Labana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Castes of India | |
| Sikligars | |
 |
|
| Classification | Caste/tribe |
| Subdivisions | - |
| Significant populations in | Punjab and other parts of India |
| Languages | Hindi and its dialects, Punjabi and other languages |
| Religions | Sikhism and Hinduism |
Sikligars is a tribe which inhabit Punjab and other parts of India. Most of them in Punjab are Sikhs.
Contents |
[edit] Historical Background
Origin of Labanas The term Lobana appears to have been derived from LUN (salt) and the BANA (trade). The Lobanas were the great salt-carrying and salt-trading community. They were occasionally called Banjaras.Locally, they were known by different names in parts of the Panjab. In Ambala district, for example, on account of their versatility in adopting different vocations, the lobanas were called Bahrupias.1
Different views are prevalant about the origin of the Lobanas. In Ludhiana and Jhang districts, the Lobanas claimed to be the descendants of Chauhan Rajputs of Jaipur and Jodhpur. In Gujrat district, they claimed to be Ragubansi Rajputs. The Lobanas of Kangra and Hoshiarpur districts claimed their origin from the Gaur Brahmins of Pilibhit. A good number of them traced their origin from Gaur Brahmins who came to the Panjab from Ranthambore in Aurangzeb's time. It appears to be more appropriate to regard the Lobanas as a sub-divison of the great Banjara tribe, forming one of their Principal sub-castes.
The Lobanas are well-known in the history of the Panjab in general and that of the Sikhs in particular since the days of the last two Sikh Gurus.
After the death of Guru Harkrishan, there was a confusion about the identification of his successor. According to Sikh legends, Makhan Shah, a great merchant of the Lobana tribe, identified Guru Teg Bahadur as the successor of Guru Harkrishan. Makhan Shah was very helpful to Guru Teg Bahadur during his pontificate.
Another Lobana Sikh, Lakhi Shah, did valuable service to Sikhism in November 1675 by the cremation of Guru Teg Bahadur after his execution in Delhi. Afterwards Lakhi Shah, accompanied by his companions, went to Anandpur to pay homage to Guru Gobind Singh. It is said that his services were highly appreciated by Guru Gobind Singh.
The Lobanas participated in the battles fought by the tenth Guru. We know that Hem Singh. son of Lakhi Shah sacrificed his life in 1703 in the battle of Anandpur. After Guru Gobind Singh the Lobanas gave financial and military support to Banda Bahadur on his arrival in the Punjab. They joined Banda's army and took active part in the battles fought by him. Banda Bahadur consulted the Lobanas during his exploits like at Sadhaura. The Lobanas like Kaur Singh, Baj Singh and Bhagwant Singh occupied important positions in the army of Banda Bahadur.
During the MISL period, the Lobanas joined the services of various MISLDARS. They mostly served in the Bhangi, Ramgarhia, Shaheed and Ahluwalia MISLS. Some of them were in the ruling class of the Ahluwalia Misl. During the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Lobanas were recruited into the Khalsa Army. They proved to be good soldiers.
During the eighteenth century the Lobanas began to follow a settled way of life. There are many instances regarding their settlement as cultivators by the Sikh rulers to extend cultivation. The Lobanas of Lower Indus, Gujranwala and Jhang, for instance, settled as cultivators during the Sikh rule. In Kangra district, the Lobanas ascribed their settlement by Raja Dharam Chand and Langrapal. In the early nineteenth century, the Lobanas had established their own important villages. For instance in Gujrat district, they had three villages named Bazurgwal, Khori Dunna Singh and Tanda. Tanda was a well-known Lobana settlement. It was situated on the land of Moth-sa-duddin which was a part of chhachhan TAPPA.
Wherever the Lobanas settled they mainly named their villages as TANDAS. Tanda in Lobanki dialect means a travelling body or gang. In Kangra district the Lobanas had four hamlets each called Tanda. In this way the Lobanas replaced their nomadic and pastoral life by settled way of life. By the mid-nineteenth century, the Lobanas at some places owned not only parts of villages, but also entire villages and even groups of villages. They were chiefly found in the Panjab during the Sikh rule.
Originally, the Lobanas were transporters and carriers. They supplied grains and other things of necessity in different parts of country. They had their own pack of animals. The trade was conducted in the shape of caravans and was responsible for security particularly in the dangerous tracts like forests and deserts. It was his duty to arrange fodder and make other administrative arrangements. He lived like a prince and wore a chain of pearls hanging from the neck.
