In the year 1190 CE, Raja Bhagir Dev, a Jamwal prince, while on a hunting expedition fell in love with a Muslim woman belonging to a tribe of wandering Gujjar grazers. In order to marry her, he converted to Islam and consequently his father asked him to stay away from Jammu and settle in this tract along with his men. Raja Bhagir Dev changed his name to Muhammed Mair after his conversion to Islam and his descendants are Mair-Minhas Rajputs. The Mairs preferred pastoral rather than agricultural pursuits for the next few centuries and remained confined to this area.
Mughal era
In approximately 1525 C.E, the Mughal King Babur stopped in this area on his way to Kashmir, and hostile tribes nearby ambushed his army. However, Babur's army was awakened by the herds owned by the Mairs and the hostile Rajputs fled. The next morning, the Mughal King summoned the chief of the tribe, Raja Sidhar, and offered him two thirds of the land of Dhanni, if he provided labour to help the Kassar tribesmen to drain the great lake which then covered all the eastern part of the tehsil, up to the ridge followed by the Bhon-Dhudial road.
Raja Sidhar, chief of the Mair-Minhas Rajputs, and Gharka Kassar, chief of the Kassars, a Mughal sub-tribe, took up the job along with their respective tribesmen. They drained the lake water by cutting through Ghori- Gala, through which the Bunha torrent now flows, and laid claim to the surrounding country. The Emperor awarded them the title of Chaudhry, and administration of the newly formed Taluka, which ever since has been called 'Dhan Chaurasi' or 'Maluki Dhan'.
Chaudhry Sidhar settled villages named after his sons Chaku, Murid and Karhan and as Chaku Khan became the chief, he decided to settle in Chakwal, the village named after him and make it the center of administration of the Taluka. Kassar chiefs founded the villages of Bal-Kassar and Dhudial.
The following few lines about the origins of Chakwal are noted in the District Gazetteer Jhelum 1904, "Chakwal has from time immemorial been the seat of administration in the Dhanni Country. It is said to have been founded by a Mair-Minhas Rajput from Jammu, whose descendants are at the present day proprietors of the land in the neighbourhood. It is still the Headquarters of tribe"
There are conflicting claims as to the ownership and leadership of the land. This story is also confirmed by the Hindu family of Gadihok, who claim that Dhanni was named "Malooki Dhan" after their forefather, Malook Chand, who was with Babur during settlement of the area, but they agree that the area was given to Mairs, Kassars and Kahuts while the Gadihoks received only a certain portion of the revenue as an 'inam'.
Awans, Mair Minhas Rajput, Mughal Kassar and Kahut Quriesh were probably the four landowning tribes that were originally settled in this tehsil by the Mughal Emperor Zaheerudin Babur. The main concentration of the Mair-Minhas Rajputs was in the center (Haveli-Chakwal), North-East (Badshahan), West (Rupwal) and South West (Thirchak-Mahal). The Kassars in the northern part of the tehsil, the area called 'Babial' and 'Chaupeda' and the Kahuts in 'Kahutani' in the South East.
These tribes, particularly the Mair-Minhas Chaudhrials of Chakwal, rose to further prominence during the short rule of Sher Shah Suri who handed them control over the adjoining territories, as far as Swan River in Potohar and the Pind Dadan Khan plains in the South.
After the Mughal ruler, King Humayun, returned to India with the help of the Persians, he handed over Potohar, including Dhanni, to the Gakhars, who had helped him escape from India during Sher Shah's revolt and reign. The Gakhars moved the capital of the taluka from Chakwal to a neighbouring town, Bhon, and stationed their Kardars there.
The Mair-Minhas and Mughal Kassar tribes again rose to power after King Aurangzeb's death. They had supported his son Moazzam Shah in his quest for power and, in return, he re-appointed the Mair-Minhas chief Gadabeg Khan as the Taluqdar and Chaudhry of the entire 'Dhan Chaurasi', whereas the rule of the Kassar Chaudhrys was confirmed in Babial and Chaupeda 'illaqa'.
Sikh era
Their rule over Dhanni continued during the Sikh era; Chaudhry Ghulam Mehdi had invited Sardar Mahan Singh to this side of Jhelum River. It was during that era that the Dhanni breed of horses became popular; even Maharaja Ranjeet Singh's personal horses were kept in the stables of the 'Chakwal Chaudhials'.
In the Second Anglo-Sikh War at Chaillianwala in 1849, the Chakwal Chaudhrials supported the Sikhs and hence their Jagirs were confiscated by the British and even the lands in their headquarters, Chakwal were distributed among their tenants. Consequently, Chakwal started growing as a city and was declared a tehsil Headquarters in 1881.Chakwal's non-Muslim minorities departed during partition of the subcontinent in 1947. In April 2009 a terrorist attack on the Imambargah killed more than 20 people.
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