Hinduism: Details about 'Arora'
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Aroras are a mercantile community of the Punjab and Sind. They also reside in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. They are mainly Hindus and Sikhs, but some living in Pakistan are Muslims. At the turn of the 20th century their main concentration was in the Derajat, consisting of the southwestern divisions of the Punjab (Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, and Bahawalpur), northern Sind and Dera Ismail Khan division of the North West Frontier Province. The main language of this area is Seraiki. Beside the Derajat, some Aroras dwelled further north in the districts of Jhang and Lyallpur (now known as Faisalabad). Half of the Aroras of the Punjab were living in the areas of Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Bahawalpur . In the former princely state of Bahawalpur practically the entire commerce was in their hands. A majority of the state employees were also Aroras. After the partition of the Punjab in 1947, all Sikh and Hindu Aroras migrated to India.
The Origin of ArorasThere are many traditions regarding the origin of this community. These different versions are reported below. Originated in the City of ArorAccording to this account, the name of the community was derived from a place named Aror which was situated near the modern town of Rohri in Sind, Pakistan. It is also claimed that Parashurama (Parasurama) drove them towards Multan, near which they founded Arorkot (or Aror). Cursed by a faqir, the town became desolate and Aroras fled by its three gates to the north, south and west, whence the three main groups in which they are divided arose . According to another tradition, one Khatri by name of Art in a dialogue with Parasurama stoutly refused to oppose Brahmins and won his respect. Parasurama advised Art to settle in Sind . Aror (or Alor) is located 8 km east of Rohri. It was the ancient capital of Sind, predating Sukkur, and was once located on the banks of the Indus.Due to its location, where the Indus takes a sharp turn towards the west, it was a center of commerce and was a prosperous city. in 711 AD this city was conquered by the Arab general Muhammad Bin Qasim, who moved the capital some 300 km south to Mansura near Hala. In the 10th century it received another blow when the river Indus changed its course, which was probably caused by a massive earthquake in 962 AD . The present course of Indus is west of Aror. The modern towns of Sukkur and Rohri are situated on both sides of the river. Aror is now a small dusty village. Claim of Khatri OriginSome Aroras claim to be of Kshatriya stock, and claim that like the Khatris, they were dispersed by Parasurama, but denied their Kshatriya origin in order to escape persecution by Parasurama (parašurama in Sanskrit means ‘Rama with the axe’), calling themselves Aur, which means ‘someone else’ in Hindi and Punjabi . The above three traditions are reported here as claimed by different sections of Aroras and recorded by Ibbetson et al. in the late 19th century. Aroras in Present EraAroras, are a well-established mercantile community of India and Pakistan. Aroras will usually be in the same proximity of the subcastes of Khatris who are in the mercantile profession. Aroras are also highly educated; besides trade, they are equally successful in other professions such as education, medicine, finance, technology, engineering, manufacturing, entertainment, arts and bureaucracy. Some of the common family names are Ahuja, Alreja, Aneja, Arora, Arya, Babbar, Bagai, Bajaj, Batra, Bhagat, Behl(Bahl, Bahal), Berry(Beri), Bindal, Chawla, Chutani, Dewan(Diwan), Dhamija, Dhingra, Dutta, Gaba (Gauba), Gangwani, Gera, Ghai(Ghei,Gehi), Gheia, Grover, Gulati, Hans, Jaitley, Johar(Jauhar), Jolly, Juneja, Kalra, Kamra, Kanwal, Kanwar, Kataria, Kaura, Kharbanda, Khera, Khullar, Khurana, Kukreja, Kumar, Lekhi, Lulla, Madan, Makhija, Makkar, Mehndiratta, Mohindra, Munjal, Nagpal, Nanda, Narang, Narula, Pabreja, Pahuja, Paruthi, Punj, Raheja, Rajpal, Rampal, Ralhan, Rekhi, Sachar, Sachdev(Sachdeva), Saluja, Sukhija, Taneja, Tarneja, Tejpal, Tulli, Tuteja and Wadhwa. Most of the Aroras are Hindus or Sikhs. Some accepted Islam much before the creation of Pakistan in 1947. They now live in Karachi and other large cities of Pakistan's Punjab. The Muslim Arora traders are known as Khojas. The traders from Chiniot are very prominent in business. They usually use their gotras as family names. The most common family names are Chawla, Dhingar, Khurana, Gauba, Gorawala, and Tarneja. Distinguished Aroras
Refrences
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