Jats

This page refers to the Jatt people of India and Pakistan. For other uses of "Jatt", see Jat (disambiguation).

Jats
Significant populations in:	Northern India and Pakistan
Language	Hindi and its dialects, Punjabi and its dialects, Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Sindhi and Gujarati
Religion	Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam

The Jats/Jatts (Template:Lang-hi, Template:Lang-pa, Template:Lang-ur) of Northern India and Pakistan, are descendants of war-like, horse-mounted, Central Asian (Iranian/Indo-Aryan) tribes. In India, they inhabit the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, and are also scattered throughout Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and other North Indian regions. In Pakistan, they are found in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. The Jats also have a strong military tradition, and many Jats were recruited into the British Indian Army during World War I. Large number of Jats serve in the Indian Army, including the Jat Regiment, Rajputana Rifles, Sikh Regiment and the Grenadiers, among others.

The Jat regions in India are among the most prosperous on a per-capita basis (Haryana, Punjab, and Gujarat are among the wealthiest of Indian states).

File:Jat soldier.jpg

Officer and soldier of the 10th Jat Regiment of the British Indian Army

Background

Theories of origin

There are numerous theories about the origin of the Jats, ranging from their sudden appearance from Shiva's locks to their lineage in the Aryan race. Jats are commonly considered to be of Indo-Aryan stock in view of the similar physical features and common practices.

Both Sir Alexander Cunningham and Col James Tod agreed in considering the Jats to be of Indo-Scythian stock. The former identified them with the "Zanthi" of Strabo and the "Jatti" of Pliny and Ptolemy; and held that they probably entered the Punjab from their home on the Oxus very shortly after the Meds or Mands , who also were Indo-Scythians, and who moved into the Punjab about a century before Christ. The Jats seem to have first occupied the Indus valley as far down as Sindh, whither the Meds followed them about the beginning of the present era.

But before the earliest Muslim invasion the Jats had spread into Punjab proper, where there were firmly established in the beginning of the eleventh century. By the time of Babar, the Jats of the salt range had been in constant conflict with the Gakkhars, Awans and Janjuas. Tod classed the Jats as one of the great Rajput tribes; but here Cunningham differed from him holding the Rajputs to belong to the original Aryan stock, and the Jats to a late wave of immigrants from the north west, probably of Scythian race.

In 'Punjab Castes', Sir Denzil Ibbetson wrote: " .... the original Rajput and the original Jat entered India at different in its history. But if they do originally represent to separate waves of immigration, it is at least exceedingly probable, both from there almost identical physique and facial character and from the close communion which has always existed between them, that they belong to one and the same ethnic stock; and it is almost certain that the joint Jat Rajput stock contains not a few tribes of aboriginal descent, though it is probably in the main Aryo-Scythian, if Scythian be not Aryan."

Jats in the Mahabharata period

Jats find the oldest mention in Indian literature. They are mentioned in Mahabharata as ‘Jartas’ in ‘Karna Parva’. The famous Sanskrit scholar Panini of 900 BCE has mentioned in the Sanskrit shloka as “Jat Jhat Sanghate”. This means Jat is a democratic federation. He has mentioned about many Jat tribes settled in Punjab and North west areas. The Arabian traveller Al-biruni has mentioned that Lord Krishna was a Jat. The next mention we have of them is in the sentence “Ajay Jarto Hunan” in the grammar of Chandra of the fifth century. This shows that Jats defeated Huns. This inscription of Mandsaur also indicates that Yasodharman, the ruler of Malwa, was a Jat.

Jats in the Dev Samhita

There is mention of Jats in “Deva Samhita” in the form of powerful rulers over vast plains of Central Asia. For example, the Deva Samhita of Gorakh Sinha from the early medieval period states "They are, like gods, firm of determination and of all the Kshatriyas the Jats are the prime rulers of the earth . . . Their history is extremely wonderful and their antiquity glorious. The Pundits of history did not record their annals lest it should injure and impair their false pride and of the vipras and gods".

Etymology of the word "Jat"

The most acceptable theory about the origin of the word, 'Jat' is that it has originated from the word “Gyat” . The Mahabharata mentions in chapter 25, shloka 26 that Lord Krishna founded a federation ‘Gana-sangha’ of the Andhak and Vrishni clans. This federation was known as ‘Gyati-sangh’. Over a period of time ‘Gyati’ became ‘Gyat’ and it changed to Jat.

The other prominent theory of the word's origins is that Jat came from the word Got, a tribal name of some Indo-Aryan tribes of Central Asia (such as those which later became Gots/Goths and settled in Europe), which was written in 'Jattan Da Ithihas', the history of the Jats by Bhim Singh Dahiya.

