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File:Tandon.jpg
Purushottam Das Tandon

Punjabi Khatris are a community of the Asuras that originated in the Pothwar plateau (Rawalpindi division) and surrounding regions of Punjab, Pakistan. When Pakistan and India gained independence, most of the Khatris in what became Pakistan migrated to India. Today Khatris live in all regions of India, but are concentrated in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. While most Khatris are Hindu, some are also Sikh and a few belong to the Jain faith. Khatris of all these faiths collectively form one community. In modern times, the Khatri play a dominant role in the Indian economy, serving as businessmen, civil and government administrators, landlords, and military officials. They are by far the most educated group in Punjab.

Prominent historical figures among the Khatris include all the Sikh Gurus (belonging to the Bedi, Trehan, Bhalla and Sodhi subcastes); Raja Todar Mal (a Tandon Khatri), who as Akbar's Revenue minister codified the revenue collection system; Haqiqat Rai (a Puri Khatri), whose martyrdom was celebrated on Basant Panchami at Lahore till the advent of independence; Hari Singh Nalwa (an Uppal Khatri), the prominent general under Maharaja Ranjit Singh; the father and son pair of the Diwans Sawan Mal and Mul Raj Chopra - successive governors of Multan under Ranjit Singh, the former instituted vast improvement in agriculture while the latter was instrumental in leading the revolt against the Brits to prevent the annexation of the Sikh kingdom into the East India Company territory.

Common Family Names

Some Khatri family names include Anand, Awal, Badhwar, Bagga, Bakshi, Bedi, Bhalla, Bhasin, Bhandari, Bindra, Chadha, Chandok, Chona, Chopra, Choudhary, Dhawan, Duggal, Dhupar, Dumra, Gadhiok, Gujral, Handa, Jerath, Jairath, Jaggi, Kakkar, Kapoor(Kapur), Khanna, Kochhar, Kohli, Koshal, Lal, Lala, Lamba, Loomba, Madhok, Mahendru, Maini, Malhotra, Malik, Mankhand, Manraj, Mehrotra, Mehta, Monga, Nair(Nayyar),Nayer, Nijhawan, Oberoi, Ohri, Parwanda, Puri, Rai, Sabharwal, Sami, Sahni, Sarin, Sehgal(Sahgal), Sethi, Sial(Syal), Sibal, Sikka, Singh , Sodhi, Soni, Suri, Talwar, Tandan(Tandon), Thapar, Trehan, Uppal, Vadehra, Vij, Vinaik, Vohra, Wadhawan, Wahi (Wahie) and Walia.

The Arora (Ahuja, Aneja, Khurana,Chawla, Juneja etc.), Sood and Bhatia communities of the Punjab, while not Khatri, share a similar cultural and mercantile background as the Khatris.

Some of these clans are also sometimes cross-listed as Rajput, especially Sodhi, Sial, Kashyap, Kakkar (Khakkar/Ghakkar), Rai, and Walia. It is not entirely clear in the case of many clans and surnames exactly which subdivision of Kshatriya they belong to. For much of Indian history, Rajput and Kshatriya have been synonymous, and later, Rajput came to denote only those Kshatriyas belonging to certain clans descended from rulers, therefore Rajputra (or sons of kings).

Development of Khatri Family Names

Khatri gots are divided into three major groups; Baraghar, Bawanji, and Sarin. These divisions were reported by Emperor Akbar's close adviser Abu Fazal in his book Ain-i-Akbari(compiled in 1590 AD). These grouping is said to be happened at the time of Ala-uddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD).

The family name mentioned above existed for long time. We know that four gots of Sikh gurus; Bedi, Sodhi, Trehan and Bhalla existed at least since 15th century AD. One of the most important character of famous Punjabi legend Raja Rasalu is minister Mahita Chopra. Most scholars agree that Raja Rasalu was an Indo-Scythian hero who ruled from Sialkot and lived sometime between 400 to 500 AD. [Temple] If it is true than Chopra family name, a Baraghar Khatri, developed by that time. The actual timing of the development of other Khatri family names is an interesting subject and requires more reserach.

