Cheema

Cheema (चीमा), Chima (चीमा), Chimma (चीमा), Jhima (चीमा), Jhim (चिम), Cheem (चीम), Chim (चिम) is a clan found in Jats of India and Pakistan.

Jat Gotras Namesake

• Jhima (Jat clan) → Jhima village in Nowrozabad tahsil, Umaria district, Madhya Pradesh.

• चिमाटिआ (जाट गोत्र - चिमा) : चिमाटिआ नाम का गाँव झारखंड के सराइकेला खरसावाँ जिले की ईचागढ़ विकास-खंड में है।

History

Ram Sarup Joon writes that ....There is a story in Karna Parva/Mahabharata Book VIII Chapter 23 of the Mahabharata that when Dron Acharya was killed in action, Karna was appointed Commander in Chief of Kaurava Army. He chose Raja Shalya of Sialkot as his charioteer. He was a Madrak Jat and a brother of Madri, mother of the Pandavas. When they were driving to the battle field Karan said, “0, Shalya, there is none equal to me in archery in the Pandava army. They will flee before my arrows”. Shalya was frank and said “No, my people don’t acknowledge your prowess with the bow and arrow as being superior to that of Arjuna.” Karan felt offended and remarked caustically’ “0 Shalya, what do you Jartikas living in the land of five rivers, know about archery and bravery. All your people, Arh, Gandhar, Darad, Chima, Tusar, Malhia, Madrak, Sindhaw, Reshtri, Kukat, Bahik and Kekay eat onion and garlic..... The gotras mentioned above are all Jats and are not found in any other community. However ungraceful the remark, it does prove the existence of Jats in that period and that people of Punjab were called Jatika or Jartika.

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Ram Swarup Joon writes that The ancestor of the Cheema gotra was one Chanuma in 21st generation of Urdas (Ardas). They have been referred to as being neighbors of Sindhi and Gandhara Kshatriyas. This shows that they hailed from Afghanistan. In the "Puranas Darada" the Cheema (Clans) sub-tribes have been called Rakshasas (Demons) not having darshan of the Brahmin, (not following Brahminical rituals - because they were the followers of Buddhism and they always drove out the preachers of the Brahminical faith).

People belonging to this gotra are found in large numbers as Hindus and Sikhs in the Punjab and as Muslim in Pakistan.They are found in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh also

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H.A. Rose on Chima

H.A. Rose writes that Chima (चीमा) is One of the largest Jat tribes in the Punjab. They say that some 25 generations back their ancestor Chima, a Chauhan jat , fled from Delhi after the defeat of Rai Tanura^† (Prithi Raj), by Muhammad of Ghor, first to Kangra in the Delhi District and then to Amritsar, where his son Chotu Mal founded a village on the Beas in the time of Ala-ud-din. His grandson was called Rana Kang, and the youngest of his eight sons, Dhol (the name appears among the Hinjra), was tho ancestor of their present clans— Dogal, Mohtil, Nagara and Chima. The Chima have the peculiar marriage customs described under tho Sahi Jats, and they are said to be served by Jogis instead of Brahmans, but now-a-days Bhania purohits are said to perform their ceremonies. They are a powerful and united tribe, but quarrelsome. They are said to marry within the tribe as well as with their neighbours. The bulk of the tribe embraced Islam in the times of Firoz Shah and Aurangzeb, but many retain their old customs. They are most numerous in Sialkot, but hold 42 villages in Gujranwala, and have spread both eastwards and westwards along the foot of the hills.

It is noteworthy that tho tribe takes its generic name from its youngest clan, and is descended from Dhol, a youngest son.

Another genealogy is—

I. Rai Tanura → Chotu Mal → Chima (4th in descent) → Audhan → Ravan, founded Chima.

II. Rai Tanura → Chotu Mal → Chima (4th in descent) → Audhar

The Sialkot Pamphlet of 1866 makes them Somabansi Rajputs, claiming descent from Rama (sic) Ganj. It also says they follow the chundavand rule of inheritance.

Chima (चिमा), a Hindu and Muhammadan Jat clan (agricultural) found in Montgomery.

H.A. Rose writes that The Chima again are said to be served by Jogis, and not by Brahmans. They perform Jathera and chhatra as follows : — Eight or ten days before a marriage rice is cooked and taken to the spot dedicated to their ancestor ; from one to five goats are also taken thither and washed and a lamp is lighted. One of the goats' ears is then cut, and the brotherhood mark their foreheads with blood (chhatra). The goat is killed for food, but the immediate relatives of the bride do not eat of its flesh, which is divided among the others ; the rice, however, is distributed to all.