Jat Kingdoms in Medieval India

Gohad

File:Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana.jpg

Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana

As per the Rajputana gazetteer, the Jagir of village Bamrauli near Agra, was transferred to the Deshwal Jats of Bairath (near Alwar), during the rule of the Tomar Rajputs in Delhi in the 11th century. During Firuz Shah Tughluq's regime , his satrap in Agra, Muneer Mohammad, forced the Jats of Bamrauli to leave the village in 1367. The Bamraulia Jats moved to the region of Gwalior beyond the Chambal river.

According to Cunningham and William Cook, the Bamraulia Jats founded the city of Gohad near Gwalior in 1505. Later it developed into an important Jat State that continued till Indian Independence. The Jat rulers of Gohad were awarded the title of Rana.

Singhan Deo was the first Jat ruler of the state of Gohad. The chronology of Jat rulers of Gohad has 17 names: Singhan Deo I, Singhan Deo II, Devi Singh, Udyaut Singh, Rana Anup Singh, Sambhu Singh, Abhay Chander, Ratan Singh, Uday Singh, Bagh Raj, Gaj Singh, Jaswant, Bhim Singh, Girdhar Pratap, Chhatra Singh, Kirat Singh and Pohap Singh.

Among the above rulers, Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana (1703-1756) and Maharaja Chhatra Singh Rana (1757-1782), occupied the Maratha fort of Gwalior twice. The Maharanas allied with the British against the Marathas, and in a British-brokered deal exchanged Gohad for Dholpur in 1806. During this period they constructed historical monuments like forts, palaces, temples, wells, gardens etc., which are of archeological importance.

Today, Gohad is located in the Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh.

Dholpur

The present town of Dholpur, which dates from the 16th century, stands somewhat to the north of the site of the older town built in the 11th century by Raja Dholan (or Dhawal) Deo, a Tomara Rajput chieftain; it was named as Dholdera or Dhawalpuri after him.

In 1450, Dholpur had a Raja of its own. However, the fort was taken by Sikander Lodi in 1501 and transferred to a Muslim governor in 1504. In 1527, after strenuous resistance, the fort fell to Babur and came under the sway of the Mughals along with the surrounding country. It was assigned by Emperor Akbar to the province of Agra. A fortified sarai built during the reign of Akbar still stands in the town, within which is the fine tomb of Sadik Mohammed Khan, one of his generals.

During the dissensions which followed the death of emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, Raja Kalyan Singh Bhadauria obtained possession of Dholpur. His family retained it until 1761, after which it was taken successively by the Jat Maharaja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur; by Mirza Najaf Khan in 1775; by the Scindia ruler of Gwalior in 1782; and finally, by the British East India Company in 1803. It was restored by the British to the Scindias under the "Treaty of Sarji Anjangaon", but in consequence of new arrangements, was again occupied by the British. Finally, in 1806, the territories of Dholpur, Ban and Rajakhera were handed over to Kirat Singh of Gohad, in exchange for his own state of Gohad, which was ceded to the Scindias.

From this point begins the history of the princely state of Dholpur, a vassal of the British during the Raj. After Independence, it was incorporated into the newly-formed state of Rajasthan.

Bharatpur

File:Maharaja Surajmal.jpg

Maharaja Surajmal

In the disorder following Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Jat resistance resumed, organised under the leadership of Churaman. Churaman's nephew,Badan Singh, established a kingdom centered at Deeg, from which he extended his rule over Agra and Mathura.

Badan Singh's adopted son and successor was Maharaja Suraj Mal. Suraj Mal, described as the "Jat Plato" and the "Jat Ulysses", extended his kingdom to include Agra, Mathura, Dholpur, Mainpuri, Hathras, Aligarh, Etawah, Meerut, Rohtak, Farrukhnagar, Mewat, Rewari and Gurgaon. He was described as the greatest warrior and the ablest statesman that the Jats had ever produced. He moved the capital from Deeg to Bharatpur after 1733. Rustam, a Jat king of the Sogariya clan, laid the foundation of the modern city of Bharatpur. After him, control passed to his son, Khemkaran and then to Maharaja Suraj Mal. Khemkaran was a great warrior, supposedly able to kill two tigers running in different directions at once. He was awarded with the title "Faujdar", which is still used by all Sogariyas. The beautiful palace and gardens at Deeg and the Bharatpur fort, both built by Maharaja Suraj Mal, symbolised the coming of age of the Jat state. Maharaja Suraj Mal died on 25 December, 1763.

