Jat Sikh

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Jat Sikh (जाट सिख) is a sub-group of the Jat people and the Sikh religious group from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in the Punjab owing to their large land holdings.[1]

Variants

Population

They form an estimated 21%-25% of the population of the Indian state of Punjab.[2][3][4] They form at least half[5][6] of the Sikh population in Punjab, with some sources estimating them to be about 60%[7]to 66%[8] of the Sikh population.

History

Initially, some Jats started to follow the teachings of Guru Nanak, which did much to remove social barriers created by the sāvarṇa caste society.[9]   Jats were previously indifferent towards deep religious affairs.[10]  

While followers important to Sikh tradition like Baba Buddha were among the earliest significant historical Sikh figures, and significant numbers of conversions occurred as early as the time of Guru Angad (1504-1552),[11] the first large-scale conversions of Jats is commonly held to have begun during the time of Guru Arjan (1563-1606).[12]   While touring the countryside of eastern Punjab, he founded several important towns like Tarn Taran Sahib, Kartarpur, and Hargobindpur which functioned as social and economic hubs, and together with the community-funded completion of the Darbar Sahib to house the Guru Granth Sahib and serve as a rallying point and center for Sikh activity, established the beginnings of a self-contained Sikh community, which was especially swelled with the region's Jat peasantry.[13] They formed the vanguard of Sikh resistance against the Mughal Empire from the 18th century onwards.

It has been postulated, though inconclusively, that the increased militarisation of the Sikh panth following the martyrdom of Guru Arjan (beginning during the era of Guru Hargobind and continuing after) and its large Jat presence may have reciprocally influenced each other.[14]

At least eight of the 12 Sikh Misls (Sikh confederacies) were led by Jat Sikhs,[15] who would form the vast majority of Sikh chiefs.[16]

According to censuses in gazetteers published during the colonial period in the early 20th century, further waves of Jat conversions, from Hinduism to Sikhism, continued during the preceding decades.[17][18] The relationship between the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities of the Punjab region, and between communities such as the Jats and the Rajputs, has been ambiguous over many centuries. The various groups often claim similar origins while asserting their distinctiveness.[19]

जाट जाति और सिख-धर्म

ठाकुर देशराज लिखते हैं: एक दिन जिस जाट जाति का आधे यूरोप और एशिया के प्रायः समस्त प्रदेश पर आतंक रहा था, एक समय उसी जाट जाति के लिए ऐसा भी आया कि वह शासन की बजाए शासित और असभ्य तथा सम्पत्तिशाली की जगह निर्धन समझी जाने लगी। इसका कारण यही था कि जिन तरीकों से उसने पिछले हजारों वर्षों से शासन किया था, वे अब फेल हो चुके थे। प्रजातंत्र का स्थान एकतंत्र ने ग्रहण कर लिया था। अब यह आवश्यक था कि सुदिन लाने के लिए इनकी मनोवृत्तियां बदली जातीं, किन्तु यह इन्हें पसन्द न था। हालांकि कुछेक उन्नत-मना जाट वीर एकतंत्र की ओर बढ़े और उन्होंने ‘जाट राज्य’ कायम भी किये। किन्तु जाति का अधिक भाग, उनके इस कार्य की ओर से उदासीन रहा।

महाराज शालिवान हाला, शालेन्द्रजित, यशोवर्द्धन, अनंदपाल, सुभाषसेद, मश्कसेन आदि महावीर ऐसे ही जाटों में से थे, जिन्होंने अपनी महत्त्वाकांक्षाओं की पूर्ति और जाति-हित के लिए एकतंत्र शासन स्थापित किये। किन्तु सम्पूर्ण जाति की इस कार्य में सहानुभूति न होने से इन राज्यों ने दो-तीन शताब्दियां भी न पकड़ीं।

जाट-कौम क्षात्र तेज रखते हुए भी अपने दुःख दूर करने तथा देश की सेवा करने में असमर्थ हो रही थी और वह समय अति निकट आने वाला था कि ‘जाट-जाति’ सदैव के लिए अथवा एक लम्बे अरसे के लिए उस स्थान पर पहुंच जाती, जहां से उसका उठना असम्भव हो जाता। परमात्मा की कृपा से ऐसे वक्त गुरुनानक प्रकट हुए जिससे कि इस जाति में फिर से नवजीवन का संचार हो गया। गुरुनानक के प्रचारित धर्म का नाम सिख-धर्म प्रसिद्ध हुआ। जाट जाति को इस धर्म से भक्ति, शक्ति, ओज और राज भी सब कुछ प्राप्त हुए। यद्यपि अभी तक इन्होंने अपने पूर्व-गौरव को प्राप्त नहीं किया है, किन्तु फिर भी उन्होंने वो स्थान प्राप्त कर लिया है, जिस पर कोई भी योद्धा जाति सन्तोष कर सकती है।