Economic Progress

Most Khatris have moved away from their early occupations as petty moneylenders and shopkeepers. When the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Gobind, took up arms against the Mughal rulers after the brutal killing of the fifth Sikh Guru, he introduced/revived the warrior tradition among his Khatri followers. The tradition reached its peak when the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, created The Khalsa. He asked his followers to give their sons to him to carry his fight for dharma (righteousness) and against zulm (tyranny). Many Khatri Sikhs excelled themselves as soldiers, including Ranjit Singh`s famous general, Hari Singh Nalwa - an Uppal Khatri - who took his victorious army into Afghanistan, and his famous Governor of Multan, Dewan Mool Chand. When the British found the barren salt range of Jhelum and Chakwal to be a fertile ground for recruiting Indian soldiers, Khatris took full advantage of the opportunities offered. Being more educated than others, they were often recruited as Junior Commissioned Officers. Many of them became the first recipients of Murabbas (free land) offered by the British after the first world war. This military tradition has continued to flourish; the current chief of the army staff, J.J. Singh is a Khatri as were two of his predecessors, Ved Malik and N.C. Vij. The Indian General who accepted the surrender of Pakistani army in Bangladesh was also an Arora/Khatri.

The relative educational advantage served Khatris well in getting positions as patwaris during the Mughal revenue administration, set up by a fellow Khatri. Patwaris, though at the lowest rung in the administrative totem pole, nevertheless enjoyed immense power over their jurisdiction. The economic status of Khatris improved further when the Mughal rule in Punjab was replaced by the Sikh rule. When the British took over from the Sikhs, the Khatris quickly took advantage of the public education system launched by the British and bolstered by the efforts of the Arya Samaj and Singh Sabhas.

The British rule opened up opportunities in civil administration as well as in legal, medical and educational professions. Khatris were the first to take advantage of these new opportunities. College faculties of Lahore before the partition were dominated by Khatri names as did the honour rolls of matriculation graduates of the Punjab University. Many Khatris from very poor families used educational facilities to rise the occupational ladder to become barristers, doctors, professors, writers, journalists, teachers, scientists and army officers. Crucial to their success was the position of Lahore as a centre of excellence in education known throughout India. Khatris went to Lahore to take advantage of its higher educational facilities and settled down there. One of them, Gobind Khurana, later went on to win a Nobel Prize in science. They soon came to dominate the socio-economic life in Lahore and the rest of Punjab. In an essay in the publication "Five Punjabi Centuries", Ravinder Kumar writes about Lahore in 1919 (4):

"The Brahmins did not dominate Hindu society in Punjab as much as in the other parts of the country. The middle classes of the Punjab were drawn predominantly from other commercial castes like the Khatris, the Aroras and the Banias. Of these three castes, the Khatris were outstanding: superior in intellectual and physical energy to the other commercial castes, they claimed a mythical descent from the Kashtariyas or the warrior castes of ancient India. Though the Khatris dabbled in business, they were completely free of the servility which characterized other trading castes in India: Trade is their main occupation, but in fact they have broader and more distinguishing characteristics. Besides monopolising trade... they are in the Punjab the chief civil administrators, and have all literary work on their hands... Thus they are in the Punjab, as far as a more energetic race will permit them, all that the Maratha Brahmins are in the Maratha Country, besides engrossing themselves in the trade which the Maratha Brahmins have not."

Post-Partition

The partition dealt a devastating blow to Khatris when they had to leave their stronghold of West Punjab, especially Lahore, a city to whose development they had made significant contribution. Many of them left their homes with only, to use an expression popular at that time, "clothes they were wearing". However, with their education, work ethic and enterprise, they were soon able to overcome the initial loss without any significant help from the government. Indeed, they had now before them the broader canvas of whole India to make an even greater use of their human capital. Within a decade of their migration to Delhi, they were dominating the trade and commerce of that city and were once again creating new educational institutions. They fondly named their small businesses after Lahore, Lyalpur, Rawalpindi and other cities that they had left behind.

