Press & References

The book · independent reviews · encyclopaedic and chronicle references to the Varaha lineage

The book — Varaha: Hunnic Migration to Hind

Varaha — Hunnic Migration to Hind (Defenders of Bharat, Lost in History) by Amit Singh (ISBN 978-9368532781, 2024) is the first book-length treatment of the Varaha Rajput lineage as a continuous historical line stretching from the Altai steppe through the Hephthalite-Alkhan confederacy and the Hindu Shahi kingdom into the final Shivalik settlement at Ambota.¹ The author — a flight-operations professional with a decade-long personal investigation behind the work — integrates Persian, Chinese and Sanskrit textual sources, inscription and coin evidence, the Ambota state-revenue Vanshavali, and modern Y-DNA / qpAdm autosomal results into a single narrative.²

The book sheds light on the untold saga of the Varaha Rajputs — warriors descended from the Xiongnu cousin-line of Mongolia and the Hephthalites of Central Asia, who journeyed through Sogdiana, Iran and Afghanistan before settling in north-west India.³ It is, to the author's knowledge, the only book of its kind to use direct DNA evidence to corroborate the textual chronology.¹

Where to read it: Amazon UK² · Bookshop.org³ · Site review page¹ · Episode 1 trailer (YouTube)⁴

Independent reviews

The reviews collected below are reproduced as paraphrased excerpts — readers should consult the linked originals for the full text. Each excerpt is followed by a superscript citation pointing to the numbered source entry at the bottom of this page.

“Intricate historical facts, mythology, DNA research, and lost genealogy are all woven together in this book to create a compelling and thought-provoking story that is worth reading. The author makes his goal apparent in the first few pages: to bring back the honour and identity of a lineage that has been forced into historical obscurity.”¹

— Site review page, varaharajput.com/book-review

“Those who are not familiar with the history of the steppes, the Hunnic migrations, or the dynamics of ancient Central Asian clans will find this book to be both educational and an invitation to read more, think more critically, and see beyond the obvious. It is the only book of its kind to employ DNA evidence in support of historical facts.”¹

— Site review page, varaharajput.com/book-review

“The passages that deal with cultural adaptation are moving, showing how the Varahas took on new names, switched to other religions, and assimilated local customs as they migrated — sometimes willingly, sometimes under coercion. The author carefully separates confirmed information from bardic lore, reminding readers of the hazy boundaries between fact and folklore in the subcontinent's storytelling tradition.”³

— Bookshop.org listing notes

“Despite a distinguished career in flight operations, Singh's deep connection to his ancestry led him to undertake a decade-long exploration into the history of the Varaha Rajputs, combining scholarly precision with personal devotion.”³

— Bookshop.org author notes

Read the full review on this site¹ · Reader reviews on Amazon UK²

Goodreads — reader ratings

The book is listed on Goodreads with a 5.00 / 5.00 average reader rating across the early reviews on record at the time of writing.¹⁸ Reader notes on Goodreads emphasise the book's integration of DNA evidence with textual sources — a methodologically unusual approach in popular Indian historical writing.

External: Goodreads listing¹⁸

A note on Hindustan Times & the mainstream Indian press

Status of mainstream Indian-press coverage: A focused web search for a dedicated Hindustan Times review of Varaha — Hunnic Migration to Hind at the time of writing did not return a specific bylined book-review article. Hindustan Times and the regional Punjabi/Hindi press have carried heritage-page features over the years on the Bhatinda Fort, on Aurangzeb-era forced conversions in the Sirhind tract, and on the Shivalik Rajput hillstations — all of which provide the geographic and political context for the migration described in the book and the Vanshavali, but do not name the author or the book directly.¹⁹ If a specific HT byline appears, the link will be added here.

Book extracts & figures from the print edition

The print edition contains figures, family-tree diagrams, coin plates, and inscription rubbings that we would like to surface on this site as a curated “Plates & Extracts” section. If you would like me to add the original book-extract images that were on the previous version of the site, please upload them or share the URLs — I can then place them in a dedicated gallery on this page (or as a new Plates & Extracts page) with the corresponding extract caption and chapter reference.

Encyclopaedic & reference works

Several Wikipedia entries on the Warya, Bhati and Bathinda Rajput lineages give passing references to the Varaha line. The Bhati article confirms the bardic tradition that Raja Banni Pal, the grandson of Warah, founded Bhatinda after conquering Bhatner, and notes his son Udasi.⁵ The Warya entry traces the line back to the Hephthalite-period Sogdiana and the Hindu Kush.⁶

External: Wikipedia: Warya⁶ · Wikipedia: Bhati⁵ · Wikipedia: Bahawalpur⁷ · Jatland Wiki: Bhatinda⁸ · SikhiWiki: Bathinda⁹

Cholistan & the Bahawalpur tract

Per the official Bahawalpur government history page and the UNESCO Tentative List entry for the Cholistan forts: Derawar Fort was first built in the 9th century CE by Rai Jajja Bhati, a Hindu Rajput ruler of the Bhati clan.¹⁰ The 17th-century Marwari chronicler Muhnot Nainsi records that the Varhas were “the lords of the forts — like Uchchha (near Multan) and Derawar (in the upper Sind) — at that time. The territory lying between Hakra and Derawar, along with the forts of Uchchha and Derawar, were parts of their possession.”¹¹ The Cholistan branch held this territory until the early 18th century, when Sadiq Mohammad I (founder-ancestor of the Bahawalpur state, 1748) wrested Derawar Fort from the Rajput prince Rawal Akhi Singh.⁷ The corrected dating for the Varaha-Cholistan branch is therefore approximately 11th — 18th century CE.

External: Bahawalpur Government — Our History⁷ · Wikipedia: Derawar Fort¹⁰ · UNESCO Tentative List: Derawar & the Desert Forts of Cholistan¹² · Wikipedia: Uch¹³

Independent history portals

The independent “Rajpoot History” blog carries a long-form essay on the proto-Rajput history of the Bhati line, with several pages devoted to the Banni Pal foundation tradition.¹⁴ A Quora thread on the history and origin of the Bhatti tribe collects answers from multiple independent contributors and references the Varaha-Warya branch and the Banni Pal tradition.¹⁵ Dr Bikram Lamba, an independent historian, has published synthetic notes on the Hindu Shahi-to-Rajput political continuity on his Academia/LinkedIn pages.¹⁶

About the author & the project

Amit Singh is a flight-operations professional and the founder of the Safety Matters Foundation.¹⁷ The Varaha project began as a personal investigation into his own family's lineage at Ambota and grew over a decade into the present book and this online repository.

Sources

For the textual record of the rulers see Raja Banni Pal and Raja Vineypal Variah. For the genealogical record see The Ambota Vanshavali and Genealogy & Allied Clans. For the primary inscriptions and bibliography see the Sources & Bibliography page.