Gill (clan)
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Gill (Shahmukhi: گل, Gurmukhi: ਗਿਲ), is a large Jat clan found in Pakistan, Afghanistan and among refugees who left Pakistan and now settled in North Western India. It is considered to be one of the largest Jat tribes in the 1881 British Punjab Census Gills numbered 124,172.[1]
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[edit] Etymology
There are two theories relating to the origin of Gill clan.
The first one states: the name of Caspian Sea derives from Massagetae Tribe Caspii which was once known as Sea of Gillan. The Gilani surname and the Gilaki language and people from the Iranian province of Gilan, as well as the Gilzai tribe of the Pashtun in Afghanistan are all related to the Jatt Gill tribe and all share the common 'Gil' root and this theory of the origin of etymology.
The second stating: the word "Gill" is probably derived from the Punjabi Gil meaning ‘moisture’ or 'stream/lake' and also ‘prosperity’. It is possible that the meaning of the Punjabi word, a language that is an amalgam of earlier dialects such as Jatki the original language of Jatts, shares the same meaning in the same Indo-European or Indo-Iranian language that was used to name the Sea of Gillan.
Gills are currently considered one of the main aristocratic Jat clans of the Jat gotra system.
It was also stated by Sir Lepal Griffin that: "The Jat race is, for honesty, strength and courage, second to no race in the world."[2]
[edit] History of the Gill Jat tribe
[edit] Lineage
The modern Jat tribe of Gills are lineage from the King or Raja, Prithipat of Garh Mathila who was a Waryah Rajput. Thus, the Jat tribe of Gills is believed to fit under the branch of a predecessor umbrella Gill tribe that ranged from Central Asia through modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Western India. This tribe according to sources below is believed to have been of either Indo-Iranian origins from Central Asia, (specifically Scythian or Saka from their home on the Oxus, or possibly White Huns or Yuezhi) or a mixed Indo-Scythian and Greek tribe. The Indo-Aryan/Greek mix theory is due in part to tradition passed down through the tribe for over the last millennia as well as the timeframe in which Scythians/Yuezhi/White Huns which were competing Central Asian tribes of Indo-European descent settled in Asia and established kingdoms, such as the Indo-Scythian kingdom, and the geographical and chronological range of this settlement coinciding with Alexander the Great's invasion with his Greek army.[citation needed]
Waryah is a Rajput clan named after King (Raja) Waryah. In Pakistan Waryah Rajputs are settled in northern and southern Punjab and some parts of Sindh province. Nowadays most Waryah are living in Sialkot, Gujarat. Sargodha, Sheikhopura, Multan, Bahawalpur and Layyah districts of Punjab. Waryah Rajputs, who are living in Sialkot, claimed that they are great grand children of Raja Dossal. It is likely however that Raja Prithipat was a Gill himself, rather than simply marrying a Gill woman, and had the Waryah Rajput label only attributed to him later on.
[edit] Theory of Greek origin
Bhim Singh Dahiya, a prominent Jat historian, traces the origin of the Gills to the Greeks. He speculates that the people of this tribe which was possibly Indo-Scythian came in the company of Alexander the Great. They settled in Kabul, Kandhar and the Punjab region. One of the sons of the legendary Greek mythical hero, Hercules was named "Gilla." It is also possible that ancestors of Gills came to Greece from Middle Asia (Scythians/Sakas) and then to what is now Pakistan, and Afghanistan. This would conform with typical Jat ancestry,[citation needed] distinguishing the Gill clan in particular as migrating/invading peoples from the Parthian Greek or Greco-Bactrian Kingdoms, which sprang up after Alexander's incursion. These would be a mix of ethnically Greek or Indo-Scythian (Indo-Iranian) peoples, whereas most Jat clans are typically descended from Indo-Scythian/Saka migrations/invasions from the north (Central Asia and Western China).[citation needed] The Shahi Dynasty of Afghanistan and the Punjab, and many of the rulers of Greco-Bactrian kingdoms post-Alexander were also from the Gill clan.[citation needed]
[edit] Gills in Punjab
Another theory says that the Gill Jatt clan came to the Punjab from the south via Rajputana (modern Rajasthan). A Jat king, Vinaypal, who was a descendant of Waryah, came to the Punjab and built the fort of Bathinda along the banks of the Satluj river near the present-day city of Bathinda. Setting up his capital here, he captured the territories up to Peshawar. This dynasty was in power in the Punjab till 1010 AD. Waryah was from the twenty-sixth generation of Vikramaditya. Vinaypal, Vijaypal, Satpal and Ganpal were from the lineage of Waryah.
