The Kalyar are a tribe of Jat status, found mainly in the Sargodha District. Just as a point of clarification, my understanding is that Kalyar have no connection whatsoever with the Kalyals, who have been referred in my earlier post. However, like the Kalyal, the Kalyar claim to be connected with the Bhatti Rajputs. The Kalyar were pastoralist, and their customs are very similar to their Gondal and Lak neighbours in the Kirana Bar.
British Sources
Like many Punjab tribes, the Kalyar have several origin stories. So, who exactly are the Kalyar. Horace Arthur Rose was an early 20th Century British colonial official who co-authored A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, which is one of the most comprehensive Glossary on the tribes of Punjab, and a good source on many Punjabi tribes. On the Kalyar he wrote the following lines:
Kalyar, (1) a Rajput clan (agricultural) found in Shahpur: (2) a Jat clan (agricultural] found in Multan.
The information is sparse. However, in his section on the Bhattis, he gives a more information:
While the author of the 1923 Multan Gazetteer also makes a brief reference to the tribe, simply stating that they are found in then Lodhran Tehsil.
M. S Leigh author of the 1917 Shahpur Gazetteer, gives the following description:
The British sources are sketchy, but make reference to their Bhatti origin, and describe the two regions where the tribe is dominant, namely Sargodha and Lodhran. It also establishes a connection between the Kalyar and the Hattar, Kanju, Noon tribes.
Tribal Traditions
According to their traditions, the tribe claims descent from a Bhatti Rajput nobleman, a Rana Rajwadhan, who appears in the Rose account. The Rana is said to have lived in Ghazni, and then moved to Delhi in India. After some time, he moved to Bhatner (now Hanumangarh). In the 13th Century, the Rana moved to Chanb Kalyar, in what is now the Lodhran District, in Sindh, Pakistan. The ruler of the area was a Raja Bhutta. The Raja wanted to marry the daughter of Rajwadhan, who refused. As a result, a battle took place, and the Raja was slain. The tract was then divided by Rajwadhan, and his five sons, Kalyar, Uttera, Kanju, Noon and Hattar. Baba Bajwa, of the YouTube Baba Bajwa channel gives the following genealogy:
Chandar Mal (ancestor of the Chandravanshi tribes)
↓
Krishna the Hindu deity 4th in descent from Chandar Mal
↓
Bhati (10th in descent from Krishna, ancestor of all the Bhati or Bhatti Rajputs)
↓
Bhupat
Baijal
↓
Bhatti + Puran
↓
Jaisal + Dosal (ancestor of the Sidhu Jats and Wattu Rajputs)
Paranhat
↓
Abhi Pal
↓
Pauru Pal
↓
Ajay Pal
↓
Karu Pal
↓
Baru Pal
↓
Bijli Pal
↓
Raj Wardhan (4th in descent from Bijli Pal)
↓
Kaylar (ancestor of the tribe) + Kanju (ancestor of the Kanju) + Noon (ancestor of the Noon) + Hattar (ancestor of the Hattar) + Uttra (ancestor of the Uttra)
↓
Rai Kalya Pal + Rai Kalyan Pal + Rai Kalpar Pal + Rai Kalwar Pal
The different branches of the Kalyar trace descent from these four brothers. The Kalyar traditions all generally connect them to Bhatti Rajputs, and Jaisal, the founder the Jaisalmer State in Rajasthan. The various tribal genealogies of the Punjabi tribes are based on bardic traditions of the Punjab, which classifies every Jat clan within the three sub-divisions of the Rajputs, the Suryavansh, Chandravanshi and Agnivanshi. In this case of the Kalyar, according to this tradition puts them in the Chandravanshi category.
Distribution
Kalyar initially settled in Chamb Kalyar in Lodhran District. His descendants then migrated to the Kirana Bar and became graziers. The Bar was opened up for settlement in the 19th Century, and many Kalyar now reside in colony Chaks (villages built by the British Imperial authorities) in what is now Sargodha District. For example the villages of Chak 104 A, 123 , 128, 147/148 (Lakhoana)151 , 174 NB all in Sillanwali Tehsil of Sargodha District are examples of such settlements.
As mentioned, the Kalyar are still found mainly in the Kirana Bar region of Sargodha District. Important villages in the Kirana Bar include Chokera (also known as Chak 79), Tangowali, Saidooaana, Samooranwali (in Tehsil Sargodha) and Mouza Kalyar. In Shahpur Tehsil, their villages include Feroze Makki, Salehabad, Kot Gul, and Mir Ahmed Sher Garh. Other important Kalyar settlements include Kalyar, Chak 205, Chak. 206, Chak 207 in Jhang District, Mouzza Dera near the town of Rodu Sultan, Jhok Kalyar in Faisalabad District, Kalyar in Mianwali district and Bhatikay near the town of Wazirabad. The town Chamb Kalyar remains the centre of the tribe. Although most Kalyar migrated northwards towards the Kirana Bar, there still a few villages in Bahawalpur District such as Channi.