History of Soods

Sood

Sood/Sud is a last name of Parmar Kashtrya origin with close ties to the Khatri community in Punjab. The name originated from the district of Sirhind in Punjab. They are now found in the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and other areas of Northern India. Some Soods can also be found in parts of Afghanistan.

Contents
1 Sood History
1.1 Glimpses of Sood History - India
2 See also
3 External links




Sood History

Glimpses of Sood History - India
The word 'Sood' is of Sanskrit origin and means a brave person or a victor of enemies. It also means a man who can make progress. Soods have a very ancient and glorious ancestry with noble qualities.

Soods are the descendants of the Kashatrias and in particular King Parmar whose second son was named Sood. They are Agnikul Rajputs. At the time of Ashoka, Buddhist influence spread all over India. Soods helped to re-establish the Vedic Dharam in one part of India. For eight generations thereafter the capital of Sood dynasty was Patten in Sindh and later shifted to Amar Kot.

In 331 BC, after defeating Poras, Alexander's invasion and entry into India at the banks of River Beas was stopped by the superior forces of Rai Shah Sood. This event is recorded in Alexander’s memoirs and also in the Indian history books. Alexander recognized the sterling quality of the Soods and admired their strict adherence to their principles, bravery and practice of Vedic religion. After the death of Alexander, Sood reigned uninterrupted for some time and extended their territory and influence to Alwara, Kashmir, Khandar, Sistan and to Yaumna on the other side. The kingdom was even extended up to Karachi. Indian sailors escorted by Sood forces used to trade with Basara, Istanbul and Greece. There are records of 101 Sood Kingdoms with respective Rajas under Sood Emperor of Alwara.

There are accounts of various Sood queens and in particular Queen Shub Devi Sood, who was educated and took keen interest in the administration of her State. She used to ride horses fully armed like kings and went to battle. 'Sati', 'Jauhar' or self immolation was prevalent at that time by the Rajput women. In the context of circumstances prevailing at that time, this voluntary act by royal women to save the honour of the Raja after his death was an act of valour. History is charred with several such examples set by brave Sood women.

Sood King Dhar gave refuge to a Muslim from Basara named Ilafi, who later turned into a traitor. He joined hands with the local Buddhists and Lohana Jats and organized a rebellion against the Sood Emperor. After great turmoil and bloodshed this rebellion was initially crushed but later Mohamad Bin Quasim invaded India whilst Dhar was the King. Rana Mokha was the first Sood to be converted to Islam. Soods fought fierce guerilla warfare and re-established control of Amar Kot under Rana Hameer in 1143 AD. After that the Moghul dynasty was well rooted in India.

After the defeat of Humayun by Sher Shah Suri, who was chased out of Delhi to take refuge in Amar Kot with Rana Rai Prashad Sood. This incident is recorded in Tazok-e-Humanyun'. It was here that the famous Prince Akbar was born. Humayun was escorted to Kabul from where he later recaptured the throne of Delhi. He invited Rana Rai Prashad Sood to Delhi and honoured him. Akbar was the next Emperor and held high regard for Sood Kings and never came into direct conflict with them. It was only when Dewan Hari Singh Sood assisted Chittor against the forces of Akbar that Amar Kot was attacked with the help of Baluch and Bahawalpur forces and lost. Soods scattered to various parts of Sindh, Marwar and Rajasthan. Rana Chagga went to Chittor and was given a 'Jaghir' known as Soodgarh which was later known as Sirhind. Amarkot was later recaptured by the son of Rana Jagga.

Soods being displaced in Sirhind had their first difficulty to marry their sons and daughter to the royal Rajput families. Their customs, dress and ornaments were different to that of other Hindus of that area. There were signs of bravery on their faces and they mostly took royal estate on contract. They began to be subdivided into various subcastes and started intermarrying. Originally, there were 52 subcastes of Soods which derived their names either from the Raja, Kingdom or village they hailed from. Soods were invariably always rich and successful. They were renowned not to publicise the marriages of their children. Boys did not always inherit their fathers’ property. All Soods used to give 10 Rupees and 10 bricks each to the couple at their marriage. Soods always, therefore, lived in brick built houses.

When Raja Man Singh Kachwaha was appointed Governor of Kabul by the Mogul Emperor, he visited Sirhind and soon five thousand Soods armed as Rajput warriors accompanied Raja Man Singh to defeat the Pathans. Upon return the Soods were appointed Governors in Lahore, Agra and Pak Pattan.

Ahmed Shah Abdali invaded India seven times and every time Sirhind was the target as it was an important trade centre and on strategic route to Delhi. So much so that it was known as the cursed city. Disgusted with constant plunder and instability, Soods began migrating to the mountaineous regions and created further separate 52 subcastes, usually after the names of the villages they settled in. Therefore there is a large concentration of Soods in the Shimla region today.

