town in
Sudhanoti district of Azad Kashmir The tribe claims an
Afghan ancestry.
Alastair Lamb, a British historian and
ethnographer wrote that there is a significant
Pathan influence in Poonch and that the Sudhans, a major group claim to be of Afghan descent. According to Syed Ali, Sudhans have a
Pashtun descent and moved to the
Poonch district of Kashmir region some centuries ago.
Sardar Ibrahim Khan, the first president of
Azad Kashmir and himself a Sudhan wrote that Sudhans belong to the
Sudhazai tribe of Pashtuns and migrated from Afghanistan via
Dera Ismail Khan. Sudhans consider themselves to be
Sudhozai or
Saddozai Pathans (Pashtuns). Their claim to a Pashtun heritage is considered to be alleged. Scholar Iffat Malik of the
Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad writes: The Sudhan population was recorded to be 56,754 in the 1911 census, with 28,160 males and 28,594 females.
Alleged origins and history Although no contemporary sources exist that verify the Sudhan alleged origins, the Sudhan oral tradition and writings generally state that in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, a Pashtun chieftain named Jassi Khan, a descendant of his ancestor Saddo and hailing from
Ghazni encamped in the
Murree hills with his small Pashtun force, neighbouring west to the areas of the modern day
Sudhanoti and
Poonch districts. It is stated that the territories had originally been inhabited by local Brahmins, who had recently faced an invasion by a
Rajput tribe called the Bagars (or Bhagris). The Bagars are said to have subjugated and oppressively ruled over the
Brahmins, who sought the assistance of Jassi in expelling the Bagar occupiers. Jassi is said to have travelled to
Pashtun territories, increasing the size of his forces, and taking command of both his and the rebelling Brahmin army and then overwhelming and expelling the Bagars from the region. It is said that afterwards Jassi took rule over the region and settled the Pashtuns from his forces. He was accepted by the Brahmins as a ruler, who granted him and the Pashtuns the laqab (title) "Sudhan" from Sanskrit, which is said to have been given as a compliment to their valor. It is said that Jassi and the Pashtuns accepted the title, and that Jassi renamed the captured territories to "Sudhanoti". His descendants and the Sudhans are said to have continued autonomous rule in Sudhanoti until their
1837 Poonch Revolt against the
Sikh Empire and Dogra dynasty. After the failure of the rebellion, the Sudhans were stripped of autonomy and fully integrated into the Sikh Empire and brought under the control of the
Lahore government. According to books written throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, such as "The Pearl String of Saddozais" by Sabir Hussain Sabir, Jassi Khan belongs to the lineage of a different Sadullah Khan than the
Malik Saddu Khan of the Saddozai branch of the
Durrani Confederation. This Saddullah is said to have been born in 961 AD, and was the son of Atman, whom himself was a descendant of one Uthman. This gives way to an "Uthmanzai" branch of a different Saddozai tribe. The
Saddozai are a lineage of the
Popalzai clan of the
Abdali tribe of the ethnic Pashtun. The lineage takes its name from its ancestor,
Saddo Khan.
Contributions to British Army The Sudhan tribe contributed significant numbers of recruits into the
British Indian Army during
World War 1 and
World War II. Their total contribution to the British Indian Army during World War I and World War II is considered to be between 40,000 and 60,000 soldiers. ==1819–1832 resistance against Sikh conquest==