Sangra
Sangras are a subset of Hindu Brahmins in the Jaegion of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Settling in the [[districts of Kathua and Jammu, it is widely believed that the Sangras of Kootah village have migrated from Sanghar to a village near Purmandal. Sangras are also known as Shah Sangras, because of their rich and opulent history. The tales of their riches purport that all Kings of Jammu and Kashmir use to take loans from Sangra shahs of Kootah, in order to run state affairs. They owned agricultural lands spreading several hundred square miles and were also traders of gold. Notably, in the 1970's, when former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to be the Finance Minister, he visited Kootah to see the financial management of Sangra shahs during those times.
Sangras in other parts of the country are also Hindu jats in Punjab & Haryana settled in village Thol district Kurukshetra (Haryana), Hosiarpur (Punjab), India. Hindu Jats claimed that they got the surname Sangra from Raja Sangu as they are descendants of Raja Sangu.
The surname Sangra does not denote any religion, but it has come from the name of a place called Sangra in Ladakh, India, along river Suru.
There is a Sangra village in the district Kargil of Ladakh, India, along with Suru River. In this village there are Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus; all known as Sangras. There is a Sangar village near holy Purmandal in the Jammu district of Jammu and Kashmir state.
From this village Sangras are likely to have moved around to various places in the search of fertile land and migrated to various regions nearby i.e. Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab (India), Haryana (India), J&K (India), Sindh (Pakistan) and Tibet.
Sangra is also a Muslim Rajput tribe found in Punjab, Pakistan.[1]
The tribe claims to descend from Sangra, a Bhatti Rajput from Bikaner, in what is now Rajasthan, India. In the 14th Century the tribe migrated from Rajasthan and settled in Kathala, the ruins of which are near Tibba Tanwi-Wala, near Bahwalpur, in what is now Pakistan. They are said to have converted to Islam in the 17th century. They use the surname Rai.[1]
Sangras are also found throughout the southern Punjab, with concentrations in Jhang District, as well as in some other southern Punjab districts, like Layyah, Multan, Okara and Sahiwal.
Other than that, Sangras can also be found in Indonesia.
Irrespective of any religion, they all are very fond of lands and horse riding, thus having similar physical characteristics i.e. they are usually tall, broad-shouldered and have pointed noses.
Some facts:
- There is a village known as Sangar village near Udhampur, India.
- There is a district known as Sanghar in Sindh province of Pakistan.
- There is a township known as Sangri in Tibet.
- There is a village known as Sangri in Kaithal district, Haryana, India.
- There is also an area called Sangra in Russia
- Also see Sanger, Sangar and Sangara in the Wikipedia, as, at times, the name is spelt differently.
- Towns, villages of the above name variations are also found in Iran, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe, indicating a possible migratory influence
- Sanger is also a surname in USA, Alaska and Germany.