In the beginning of the twelfth century, the descendants of Jhalli, a son of Gillpal, made Payal, their centre and founded the village of Chemo Naame. Dhamot, Gouriwala, Gill, Sihora are old Gill villages. Gills and Dhaliwals are also settled in the Jagdeo Kalan village in Majha.
The Gills lived along the Satluj and Beas rivers, and further in the foothills up to Sialkot.
It is now believed that the modern Jatt tribe of Gills were descended from Raja Prithipat who was already a Gill and a Raja or King and another Gill woman. Some also believe that only his wife was of the Gill clan and he was a Waryah Rajput but that is increasingly unlikely.
Gill (and Shergill) has become a renowned surname throughout South Asia and the Punjab.
there are seven villages in district NawanShehar near banga were shergills reside thry are Mokandpur,Jgatpur, Jhingran,dyalpur
[edit] Religion
[edit] Sikh Gills
Most of Gills converted to Sikhism during the period of the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Gobind. The Gills also sided with him in the "Battle of Mehraj". The descendants of Shergill, one of the eight sons of the Great Gillpal, settled in the Zira area and gave rise to the elite Shergill Jat clan of the Punjab.
The Rulers/Maharajas of the Nishanwalia Misl, Sukha Singh and Mehar Singh were Shergills. The Majithia Rulers/Maharajas of Majha were also Shergills.
Some Gills had settled in Assam in 1505 during the time of Guru Nanak Dev.
[edit] Muslim Gills
The people of the "Sipra" sub-clan of the Gills had mostly migrated towards Jhang (in the present-day province of Punjab (Pakistan). Most of them converted to Islam. Gills in Kabul are also Muslims.
In the Sandal Bar region of Punjab (Pakistan), "Kakkar Gill" was the only prominent Gill village. The Gills settled in Jhang, Montgomery (today's Sahiwal) and Shahpur also converted to Islam.
[edit] Gill Jats today
As most Gills originated from areas in what is now Pakistan, small pockets of non-Muslim Gills who left at the time of independence can be found near the border in North Western India. Today, most Gills are settled in the Malwa and Majha regions of the state of Punjab in India. There are forty villages of Gills in the Jagraon area of Ludhiana. The famous Majithia Sirdars (families) of Amritsar district are in fact Shergills. Many have also emigrated to various countries.
[edit] Other uses of the name "Gill"
The name "Gill" is also used in other parts of the world, especially in Europe and the Middle East.
[edit] Europe
- English: From a short form of the personal names such as "Giles", "Julian", "William", "Gilbert" or "Gillian". In theory, the name would have a soft initial when derived from the first two of these, and a hard one when from 'William'. However, there has been much confusion over the centuries.
- Northern English: Topographic name for someone who lived by a ravine or deep glen, Middle English gil(l), Old Norse gil ‘ravine’ or 'stream'.
- Scottish and Irish: Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic "Mac Gille" (Scottish), "Mac Giolla" (Irish), patronymics from an occupational name for a servant or a short form of the various personal names formed by attaching this element to the name of a saint. See "McGill". The Old Norse personal name "Gilli" is probably of this origin, and may lie behind some examples of the name in northern England.
