Story On Jatt Subetnic of Punjabi
Story On Jatt Subetnic of Punjabi
Story On Jatt Subetnic of Punjabi
Contents
1History
o 1.1Hindu Jats
o 1.2Sikh Jats
2Demographics
o 2.1Republic of India
o 2.2Pakistan
3Culture and society
o 3.1Military
o 3.2Religious beliefs
o 3.3Varna status
4Clan system
5In popular culture
6See also
7Footnotes
8References
9Further reading
10External links
History
A Jutt (Jat) Muslim camel-driver from Sind, 1872
As the Mughal empire now faltered, there were a series of rural rebellions in North India.
[30]
Although these had sometimes been characterized as "peasant rebellions", others, such
as Muzaffar Alam, have pointed out that small local landholders, or zemindars, often led these
uprisings.[30] The Sikh and Jat rebellions were led by such small local zemindars, who had close
association and family connections with each other and with the peasants under them, and who
were often armed.[31]
These communities of rising peasant-warriors were not well-established Indian castes,[32] but
rather quite new, without fixed status categories, and with the ability to absorb older peasant
castes, sundry warlords, and nomadic groups on the fringes of settled agriculture.[31][33] The
Mughal Empire, even at the zenith of its power, functioned by devolving authority and never had
direct control over its rural grandees.[31] It was these zemindars who gained most from these
rebellions, increasing the land under their control. [31] The triumphant even attained the ranks of
minor princes, such as the Jat ruler Badan Singh of the princely state of Bharatpur.[31]
Hindu Jats
The Hindu Jat Maharaja of Bharatpur, 1882
The Hindu Jats came to predominate south and east of Delhi after 1710.[34] According to
historian Christopher Bayly
Men characterised by early eighteenth century Mughal records as plunderers and bandits
preying on the imperial lines of communications had by the end of the century spawned a range
of petty states linked by marriage alliance and religious practice.[34]
The Jats had moved into the Gangetic Plain in two large migrations, in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries respectively.[34] They were not a caste in the usual Hindu sense, for
example, in which Bhumihars of the eastern Gangetic plain were; rather they were an umbrella
group of peasant-warriors.[34] According to Christopher Bayly:
This was a society where Brahmins were few and male Jats married into the whole range of
lower agricultural and entrepreneurial castes. A kind of tribal nationalism animated them rather
than a nice calculation of caste differences expressed within the context of Brahminical Hindu
state.[34]
By the mid-eighteenth century, the ruler of the recently established Jat kingdom of Bharatpur,
Raja Surajmal, felt sanguine enough about durability to build a garden palace at nearby Dig
(Deeg).[35] Although, the palace, Gopal Bhavan, was named for Lord Krishna, its domes, arches,
and garden were evocative of Mughal architecture, a reflection ultimately of how much these new
rulers—aspiring dynasts all—were products of the Mughal epoch.[35] In another nod to the Mughal
legacy, in the 1750s, Surajmal removed his own Jat brethren from positions of power and
replaced them with a contingent of Mughal revenue officials from Delhi who proceeded to
implement the Mughal scheme of collecting land-rent.[34]
According to historian, Eric Stokes,
When the power of the Bharatpur raja was riding high, fighting clans of Jats encroached into the
Karnal/Panipat, Mathura, Agra, and Aligarh districts, usually at the expense of Rajput groups. But
such a political umbrella was too fragile and short-lived for substantial displacement to be
effected.[36]
The durbar of the teenage Hindu Jat ruler of Bharatpur, a princely state in Rajasthan, early
1860s.
Sikh Jats
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Demographics
According to anthropologist Sunil K. Khanna, Jat population is estimated to be around 30 million
(or 3 crore) in South Asia in 2010. This estimation is based on statistics of the last caste census
and the population growth of the region. The last caste census was conducted in 1931, which
estimated Jats to be 8 million, mostly concentrated in India and Pakistan.[39] Deryck O. Lodrick
estimates Jat population to be over 33 million (around 12 million and over 21 million in India and
Pakistan, respectively) in South Asia in 2009 while noting the unavailability of precise statistics in
this regard. His estimation is based on a late 1980s population projection of Jats and the
population growth of India and Pakistan. He also notes that some estimates put their total
population in South Asia at approximately 43 million in 2009. His religion-wise break-up of Jats is
as follows: 47% Hindus, 33% Muslims, and 20% Sikhs.[40]
Republic of India
Chaudhary Charan Singh, the first Jat Prime Minister of India, accompanied by his wife, on his way to
address the nation at the Red Fort, Delhi, Independence Day, 15 August 1979.
In India, multiple 21st-century estimates put Jats' population share at 20–25% in Haryana state
and at 20–35% in Punjab state.[41][42][43] In Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, they constitute
around 9%, 5%, and 1.2% respectively of the total population.[44][45][46]
In the 20th century and more recently, Jats have dominated as the political class in
Haryana[47] and Punjab.[48] Some Jat people have become notable political leaders, including the
sixth Prime Minister of India, Charan Singh.
