and politician, founder of the ]<ref>LaPorte, Robert, et al. Pakistan under the military : eleven years of Zia ul-Haq. United Kingdom, Avalon Publishing, 1991.</ref>
*], former British ] and ]<ref name=":0" />
*], first ]<ref name=Dawn>{{Cite news|newspaper=Dawn (newspaper)|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1011363|title=After election debacle, Wattoo resigns as PPP's central Punjab president|date=14 May 2013|access-date=11 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/pakistan-56954363|title=پاکستان کی خدمت کرنے والے 'روشن خیال' اینگلو انڈینز جنھیں بھلا دیا گیا|newspaper=BBC News اردو|via=BBC News website}}</ref>
*], leader of the ]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://epolitics.net/anas-sarwar-first-muslim-and-pakistani-who-elected-leader-of-scottish-labour-party/|title=Anas Sarwar - First Muslim and Pakistani Who Elected leader of Scottish Labour Party|date=March 2021}}</ref>
*], businessman, Labour Party MP and ]<ref>The Arain Diaspora in the Rohilkhand region of India: A historical perspective: General History of Arain tribe of Punjab & Sindh with sociocultural background of the diaspora in Rohilkhand, India. N.p., Rehan Asad , 2017.</ref>
*], lawyer and co-founder of ]<ref>Contemporary Problems of Pakistan. Netherlands, Brill, 1974.</ref>
*], politician and All-India Muslim League activist<ref>Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: I-M. India, A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, 2001.</ref>
*], politician<ref>International Journal of Punjab Studies. India, Sage Publications, 1994.</ref>
*], the ]<ref name="Burki"/>

===Arts and literature===
*], ] scholar better known as the teacher of ]
*], Pakistani writer and diplomat
===Entertainment===
*], Pakistani actor
*], Pakistani television personality
*], President of ] ]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dailyparliamenttimes.com/2021/06/22/sonia-ahmed-our-real-hero/ | title=Sonia Ahmed: Our Real Hero &#124; | date=22 June 2021 }}</ref>
===Sports===
*], Pakistani cricketer<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Ishtiaq |title=The Punjab: Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed |publisher=Classy Pub |year=2022 |quote=On Tuesday, 3 May 2005, cricket legend and arguably one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers of all times, Pakistan’s Wasim Akram and his father Chaudhary Mohammed Akram, visited their ancestral village Chawinda Devi, Amritsar district. Chawinda Devi was a mixed village with Arain and Syed biradaris of Muslims and Sikh and Hindus constituting an equal population. Wasim’s family belonged to the Arain section of Chawinda Devi.}}</ref>
*], Pakistani cricketer, politician and diplomat<ref>{{cite web |url-access=subscription |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/750/750.html |title=Player Profile: Abdul Kardar |publisher=CricketArchive |access-date=15 April 2016}}</ref>
===Military===
*], Indian soldier in ], recipient of the ]<ref>{{cite news |title=The London Gazette |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37091/supplement/2647 |access-date=23 April 2024 |work=www.thegazette.co.uk |issue=2647 |date=24 May 1945}}</ref>


==See also==
*], Prime minister of Pakistan for one year.
* ]
*], Governor of Punjab in 1758.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/dina-arain-the-master-double-game-player.html |title=Dina Arain: the master 'double game' player}}</ref>
*], politician and a founder of the ]<ref name="Shahid Javed Burki 1988">Pakistan under Zia 1977-1988 by Shahid Javed Burki. Asian Survey. Vol. 28, No. 10 (Oct., 1988), pp. 1082–1100</ref>
* ], A Pakistani dictator and president.
*], lawyer and ]<ref>''The Nation'', Thursday, November 01, 2012</ref>{{full|date=December 2012}}


== See also == ==References==
{{reflist}}
* ]
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{notelist}}


== References == ==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |title=Making new Muslim Arains: reform and social mobility in colonial Punjab, 1890s-1910s |journal=South Asian History and Culture |year=2017|volume=8 |issue=1 |first=Ashish |last=Koul |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1080/19472498.2016.1260348|s2cid=151332565}}
{{Reflist|2}}


{{Ethnic and social groups of the Punjab}} {{Ethnic and social groups of the Punjab}}


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Latest revision as of 01:46, 17 October 2024

Pakistani Punjabi agricultural community

Arain
Raeen, Rain or Arai
Raeens or Arains, Lahore
EthnicityPunjabi
LocationPunjab, Sindh and Western Uttar Pradesh
LanguagePunjabi, Saraiki, Sindhi
ReligionIslam

Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi Muslim agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation.

At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivators and landowners concentrated in four districts: Lahore, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ambala, all in the British Punjab province. Following the 1947 partition of India, they are now mainly present in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh with a small population in parts of Indian Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

A self-conscious community, several meetings were held to establish an organisation to represent the Arain community in the 1890s. Eventually, in 1915, Anjuman Ra’iyan-i-Hind emerged as such a body in Lahore and a national community newspaper, titled Al-Rai, was established.