The early history of large business houses in India, such as Birlas, Tatas, Wadias, Godrej, Goenkas, Singhanias, Dalmias and DCM, shows that they were all founded by trading Hindu castes, mostly Marwaris, or Parsee traders. The only Punjabi among the early big industrialists was Karam Chand Thapar - an Arora-Khatri. After the partition, several Punjabis -Khatris as well as Banias - have made to the top of the business heap; some prominent Khatris in this list are Oberois of Intercontinental Hotels, Ranbaxi, Apollo Tyres, Thapars and Oswals.

While the IT professions are dominated by South Indians, Khatris have done well in this new area as well; some prominent Khatris in the field are Vinod Dham who developed the Pentium chip, Sabir Bhatia who started the hot mail message service and Vinod Khosla, who was among the founders of Sun Microsystems and has helped many South Asians launch successful businesses.

Arts and Entertainment

Before the partition, Lahore was a major centre of Arts and Entertainment, and Khatris were the dominant players in them. Dilsukh Pancholi had a major film production studio in Lahore. Some of those interested in the film industry were attracted to the brighter lights of Bombay, both before and after the Partition. The doyen of the Punjabi film celebrities was undoubtedly Prithvi Raj Kapoor, the patriarch of the fabled Kapoors who can rightly claim to be the first family of Bollywood. Prithvi Raj, who was originally from Peshawar, made an easy transition from his Prithvi Theatre to the film world. However, the most famous of the Kapoors was his son, the legendary Raj Kapoor, who charmed his way to the audience`s hearts as far away as Russia. He was followed by several well known Khatri artists like Chetan Anand, Dev Anand, Balraj Sahni, Sunil Dutt, Rajesh Khanna, Bharat Bhushan and Rajinder Kumar and Pran. The Khatri heroes have yielded the top spots now to the Khans, but Khatri names like Kapoor, Khanna, Chopra, Puri and Oberoi are still prominent in Bollywood. Khatris were at first reluctant to let their daughters go into the film world, an early exception being Kamini Kaushal. However, they have shed their earlier inhibitions and now, many Khatri girls like Karishma and Kareena Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Priyanka Chopra, and Raveena Tandon are playing leading roles in films.

Among writers, Mulk Raj Anand was a pioneer among the English authors in India. Kishen Chander and Rajinder Singh Bedi were among the famous writers of Urdu fiction. Satish Gujral, the brother of I.K. Gujral, is one of the top artists of India and K.L. Saigal was one of the all-time great singers.

Administration

At the time of the partition, very few Punjabis were in the Indian Civil Service, which was dominated by Bengalis, South Indians and Biharis. However, after the partition, they began to qualify for the Indian Administrative Services and have now risen to prominent positions in the civil service. Two of these civil servants, I.K. Gujral and Manmohan Singh have made an easy transition from civil service to politics and eventually became the Prime Ministers of India. Coincidentally, both of them were born in that barren salt range of Jhelum and Chakwal.

The sons of petty traders have indeed come a long way.

Khatris and Arya Samaj

Nearly two centuries after Guru Gobind Singh formed the Khalsa Panth, two religious reform movements from outside Punjab had an influence on Punjabi Hindus. These were Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj. Brahmo Samaj was founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in Bengal. He was influenced both by Islam - he was educated in a Madrassa - and Christianity and wanted to reform Hinduism of its casteism and polytheism. A prominent Brahmo Samaji, Surendra Nath Bannerjee, visited Amritsar to spread the message, which attracted both Hindu and Sikh intellectuals. The most prominent Brahmo Samaji in Punjab was the well-known educationist, Sardar Dayal Singh, who founded the college in Lahore named after him. Before the Brahmo Samaj movement could take hold in Punjab, another reformist movement, Arya Samaj, made its way to the province. The founder of the movement, Swami Dayanand, a gujarati, perfected his message in Lahore. His message against casteism, rituals, idol worship and of strict monotheism, which he claimed was the essential message of the Vedas, found a fertile soil among Punjabi Hindus, especially Khatris who were attracted to a similar message by the Sikh Gurus earlier. However, Arya Samaj represented an aggressive strain of Hinduism, which called for reconversion of Muslims and mocked at the Sikh Gurus and their holy scripture, Guru Granth Saheb. This laid the foundation of a rift between Arya Samajis and Sikhs, which later reached its peak during the movement for Punjabi Suba in India when Arya Samajis asked Hindus to declare their mother tongue to be Hindi instead of Punjabi. The rift between Arya Samajis and Sikhs was particularly painful for those Khatris whose relatives included Sikhs or Arya Samajis. The poignancy of this situation is well portrayed in Shana Singh Baldwin`s novel What the Body Remembers where a Hindu father converts one of his sons to Sikhism and the other becomes a staunch Arya Samaji. When the movement for a Punjabi Suba started, it was no wonder that the leadership of both the proponents and opponents of the Suba was in Khatri hands.