Consolidation of economic gains and participation in the electoral process are two visible
outcomes of the post-independence situation. Through this participation they have been able to
significantly influence the politics of North India. Economic differentiation, migration and mobility
could be clearly noticed amongst the Jat people.[49]
Jats are classified as Other Backward Class (OBC) in seven of India's thirty-six States and UTs,
namely Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.[50] However, only the Jats of Rajasthan – excluding those of Bharatpur
district and Dholpur district – are entitled to reservation of central government jobs under
the OBC reservation.[51] In 2016, the Jats of Haryana organized massive protests demanding to
be classified as OBC in order to obtain such affirmative action benefits.[50]
Pakistan
See also: Jats of Azad Kashmir and Muslim Jat of Punjab
Many Jat Muslim people live in Pakistan and have dominant roles in public life in the Pakistani
Punjab and Pakistan in general. Jat communities also exist in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, in
Sindh, particularly the Indus delta and among Seraiki-speaking communities in southern
Pakistani Punjab, the Kachhi region of Balochistan and the Dera Ismail Khan District of the North
West Frontier Province.
In Pakistan also, Jat people have become notable political leaders, like Asif Ali Zardari and Hina
Rabbani Khar.[52]
Many Jat people serve in the Indian Army, including the Jat Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Rajputana
Rifles and the Grenadiers, where they have won many of the highest military awards for gallantry
and bravery. Jat people also serve in the Pakistan Army especially in the Punjab Regiment.[53]
The Jat people were designated by officials of the British Raj as a "martial race", which meant
that they were one of the groups whom the British favoured for recruitment to the British Indian
Army.[54][55] The Jats participated in both World War I and World War II, as a part of the British
Indian Army.[56] In the period subsequent to 1881, when the British reversed their prior anti-Sikh
policies, it was necessary to profess Sikhism in order to be recruited to the army because the
administration believed Hindus to be inferior for military purposes.[57]
The Indian Army admitted in 2013 that the 150-strong Presidential Bodyguard comprises only
people who are Hindu Jats, Jat Sikhs and Hindu Rajputs. Refuting claims of discrimination, it
said that this was for "functional" reasons rather than selection based on caste or religion.[58]
Religious beliefs
See also: Jat Sikh and Jat Muslim
According to Khushwant Singh, the Jats' attitude never allowed themselves to be absorbed in
the Brahminic fold.
The Jat's spirit of freedom and equality refused to submit to Brahmanical Hinduism and in its turn
drew the censure of the privileged Brahmins.... The upper caste Hindu's denigration of the Jat did
not in the least lower the Jat in his own eyes nor elevate the Brahmin or the Kshatriya in the Jat's
estimation. On the contrary, he assumed a somewhat condescending attitude towards the
Brahmin, whom he considered little more than a soothsayer or a beggar, or the Kshatriya, who
disdained earning an honest living and was proud of being a mercenary.[59]
Jats pray to their dead ancestors, a practice which is called Jathera.[60]
Varna status
There are conflicting scholarly views regarding the varna status of Jats in Hinduism. Some
sources state that Jats are regarded as Kshatriyas, while others assign Vaishya or Shudra varna
to them.[61] According to Santokh S. Anant, Jats, Rajputs, and Thakurs are at the top of the caste
hierarchy in most of the north Indian villages, surpassing Brahmins. Assigning Vaishya varna to
Jats, he notes that they perform the dual duties of Kshatriyas and Vaishyas in the Punjab region.
[62]
According to Indera P. Singh, Brahmins demoted the varna status of Jats from Kshatriya
to Sat Shudra (clean Shudra) in the Vedic period for challenging the authority of Brahmins.
[63]
According to Irfan Habib, Jats were a "pastoral Chandala-like tribe" in Sindh during the 8th
century. Their 11th-century status of Shudra varna changed to Vaishya varna by the 17th
century, with some of them aspiring to improve it further after their 17th-century rebellion against
the Mughals.[64] Some scholars point out widow remarriage as the main cause for Jats being
placed at a lower position than Rajputs within the Kshatriya varna.[61]
The Rajputs refused to accept Jat claims to Kshatriya status during the later years of the British
Raj and this disagreement frequently resulted in violent incidents between the two communities.
[65]
The claim at that time of Kshatriya status was being made by the Arya Samaj, which was
popular in the Jat community. The Arya Samaj saw it as a means to counter the colonial belief
that the Jats were not of Aryan descent but of Indo-Scythian origin.[66]
Clan system
The Jat people are subdivided into numerous clans, some of which overlap with other groups.[67]
In popular culture
Jatt are part of Punjabi culture and are often portrayed in Indian and Pakistani films and songs.
Maula Jatt
The Legend of Maula Jatt
A Flying Jatt
Jatt & Juliet
Jatt & Juliet 2
Jatt James Bond
Badla Jatti Da
Jatts In Golmaal