Grewal

Grewal

(Garewal, Greyval, Gre-wal, Grewal, Grahwal, Grahwar, Gaharawar, Gahrawar, Ghurwal, Grihwal, Garewal, Girahwar)

Location  : Punjab and Rajasthan

Country  : India, Pakistan

Languages : Punjabi, Rajasthani

Religion  : Hinduism, Sikhism

Garewal (गरेवाल) Greyval (ग्रेवाल) Gre-wal (गरेवाल) Grewal (ग्रेवाल) Grahwal (ग्रहवाल) Grahwar (ग्रहवार) Gaharawar (गहरवार) Gahrawar (गहरवार) Ghurwal (घुरवाल) Gerwal (गेरवाल) Grihwal (ग्रिहवाल) Garewal (गारेवाल) Gerwal (गेरवाल) Girahwar (ग्रिहवार) is a gotra of Jats and Rajputs found in Punjab and Rajasthan in India and in Pakistan.

Jat Gotras Namesake

• Gerwal = Gerra (Pliny.vi.32)

Mention by Pliny

Pliny mentions Arabia....We will now proceed to describe the coast after leaving Charax¹³, which was first explored by order of king Epiphanes. We first come to the place where the mouth of Euphrates formerly existed, the river Salsus¹⁴, and the Promontory of Chaldone¹⁵, from which spot, the sea along the coast, for an extent of fifty miles,¹⁶ bears more the aspect of a series of whirlpools than of ordinary sea; the river Achenus, and then a desert tract for a space of one hundred miles, until we come to the island of Ichara; the gulf of Capeus, on the shores of which dwell the Gaulopes and the Chateni, and then the gulf of Gerra¹⁷. Here we find the city of Gerra, five miles in circumference, with towers built of square blocks of salt.

---

13 Or rather, as Hardouin says, the shore opposite to Charax, and on the western bank of the river.

14 Called Core Boobian, a narrow salt-water channel, laid down for the first time in the East India Company's chart, and separating a large low island, off the mouth of the old bed of the Euphrates, from the mainland.

15 The great headland on the coast of Arabia, at the entrance of the bay of Doat-al-Kusma from the south, opposite to Pheleche Island.

16 This is the line of coast extending from the great headland last mentioned to the river Khadema, the ancient Achenus.

17 So called from the city of Arabia Felix, built on its shores. Strabo says of this city "The city of Gerra lies in a deep gulf, where Chaldæan exiles from Babylon inhabit a salt country, having houses built of salt, the walls of which, when they are wasted by the heat of the sun, are repaired by copious applications of sea-water." D'Anville first identified this place with the modern El Khatiff. Niebuhr finds its site on the modern Koneit of the Arabs, called "Gran" by the Persians; but Foster is of opinion that he discovered its ruins in the East India Company's Chart, situate where all the ancient authorities had placed it, at the end of the deep and narrow bay at the mouth of which are situated the islands of Bahrein. The gulf mentioned by Pliny is identified by Foster with that of Bahrein.

History

Ram Swarup Joon writes...Gaharwal, Grewal gotra is from the Chandela dynasty. Some writers have associated them with the Rathores, but other historians have proved that Rathore gotra is from Gaherwal gotra, and is also called Grewal. Sikhs of this gotra are called Grewals. They have 52 villages in district Ludhiana. In Dholpur they are called Ghurwal and in the Punjab, Gharwar. The Gahrawar gotra is found amongst Rajputs also, but there is more Gahrawar Jats than Rajputs.

---

Ram Sarup Joon writes that...about 70 Jat Gotras joined the Gujar force and started calling themselves Gujars. Gaherwal is one of them.

---

Garewal (गरेवाल ), an important Jat tribe in Ludhiana, which claims to be of sau or gentle status. Hindu Garewal are also found in Montgomery. .

