Labana
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| Castes of India | |
| Labana | |
| Classification | tribe |
| Subdivisions | - |
| Significant populations in | Punjab and other parts of India |
| Languages | Lubanki, Punjabi, Hindi and its dialects |
| Religions | Sikhism, Hinduism & Islam |
Labanas are a tribe which live all over India. Labanas have their own language called lubanki. However, this language is only spoken by Labanas outside the Punjab state of India. The Labanas of Punjab and Haryana are mostly Sikhs.
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[edit] Historical Background
[edit] Origin of Labanas
The term Lobana appears to have been derived from LOON (salt) and the BANA (trade). The Lobanas were the great salt-carrying and salt-trading community.[citation needed]They were occasionally called Banjaras. Locally, they were known by different names in parts of the Punjab. In Ambala district, for example, on account of their versatility in adopting different vocations, the labanas were called Bahrupias.[citation needed]
[edit] Different views are prevalent about the origin of the Lobanas
It is said that labanas are of Turkish origin they travelled from turkey toward india .[citation needed] In Ludhiana and Jhang districts, the Lobanas claimed to be the descendants of Chauhan Rajputs of Jaipur and Jodhpur.[citation needed] In Gujrat district, they claimed to be Raghuvanshi Rajputs.[citation needed] The Lobanas of Kangra and Hoshiarpur districts claimed their origin from the Gaur Brahmins of Pilibhit.[citation needed] A good number of them traced their origin from Gaur Brahmins who came to the Punjab from Ranthambore in Aurangzeb's time.[citation needed] It appears to be more appropriate to regard the Lobanas as a sub-division of the great Banjara tribe, forming one of their Principal sub-castes.
The Lobanas are well-known in the history of the Punjab in general and that of the Sikhs in particular since the days of the last two Sikh Gurus.
[edit] Sikh History & After Guru's Period
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 upward 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 inundation canals. The land was given to them by Maharaja Ranjit Singh at nominal rent. They acquired proprietorship of the waste land cultivated by 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.
In addition to those 2 great sikhs there were more lobana sikhs in the period of guru gobind singh to name a few famous ones-
- BHAI MANI SINGH
- BHAI BACHITTAR SINGH & BHAI UDAI SINGH
- BHAI DYALA JI
- BHAI MAHA SINGH
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
For all practical purposes Lobanas, Vanjaras 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 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.
view article | Lobanas (During guru's period)
[edit] GEOGRAPHY
Country:India
Continent:Asia
Region:South Asia
Population in India:355,000
Largest States on file:
Punjab (283,000), Haryana (16,000), Rajasthan (11,000), Jammu and Kashmir (10,000), Uttar Pradesh (10,000), Delhi (8,000), Maharashtra (3,600), Uttaranachal (3,300), Chandigarh (2,200), Madhya Pradesh (1,900),
[edit] LANGUAGE
Primary Language: Panjabi, Eastern (318,000 Speakers)
Secondary Languages:
Hindi (4,500), Harauti (20), Mewari (10), Pahari-Potwari: Punchhi (Unknown), Haryanvi: Bagdi (Unknown)
Dialect - Lubanki
[edit] Clans In Lobanas
Ghotra(Or Ajrawat Or Lakhman), Multani, Labana, Sujlana, are main clans mostly found and well known.
Other Clans are Badwalie, Belia, Bhagtaun, Bhonie, Dahgre, Danie, Dara Shah, Datla, Dhandsi, Dotal, Fatra, Ghare, Gojalia, Gujars, Jullon, jTatra, Kankanya, Kharrie, Khera, Khasarya, Kulwana, Lahoriae, Lavana, Lohana, Lulia, Makhan Shahi, Maniani, Mathaun, mathaunie, Mochie, Nanaut, Narowal, Padurgi, Palsiya,Parwal, Pelia, TAdra, Wamial, Wamowal
[edit] Labanas today
In pre-partion Punjab, Sant Baba Prem Singh Muralewale brought a lot of Labanas into the Sikh fold. After partition, Sant Baba Prem Singh Muralewale shifter to Begowal, Kapurthala. Bibi Jagir Kaur, ex-President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee belongs to the Labana community, . Gulzar Lahoria A Punjabi Singer is also Lobana.Harpreet Singh (Carrom Player) is also a labana from punjab.
[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.
Inderjit Singh Labana is also one of the most famous Labana's in the current Sikh world. He is the owner of multi-million pound company HT&E (Hands on Technology & Engineering).
[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.
- Clans references - http://surnamesslist.googlepages.com/
[edit] External links
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