कालांतर में औरंगजेब के अत्याचारों का प्रतिकार करने के लिये भक्त सिखों को घोड़े की पीठ और तलवारों की मूठ सम्हालनी पड़ीं। वे संगठित हो गये। यह संगठन उनका प्रारम्भ में मिसलों के रूप में था। मिसल अरबी शब्द है जिसका भावार्थ दल होता है। प्रत्येक दल का एक सरदार होता था। उस सरदार की अध्यक्षता में दल के लोग इकट्ठे होकर उनकी आज्ञा का पालन करते थे। इस प्रकार के बारह दल अथवा मिसलें थीं। इन मिसलों की संगठित बैठक का नाम

जाट इतिहास:ठाकुर देशराज, पृष्ठान्त-222

इन लोगों ने ‘गुरमता’ रख छोड़ा था। गुरमता का अर्थ ‘गुरु मन्त्रणा’ होता है। गोपनीय अथवा महत्त्वपूर्ण विषयों पर विचार करने के लिये जो परिषद् होती थी, उसी का नाम गुरमन्त्रणा अथवा गुरमता था। इस तरह से सिख जाटों ने वहीं से उत्थान किया, जहां से कि उनका पतन हुआ था। किन्तु अबकी बार की उनकी प्रजातंत्र-प्रणाली नये रंग और नये विधान की थी। गुरमता में मिसलों के सरदार बैठते थे और वे सरदार अपनी सरदारी अपनी भुजाओं के पराक्रम से प्राप्त करते थे। उन्हें पूर्ण स्वतन्त्रता थी कि चाहे जितने देश पर वे अपना अधिकार जमाएं और चाहे जो कोई सरदार बन बैठे, यदि शक्ति रखता हो। गुरमता में निश्चय हुए प्रस्तावों के मानने के लिये वे बाध्य थे। किन्तु वास्तव में वे स्वयं ही गुरमता थे। सिखों की इन बारह मिसलों में आठ मिसलें जाटों द्वारा संस्थापित हुई थीं। चूकि हमारे इतिहास का सम्बन्ध जाटों से है, इसलिये हम इन्हीं आठ मिसलों का वर्णन करेंगे। (जाट इतिहास:ठाकुर देशराज, पृष्ठ-223)

विस्तृत विवरण के लिए देखें:

•भंगी मिसल • मिसल रामगढ़िया • कन्हैया मिसल • नकिया मिसल • करोड़सिंह मिसल • फुलकियां मिसल • फैजलपुरिया मिसल या सिंहपुरिया मिसल • सुकरचकिया मिसल

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 varṇa.[20]

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 imbued 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.[21]

Army recruits

Major A.E Barstow comments, that due to their diet and their fondness for wrestling 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.[22] According to Captain A. H. Bingley they were particularly loyal soldiers.[23]

The Jat Sikh community has constituted an important source of recruits for the Indian Army.[24] Many serve in the Indian Army, including the Jat Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Rajputana Rifles and the Grenadiers, where they have won many of the highest military awards for gallantry and bravery.[25]

Agriculture

In Punjab (India), Jat Sikhs are associated with agricultural pursuits[26][27] and land ownership. They own more than 80%,[28] and possibly as much as 95%[28] of available agricultural land in Punjab. They often reside in the rural areas, and are economically influential in the state.[29]