During the Raj, the state covered an area of 5,123 sq.km. Its rulers enjoyed a salute of 17 guns. The state acceded unto the dominion of India in 1947. It was merged with three nearby princely states to form the 'Matsya Union', which in turn was merged with other adjoining territories to create the present-day state of Rajasthan.

Kuchesar

In the mid-eighteenth century the Dalal Jats of Mandoti, Haryana, built the mud fort of Kuchesar in Uttar Pradesh.

By the nineteenth century, Jats ruled the states of Bharatpur, Dholpur, Gohad(Bhind), Kuchesar, Bahadurgarh, Mursan and others. The Jats established a reputation of being determined, sturdy, fierce fighters.

Genetics

You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|section|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.

A recent study of the people of Indian Punjab, where about 40% or more of the population are Jats, suggest that the Jats are similar to other populations of the Indus Valley.^[1] The study involved a genealogical DNA test which examined single nucleotide polymorphisms (mutations in a single DNA "letter") on the Y chromosome (which occurs only in males). (See Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups for a listing and explanation.)

Jats seem to share many common haplotypes with German, Slavic, Baltic, Iranian and Central Asian groups.^[2] Unusually, Jat groups share only two haplotypes, one of which is also shared with the population of present-day Turkey, and have few matches with neighbouring Pakistani populations. This haplotype shared between the two Jat groups may be part of the Indo-Aryan (or Indo-European) genetic contribution to these populations, where as the haplotypes shared with other Eurasian populations may be due to the contribution of Indo-European Scythians (Saka, Massagetae) or White Huns. (These groups may of course all be branches of a larger ethnic complex.)

As for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Jats contain haplogroups typical min røv hulf North India, Pakistan, and West Asia. This suggests that, at least for mtDNA, there is very little connection with Central Asian or northwest European populations, even though Jats share many male Y-SNP markers with these populations. Hence this suggests that there has been male migration in or out of the Jat population in historical times. Alternatively, the formation of the Jat population may have occurred in West Asia or North India. Hence Jats are very similar to other North Indian groups.^[3]

Jats today

Religion

The majority of Jats in South Asia follow Hinduism and Islam. Their population for each of these two religions is at least 10 million. Alongside, there is also a considerable population of Sikh Jats known as Jat-Sikhs, who are mostly descendents of Rajputs.

Today, most Hindu and Muslim Jats live in two separate countries: India and Pakistan, respectively. Most Hindu Jats reside in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Most Sikh Jats reside in Punjab(India). The main concentration of Muslim Jats is in Punjab(Pakistan) and Sindh.

Sikh and Muslim Jats are mostly Punjabi speakers and related to Rajputs. They are therefore known as 'Jatt'(To rhyme with the pronunciation of the word, 'gut'). Hindu Jats, on the other hand are mostly Hindi speakers. They are therefore known as 'Jaat'(To rhyme with the pronunciation of the word, 'start').

Despite their having followed the three great religions of South Asia for centuries, Jats have maintained their ancestral Jat characteristics. Many of the Muslim Jats living in Pakistan have the same clan names as the Sikh Jats. For example, Bajwa, Randhawa and Cheema. Similarly, many of the Hindu and Sikh Jat clan names are the same. One typical example is the clan name: Mann. These common clan names among the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh Jats are the important proof of their common ancestry or ethnic background.

Clans

Many Jat clans are also cross-listed as Rajput, Khatri, Gujjar,Tarkhan and Kamboj especially Sodhi, Sial, Kashyap, Kakkar (Khakkar/Ghakkar), Rai and Walia. It is not entirely clear in the case of many clans and surnames as to which subdivision of the Kshatriya caste they belong to. For much of Indian history, "Rajput" and "Kshatriya" have been synonymous. Later, "Rajput" came to denote only those Kshatriyas belonging to certain clans descended from rulers and therefore the term, "Rajputra" (or "sons of kings"). Eventually, Scythian, Parthian, Greek-Bactrian, and various other Central Asian tribal peoples (such as the Hephthalites, and the Tocharians or Yuezhi) were absorbed into the Kshatriya caste, given their warlike nature, and thus became one of the subgroups or in many cases, assimilated completely into older Indo-Aryan clans. It is probable that Khatris, Rajputs, Jats, Gujjars, Tarkhans and Kamboj , have varying degrees of both foreign and indigenous Indian stock. In many parts, it is largely due to familial tradition that some members of a certain clan dub themselves Rajput and others of the same clan are Jat, Gujjar, Khatri, Tarkhan and Kamboj. This is more often the case in the Punjab, where there was already a large indigenous Kshatriya population when the invading tribes arrived.