History tells that several Hindus were buried alive when they refused to be converted to Islam by the Moghul Rulers. It was in Sirhind that two brave sons of Guru Gobind Singh were buried alive in the wall. Hindu population of Sirhind at that time consisted of many Soods. All the land belonged to the rulers. Soods of Sirhind purchased land at exorbitant prices by collecting gold nuggets to cremate the brave sons of Guru Gobind Singh. After this was discovered Soods had to flee from Sirhind. Sikhs helped evacuating Soods back to their own villages in Punjab to escape Moghul atrocities and pillage.

Soods then adopted whatever profession they could earn to their living. Some took to agriculture, money lending and estate management. By this time, the Moghul rule was on its last legs and the British arrived in India.

Around 1886 some Soods ventured abroad and left for East Africa. In early 1900 many Sood families made their homes in East Africa and other parts of the world. They made a major contribution in the administration and building of East Africa together with the British.

The community was in total disintegration and in order to reunite the community 'Sood Sahayak Sabha' was formed in 1881 in Lahore. An important document known as 'Dastoor-ul-Amal' was prepared by Jai Dial Sood which basically was a 'General Agreement' for a code of conduct of Soods in relation to abolition of dowry and excessive expenses at weddings. In 1919 the next conference was held in Ludhiana and followed by various conferences in other cities.

Jallianwala Bagh episode in 1919 cannot go unrecorded, since it was Dr. Gurubux Rai Sood who presided over the meeting, since he was the chief organiser. The British massacre by General Dawyer took place and many Soods gave their lives. The partition of India in 1947 saw another displacement of Soods.

In the early 1900 there were a lot of misconceptions as to the origins of Soods, which inspired Madan Mohan Sood to publish a book 'Origin and History of Soods' and made a priceless contribution to trace our origins. Salamat Rai Sood wrote a book in Urdu called ‘Tarikh-i-Soodan'. Ram Rattan Sood the author of 'Origin of Soods' made a fascinating contribution of listing life history of some prominent Soods of past two centuries in his books 'Lest We Forget Them' Vol. 1 & 2. Other people who have contributed in uniting the community to name a few are Justice Tek Chand Sood, Jagdish Ram Dogar, Braham Sarup Sood, Dharam Dev Mayor, Mela Ram Sood, Shadi Ram Sood, Buti Ram Sood, Ramji Das Phakey for Sood Sabhas. Prof. P.C. Sood has been the torch bearer of the Vedic Dharma and there is hardly any Arya Samaj or Mandir where Soods have not played an important role. Amongst the saints Baba Sital Das in Lahore, Baba Duni Chand and Maharaj Mansa Ram both of Noormahal grace our ancestry. Amongst the most prominent Soods, the names of Rai Bahadur Jodha Mal Kuthiala, the king of timber trade, Rai Bahadur Sir Justice Jai Lal Sood, Dr. Dharam Vir, Shri A.K. Sood, Dr. J.D. Mohindra, Kidar Nath Sood, the famous journalist and writer along with many other philanthropists and Industrialist and popular personalities in the community and society. Soods played an important role in the Freedom movement during the British Raj and there numerous personalities who were put in jails and later made useful contributions in the Government. Prof. Kashyap is a renowned botanist and written numerous books on this subject. Major Sohan Lal Sood is even credited with planting of the first Chandan Van plantation in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh. In the film industry the name of Kamini Kaushal cropped up the name of Kuldeep Sood recordist stands out with pride, the name of Sanjeeva Sood as an editor is well known. Dr.Bhushan Sood, son of Late Parkash Chand and Shanti Devi Sood from Jaijon Doaba-Hoshiarpur,now settled in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, has been chosen to be awarded "Sood Rattana" title in February 2007 by Chandigarh Sood Sabha, for his untiring effort to set up " Sood Sabha of North America." He also set up a website " www.hindustoday.com" and uploaded the book title: Origin & history of Soods, written by Late Madan Mohan Sood. Log on to http://www.hindustoday.com/Sood%20History.htm to view the book.He is also creating a global Sood Directory. Kuldip Rai Sood,PES-I (Retd.) was born on September 12, 1933 in Burma (now Myanmar) when this country was a part of India. His father Late Shri Hans Raj Sood was an engineer in Burma Irrigation Department. He is the only child of his parents who expired during his infancy. He was taken to his native village “Kotla Soodan” in District Jalandhar (Punjab) from Burma by his grand parents and was brought up there by them. Presently he is serving as the Honorary Secretary of the ‘Society for the Care of the Blind’ Sector: 26, Chandigarh and also as the Principal of the ‘Institute for the Blind’ being run under the aegis of this Society. During his stewardship, the Institute has touched the glorious heights and has become the reputed Institution in Northern India for the visually handicapped children. In recognition of his excellent services he was honoured on Republic Day 2003 by Chandigarh Administration. He has also been decorated with several awards and honours by different social organisations like Lions Club Chandigarh and Canara Bank. From humble beginning he has raised the standard of the Institute to Senior Secondary (12th) level. The students have shown 100% results with earning a place in merit lists. Various facilities like free Transport to Day-Scholars, Free Boarding & Lodging besides Free Education, Free Uniforms, Books, Stationery and Scholarships/Incentives have been provided to the students aspiring for higher education due to his untiring efforts and farsightedness. The Institution is still marching ahead in his mission ‘Help the Blind’ under his guidance and patronage. In brief, under the leadership of Mr.Kuldip Rai Sood, the visually impaired students are prepared to excel in every field i.e. education, vocational training, games, extra-curricular activities, which they have proved by winning medals in national and even international meets.Kuldip Rai Sood is also Vice-President of ‘Sood Sabha Chandigarh’ and Advisor for Sood Sabha of North America. Professor Sunder Sham Sood of S.D.College, Hoshiarpur, has written a poetical book titled "Zindabad-Murdabad" Moti Lal Sood has been the elected Councillor of Hoshiarpur for the last twenty eight years. Jitendra Kumar Sood has been the elected Mayor of Tarn Taran for the last over two decades.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUB CASTES OF SOOD COMMUNITY OF PLAINS AND THEIR SACRED PLACES OF JATHERIES