Arya Samaj`s aggressive social agenda did have significant positive effects on Punjabi Hindus, including Khatris, especially in relation to education and the status of women. Arya Samaj pushed for the education of girls and for widow remarriage. The impact of Arya Samaj on education is felt to this day. Like his contemporaries Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Sir Syed Ahmad, Dayanand advocated modern education. Arya Samajis have opened several schools and colleges, frequently under D.A.V (1) name, throughout Punjab and Delhi.

Khatri History since the Vedic Ages

The Khatris from time immemorial have a history of war and conflict against India and its peoples. Right from the time of Vedic ages, the Ramayana and Mahabharat as well as the Medieval ages upto modern day, Khatris have been collaborating with Invaders to concentrate power in their own hands at the expense of the rest of India. Following examples will go a long way to suffice the historical contributions of Khatris since the vedic ages:

1. Valmiki Ramayana which was composed by Maharshi Valmiki in the Earliest phase of Vedic Ages (approx 2000 years before Mahabharat) vividly describes the role of Kaikeyi, a Khatri queen and her Khatri maid Mandhra. Kaikeyi was married to the Ikshvaku (Suryavanshi) emperor of India, Dashratha who capital was in Ayodhya in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. This marriage was at the behest of Kaiketi and Kaikeyi's father to cement a marriage alliance. This alliance was instrumental in protecting Punjabi Khatris against enemies from Central Asia. Indian Ikshvaku Warriors spent countless lives and resources protecting Khatris from such invsions. However, the father of kaikeyi, trajically duped Dashratha into a fraudulant agreement stating that her first son would go on to become emperor of India. When Price Ram was declared heir apparent to the throne, Mandhra and Kaikeyi ganged up, produced the fraudulant agreement and to the great disappointment of Emperor Dashrath yelled at him to make her son Bharat the future King.

Obviously, the people of India knew the conspiracy behind all this. Besides, Kaikeyi's son Bharat had good genes and upbringing provided by Dashrath and saw Prince Ram as the most noble among the Ikshvaku Race. Due to Kaikeyi's evil deeds and her Khatri maid's evil counsel, Lord Ram had to spend 14 years as an ascetic with laxman. Crown Princess Sita had to endure innumerable sufferings and pain during this period at the hands of barbaric Ravana from Sri Lanka. The legacy of Khatri community leaves a deep wound in Indian Psyche, where love and compassion was returned with vicious fraud, deceit and torture of India's greatest King and hero, Lord Ram. Eventually, Lord Ram overcame this horrible trajedy at the hands of Kaikeyi, who herself died from guilt of illing Dashrath and cheating Ram in the end. Ram was finally crowned King by the loving people of India. [1]

