Jat (people)
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The Jats are a prominent people caste/jati settled in and occupying a prominent position in Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan in India. Jats are landowners and farmers. Large number of Jats are in the Indian Army including all the regiments Rajputana Ragiment, Sikh regiment, Grenadiers and other.JAT Regiment is named after these brave warriors and sons of soil. They are the largest group in northwest India, belonging to various clans and more than 500 gotras. They are not a homogeneous ethnic group living in a particular area and speaking a single language or following a single religion. Jats maybe Sikhs Hindus or Muslims. They are primarily located in northwestern India and northern Pakistan. In Kashmir the Jats are Muslim and speak the Pothohari/Mirpuri language. In Pakistan, they are Muslim and speak Urdu and Punjabi, and in India, they are Sikhs and Hindus and speak Punjabi, Hindi, Rajasthani, and Haryanvi. The Jat regions in India are among the most prosperous on a per-capita basis.
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Origin of Jats
The origin of Jats has several theories ranging from their sudden appearance from Shiva's Jattas (locks) to their lineage in the Aryan race. Some point to their Indo-Scythian or Saka origins. Both Sir Alexander Cunningham and Colonel James Tod agreed in considering the Jats to be of Indo-Scythian stock. Cunningham 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. The Jats seem to have first occupied the Indus valley as far down as Sindh.
By the 10th century, the Jats had already spread into the Punjab 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 with Cunningham claiming the Rajput 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. Many of the Jat customs .... apparently point to non-Aryan origin."
Whatever their origin, in the eighteenth century, with decline of Mughal empire, the Jats became a force that could not be ignored. Jats of Mathura rose in opposition to Aurangzeb's rule in 1669, under the leadership of Gokul, zamindar of Tilpat and killed the Imperial Faujdar Abdun-Nabi. It took more than one year for the powerful Mogul forces to subdue the Jats. Gokul was killed and his family converted to Islam. However, Jats once again rose in rebellion in 1685 under the leadership of Raja Ram. Akbar's tomb in Sikandra was plundered by them in 1688. Finally the Jats were defeated and Raja Ram slain in 1691. Jats again got organized under the leadership of Churaman and revolted continuing a strong armed resistance against the Mughals after Aurangzeb's death. Badan Singh, the son of Churaman's brother, established his authority over almost of Agra and Mathura and thus started the Kingdom of Bharatpur.
Badan Singh’s adopted son and successor was Maharaja Suraj Mal. Maharaja Suraj Mal, described as 'Plato of Jat tribes' and 'Jat Ulysses' extended his kingdom to 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 have produced. Maharaja Suraj Mal died on 25th December, 1763. Such was the might of the Jats that Bharatpur came to be known as the impregnable city. The beautiful palace and gardens at Deeg and the Bharatpur fort, both built by Maharaja Suraj Mal, symbolized the coming of age of the Jat state.
Jats are a brave, hardworking and fiercely independent minded people. It has been said that no Jat wants to be ruled. Primarily agriculturists, the Jats have led a fairly autonomous political life and the rule of the state has always been very limited. Various Jat principalities are Bharatpur, Dholpur, Gohad (Bhind in MP-- Famous for Jatwara), Patiala (Jat Sikh), Jind, Nabha,Kuchesar (Western UP).They successfully captured and rule 2 times from Gwalior fort and Alwar.Jat Raja Ranjit Singh(Sikh) was he only ruler of India who went out of country borders and defeated the Pathans of Ghazni.
As per the Varna (caste) system, the status of Jats is that of Kshatriya or the warrior class. Possessing a very good self image and being the dominant caste in the whole of north west India,the Jats have generally not bothered about the caste hierarchy.As they were outside the rigorous Brahminical social order, this position was not emphasised till the growth of the Arya Samaj among the Jats.
A large number of Jats came under the influence of Swami Dayananda and the Arya Samaj in the early part of the 20th century. The Arya Samaj’s attack on Brahminical rituals, orthodoxy, superstitions and caste rigidity had a natural appeal for the Jats. Its influence played a significant role in shaping the socio-religious identity of Jats.
Known for their military prowess, Jats have always been part of imperial armies. They forced Amir of Baghdad to run for his life in 837 AD.They ruled for for 15 years.They served as fighters in the Persian army against the Romans and led successful campaigns. The Jats were classified as a Martial Race by the British and were recruited in large numbers in the British army. A large number of Jats serve in the Indian Armed Forces today and form one of the largest ethnic groups in the army.