Famous Jats

References

Bamshad, M., T. Kivisild; et al. (2001). "Genetic evidence on the origins of Indian caste populations". Virus Research. 75 (2): 95–106. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) [1]
Basu; et al. (2003). "Ethnic India: a genomic view, with special reference to peopling and structure". Genome Research. 13: 2277–2290. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
Cann, R. (2001). "Genetic clues to dispersal in human populations: retracing the past from the present". Science. 291: 1742–1748.
Cordaux, R., R. Aunguer, G. Bentley, I. Nasidze, S.M. Sirajuddin, and M. Stoneking (3 February 2004). "Independent origins of Indian caste and tribal paternal lineages". Current Biology. 14: 231–235. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
Elst, Koenraad (1999). Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate. Aditya Prakashan. ISBN 8186471774. [2], [3]
Hemphill & Christensen. The Oxus Civilization as a Link between East and West: A Non-Metric Analysis of Bronze Age Bactrain Biological Affinities, paper read at the South Asia Conference, 3-5 November 1994, Madison, Wisconsin. pp. p. 13. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
Hemphill, B.E. ; Lukacs, J.R.; and Kennedy, K.A.R. (1991). "Biological adaptions and affinities of the Bronze Age Harappans". Harappa Excavations 1986-1990. (ed. R.Meadow): 137–182.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Kenneth A.R. Kennedy (1984). "A Reassessment of the Theories of Racial Origins of the People of the Indus Valley Civilization from Recent Anthropological Data". In Studies in the Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology of South Asia. pp. 99–107.
Kenneth A.R. Kennedy (1995). "Have Aryans been identified in the prehistoric skeletal record from South Asia?". In George Erdosy (ed.). The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia. pp. 49–54.
Toomas Kivisild; et al. (1999). Deep common ancestry of Indian and western-Eurasian mitochondrial DNA lineages (PDF). {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
Toomas Kivisild; et al. (1999). The Place of the Indian mtDNA Variants in the Global Network of Maternal Lineages and the Peopling of the Old World (PDF). {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
Toomas Kivisild; et al. (2000). An Indian Ancestry: a Key for Understanding Human Diversity in Europe and Beyond (PDF). {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
Toomas Kivisild; et al. (2000). The origins of southern and western Eurasian populations: an mtDNA study (PDF). {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
Toomas Kivisild; et al. (2003). The Genetics of Language and Farming Spread in India (PDF). {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
Toomas Kivisild; et al. (2003). The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers Persists Both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations (PDF). {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help) [4]
"Where west meets east: the complex mtDNA landscape of the southwest and Central Asian corridor" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21..
Oppenheimer, Stephen (2003). The Real Eve: Modern Man's Journey out of Africa. [5]
Underhill, P. Inferring Human History: Clues from Y-Chromosome Haplotype (PDF).
Wells, S (2003). The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey. Princeton University Press, January.
"Excavating Y-chromosome haplotype strata in Anatolia" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21.
"Introduction to haplogroups and haplotypes". Retrieved 2006-04-21. http://www.le.ac.uk/genetics/maj4/SurnamesForWeb.pdf
"High-resolution analysis of Y-chromosomal polymorphisms reveals signatures of population movements from Central Asia and West Asia into India" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21.
"The human Y chromosome: an evolutionary marker comes of age" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21.
"Minimal Sharing of Y-Chromosome STR Haplotypes Among Five Endogamous Population Groups from Western and Southwestern India" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21.
"Negligible Male Gene Flow Across Ethnic Boundaries in India, Revealed by Analysis of Y-Chromosomal DNA Polymorphisms" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21.
"Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21.
"Written in blood". New Scientist. 170 (2291): 17. 19 May 2001. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in Pakistan" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21.
"Phylogeography of Y-Chromosome Haplogroup I Reveals Distinct Domains of Prehistoric Gene Flow in Europe" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-03-21.
"Contrasting patterns of Y chromosome variation in Ashkenazi Jewish and host non-Jewish European populations (Gives variances for R1a1" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-04-21.
"Genomic diversities and affinities among four endogamous groups of Punjab (India) based on autosomal and mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms". Retrieved 2006-03-21.
"A prehistory of Indian Y chromosomes: Evaluating demic diffusion scenarios". Retrieved 2006-03-21.
"Polarity and Temporality of High-Resolution Y-Chromosome Distributions in India Identify Both Indigenous and Exogenous Expansions and Reveal Minor Genetic Influence of Central Asian Pastoralists". Retrieved 2006-03-21.