History

Origins

The historian and political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot believes that the Arain are displaced farming communities who moved to Punjab from Sindh and Multan as Arab Muslim armies encroached; they originally practised Hinduism but many later converted to Islam. He says that the community is related to the Kamboj and Rajput communities mainly located in northern India and eastern Pakistan.

Ishtiaq Ahmed, a political scientist who is also a member of the Arain community, acknowledges that some early Arain texts ascribe a Suryavanshi Rajput origin, while others note a Persian one to reflect to others the status of being "conquerors". He believes that the Arains "are a mix of many ethnicities and races", similar to other "farming castes of the Punjab and Haryana".

Medieval period

According to Ahmed, during the Mughal and Sikh periods Arain held prominent positions, such as governors and army generals; he also believes that numerous names adopted by the community may indicate a tradition of military employment.

Colonial period

During the Indian rebellion of 1857, Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi, an Arain, led an uprising from Ludhiana to Delhi where he was killed. In the aftermath, the British viewed the Arain as a disloyal community, and categorised them as a non-martial caste which denied them entry into the Bengal Army. Due to lobbying by the Arain community, in the early 20th century the Arain were officially re-classified as an "agricultural tribe", then effectively synonymous with the martial race classification.

Traditionally associated with farming, when the British wanted land developed in the Punjab, Arain were brought in to cultivate lands around cities, and were one of the agricultural communities given preference to assist with opening up the agrarian frontier in the Canal Colonies between 1885 and 1940. Shahid Javed Burki says that the British favoured the Arain for their "hard work, frugality and sense of discipline". The development of towns and cities and increasing urbanisation resulted in the value of the land settled by Arain to rise significantly, and Arain families flourished. Education was prioritised with the new-found wealth and Arain came to dominate the legal profession amongst urban Punjabi Muslims. Many used law to enter politics.

During the colonial era, detailed decadal census reports covered the plethora of castes, subcastes and tribes that existed throughout British India. Information regarding the Arains was highlighted in census reports taken from Punjab Province.

"Arains are mostly Muhammadans. They have been declared an agricultural tribe throughout the Province with the exception of the Rohtak, Gurgaon, Simla, Kangra, Jhelum, Rawalpindi and Attock Districts, where their number is very limited. Apparently a functional caste with a strong nucleus of converted Kambohs, some of whom still call themselves Kamboh Arains. There are still 1,186 Hindu Arains, mostly in Patiala (803) and Karnal (290), and the Kambohs have a sub-caste called Arain. The term is derived probably from Rain or Rahin, equivalent to Rahak (tiller of soil).".

— Excerpt from the Census of India (Punjab Province), 1911 AD

Demographics

Numbers

In 1921, Arains formed 9,5% of British Punjab's total Muslim population, up from 8,3% in 1901 and 6,6% in 1881.

At the time of the 2017 Pakistan census, Arains constituted the largest community of the Lahore District, making up 40% of the district's total population or 4,45 million out of the total of 11 million back then, followed by Kashmiris (30%).

The Arain biradari is particularly active in Lahore's industrial and commercial activities as well as in its politics.

Religion

The 1881 Census of India detailed the Arain population was 795,032 in Punjab, of which 791,552 (99.56 percent) were Muslims, 2,628 (0.33 percent) were Hindus, 848 (0.11 percent) were Sikhs, and 4 (0.0005 percent) were Christians.

As of 1931 Census of India, out of the total Arain population of 1,331,295 in Punjab, 1,330,057 (99.91%) were Muslims, 1,146 (0.086%) were Hindus, 67 (0.005%) were Sikhs and 5 (0.00038%) were Christians.

Academic Ashish Koul, who specializes in the history of the group, has said of the Arains that they have been "a distinctive Muslim community with innately Islamic attributes."

Diaspora

There are several diasporic Arain communities in British towns and cities, such as Manchester, Glasgow and Oxford. The tribe has its own organisation, Arain Council UK, which was established as Anjuman-e-Arains in the 1980s and renamed in 2008.

British Conservative Party politician Sajid Javid's family were farmers from the village of Rajana near Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, from where they migrated to the UK in the 1960s; Javid speaks some Punjabi. Javid was the first British Asian to hold one of the British Great Offices of State, being first Home Secretary (2018–2019) and then Chancellor of the Exchequer (2019–2020).