2. In Mahabharat (circa 3102 BC) the chief opponent of Vedic Peoples or the Pandavs was Shalya the King of Punjab. In those days Punjab was divided into several different states, chief among were Madrakas, Kaikeya and Vahlika. Madra was the most prominent Khatri state which covered all the six rivers from Indus (Sindhu) to Beas (Vipas). The people of this state were extremely corrupt, were chronic liars and their King Shalya was hostile to Pandavs and Lord Krishna. The capital of Madra was in modern day Sialkot. A single quote from Mahabharat the greatest living epic of India will suffice to support the truth. "...The Madraka is always a hater of friends. He that 'hateth us is a Madraka. There is no friendship in the Madraka who is mean in speech and is the lowest of mankind. The Madraka is always a person of wicked soul, is always untruthful and crooked. It hath been heard by us that till the moment of death the Madrakas are wicked. (Amongst the Madrakas) the sire, the son, the mother, the mother-in-law, the brother, the grand-son, and other kinsmen, companions, strangers arrived at their homes, slaves male and female, mingle together...." (Mahabharat, Karna Parva, Chapter 40 [2].

Furthermore, the state of Vahlika, which even in modern times is called Bahawalpur (southern part of Pakistani Punjab), ganged-up with Madra against the Pandavs who were the Scions of Chandravanshi (Lunar) race, and ruled their part of Kuru (South and East Haryana and parts of Western Uttar-Pradesh)from Indraprastha (at the outskirts of Modern day Delhi). The Khatris treachorously ganged up with evil Duryodhana due to sense-less pampering of Gandhari and evil advice of Shakuni, the Khatri King of Gandhara and Taxila. The Khatris wanted to control India by vicious means but the Panchalas, the heroes of Mahabharat, the Yadav Prince Lord Krishna and Pandavas prevented the Khatri advances by stopping them at Kurukshetra which is at the border of Modern day Haryana and Punjab. Due to Khatri treachery, and the war of Mahabharat, India receded into recession for the next 500 years. But somehow the Kurus and Panchalas of Haryana (ancient name Ilayaspada) and Uttar-Pradesh carried on against all odds and rebuilt India to its pristine Glory in collaboration with other states such as Magadha (Bihar) and Sursena and Matsya (Rajasthan, Rajputs).

3. Vedas also have strong evidence on Khatris of Vedic ages. These most ancient documents which were written on the banks of Saraswati and drishdavati (dried during an earthquake) which flowed through haryana and Uttar-Pradesh, like a mighty oceon (saagara) and served as the boundary between the Ikshvakus (Solar) and Ailas (Lunar) races on the east and the barbaric savages on the west such as Punjab (Madra, Kaikeya, Valhika) and so on. The Dashrajanya war or the Battle of the Ten-Kings was fought on the Banks of Saraswati, where Sudas replused the Dasyus (Punjabi Khatris) with vigour and upheld the honour of Indians. One of the Dasyu Khatri Tribes whom the Sudas defeated were called Bhrigus. The Bhrigus were astrologers and their main Work of astrology called Bhrigu Samhita is still kept in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, confirming the fact that Khatris were Dasyus, Asuras and Rakshasas, who were opposed to Vedic Aryans. Reference (Rig Veda: Mandala VII, 18,33,83).

Khatris versus Sikh Panth

The most influential Khatris in the history of Punjab were the Sikh Gurus, all ten of whom belonged to Khatri families. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh religion was a Bedi while the last Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh who created the distinct Khalsa, was a Sodhi. The message of Guru Nanak, which consisted of discarding meaningless rituals in favour of bhakti/devotion and maintaining a balance between devotion to God and grahstha (family responsibilities), appealed to Khatris who followed the Sikh gurus in large numbers. When the tenth guru created the distinct Khalsa Panth, he asked his followers with more than one sons to donate one to his Khalsa army as that son would have a high probability of getting killed in action; thus started the tradition among Khatris of making one of their sons a Sikh, a tradition which continued until recently.

A minority of the Khatris are Sikh. Sikhism developed under Guru Nanak, the First Sikh Guru. Some turbaned Sikhs are the only ones who have some honesty left in them. They are not like Hindu Khatris, for instance they do not back-stab like the hindu Khatris in Business and they are always loyal to whoever they work with. They are also less selfish and more willing to sacrifice for India, unlike hindu-khatris who are responsible for many corrupt practices in India. A common example is the Union territory of Delhi. The capital was renowned for its Honesty and Chivalry and culture. But after the hindu-Khatris, who ran away from Pakistan, viciously started corrupt business practices in Delhi. Although Sikhs are better in paying their taxes, Hindu-Khatris never pay taxes. Due to this they have hoarded a lot of wealth from Indians, much like the nazis who usurped wealth from the Jews.

