The Laus

The Laus first appeared in the epoch of the Ramayana, and Vasishtha, the Raj Guru of King Dashratha was their progenitor. They derive their Vashishtha gotra from the name of the same ancestor.

There is another school of thought that traces the origin of the Lau caste to Lav, the son of Ram. But this assumption appears irrelavant because Rama was a kshatriya whereas thr Mohyals are brahmins. WE do not come across any Lau veteran or see the trail of any event connected with this clan till the closing of the tenth century. It was around 997 AD that a ruler named Bijaipal appeared on the scene.To perpetuate his name he built a new town called Bajwada in district Kangra. This place later became the prestigious Dheri of the Lau sect. Bijaipal had two sons, Lopal and Bhopal. On the death of his father Lopal ascended to the gaddi. He was an ambitious man who conquered new territories and extended his fiefdom upto Multan. Lodhra was another stronghold of the Laus and was most probabaly founded by Lopal. Two warrior tribes, Langas and Lohanas who had a strong racial affinity with the Laus inhabited the surrounding territory. The Langas are believed to have ruled over Multan and were expelled from there by the troops of the Mughal king Babar. The Lohanas had their regency in Brahminabad and had marital relations with the Chhibbers. Both these sects later converted to Islam.

After the death of Lopal his son Vishav Rai became the titular head. He earned a great name for his sagacity and valour.

In 1191 when Raja Jaichand convened the Rajsu Yajna in Kannauj, he invited prominent Hindu rulers and leaders of the Brahmin community including Mohyals. Seven patriarchs represented the Mohyal community from the seven different castes and the honour of representing the Lau family fell on Rai Inder Sain Lau.

The Lau dynasty continued to prosper in Bajwada for nearly 300 years till it was uprooted by the tyrannical reign of Aurangzeb. He had challenged the Sikhs in a bid to subjugate them but met with fierce resistance. He tried to enlist the support of the Laus against the Sikhs but they did not oblige him and stood squarely behind their compatriots. This roused the monarch's ire and he sent a big force to crush them. In the disastrous battle the microscopic Lau community, and their prized possesion of Bajwada were obliterated. The surviving Laus fled to different parts of Punjab. Their main concentration, however, was in a village called Kauntrila in district Rawalpindi. The Laus by themselves constitute about 10 % of the Mohyal community. If members of the Mohyal Saraswat Mandal who are mostly Laus are also included, they become a formidable group. These people were genuine Mohyals but were seperated from the mainstream due to some catastrophe in the past. Their induction will not only boost the overall numerical strength of the Mohyal community, it will also ease the chronic matrimonial situation. They are ardent followers of their saint ancestor Sidh Shyam Lau, whose resting-place is situated on the eastern bank of the river Jamuna near the old railway bridge. It is a hallowed spot for their fraternity.