Notable people

Politics

Arts and literature

Entertainment

Sports

Military

See also

References

  1. ^ Koul, Ashish (3 December 2016). "Making new Muslim Arains: reform and social mobility in colonial Punjab, 1890s-1910s". South Asian History and Culture. 8 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1080/19472498.2016.1260348. ISSN 1947-2498.
  2. "Arain". The Punjab Record: Or, Reference Book for Civil Officers (page 24) via Google Books website. 1905. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  3. Katherine Pratt Ewing (1997). Arguing sainthood: modernity, psychoanalysis, and Islam. Duke University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780822320265.
  4. ^ Ibrahim, Muhammad (2009). Role of Biradari System in Power Politics of Lahore: Post-Independence Period (Thesis).
  5. Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004). A History of Pakistan and its Origins. trans. Beaumont, Gilliam. Anthem Press. pp. 154, 208. ISBN 9781843311492.
  6. Ahmed, Ishtiaq (18 April 2006). "There is many a slip betwixt cup and lip". Daily Times. Pakistan. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  7. ^ Ahmed, Ishtiaq (15 December 2007). "An Arain freedom fighter". The News.
  8. Rajit K. Mazumder (2003). The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab. Orient Blackswan. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-81-7824-059-6.
  9. Ali, Imran (1979). The Punjab Canal Colonies, 1885-1940 (Ph.D. thesis). Australian National University. p. 29. doi:10.25911/5d74e7b3b71c9.
  10. Binay Bhushan Chaudhuri (2008). Peasant History of Late Pre-colonial and Colonial India, Volume 8. Center for studies in Civilization. p. 195. ISBN 9788131716885. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  11. Low, Donald Anthony (1968). Soundings in Modern South Asian History. University of California Press. p. 375. ISBN 978-0520007703.
  12. ^ Burki, Shahid Javed (October 1988). "Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988". Asian Survey. 28 (10): 1082–1100. doi:10.2307/2644708. ISSN 0004-4687. JSTOR 2644708. (subscription required)
  13. "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 1, Report". 1912. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393787. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  14. Ibbetson, Report on the Census of the Punjab, vol. 1, 266 and v. 2, Tables I and III ; Imperial Gazetteer of India Provincial Series on Punjab, v. 1, p. 48 and 50 ; J. T. Marten, Census of India, 1921, v. 1, part II, 40, 43, 162. See Tables VI and XIII.
  15. "District Profile". District Lahore - Government of Punjab. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023.
  16. "Census of India, 1881 Report on the Census of the Panjáb Taken on the 17th of February 1881, vol. II". 1881. p. 104. JSTOR saoa.crl.25057657. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  17. Khan, Khan Ahmed Hasan. Census of India Punjab Part II Tables Vol. XVII, 1931. Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore. p. 283. Retrieved 25 April 2023 – via Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi.
  18. Shaw, Alison (2000). Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani Families in Britain. Psychology Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-90-5823-075-1.
  19. "About". Arain Council UK. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  20. ^ "British home secy belongs to TT Singh". The Nation. 8 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019. Newly appointed British Home Secretary Sajid Javed belongs to a Toba Tek Singh village.
  21. "'Did you ever think we'd be here today?' UK's Sajid Javid asks mother in Punjabi". The Express Tribune. 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  22. "Javid replaces Rudd as home secretary". BBC News. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  23. "Boris Johnson overhauls cabinet on first day as PM". BBC News. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  24. "Dina Arain: the master 'double game' player".
  25. Individuals and Ideas in Modern India: Nine Interpretative Studies. India, Firma KLM, 1982.
  26. LaPorte, Robert, et al. Pakistan under the military : eleven years of Zia ul-Haq. United Kingdom, Avalon Publishing, 1991.
  27. "After election debacle, Wattoo resigns as PPP's central Punjab president". Dawn (newspaper). 14 May 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  28. "پاکستان کی خدمت کرنے والے 'روشن خیال' اینگلو انڈینز جنھیں بھلا دیا گیا". BBC News اردو – via BBC News website.
  29. "Anas Sarwar - First Muslim and Pakistani Who Elected leader of Scottish Labour Party". March 2021.
  30. The Arain Diaspora in the Rohilkhand region of India: A historical perspective: General History of Arain tribe of Punjab & Sindh with sociocultural background of the diaspora in Rohilkhand, India. N.p., Rehan Asad , 2017.
  31. Contemporary Problems of Pakistan. Netherlands, Brill, 1974.
  32. Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: I-M. India, A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, 2001.
  33. International Journal of Punjab Studies. India, Sage Publications, 1994.
  34. "Sonia Ahmed: Our Real Hero |". 22 June 2021.
  35. Ahmed, Ishtiaq (2022). The Punjab: Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed. Classy Pub. On Tuesday, 3 May 2005, cricket legend and arguably one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers of all times, Pakistan's Wasim Akram and his father Chaudhary Mohammed Akram, visited their ancestral village Chawinda Devi, Amritsar district. Chawinda Devi was a mixed village with Arain and Syed biradaris of Muslims and Sikh and Hindus constituting an equal population. Wasim's family belonged to the Arain section of Chawinda Devi.
  36. "Player Profile: Abdul Kardar". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  37. "The London Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. No. 2647. 24 May 1945. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  1. Population excludes districts that would ultimately form part of the North-West Frontier Province.

Further reading

Ethnic groups, social groups and tribes of the Punjabis
Agrawal
Arains
Ahirs
Chauhans
Scheduled Castes
Gakhars
Gurjars
Jats
Labana
Khatris
Mohyal Brahmin
Rajputs
Tarkhans
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