Sethi

Sethi (Punjabi: ਸੇਠੀ) (Hindi: सेठी) also known as Seti or Sathi is a common Punjabi surname among the Hindu Khatri and Sikh jatt clans of the Punjabi people. Sethis are found in Punjab, India. In the early times and till date, sikh sethi's have been also known by the name sarhali(which originated as a part of their earlier village).^[1]

Etymology

Sethi is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "Sresthi" which means Shreshth "The Best Among all".

The Sanskrit term "sresthin" and the Bal term "setthi" are similar yet distinct.^[2] While the Sanskrit term found in the Brahmanas means "the best, then a leader, a nobleman, and a man of honour," the Pali term is associated with the beginning of commerce in the first third of the millennium before the common era.^[2]:175

Sethi was later referred to one who was a head of a tribe or businesses. The clan was developed as warriors and defenders of their land and they have also been in the agricultural, civil, government, and military administration roles for centuries .Sethis are believed to be one of the bravest clans of Khatri's and Jatt's. They have also expanded into agricultural trade and mercantile businesses.

Origin

The Sethi's are a highly respectable class of Punjab.The Sethis were a very powerful and wealthy group (especially those living in the cities).They had their lands located in Punjab village's. "The children of the setthis were brought up in luxury from a tiny age. They did not know the worries of daily life and work. Their education was similar to that of the royal princes and the sons born in the families of the brahmanas." [3] Sethi is also a Khukhrain clan, a regional sub caste of ten clans of Punjab.

Style of living was simple. Indian Sethis tend to be modest, self made and hardworking. They greatly respect the Dalai Lama as he believes in fighting for basic human rights and standing up for religious harmony. There was active participation from the Sethis in the Independence struggle against Britain.

Sethis originally followed Hinduism, however a significant number adapted Sikhism during the 18th and 19th centuries. This, and also because many Sethi families, as well as other Khatri (Khukhrain) clans, raised at least one Sikh son after the formation of the Khalsa. This resulted in Khukhrain family names being present in both Hindu and Sikh communities worldwide.

Earlier in the rural Punjab, "Sethi Kalan "was a village( referred to as 'Pind' in Punjab) and the people of different castes including Jatt's, Khatri's, Hindu's residing there were known by the name of their village i.e. Sethi's or Seti's or Sathi's in spite of having different castes and religions. This made the village united most of the time. With time the village disintegrated(Sarhali being a part of the so called Tarn- Taran district) and at present, many villages are thought to have been derived from it which are recognised according to list of rural constituencies as issued by Punjab voting and authorised constituencies record.

Many Sethi's of Punjab who originally belong to jatt castes( buttar, bhangu, waraich, sandhu, brar, kahlon, goraya) refer themselves to as sethi's or sarhali's on the grounds of their village's name. Dr. Gurbej singh kahlon refers in his book" the war of words and villages" that these jatt clans are now residing in many parts of punjab as sethi or sarhali and their original jat gotra caste is also written with their names.(eg- xyz singh brar sethi or xyz singh brar sarhali).

Sethi Saga

The present day Sethi's are descendents of Raja Khokard Maal who ruled a part of West Punjab with his seat at Bhera. He was instrumental in forging unity of all other sections and laid the foundation of a single powerful kingdom, which came to be known as Khukhrain clan. The various constituents were so brave a people that Mehmood Ghaznavi while invading India was always scared of the Sethi clan and had instructed his generals not to antagonise them and keep off their territories while conducting their campaigns.

Religion

Sethi's of India are pre dominantly Hindu, Sikh jatt whereas Sethi's of Pakistan follow Islam.

Language

Sethis' mother tongue is Punjabi and Hindi.

Notable Sethis

• Zia Sarhadi, Bollywood director and screewriter, born Fazle Qadir Sethi.^[3]
• Rajeev Sethi is a noted art curator, scenographer and designer
• Geet Sethi (born April 17, 1961) is an Indian billiards player who dominated the sport of billiards throughout much of the 1990s.
• Najam Sethi, a Pakistani journalist, editor, and media personality, is the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times
• Prem Gopal "Biloo" Sethi, (born Karnal), the only amateur who won Indian Open Golf Championship in 1965 at Delhi.
• Pramod Karan Sethi (23 November 1927 – 5 January 2008) was the coinventor of the Jaipur foot
• Rajendra Sethi is an Indian Bollywood actor who appears in Bollywood films.
• Ram Sethi is a prominent Bollywood actor-director-writer who is also known as pyarelaal in the film industry.
• Ramesh Sethi (born Nakuru, Kenya) represented East Africa in the inaugural Cricket World Cup (1975).
• Ravi Sethi (born 1947) is an Indian Computer scientist retired from Bell Labs and now president of Avaya Labs Research
• Ricky J Sethi is an Indian-American Computational scientist, Director of the MadSci Network, and has also been named a Computing Innovation Fellow.
• Simran Sethi (born October 12, 1970, in Munich, Germany) is an American journalist, television producer and activist.
• Suresh P. Sethi is Charles and Nancy Davidson Professor of Operations management and Director of the Center of Intelligent Supply Networks at University of Texas at Dallas.
• Pawan K Sethi Television and film scrift writer in Indian Film and Televison Industry, Mumbai.

References