There is no unanimity on the issue of the origin of this gotra. Some believe that this gotra originated from the Chandelas. Some authors have associated it with the Rathores while still others prove that Rathore gotra originated from Gaherwal gotra which is also called Grewal.

Sikhs belonging to this gotra are known as Grewals. They have 52 villages in district Ludhiana. In Dholpur they are called Ghurwal and in the Punjab, Gharwar. The Gaharawar gotra is found amongst Rajputs also, but there are more Gahrawar Jats than Rajputs.

Bishanpura Estate

Sardar Manjeetinder Singh Sidhu (Phoolka) of Bhadaur

Sardar Manjeetinder Singh Sidhu (Phoolka) of Bhadaur at a routine partridge hunt. With Sardar Amar Singh Grewal of Bishanpura his best friend and brother in law (in black). State:- Bhadaur, Dynasty:- Sidhu Jats. Estate:- Bishanpura, Dynasty:- Grewal Jats. Pic Credit: Hapie Phoolkia

---

Kunwar Inder Singh Grewal of Bishanpura

Kunwar Inder Singh Grewal of Bishanpura great grandson of Sardar Bahadur Dungul Singh Grewal of Bishanpura. Sardar Bahadur Dungul Singh Grewal was a lieutenant and Jagirdar in the state of Patiala while H.H. Maharaja Yadavindra Singh ruled the Royal state of Patiala.

Estate:- Bishanpura Dynasty:- Grewal Jats.

Source -Jat Kshatriya Culture

Distribution in Haryana

Villages in Bhiwani District

Bamla, Barwas, Chandeni, Ghasola, Jatai Bhiwani, Naurangabad,

Villages in Rohtak District

Samchana (समचाना),Meham (महम) ,Marodhi (माड़ौधी),Ronakpura (रोनकपुरा])

Villages in Mahendragarh District

Baproli (Narnaul)

Villages in Hisar District

Kharia Hisar, Kumbha, Pabra, Rajli, Satrod Khas, Sundawas

Villages in SonipatDistrict

Machhri (माछरी) ,

Villages in Jhajjar District

Sasrauli ,

Villages in Kaithal District

Chanchak ,

Villages in Delhi

• Brijwasan (They are known as chauthaiya as they owned 1/4th the land while the villages while they were a small group),
• Nangli Jalib
• Tihar

Distribution in Punjab

(Scattered Districts given below) -

Koga near Kharar (Mohali District), Sural Kalan (near Rajpura, Patiala District), Lohgarh, Dulay, Thrike, Chupki, Barewal, Grewal, Hawas, Sirha (Chude kuku wala), Majri, Sukhana, Mehmoodpur, Aandlu, Chubki, Kadian, Bamla, and Chandeni

Villages in Ludhiana district

Assi Kalan, Baddowal, Ballowal, Bihla, Burj Pakka, Butahri, Chaminda, Daad, Dhaipai, Dhandra, Dolon Kalan, Dolon Khurd, Gujjarwal, Humanyunpura, Jassowal Sudhan, Jhande, Jodhan, Khanjarwal, Khawajke, Kheri Jhamedi, Qila Raipur, Lalton Kalan, Lalton Khurd, Mansuran, Mehma Singh Wala, Mehmoodpur, Narangwal, Noorwal, Phallewal, Raipur, Sahouli, Sarabha, Thakkerwal,

Gujarwal is a well-known village in the District of Ludhiana, Punjab and almost all of the land owning families of the village are the Grewal or Garewal Jats. Many members (Grewals) of this village held important positions in the British and the independent Indian military, civil and police services, and politics. For example, the Chief Minister of Punjab (probably), Intelligence Chief of the undivided post independent Punjab and Kashmir, College Principals, high ranking military officers, and so on. It appears from the village name that its original name could have been "Grewal", after the land owning Jat families, but over time the name started to be pronounced as "Gujarwal" instead of "Grewal".

In Ludhiana district the Grewal population is 45,336. This clan basically belongs to the Ludhiana district where it has about 75 villages.