The Khatris claim Kshatriya status, but the historians are not convinced. Historians have wondered that if Khatris were such noble vedic warriors, why are they so corrupt. Why do they cheat and commit fraud, and lie. Besides, where was their heroism when ran away from Pakistan. While the Sikhs died defending the Unity of India under the Guidance of Subhash Bose and Gandhiji, where were they? Even Bhagat Singh was Sikh, whereas Lala Lajpat Rai, the Lion of Punjab was a Agrawal, Bania.

The Sikh panth is not caste based, still the Khatris played a major role in development of Sikhism as a gentle and inclusive faith. All the Sikh Gurus were Khatri. During the lifetime of the Gurus, most of their major supporters were Khatris. The Sikh institutions till the early 20th century were lead by Mahants (Masands) who were generally Khatri. Widespread abuses by the Masands, such as introduction of idols in Gurudwaras, led to agitation for reform by the reformist Singh Sabha resulting in formation of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee to oversee Sikh Gurudwaras. After the formation of the Khalsa (1699), and especially during the reign of Ranjit Singh, Hindu Khatri families raised at least one son (usually the oldest) as an Amritdhari Sikh.

Khatris and Sun Worship

Raja Vanvihari Kapur has written that major Khatri clans are named after Lord Sun.

  • Mitra Mehra
  • Kripakar Kapur
  • Shankan Khanna
  • Martanada Tandan
  • Shreshtha Seth
  • Dhavan Dhavan
  • Mahendra Mahindru
  • Bahukar Bahora (Vohra)
  • Chakravali Chaupada (Chopra)
  • Karalagni Kakkar
  • Surya Suri
  • Sahasrakar Sahgal

According to Bhavishya Purana, Punjab indeed was an ancient center of Sun worship.

Khatris and Sarasvata Brahmins

As noted in the introduction, the mercantile communities were the socio-religious leaders in the Punjab. The Khatris were the patrons ('yajamansas' or in Punjabi 'jajmani') of the Sarasvata Brahmins. Together the two communities represent the heritage of ancient Aryan center of NW India.


Khatris versus Indian Culture

The caste origins of Khatris are somewhat obscure. The caste system in Punjab does not follow the rigid 4-varna system of the Hindu hierarchy. Khatris consider themselves to be Kshatriyas. The word "Khatri" sounds similar to Kshatri and the Sanskrit "Ksh" sound frequently mutates into "Kh" in Panjabi; for example, shiksha becomes "sikhya" and raksha becomes "rakhya". On the other hand, Khatris of Punjab did not follow warrior occupations characteristic of the Kshatriya Caste and worked mostly as shopkeepers, petty traders and "shah-gumashtas" (moneylenders) - occupations more characteristic of the Vaisya or Baniya castes. It is probable that Khatris were indeed soldiers who, after the Muslim conquest of Punjab, turned to lower caste occupations as the traditional soldiering profession was no longer open to Kshatriyas; later on, as conditions relaxed during the Mughal rule, Rajputs of Rajasthan were allowed to keep their arms and ride horses.


When Pakistan was created by partitoning India, the Khatris ran away leaving behind their kith and kin. The Sikhs tried to defend themselves, but due to trajic circumstance and lack of support from the hindu-khatris, they all had to migrate to Delhi.

Traditionally Khatris have been an orthodox community, although there is now significant exposure to modernity in some Khatri families. Even when they are modern, the Khatris have a great affinity with their traditions and values.

Khatris take pride in their Asura heritage but have been a harrowing experience for Indian Businessmen. The business practices of Khatris are a mixed bag of corruption and scant regard for law and order. In modern times, Police Officers such as KPS Gill had to do a lot to preserve the Unity and Integrity of India.