Under the Sikh rule, majority of the Labanas continued their former occupations on traditional pattern. Bulk of them earned livelihood as professional carriers and only some of them as traders. Cattle-trade was also prevalent among them. In the business management, they could not compete with the Khatris and Aroras. Their position was similar to few other carrying and trading communities like Bhabras, Prachas and Khojas. Like the other trading communities the Lobanas also harvested profits from the expansion of trade. Thus their financial position gradually improved. The improvement in their economic condition paved the way for uward social mobility among the Lobanas.
In the late eighteenth century some of the Lobanas followed pastoral pursuits. Under the Sikh rule, the Lobanas were entering the agrarian hierarchy. This process was accelerated by the agrarian policy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to extend cultivation. The general policy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh towards the agrarian classes was guided by the security and development of revenues. The grants of waste land were given to new cultivators. Among other factors this gave an opportunity to the Lobanas to become agriculturists. For example, the Lobanas of Lower Indus settled as agriculturists during the period of Diwan Sawan Mal. Similarly, the Lobanas of Gujranwala and Jhang districts entered the agrarian hierarchy when the state repaired and dug the perennial an dinundation canals. The land was given to them by Maharaja Ranjit Singh at nominal rent. They acquired proprietorship of the waste land cultivated ny them. Thus, the Lobanas became peasant-proprietorship in some districts of the Panjab towards the end of the Sikh rule. Considering the premium attached to the possession of land in a predominantly agrarian society, this may be traced as signifying upward social mobility.
In retrospect, we see that the Lobanas became a well-known community in the Panjab towards the end of the Sikh rule. Their financial position gradually improved under the Sikh rule. A good number of the Lobanas followed pastoral occupation. They began to enter in the agrarian hierarchy by making the best use of facilities provided by the state. But majority of the Lobanas still continued with their traditional occupations.
Thanks Gurpreet i really appreciate your work as i was very fond to know about all this what you have mention
gurpreet 22g,tusi baba makhan shah lobana & lakhi shah ji di gaal kiti. but in addition to those 2 great sikhs. there were more lobana sikhs in the period of guru gobind singh jinna ne es kaum da naam roshan kitta, to name a few famous ones- 1.BHAI MANI SINGH(band-band katwaye) 2.BHAI BACHITTAR SINGH& BHAI UDAI SINGH(MAST HAATHI NAAL LADE) 3.BHAI DYALA JI(DEG VICH UBALE GAYE AT DELHI) 4.BHAI MAHA SINGH(MUKTSAR SHAHID) Besides these there were in total as many as 68 shaheeds in the family of BHAI MANI SINGH(including 1 grandfather,4 chachas,11 brothers,8 sons,4 bhatije,9 grandsonsetc.)
FOR FULL DETAILS ONE CAN CHECK OUT SIKH PHULWARI OF MARCH,2005.
sarv thats interesting info, i didnt know some of those names like bhai mahasingh and bhai dayala ji...
so u mean that source of all this info is sikh phulwari? does it mention any historical references for this? also are you sure abt bhai mani singh ji?
try to answer if you can, becoz many of our people only know about bhai makhan shah and bhai lakhi shah, when all these shaheeds need to be celebrated by community....
ya parminder for confirmation of bhai mani singh,bhai bachchittar singh and bhai udai singh being lobana sikhs u can log on to
and about bhai maha singh it is clearly mentioned that he was the son of BHAI RAI CHAND(real brother of BHAI MANI SINGH) and it is also mentioned that BHAI DYALA JI was BHAI MANI SINGH'S real brother
BHAI MAHA SINGH & BHAI DYALA JI ji baare sikh phulwari vich likheya hai ke oh BHAI MANI SINGH naal kive sambandhat san Sikligar was the name given by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh to those descendants of Bhai Ram Singh (a Lohar from Marwar) who would manufacture weapons for battles and then polish them (Sikli means to polish). Historical accounts state there were in fact two Ram Singhs, one described above and another one, Ram Singh Parmar, a grandson of Bhai Mani Singh, who fought alongside Guru Gobind Singh at Chamkaur Sahib. He was an expert in wielding weapons, and was arrested along with Banda Bahadur and martyred in Delhi.