Distribution in Delhi

Jhimarpura,

Distribution in Punjab

Villages in Patiala district

Chimma population is 3,900 in Patiala district.

Villages in Amritsar district

Chimma population is 3,207 in Amritsar district.

Villages in Ludhiana district

• Chima, Chimna are villages in Jagraon Tahsil in Ludhiana district, Punjab.

Chimma population is 8,916 in Ludhiana district.

Villages in Jalandhar district

Cheema Kalan, Cheema Kalan, Cheema Khurd, Cheema Khurd are villages in Phillaur tahsil in Jalandhar district in Punjab, India.

According to B S Dhillon the population of Chimma clan in Jalandhar district is 2,925.

Villages in Firozpur district

In Firozpur district the Chimma population is 2,490.

Villages in Moga district

Mahla Khurd,

Villages in Hoshiarpur district

• Chima is village in Mukerian tahsil in Hoshiarpur district in Punjab.

Villages in Gurdaspur district

Cheema, Chima Kallar and Chima named Villages in Batala tahsil in Gurdaspur district in Punjab.

Villages in Sangrur district

• Cheema is Village in Barnala tahsil of Sangrur district in Punjab.

• Cheema is Village in Dhuri tahsil of Sangrur district in Punjab.

• Cheema is village in Sunam tahsil of Sangrur district in Punjab.

Distribution in Madhya Pradesh

Villages in Gwalior district

Gwalior,

Distribution in Uttar Pradesh

Villages in Jyotiba Phule Nagar district

Sirsa Mohan,

Villages in Hapur district

Akdauli, Simbhaoli,

Villages in Bareilly district

Raath,

Distribution in Punjab

Villages in Moga district

• Chima is village in Moga tahsil in Moga District district in Punjab.

Distribution in Rajasthan

Villages in Bharatpur district

In Bharatpur district More Than 2 Village of Hindu Cheema gotra.

Bharatpur City, Kaproli, Naroli Bayana,

Distribution in Pakistan

Cheema is One of the very politically influencial Jat castin Punjab Pakistan. They are regarded as an elite and aristocratic race and are known to own large number of agriculture lands. For decades the National and Punjab government / cabinets have had a major number of Cheema leaders. The main concentration of the Cheema tribe are Gujranwala and Sialkot districts and Bahawalpur and Tehsil Yazman. In Bahawalpur, Tariq Basheer Cheema (Minister / City Nazim) had built a city called "Cheema Town" and sold it to the city of Bahawalpur. The Cheema were also found in Amritsar and Kapurthala. A few Cheema villages are also found in Rawalpindi District.

According to 1911 census this principal Muslim Jat clan was in following districts with population:

• Sialkot District - Cheema (7,446)
• Gujranwala District - Cheema (21,735)
• Lahore District - Cheema (603)
• Amritsar District - Cheema (137)
• Gujrat District - Cheema (2,572)
• Shahpur (Sargodha District) District - Cheema (2,708)
• Lyalpur District (Faisalabad District) - Cheema (629)
• Multan District - Cheema (1,018)

Notable persons

• Capt. Avtar Singh Cheema: Padma Shri - 1965, Punjab, Sports.
• Amrik Singh Cheema: PS PUN Padma Shri - 1969, Punjab, Science & Civil Service.
• A.S. Chima - First Indian to climb Mt Everest. (Jat Samaj:11/2013,p.24)
• Late Ch. Fazal Elahi Cheema - Former Chief Justice and Care taker President of Pakistan.
• Pir Badoke - Saint of Chima Gotra.पीर बादोके - चीमा गोत्री
• Sikandar Hayat Khan (Chima) - Unionist Party Politician and Chief Minister of the Pre-partion Punjab.
• लाखन पीर - चीमा गोत्री
• पीर बादोक्यान - चीमा गोत्री
• Mahnoor Cheema: A Pakistani girl in London who has set a record by securing the top grade in 34 subjects at the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) level was felicitated by former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif in the UK capital on Monday. The 16-year-old British-Pakistani student, Mahnoor Cheema, has appeared in the highest number of GCSE subjects ever taken by a student in the history of the UK and the European Union.

• PS Chima martyred on 29.12.1971 during Indo-Pak War-1971 in western sector in Sindh. He was awarded Vir Chakra (posthumous) for his act of bravery.

Unit - 57 Engineer Regiment

References

• Ram Swarup Joon: History of the Jats, Rohtak, India,1967

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