Divisions among the Khatris

Within the Khatri clans there is a hierarchy too. At the top of the pyramid is the Dhai Ghar (i.e. 2 1/2 - the number 3 being considered unlucky) grouping comprising of Khanna, Kapur, and Mehra/Malhotra clans. Along with the Seth clan these four form the Char Ghar grouping. With the Chopra, Dhavan, Mahendru, Sahgal, Talwar, Tandon, Vohra and Wadhawan sub castes, all 12 form the barah-jati grouping. Another group is called Bavanjai (52). The Sarins, for some inexplicable sin in the hoary past, are at the bottom of the pyramid. The historical reasons for these divisions need research. A regional clan grouping is the Kukhrain grouping (see below). Yet another grouping is one associated with the Sikh gurus (Bedi, Chona, Trehan, Bhalla, Sodhi etc.)

Kukhran

File:Manmohan singh with bush.jpg
Dr. Manmohan Singh with USA President

Kukhran (also spelt Kukhrain) Khatris are a regional grouping of nine subcastes of Punjabi Khatris originally from the town of Bhera in the Jech doab (Jhelum - Chenab interfluve) region of Sargodha district of Pakistani Punjab. In keeping with Khatri traditions, Bhera was an important trading outpost on the road to Kabul, and a 'taksal' (mint) during the reign of Ranjit Singh. It declined in importance due to a shifting of the Jhelum river course, which left it away from the river bank. The Kukhrans were traditionally warrior peoples who bore the brunt of Muslim invasions from the northwest during the 12-16th centuries. Kukhrans are Aryan and Vedic peoples and have originally followed Hinduism, however a significant number adapted Sikhism during the 18th and 19th centuries. This, and also because many Hindu Kukhran families, as well as other Khatri clans, raised at least one Sikh son during the formation of the Khalsa in 1699, resulted in Kukhran family names, as well as other Khatri clan names, being present in both Hindu and Sikh communities worldwide. Common Kukhran names are Anand, Bhasin, Chadha, Chandok, Kohli, Sabbarwal, Sahni, Sethi and Suri many of whom had migrated from present Pakistan to India during partition.

The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh is a Kukhran of the Kohli subcaste. Other famous Khukrain personalities are: Mulkh Raj Anand (English novelist/Writer ----- most famous for the novel "Untouchable" and "Coolie"), Dev Anand (Actor/Producer/Director in Bollywood ---- famous for "Hum Dono", "Guide" " Hare Rama Hare Krishna" "Jewel Thief"), Balraj Sahni (Actor), Geet Sethi ( Six time World Billiard Champion), Narinder Kohli (Hindi Novelist/ Writer famous for "Abhigyan" and "Krish.Katha"), Gurinder Chadha ( UK based film director most famous for movies like "Bend it like Beckham" and "Bride and Prejudice"), Bhisham Sahni (Younger brother of Balraj Sahni and Sahitya Academy Award and Padam Shree winner for his work in Hindi. Most famous Hindi playwright famous for "Amirtsar Aaa Gaya" and "Tamas" which was made into a movies as well)

Khukrain clans Gotra and other details:

Clan Vansh Gotra Purohit Kuldevta

Anand : Suryavansh Kashyap Bijra Durga Mata

Bhasin : Suryavansh Kashyap Bijra Durga Mata

Sahni : Chandravansh Vats Vasudev Bhadarkali

Suri : Suryavansh Bhargav Panda Sesh Nag

Kohli : Chandravansh Kashyap Dutt Satyavati

Sethi : Suryavansh Palsth Soodan Vaishnoo Devi

Sabharwal : Suryavansh Hanslas Madankhamb Baba Medar

Afghanistan Khatris

According to the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, the Hindki, Hindus living in Afghanistan, are part of the Khatri class. The term is sometimes applied in a historical sense to the Buddhist inhabitants of the Peshawar Valley north of the Kabul river, who were driven thence about the 5th or 6th century and settled in the neighborhood of Kandahar.

The temples and gurdwaras in Kabul and Kandahar are maintained by the Khatris.

During the Taliban rule, most the Khatris had fled Afghanistan. Some of them have now returned.

