Kamboj

For other uses, see Kamboja.

The Kamboj (Devanagari: कंबोज, Nastaliq: کمبوج, Gurumukhi: ਕੰਬੋਜ ALA-LC: Kamboj), also Kamboh (Nastaliq: کمبوہ ALA-LC: Kamboh), is a caste and agrarian community of India and Pakistan.^[1][2]

Kamboj

Portrait of two unidentified men of the Kamboj (or Kamboh) tribe of Multan, ca.1862–72
Regions with significant populations
India • Pakistan
Languages
Punjabi • Dogri • Haryanvi • Hindi
Religion
Hinduism • Sikhism • Islam

Demographics

Religion

As per the 1931 census of British Punjab, most Kambojs followed Sikhism (42.4%) and Islam (41.5%), with a considerable minority following Hinduism (16.1%).^[3]

Muslim members of the community are called as Kamboh. The Hindu Kambojs and the Sikh Kambojs are found in the Punjab, Haryana and Jammu regions in India, while most of the Muslim Kambohs are found in the province of Punjab in Pakistan.^[4]

Muslim Kamboj are known as Kamboh; they were particularly influential in the administration and the military of the Mughal Empire from the times of Akbar onward. Some famous personalities include Shahbaz Khan Kamboh and Shaikh Gadai Kamboh.^[5]

Numbers

As per the 2017 Pakistani census, Kamboh made around 5% of Lahore's population, which back then amounted to some 550,000 individuals out of a total population of 11 million.^[6]

See also

• Kambojas