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	Vedic religion, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism,Jainism and Islam

The Jats/Jatts (Template:Lang-hi,Template:Lang-pa, Template:Lang-ur) of Northern India and Pakistan, are descendants of Indo-Aryan tribes.

In India, they inhabit the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. 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. A 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 Scythian (Saka) , Indo-European, Indo-Iranian or Indo-Aryan stock in view of the similar physical features and common practices.

Both, Sir Alexander Cunnigham 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 conquests 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 nention in most ancient Indian literature. Over sixty clans are named in the Rig Veda, In the Mahabharata as they are mentioned ‘Jartas’ in ‘Karna Parva’.Many clans are named. The famous Sanskrit scholar Panini of 900 BCE has mentioned in the Sanskrit shloka as “Jat Jhat Sanghate”. This means that the terms 'Jat' and 'democratic federation' are synonymous. He has mentioned many Jat clans as settled in Punjab and North west areas. The Arabian traveller Al-biruni has mentioned that Sri Krishna was a Jat. They are mentioned in the grammar treatise of Chandra of the fifth centuryin the phrase sentence “Ajay Jarto Hunan”., which refers to the defeat of Huns by the Jats under the leadership of Yasodharman. The inscription of Mandsaur also indicates that Yasodharman, the ruler of Malwa, was a Jat of the Virk Goth( clan).

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 that 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 Sri 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 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 Jats 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 [Odysseus|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

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Jats seem to share many common haplotypes with German, Slavic, Baltic, Iranian and Central Asian groups.^[1] Unusually, Jat groups share only two haplotypes, one of which is also shared with the population of present-day Turkey, and have very 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 of North Pakistan, and West Asia. This suggests that, at least for mtDNA, there is very little connection with Central Asian or northwest European 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 (mostly now Northern Pakistan. Hence Jats are very similar to other North Pakistani and Kashmiri groups.^[2]

Jats today

Religion

Jats are tolerant in their religious outlook. They were previously ardent followers and supporters of Buddhism and Jainism, along with the Vedic religion, and its succesor, modern Hinduism. Today, many if not most, follow the [[Arya Samaj], a reformed version of Hinduism, with emphasis on its Vedic roots. Many also follow Sikhism, especially in the Punjab. With the advent of Islam, many Jats, in what is now Pakistan, became Muslims. A few are also found in India.

Most Hindu Jats reside in India in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Most Sikh Jats reside in Punjab (India), though they have also spread throughout India and across the globe. The main concentration of Muslim Jats is in Punjab (Pakistan) and Sindh.

Language

Sikh and Muslim Jats from the Punjab mostly speak Punjabi and its various dialects (such as Majhi, Malwi, Doabi, Mirpuri, Shahpuri and Jhangi). Others in Pakistahn speak Seraiki, Kashmiri or Jatki. Hindu Jats usually speak Hindi and its dialects(Rajasthani, Haryanvi and Khariboli.

There are many variations of the term Jat. In Punjab, the phonetic sound is 'Jutt'or 'Jatt.

Despite having followed different religions for centuries, Jats have maintained their ancestral Jat characteristics. The common clan names among the jats of various faiths and regions are an 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. 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

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