UP Khatris

Uttar Pradesh Khatris are those who have been living in Uttar Pradesh for several generations.

Khatris in Burma

Prior to revolutionary and nationalist movements in Burma, Chinese and Indian merchants and landowners formed an economic upperclass in the country. Many of the Indians landowners in Burma were Khatri that settled in the country for generations because of their economic control and prosperity. Wealth became increasingly concentrated in the hands of very few Indian upperclass families. However, as nationalist sentiments grew, most all Indian and Chinese merchants were forced out of the country.

Muslim Khatris

Although the vast majority of Khatris are Hindus, some are Muslim. The conversion started in 12th century and continued until 1947. They are known as Punjabi Sheikhs and are a very important community of Pakistan. Their main profession is trade. House of Saigols and Chiniotis are the leading industralists of Pakistan.

In western districts of the Punjab (Sargodha, Mianwali, Multan, Jhang, Chakwal, Rawalpindi and Faislabad) any Khatri trader when become Muslim called themselves "Khoja". Sometimes they are called "Khoja Sheikh".

In other districts of the Punjab Khatris use "Sheikh" as title and it is generally assumed that they belong to Muslim trading families. The Khoja Sheikhs of Chiniot, a town in district Jhang, have industris in all over Pakistan. A group of Muslim Khatris is known as "Qanungo Sheikhs". They are descended of Qanungos described above. They are mostly employed in government or private sectors.

There are large number of Muslim Khatris from Gurdaspur, Jallandhar amd Amritsar living in Karachi. They mainly belong to Sahgal and Chaddha sections, are involved in trade and commerce

Distinguished Khatris

  • Master Tara Singh (Malhotra) - freedom fighter and leader of the movement for creation of Punjabi subah
  • M.S. Oberoi - hotelier, founder of the Oberoi chain of hotels
  • Najam Sethi - crusading Pakistani editor of the Friday Times
  • Kuldip Nayyar - crusading Indian journalist
  • B.B Tandon - Chief Election Commisioner of India
  • Purushottam Das Tandon freedom fighter
  • Prakash Lal Tandon: pioneering post-Independence Indian professional manager, Chairman of State Trading Corporation, Punjab National Bank, Hindustan Lever, and social historian: author of 'Punjabi Century' and 'Beyond Punjab'.
  • Raveena Tandon film star
  • The father-son duo of Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor legendary actors, directors, and producers of Indian movies
  • The brothers Balraj and Bhisham Sahni, the former a well known actor and the latter the Hindi author ('Tamas')
  • The brothers Satish and Inder Kumar Gujral, the former a well regarded artist and muralist who trained under Diego Rivera, the latter a Prime Minister of India
  • Kundan Lal Saigal (Sahgal/Sehgal), the legendary singer and actor in early North Indian (Hindi and Bengali) talkies, known as the Enrico Caruso of North India for his vocal range.
  • Vikram Seth, the novelist, who so sensitively portrayed urban Khatri life after the partition of India in 'A Suitable Boy'
  • Meera Syal - British Asian actress of repute
  • Mira Nair, the director and producer of the award winning movies as 'Salaam Bombay'
  • Gurinder Chadha - Kenyan- Brit movie director ('Bend it like Beckham', 'Bhaji on the Beach')
  • Deepa Mehta - award winning Indo-Canadian director of the trilogy 'Earth','Wind','Fire'
  • Sheila Dikshit - Chief Minister of Delhi
  • Yash Chopra - Bollywood movie director and producer
  • Kartar Singh Duggal - author
  • Shekhar Kapur - movie director ('Bandit Queen', 'Elizabeth')
  • Rajinder Singh Bedi - Urdu author
  • Sangam Rai - philanthropist (ex-Maharaja of Burdwan)
  • Devaki Nandan Khatri, pioneer Hindi author
  • Manmohan Singh Kohli, Prime minister of India
  • Mulk Raj Anand, pioneering Indian novelist in English
  • Y.K. Sabharwal, Chief Justice of India
  • Narendra Kohli, Hindi Author

References

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