Sudhan


Sudhans is one of the major tribes from the districts of Poonch, Sudhanoti, Bagh and Kotli in Azad Kashmir, allegedly originating from Pashtun areas.

History and particulars

The tribe claims an Afghan ancestry. According to Syed Ali, Sudhans have a Pashtun descent and moved to the Poonch district of Kashmir region some centuries ago. Sudhans from Poonch considered themselves to be Sudhozai Pathans. Scholar Iffat Malik of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad writes:
About 40,000–60,000 Sudhans were recruited and served in the British Indian Army during the First and Second World Wars.

Role in 1947 Poonch rebellion

The Sudhan tribe has been described as "a main and martial tribe of dissident Poonch" by Christopher Snedden, a political analyst. Sardar Ibrahim Khan, a barrister, and politician of the Muslim Conference party, was among the Sudhan people who rose to significance in 1947 as a result of the campaign and later rebellion against the Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Khan led a significant faction of the Muslim Conference activists in their demands that Singh should join Pakistan rather than accede to India. Together with the Muslims from Bagh, it was the Sudhans who were at the heart of this campaign. The rebels were directed by the Pakistan Army, and with the support of Pashtun tribal lashkars sent in from the Khyber and Waziristan tribal agencies, they were able to 'liberate' a portion of the state, called Azad Kashmir. Azad Kashmir has been under the control Pakistan ever since.
Together with the Rajputs, it is the Sudhans who dominate the politics of Azad Kashmir in the present day, although the Gujjar community is probably the largest among the population.