S.NO. SUB CASTE NAME OF SACRED PLACE LOCATION

1. Burnwal
2. Baurie
3. Balgan
4. Bery
5. Badhoo
6. Bharak
7. Bodhi
8. Bhokhi
9. Behal
10. Brahmi
11. Bhola
12. Dosaj Dhandra 4 km. from Ludhiana
13. Dhanda
14. Dhati
15. Dhiri
16. Dhookhi
17. Daddan
18. Dhaunchak
19. Deli
20. Dhoop
21. Gandel
22. Gajri Palasour 5 km. from Taran Taran
23. Gopal Sati Shiv Mandir Fatehgarh Road, Hoshiarpur
24. Gajjey
25. Jari
26. Janpal
27. Kajley
28. Khurpay
29. Lav or lau
30. Mohindra
31. Momman
32. Mohni
33. Mukand
34. Mandal
35. Mahiyar (Mayor)
36. Makaurey
37. Nandoo
38. Nehra
39. Phassi
40. Parwaha
41. Paul
42. Poora
43. Phakka
44. Rora
45. Rodher
46. Rohnir
47. Sulhan
48. Sanwal
49. Tagaley
50. Teji
51. Ugal Virk Phagwara-Ludhiana Road, 8km. from Phagwara
52. Udhar
53. Sallan Sood Shimla.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUB CASTES OF SOOD COMMUNITY OF HILL AREAS AND THEIR SACRED PLACES OF JATHERIES

S.NO. SUB CASTE NAME OF SACRED PLACE LOCATION

1. Banta Bohan Jawalaji Rani Tal Road
2. Bhagley
3. Basohal
4. Basalia
5. Bajwaria
6. Bhagra Lohara Mubarikpur-Kurloohi-Kinnoo Bharwain Road
7. Chehray
8. Chakaseday
9. Chonolia
10. Chamib
11. Chaukand
12. Chaujar Baggi Jawalaji-Khudian (Baggi)
13. Chimia
14. Cheema or Cheemray Nakroh Mubarikpur, Daulatpur Road
15. Dhopal
16. Dogar Ambota Gagret- Daulatpur Road
17. Doddal
18. Dhophmal
19. Dogan
20. Indoria
21. Jullundray
22. Jehalghat
23. Jandrangloo
24. Karol Gummer Jawalaji- Rani Tal Road
25. Kuthiala Garli Garli Khad - ke- Par
26. Kataway
27. Kalandar
28. Kandal
29. Laserday
30. Lakhanty
31. Langey
32. Lahespar
33. Saluria Behdala Una- Nangal Road
34. Lamsay Jaijon Jaijon-Santokhgarh Road, 2 km. from Jaijon
35. Ling
36. Mithey or Mithoo Chandpur 8 km. from Jaijon
37. Mahdodia, Mehdodia Bal Khalsa Una- Pirnagaha Road
38. Mangwalich
39. Mehtay
40. Mand
41. Nehdal
42. Pnalkolia
43. Phagdey
44. Paptopay (Paway) Babu Nath Shah Village Purmandal 25 km. from Samba (Jammu)
45. Panbalia
46. Shall
47. Sabloria
48. Sawali
49. Sah
50. Saraup
51. Takalo
52. Butail
53. Kaunsal
54. Dhuli Anil Sood Machiwara-25km Ludhiana

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------