Notable people

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Nicola Mooney (1995). "The Yeoman Jats of Punjab: Time, Expertise and the Colonial Construction of Jat Sikh Identity". Anthropologica. Anthropologica, vol. 55, no. 2, 2013, pp. 277–290. 55 (2): 277–290. JSTOR 24467328.
  2. ↑ "The Jats in Punjab comprise only 21 per cent population of the total 60 per cent Sikhs, yet they have been ruling and dominating politics in Punjab for decades". India Today. 16 January 2012.
  3. ↑ Pandher, Sarabjit (24 December 2013). "Parties in Punjab decry exclusion of Jat Sikhs from reservation". The Hindu.
  4. ↑ "Congress for OBC quota to Jat Sikhs". The Times of India.
  5. ↑ Martha Crenshaw (1995). Terrorism in context. Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0-271-01015-1.
  6. ↑ E. Marty, Martin; R. Scott Appleby (1991). "Chapter 10". Fundamentalisms observed. The University of Chicago Press. p. 623. ISBN 0-226-50878-1.
  7. ↑ E. Marty, Martin; R. Scott Appleby (1991). "Chapter 10". Fundamentalisms observed. The University of Chicago Press. p. 623. ISBN 0-226-50878-1.
  8. ↑ Puri, H. K. (2003) The Scheduled Castes in the Sikh Community – A Historical Perspective. Economic & Political Weekly (28 June 2003); Dalits in Regional Context (2004).
  9. ↑ Singh, Jagjit (1985). Perspectives on Sikh Studies (PDF). Guru Nanak Foundation. p.59
  10. ↑ Singh, Jagjit (1985). Perspectives on Sikh Studies (PDF). Guru Nanak Foundation. p. 93
  11. ↑ Mandair, Arvind-pal Singh (2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed (illustrated ed.). London, U.K.: A&C Black. pp. 36–42. ISBN 9781441102317.p. 42 
  12. ↑ Singh, Jagjit (1981). The Sikh Revolution: A Perspective View. New Delhi: Bahri Publications. ISBN 9788170340416. p.265
  13. ↑ Mandair, Arvind-pal Singh (2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed (illustrated ed.). London, U.K.: A&C Black. pp. 36–42. ISBN 9781441102317.p. 42 
  14. ↑ 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."
  15. ↑ Dhavan, Purnima (3 November 2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-19-975655-1.
  16. ↑ Dhavan, Purnima (2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799 (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0199756551.
  17. ↑ 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. ..
  18. ↑ 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. ...
  19. ↑ Dhavan, Purnima (2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780199756551.
  20. ↑ "Punjabi university news bulletin". Punjabheritage.org. 16 September 2008. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2009. "It w"
  21. ↑ "WSN-Op-Ed-The Malaise of Jat Consciousness". Worldsikhnews.com. 13 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010.
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ Ian Sumner (2001). The Indian Army 1914–1947. London: Osprey. pp. 104–105. ISBN 1-84176-196-6.
  26. ↑ Leaf, Murray J. (1972). "8". Information and behavior in a Sikh village: social organization reconsidered. University of California. pp. 219. ISBN 0-520-02115-0.
  27. ↑ Singh, Jasbir; SS Dhillon (2006). "4". Agricultural geography (3rd ed.). Tata Mcgraw-Hill. p. 176. ISBN 0-07-053228-1.
  28. ↑ 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.
  29. ↑ 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.
  30. ↑ Tribalism in India, p 160, by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, Edition: illustrated, Published by Vikas, 1978, Original from the University of Michigan; Sociological Bulletin, p 97, by Indian Sociological Society, Published by Indian Sociological Society, 1952; Indian Librarian edited by Sant Ram Bhatia, p 220, 1964. Item notes: v.19–21 1964–67, Original from the University of Michigan; The Sikhs in History, p 92, by Sangat Singh, Edition: 2, Published by S. Singh, 1995, Original from the University of Michigan; Some Aspects of State and Society Under Ranjit Singh, p 5 By Fauja Singh, Published by Master Publishers, 1981, Original from the University of Michigan; Preminder Singh Sandhawalia (1999). Noblemen and Kinsmen History of a Sikh Family: History of a Sikh Family. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. ISBN 81-215-0914-9; Jean-Marie Lafont, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord of the Five Rivers. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
  31. ↑ Dhavan, Purnima (3 November 2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-19-975655-1.
  32. ↑ Bhagata, Siṅgha (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 241. "Deep Singh Shahid, a Sandhu Jat and resident of the village of Pohuwind of the pargana of Amritsar ..."
  33. ↑ Singh, Satyindra (1995). Siṅgh, Harbans (ed.). Kāhn Siṅgh, of Nābhā (3rd ed.). Patiala, Punjab, India: Punjab University, Patiala, 2011. pp. 409-410. ISBN 9788173805301. Retrieved 18 January 2020. "...in a Dhillon Jatt family..."
  34. ↑ ma (3 November 2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-19-975655-1.
  35. ↑ ma (3 November 2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-19-975655-1.
  36. ↑ Murray, Sandra Constance (1984). All in the Family: A Study of Family Life in a Jat-Sikh Village. University of California, San Diego. p. 162.
  37. ↑ Kaur, Manpreet; Bhullar, S. K. "Life And Times Of Maharani Jind Kaur (1817 A.D.-1863 A.D.)" (PDF). Retrieved 23 November 2021.

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