| Jat Clan: Bajwa | |
| Distribution | Punjab (India) District - Gurdaspur, Pakistani Punjab, Sialkot District, Narowal |
| Descended from: | Sikh Muslim Jatt |
| Branche: | Suryavanshi |
| Religion | Hinduism Sikhism Islam |
| Languages | Punjabi |
| Surnames: | Bajwa |
Bajwa (Punjabi: ਬਾਜਵਾ) (Hindi: बाजवा) (Urdu: باجوہ) is a Jat gotra or clan. They originally belonged to the region known as 'Bajwath' situated on the border of Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab. They are now spread across the Punjab region divided between Northern India and Pakistan.[1]
BAJU in Persian means "those who levied tax" [i.e. the ruling class]. Bajwas living in the Bajwat area comprising 65 villages (the Sialkot and Narowal districts in Punjab) were known to be the bravest and used to fight against the invading armies who attacked India from the North-West, e.g. Timur, Ahmed Shah Abdali and others. Since they used to keep a hawk's eye on such invaders, they were named after the warrior-bird "baaz" [hawk, eagle, falcon (a bird that symbolises 'Gruda' of Ramayana -- a Hindu Epic & Scripture)]. The last ruler/owner/administrator of the 'Riyasat' called 'Bajwat' was Sharam Singh (or Sharam Kumar) who was also a Saint whose 'samadhi' ['mazaar'] is situated in Sialkot and is known as the samadhi of Kali baba. His brother's son was a Zaildar [owner of a 'zail' (sub-district), 'zilla' means a district] whose son was Wing Commander Bajwa [whose role in the Khemkaran Battle is played by Jackie Shroff in the popular movie 'Border'], and Sharam Singh's grandson became an IPS Officer who stood 4th in the IPS Exams in the year 1961.
Bajwa is a well-known last name amongst Punjabis. They claim their descent from Hindu Surya-vanshi Rajput dynasty, according to Hindu mythology; however, strictly speaking 'Bajwa' is not a 'gotra' because Bajwas can be Muslims, Hindus & Sikhs. They are either 'jats' or 'kshatriyas'.
| “ | A Jat clan (Agricultural) found in Amritsar, and Multan and as a Jatt Sikh clan in Montgommery.[2] | ” |
According to one theory, the word "Bajwa" is derived from the term Baaz Wala, which can be loosely translated to "Owner of Falcon or Person having Falcons". "Baaz or Baaj" (pronounced as Baaz in colloquial Punjabi) is the Arabic word for hawk or falcon, while "wala" is an Indian suffix indicating a person owning (a given thing) or living (in a given area).[3]
A large majority of Bajwa's are Muslim or Sikh.
The majority of Muslim Bajwa's live in Pakistan, while most Bajwa's of the Christian, Hindu & Sikh faiths live in India and many have also migrated to North America, Canada and Europe. A great number of Bajwa Clan have migrated from Sialkot dist. to dist. Faisalabad (Old name Lyle Pur),Toba Tek Singh,Raheem Yar Khan etc. within Pakistan.
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