- Norwegian: Habitational name from any of three farmsteads in western Norway named Gil, from Old Norse gil meaning ‘ravine’ or 'stream'.
[edit] The Middle East
- Jewish (Ashkenaz): Ornamental name from the Hebrew gil meaning ‘joy’.
- The "Gilani" surname/tribe, which hails from the province of Gilan in Iran is considered to be of similar ancestry to the original 'Gill' tribe.
[edit] India
[edit] Notable and Prominent Gill Jats
- Dr. Huzura Singh Gill : One of the voyagers of Kama Gata Maru, 1914. He found a way to settle in California, he worked on a canal along with other immigrants mainly orientals. The young man, soon became an assistant to a doctor on that canal site. He later returned to Punjab, India in the 1930’s. He aided Pandit Jawar Lal Nehru in the independence of India. During the partion of India and Pakistan, not a single person was injured under his guidance. He was the first appointed Sarpanch (village head) by the village of Galib Kalan people and he continued to be appointed for three terms. During his time, he moderenized his village by building the first school, dharmsala, raods and water canals in his area. Simultaneously, he provided medical services for his local and surrounding villages. He also ran his ancestral farm, a Dairy company and a Brick Brewing company. He had total of five sons; two in Calafornia and three in India. The oldest son from India, T.S.Gill is a successful business man. The two half older brothers from Calafornia ran a grape wine farm. Location of them or their decendents is not known.
- Daljit Singh Shergill Sikh Leader for 20 years in UK and becoming president of the Smethwick Gurdwara in 1984 where he still is, as well as being , Chairman of the council of Sandwell Sikh Gurdwara’s in UK, Chairman of the national Sikh Gurdwaras, Chairman of the SYCC (Smethwick Youth Community Centre) and President of the Sikh Welfare association in the UK.
- Professor Piara Singh Gill internationally famous and award-winning nuclear Scientist.
- Lachhman Singh Gill, former Chief-minister of Punjab (India).
- Shish Ram Gill - Vir Chakra
- Rabbi Shergill - Contemporary Indian Musician
- Jimmy Shergill - Famous Indian Actor
- Amrita Shergill - Daughter of a Shergill aristocrat, the beautiful Amrita SherGil (1913–41), sailed with her Hungarian mother to France to study art in Paris when she was only sixteen years old. She studied first at the Grande Chaumiere under Pierre Vaillant and subsequently at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where she was taught by Lucien Simon.
- Gaurav Gill - Indian Rally car driver
- Ajay Pal Singh Gill - Member of Senate & Syndicate, Panjab University, Chandigarh
- Chaudhary Muhammad Shafi Gill - Chairman of District Council in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
- Chaudhary Imtiaz Gill - MNA National Assembly Pakistan
- Muhammad Islam Gill- Famous and award winning Agriculture Scientist Of Pakistan. He was awarded Tamghaee Imtiaz From Government of Pakistan. He worked as a Director of Central Cotton Research Institute Multan.He wrote 124 research pappers.Represnted Pakistan In numerous international Seminars and conferences
- Zeb Imtiaz Gill - MPA Provincial Assembly Punjab, Pakistan
Simran Singh Gill Masters in Economics, graduated from Imperial College London, currently working for Amstrad computers as junior economist.
- Late Brig. Paramjit Singh Gill; MTech from IIT Kanpur, of Historical village SABHRA (Amritsar) served the Indian Army with great integrity.
Eminent Gills also include Film Actor and Director Ravi Gill,originally from Village Ghalib kalan,near Jagraon.He has been assistant director in films like Dillagi,Champion,Kaafila,Sajna Ve Sajna, and has acted in numerous tele serials like Yug,Agni,etc.Presently based in Mumbai for the last 10 years,he is currently working on his latest directorial venture,an action thriller based in England called Loot in Luton.
[edit] References
- ^ History of the Jatt Clans - H.S Duleh.
- ^ Sir Lepal Griffin. Chiefs of Punjab.