Jats and possible relationship with other populations
According to Dr. Samar Abbas, Bhubneshwar, India (see- Jat Jyoti, Vol. 4 no.11 Nov. 2003 ) Croats, Serbs and Jats have the common origin. [1] (http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/common_origin_croats_serbs_jats.php) Croats as Hrvati, Haravaiti, or Sarasvatians, descendants of the ancient inhabitants of the Harauti province & the Haravaiti or Sarasvati River. The name "Hrvati" is derived from the Avestan province "Harahvaiti". It is important to note that the Avesta-the sacred scriptures of the ancient Aryan Zoroastrians- mentions the lands settled by the Iranic peoples. Hapta-Hindawa,i.e. Sapta-Sindhu, is mentioned in the Avesta amongst the Irano-Aryan lands. Even today, the Punjab is the primary home of the Jats. Since the Croats are named after the Harahvaiti or Sarasvati River, and Jats are the present-day inhabitants of the lost Harahvaiti, it would appear that jats and Croats would be very closely related indeed. The Croats were also commonly named by the medieval chronicles as "Goths". This is important because the ethnonym "Jat" is widely considered a variant of "Goth" [2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths) and its Greco-Latin variant "Getae"(Lozinski 1964, Vernadsky 1952).
Jats are related with Ukrainian people also. As per encyclopaedia britanica, 2001 during the 1st millennium BC the steppe hinterland of Ukraine was occupied successively by the Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians. These peoples, all of Iranian stock, maintained commercial and cultural relations with the Greek colonies. A period of great migrations began with the descent of the Goths from the Baltic region into Ukraine about AD 200. I. Sara, a Canadian barrister and solicitor has pointed out that the recent excavations in the Ukraine and Crimea provide visible links of Jats and Scythians.
Genetics
A recent study of the genetics of the people of Indian Punjab[3] (http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Kivisild2003b.pdf) (where about 40% or more of the population are Jats) suggest that the Jats are similar to other populations of the Indus Valley in terms of Y-str groupings(Hence are no more likely to be related to the European Gypsies than any other group from the region).Also Jats( especially Sikhs) seem to share many common genetic markers with German,Slavic,Baltic,Iranian and Central Asians.(http://www.yhrd.org/). Unusually,Jat groups share only two haplotype,one of which is also shared with Turks ,and have no 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 euroasian populations may be due to the contribution of Scythians (Saka, Massagetae (Great Sardar Jats (Gotras ?) (Great Chief Archers)? ), Indo-Europeans (Aryans) or White Huns. (These groups may of course all be the same people, but separated in time.)
It would be interesting to see if other NW Indian and especially Punjabi populations(Rajput, Gujar, Medes, Arrain, Hindu) have similar distributions.
As for relationship between Croats ,Ukrainians and Jats, they do seem to share haplogroup R1a1 which is present in many Slavic populations,however Croats and Ukrainians also contain E and I haplogroups which are absent in Jats.Also their mtdna is completly different .
- FS Application of Y-chromosomal STR Haplotypes to Forensic Genetics[4] (http://www.cmj.hr/2001/4203/cmj42(3)19.pdf)(Ref to Jat sikhs)
Jat Gotras (cowpen)
Abusaria, Achara, Ahlawat, Agre, Ajmeria, Atri, Atwal, Bachhal, Bains, Bajya, Balhara, Balyan, Bamraulia, Bana, Barjati, Baswan, Bassi, Batar, Beniwal, Bhadu, Bhalotia, Bhambu, Bhari, Bhichar, Bhuker, Billing, Budania, Bullar, Burdak, Buttar, Chahal, Chahar, Chandel, Chauhan, Cheema, China, Chhikara, Dabas, Dagar, Dalal, Daleo, Dahiya, Dandiwal, Deo, Deol, Deshwal, Dhaka, Dhaliwal, Dhankar, Dhama, Dhaka, Dharan, Dhatarwal, Dhaulya, Dhaurelia, Dhillon, Dholia, Dudi, Duhan, Fageria, Faugat, Faujdar, Gahlot, Gandhar, Garhwal, Ghumman, Gill, Gaura, Gehlawat, Godara, Gosal, Grewal, Gulia, Hayer, Hooda, Hundal, Hundel, Indolia, Jakhar, Janghu, Jawanda, Jhajharia, Johal, Khinger, Kadian, Kajala, Kakran, Kaler, Kalkhande, Khalia, Kular, Kang, Kasania, Kaswan, Kataria, Katewa, Khainwar, Khakh, Kharb, Kherwa, Khichad, Khokhar, Kulhari, Kundu, Kuntal, Lakra, Lamba, Maan, Malik, Mandiwal, Meel, Moond, Motsara, Naga, Nagar, Nain, Nagauria, Nauhwar, Nehra, Ohlan, Pachar, Palsania, Parihar, Pannu, Panwar, Phogat, Pilania, Punia, Purwar, Purewal, Rajawat, Ranwa, Rathi, Rehal, Repswal, Romana, Rulania, Saharan, Sandhu, Sangwan, Saroha, Sehrawat, Sehwag, Sekhon, Seoran, Sihag, Sidhu, Sindhu, Sinsinwar, Sansanwal, Sirohi, Solanki, Sunda, Takhar, Tanwar, Tarar, Tatla, Tatran, Taxak, Tevatia/Teotia, Tiwana, Thenuan, Tokas, Tomar, Toor, Virk, Waraich
