Pundir Rajputs

The Pundir is a clan of Rajputs based in Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh.

History
Pundirs were the most powerful military vassals of the Prithviraj Chauhan Empire of Delhi after the 10th century. Chandra Pundir, the ruler of Haridwar, was a great feudatory of Emperor Prithviraj Chauhan. Chandra Pundir, and grandson, Pavas Pundir sacrificed in the struggle with the Turks. After the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain in AD 1192, the rule of the Turks was established in the country. Even so, the Pundir state remained in Haridwar for two centuries.

Eric Stokes noted that "In the Katha the Pundir Rajputs stood out as the dominant landholders, dwelling together as a formidable clan that had never been properly brought under close administration. A proud, hardy race ... they possessed a long history of turbulence. Significantly they had successfully warded off alien intrusion ... So formidable did they appear as adversaries before the recapture of Delhi at the end of September 1857 that the British left them severely alone, despite their attacks on Deoband town and in similar depredations."