Villages in Rupnagar district

• Phoolpur Garewal is Village in Rupnagar tahsil of Rupnagar district in Punjab.

Villages in Patiala district

Grewal population is 10,680 in Patiala district.

Distribution in Rajasthan

Imliwala Phatak (Jaipur),

Villages in Dholpur district

Dholpur,

Villages in Ganganagar district

21H,Hakmabad,16Z, 17Z, 19z

Distribution in Madhya Pradesh

Villages in Ratlam district

Villages in Ratlam district with population of this gotra are:

Ratlam 1,

Villages in Bhopal district

Karond,

Distribution in Uttar Pradesh

Villages in J P Nagar district

Jamanpur Emnipur, Lodhipur Banjara, Aterna,

Villages in Meerut district

Ruhasa, Kalyanpur, Ramraj,

Villages in Hapur district

Nawada Kalan, Paoti,

Villages in Gautam Buddha Nagar district

Thora,

Distribution in Pakistan

Grewal - The Grewal Jat claim Chandel Rajput ancestry. The Muslim branch of the Grewal were concentrated in Ludhiana District. They are now scattered in Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Sargodha districts.

Notable persons

• Raj Singh s/o Bharat Singh- Village Baproli.
• Sant Sawan Singh (1858-1923) (संत सावन सिंह ) born in family of Sardar Kabal Singh of Jat Gotra Garewal in village Mahimasinghwala, district Ludhiana, Punjab.
• Baba Alto (बाबा आल्टो ) - Grewal Gotra.
• शेरे दिल अवतार सिंह शराबा - ग्रेवाल गोत्री जाट और शहीद भगत सिंह के आदर्श जिनको फांसी की सजा सुनाने के चार महीने बाद जब फांसी हुई तो 8 किलो वजन बढ़ा हुआ मिला ।
• Ram Kishan Grewal
• Simi Grewal - Actress.
• Kartar Singh - From Village Sarabha - Freedom Fighter.
• Ravjot Grewal - IAS-2014, Rank-109.
• Prof. Jagtar Singh Grewal: Padma Shri - 2005, Chandigarh, Litt. & Edu.
• Narender Grewal (born 7 November 1993) is an Indian wushu competitor. He was born in Rohtak, Haryana, India. He won a bronze medal in the men's 60-kg sanda at the 2014 Asian Game
• Rohit Grewal- Village Samchana, Rohtak, Haryana- National President of Human Rights Protection Federation

• Shishpal Singh Grewal (Naik) (26.6.1920-10.4.1948) was from village Bamla in Bhiwani district of Haryana. He became martyr on 10.4.1948 during Indo-Pak War 1947-48. He was awarded Maha Vir Chakra for his bravery.

• Paranjit Singh Grewal (Major) played an important act of bravery on 15.11.1965 during Indo-Pak war near Rajasthan Border.

He was awarded Vir Chakra for this bravery on 15.08.1965.

Unit: 3 Grenadiers Regiment.

• Harpal Singh Grewal played an important act of bravery on 16.11.1971 during Indo-Pak war-1971 in Eastern Sector.

He was awarded Vir Chakra (posthumous) for this bravery .

Unit: 8 Bihar Regiment.

• Hardev Singh Grewal (Major) (10.12.1938 - 10.12.1971) became martyr on 10.12.1971 in Chhamb sector during Indo-Pak War-1971. He was awarded Vir Chakra for his act of bravery during the war. He was from Ludhiana, Punjab.

Unit - 9 Jat Regiment.

• Gurbachan Singh Grewal martyred on 11.01.1948 during Indo-Pak War-1948. He was awarded Shaurya Chakra for his act of bravery.

Unit - 2 Bihar Regiment

External Links

• Grewal Brotherhood webpage

• http://www.thefullwiki.org/Grewal

Further reading

• Ram Swaroop Joon: History of the Jats, India ,1967

References

Back to Gotras