Famous Jat people
The Jat caste has produced a number of heroic persons who have put their life and families at risk and kept the pride and values like truth, freedom, equality, loyalty etc. intact. They struggled for the cause of the common people and their upliftment. Here is list of such famous Jat people:
- Baldev Ram Mirdha
- Balram Jakhar
- Bhagat Singh
- Bhim Singh Dahiya
- Bhupinder Singh Hooda CM Haryana
- Captain Bhagwan Singh
- Captain Dilip Singh Ahalawat
- Chaudhari Kumbharam Arya
- Choudhary Charan Singh[5] (http://www.jatland.com/people/charansingh.htm)
- Chaudhary Rafiq Tarar(Former Pakistan President)
- Chaudhary Shujaat Hussian (Former Pakistan PM)
- Chaudhari Devi Lal[6] (http://www.jatland.com/people/devilal.htm)
- Colonel Hoshiar Singh,PVC[7] (http://www.jatland.com/people/hoshiar.htm)
- Daulatram Saran
- Dhanna Bhagat
- Dharmendra (Actor)
- Dr Raja Nadeem Sajjad Khinger
- Dr. Sarup Singh
- Gyan Prakash Pilania
- Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon
- Justice Mahavir Singh
- Kunwar Natwar Singh
- Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana
- Maharaja Ranjit Singh
- Maharaja Suraj Mal
- Maharani Kishori
- Mahendra Singh Tikait
- Nathuram Mirdha
- Pahalwan Dara Singh
- Raja Mahendra Pratap
- Ravi Baswani (original family name Baswan)
- Salah al-Din
- Sir Chhotu Ram[8] (http://www.jatland.com/people/cr/index.htm)
- Swami Keshwanand
- Swami Omamnand
- Thakur Deshraj
- Veer Teja
Books on Jat History
- Dr. Ajay Kumar Agnihotri (1985) : Gohad ke Jaton ka Itihas(Hindi)
- Bal Kishan Dabas : Political and Social History of the Jats,Sanjay Prakashan, 2001,ISBN 8174530452
- B.S.Dahiya, IRS : Jats the Ancient Rulers, Dahinam Publishers, Sonepat, Haryana
- B.S.Dahiya: History of Hindustan: Dahinam Publishers, Sonepat, Haryana, (Translated from Persian by Alexander Dow, ESQ. Edited by B.S.Dahiya)
- Dharampal Singh Dudee: From Kargil to France
- Dilip Singh Ahlawat: Jat Viron ka Itihas
- Dr Kanungo: History of the Jats
- Dr Natthan Singh: Jat-Itihas, Jat Samaj Kalyan Parishad, Gwalior, 2004
- Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria): THE JATS: Their Origin, Antiquity & Migrations,Manthan Publications, Rohtak, Haryana,ISBN 81-85235-22-8
- K. Natwar Singh : Maharaja Suraj Mal
- Dr.Prakash Chandra Chandawat: Maharaja Suraj Mal Aur Unka Yug (1745-1763) (in Hindi), Jaypal Agencies, Agra, 1982
- Raj Pal Singh: Rise of the Jat power, Harman Pub. House, ISBN 8185151059
- Ram Swaroop Joon: History of the Jats
- Shashi Prabha Gupta: Demographic Differentials among the Rajputs and the Jats : A Socio-Biological Study of Rural Haryana, Classical Pub.House, ISBN 8170541808
- Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas
External links
- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/
- http://www.jatland.com
- http://www.jatsclub.com
- http://www.jatworld.net
- http://www.jatforum.com
- Jats (http://www.haryana-online.com/People/jats.htm)
- http://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/common_origin_croats_serbs_jats.php
- On scythians [9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythia)
- On Sakas [10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saka)
- Recognize any names [11] (http://www.hostkingdom.net/siberia.html)
- Jatt World library [12] (http://www.jattworld.com/exoops/modules/Library/)
- Western Historical accounts of scythians [13] (http://www.xenophongi.org/crimea/cities/scythia/scythenc.htm)
- http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/2124/34.html
- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20021109/windows/main1.htm