Jat Sikh

Jat Sikh is a sub-group of the Jat people and the Sikh community, from the Indian subcontinent. They form nearly 25% of population of the Indian state of Punjab,[1][2][3] and are thus the second most populous social group there after Dalits.[4]

History

According to censuses of the British Raj period, most Sikh Jats were converted from Hindu Jats.[5][6] The relationship between the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities of the Punjab region, and between communities such as the peasant Jats and the more martial Rajputs, has been ambiguous over many centuries. The various groups often claim similar origins while asserting their distinctiveness.[7]

Some Jats started to follow the teachings of Guru Nanak in small numbers and these swelled after the formation of the Khalsa.[8][9] They formed the vanguard of Sikh resistance against the Mughal Empire from the 18th century onwards. W. H. McLeod, basing his work on the martial race theory, says that the Jats began to join Sikhism in large numbers during the period of the sixth guru, Hargorbind,[10][11] but this theory has been rebutted by Jagjit Singh, a Sikh historian.[12]

At least 7 of the 12 Sikh Misls (Sikh confederacies) were led by Jat-Sikhs.[13]

Influence of Sikhism on Jats

Irfan Habib has argued that Sikhism did much to uplift the social status of Jat people, who were previously regarded in the Punjab as being of Shudra or Vaishya status in the Hindu ritual ranking system of varna.[14] Kishan Singh says

A serious contradiction afflicts the Jat farmer of the Punjab. He has unflinching faith in Guru Gobind Singh, yet at the same time he is inbued with traits typical of a Jat. There are two sides to the Jat’s known traits. One has a positive effect in the sense that it saves him from feeling inferior; and the other side is negative. It makes him overbearing and arrogant which is a disease. A Jat’s negative traits can be suppressed only through the true spirit of Sikhism.[15]

Army recruits

Jat Sikhs, according to Major A.E. Barstow,[16] were very good soldiers due to the influence of Sikhism,[17] and possessed more of a martial quality than their non-Sikh Jat brethren. Barstow further comments, that due to their diet and their fondness for wrestling (something encouraged and taught by Guru Angad[18][19] to the Sikh people) and weightlifting, they possessed good physical attributes for soldiery. According to R. W. Falcon, Jat Sikhs (alongside other Sikhs) were seen as a good source for recruitment.[20] According to Captain A. H. Bingley they were particularly loyal soldiers.[21]

The Jat Sikh community has constituted an important source of recruits for the Indian Army.[22]

Agriculture

In Punjab (India), Jat Sikhs are associated with agricultural pursuits[23][24] and land ownership. They own more than 80%,[25] and possibly as much as 95%[26] of available agricultural land in Punjab. They often reside in the rural areas, and are economically influential in the state.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Jat Sikhs make up more than 25 percent of the population of Punjab.".
  2. ↑ "Jat Sikhs who constitute nearly 25 per cent of Punjab’s 3.6 crore population.".
  3. ↑ "Sikhs comprise 54% population of Punjab, of which, 25% are Jat Sikhs".
  4. ↑ "Punjab has the largest share of dalits in its population at 31.9%. Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal follow Punjab with 25.2% and 23.5%.".
  5. ↑ The transformation of Sikh society — Page 92 by Ethne K. Marenco - The gazetteer also describes the relation of the Jat Sikhs to the Jat Hindus ...to 2019 in 1911 is attributed to the conversion of Jat Hindus to Sikhism. ...
  6. ↑ Social philosophy and social transformation of Sikhs by R. N. Singh (Ph. D.) Page 130 - The decrease of Jat Hindus from 16843 in 1881 to 2019 in 1911 is attributed to the conversion of Jat Hindus to Sikhism. ...
  7. ↑ Dhavan, Purnima (2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780199756551.
  8. ↑ The Sikh Revolution By Jagjit Singh ISBN 81-88306-00-2 page 205 onwards
  9. ↑ Perspectives on Sikh Studies and The Development of Sikh Militarisation by Jagjit Singh Page 92 onwards courtesy http://www.globalsikhstudies.net/pdf/per-sikh-studies.pdf
  10. ↑ Ishwinder Singh (February 2004). "The Mcleod Controversy". Sikh Spectrum. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  11. ↑ McLeod, W. H. Who is a Sikh?: the problem of Sikh identity. The Jats have long been distinguished by their martial traditions and by the custom of retaining their hair uncut. The influence of these traditions evidently operated prior to the formal inauguration of the Khalsa.
  12. ↑ Singh, Jagjit (1 Jan 1998). The Sikh Revolution: A Perspective View. New Delhi: Bahri Publications. p. 262. ISBN 8170340411.
  13. ↑ Gupta, Hari Ram (2007). History Of The Sikhs: The Sikh Commonwealth Or Rise And Fall Of Sikh Misls, Vol. IV. Delhi: Gyan Books Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 9788121501651.
  14. ↑ "Sikhism uplifted the social status of Jat community of Punjab says Irfan Habib". Punjabheritage.org. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  15. ↑ "WSN-Op-Ed-The Malaise of Jat Consciousness". Worldsikhnews.com. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  16. ↑ Barstow, A.E., (Major, 2/11th Sikh Regiment-Late 15th Ludhiana Sikhs), The Sikhs: An Ethnology (revised at the request of the Government of India), reprinted by B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi, India, 1985, pp. 62–63, first published in 1928.
  17. ↑ Barstow, A.E., (Major, 2/11th Sikh Regiment-Late 15th Ludhiana Sikhs), The Sikhs: An Ethnology (revised at the request of the Government of India), reprinted by B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi, India, 1985, pp. 155, first published in 1928.
  18. ↑ Prithi Pal Singh (30 Sep 2007). The History of Sikh Gurus [Paperback]. UK: Lotus Book. p. 184. ISBN 81-8382-075-1.
  19. ↑ "Guru Angad Dev – Profile of Angad Dev – Second Sikh Guru". Sikhism.about.com. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  20. ↑ Falcon, R.W. (Captain, 4th Sikh Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force), Handbook on Sikhs: for the use of Regimental Officers, Printed at the Pioneer Press, Allahabad, India, 1896, pp. 64–65.
  21. ↑ Bingley, A.H. (Captain, 7th-Duke of Connaught's own Bengal Infantry, Handbook for the Indian Army: Sikhs, Compiled under the orders of the Government of India, Printed at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, India, 1899, pp. 90–91, 11, 92.
  22. ↑ Tan Tai Yong (2005). The Garrison State: The Military, Government, and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849–1947. SAGE Publications. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-7619-3336-6. OCLC 57043090.
  23. ↑ Leaf, Murray J. (1972). "8". Information and behavior in a Sikh village: social organization reconsidered. University of California. p. 219. ISBN 0-520-02115-0. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  24. ↑ Singh, Jasbir; SS Dhillon (2006). "4". Agricultural geography (3rd ed.). Tata Mcgraw-Hill. p. 176. ISBN 0-07-053228-1. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Taylor, S., Singh, M., Booth, D. (2007) Migration, development and inequality: Eastern Punjabi transnationalism. School of Social Sciences and Law, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK; Department of Sociology, Punjab University, Chandigarh, India.
  26. ↑ Ratan Saldi (6 June 2009). "Caste System Among Sikhs In Punjab". Asian Tribune.