Sikligar history is traceable only after 1595 AD. Three Marwari tribes are intimately related to Sikhism and suffered martyrdom since Guru Har Gobind's time. These are Rathores, Pawars / Parmaras and Chauhans. Earlier, Maula Baksh used to manufacture the Guru's weapons, but later the Guru sent for Marwari weapon makers. Bhai Kehar Singh Rajput's services were availed of. With him came many others in the trade. When peace prevailed after Guru Har Gobind's times, these craftsmen returned to Marwar but were disowned by their brethren. Thus they became Vanjaras or roaming artisans (Note that the Hindustani word for Gypsies is also Vanjara). During Guru Gobind Singh's time as weapons were required again, the Vanjaras came into the Sikh mainstream. Vanjaras of the Punjab consider themselves followers of Guru Nanak Dev and their leader, Lakhi Shah Vanjara (Labana).
For all practical purposes Lobanas, Vanjaras and Sikligars fall in the same clan. Some of them have nomadic roots and have been related to the Lambada or Labada tribe of Andhra among others, and there are some who believe that they are of the same stock as the Gypsies or Roma people in Europe. Labana's also have been linked with gypsies from Turkey. Though some had trading background too, currently most Labana's in Punjab are wealthy & rich and involved in agriculture.
[edit] Labanas, Vanjaras and Sikligars in Sikh history
There are some well known Lobana Sikhs. These include :
- Makhan Shah Lobana, who identified Guru Teg Bahadur out of twenty-two imposters at the village of Baba Bakala.
- Bhai Lakhi Shah Vanjara, who took the headless body of Guru Teg Bahadur under the cover of darkness, from Chandni Chowk in 1675 AD and cremated it, putting his house on fire (Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi is the site).
- Bhai Uday Singh and Bhai Bachittar Singh, both brothers were Vanjaras. The latter attacked a tipsy Mughal elephant at Guru Gobind Singh's command.
- Vanajaras and Sikligars helped Banda Bahadur with both men and material in his campaigns of the Punjab especially Sirhind.
[edit] Labanas, Vanjaras and Sikligars today
During Guru Gobind Singh's time, Sikligars used to manufacture swords, rifles and pistols but due to legal restrictions now they are reduced to making only steel pans and kettles. Bibi Jagir Kaur, ex-President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee belongs to the Labana community. Her father-in-law, Baba Harnam Singh, a Minister in the Punjab Cabinet converted a number of tribals of West Punjab to Sikhism. After the partition, his headquarters shifted to Begowal, in Kapurthala.
[edit] Other parts of India
Besides Punjab, these tribes are also found in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharastra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Gujarat. In these areas, they may not necessarily follow Sikhism.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Lobanas,Vanjaras and Sikligars
- Article on Lubanas by Jaswant Singh which appeared in 'Sikhstudies.org'
- Gurmat Parkash, October 2002 (pages 11-43) Monthly Journal of Dharam Parchar Committee, SGPC, Amritsar.
- Guru Shabad Ratankar Mahan Kosh
- Sikligar Kabila - Sher Singh Sher
- Sikligar Parsang - Buddha Dal
- Guru De Sher - Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer
[edit] External links
| Gurus: | Nanak Dev | Angad Dev | Amar Das | Ram Das | Arjun Dev | Har Gobind | Har Rai | Har Krishan | Teg Bahadur | Gobind Singh | Guru Granth Sahib | Sikh Bhagats |
| Philosophy: | Beliefs and principles | Underlying values | Prohibitions | Technique and methods | Other observations |
| Practices: | Ardās | Amrit Sanskar | Chaṛdī Kalā | Dasvand | Five Ks | Kirat Karō | Kirtan | Langar | Nām Japō | Simran | Three Pillars | Vaṇḍ Chakkō |
| Scripture: | Guru Granth Sahib | Adi Granth | Dasam Granth | Bani | Chaupai | Jaap Sahib | Japji Sahib | Mool Mantar | Rehras | Sukhmani | Tav-Prasad Savaiye |
| More: | History | Ek Onkar | Gurdwara | Harmandir Sahib | History | Khalsa | Khanda | Literature | Music | Names | Places | Politics | Satguru | Sikhs | Waheguru | Bhagat Farid | Bhagat Kabir | History of the Punjab | Sardar | Takhat |
 |
This Sikhism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
