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Jat (caste)

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The Jat people, also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are predominantly a feudalist and martial community in Northern India and Pakistan.[1][2] Originally agriculturalist in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Punjab Territory, northeastern Jangladesh, and the western Gangetic Plain in the 17th and 18th centuries.[3] Of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh faiths, they are now found mostly in the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and the Pakistani regions of Sindh, Punjab and AJK.[4]

14th Murrays Jat Lancers (Risaldar Major) by AC Lovett (1862–1919).jpg

History

The Jats are a diverse community in the Indian subcontinent, ranging from simple landowning peasants to wealthy and influential Zamindars.[5] Originally pastoralists in the Indus Valley, they became farmers by the eighth century, as noted during Muhammad bin Qasim’s conquest of Sindh.[6] Arab writers called them “Zutt” and described their presence in various regions. Jats fought against Qasim’s forces alongside King Dahir but faced discrimination under Arab rule, continuing Hindu-era practices.[7]

 
Early 19th century painting of a Jat farmer.

Between the 11th and 16th centuries, Jats migrated from Sindh to Punjab, adopting agriculture with tools like the water wheel. By Mughal times, “Jat” often meant “peasant” in Punjab, and some became landowners.[8] By 1595, Jat Zamindars controlled about 32% of Punjab’s Zamindaris. Initially pastoralists with little exposure to major religions, Jats adopted Islam in western Punjab, Sikhism in eastern Punjab, and Hinduism in areas between Delhi and Agra, reflecting regional religious influences.[9]

During the Mughal Empire’s decline in the 18th century, Jats led rural rebellions, gaining land and power. Some, like Badan Singh of Bharatpur, became minor princes. In 1669, Hindu Jats under Gokula rebelled against Emperor Aurangzeb.[10] By the early 18th century, Jats dominated areas south and east of Delhi, forming petty states through alliances.[11]

 
Jats in the Delhi Territory in 1868

Sikhism grew among Jats, especially during Guru Arjan’s time (1563–1606), when towns like Tarn Taran and Kartarpur became Sikh hubs.[12] Jat Sikhs led most of the 12 Sikh Misls (confederacies) and resisted Mughal rule.[13] The British later encouraged Hindu Jats to convert to Sikhism to boost Sikh army recruits. Sikh Jat rulers governed states like Patiala, Faridkot, Jind, and Nabha.[14][source?]

Demography

In India, Jats and Sikh form 20–25% of Haryana’s population and 20–35% of Punjab’s, with 9% in Rajasthan, 5% in Delhi, and 1.2% in Uttar Pradesh.[15][16] Classified as a General (forward) caste in most states, Jats in Rajasthan (except Bharatpur and Dholpur) qualify for central OBC reservation. Seven states include Jats in their OBC lists.[17][18]

Culture and society

Many Jats serve in the Indian Army, including the Jat Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Rajputana Rifles, and Grenadiers, earning numerous gallantry awards. Jats also serve in the Pakistan Army, particularly in the Punjab Regiment.[19] During the British Raj, Jats were classified as a “martial race,” favored for recruitment due to perceived bravery and physical fitness, though considered politically subservient and intellectually inferior, lacking leadership qualities.[20][21] The British preferred recruiting less-educated groups for easier control, viewing educated Indians as less brave.

 
A contingent of the Jat Regiment of Indian Army, during the Indian Republic Day parade

Jats fought in World War I and World War II with the British Indian Army.[22] Post-1881, Sikh Jats were prioritized for recruitment as the British deemed Hindus less suitable.[23]

Notable persons

References

  1. ↑ Bal, Gurpreet (September 2006). "Entrepreneurship among Diasporic Communities". The Journal of Entrepreneurship. 15 (2): 189. doi:10.1177/097135570601500205. ISSN 0971-3557. Most of the Sikhs are Jats and owing to their numerical preponderance and landownership, they are a dominant caste in Punjab. The word Jat and farmer are synonymous in Punjabi. They are landowners and their occupation is agriculture.
  2. ↑ Pathak, Ajai K.; Kadian, Anurag; Kushniarevich, Alena; Montinaro, Francesco; Mondal, Mayukh; Ongaro, Linda; Singh, Manvendra; Kumar, Pramod; Rai, Niraj; Parik, Jüri; Metspalu, Ene (December 2018). "The Genetic Ancestry of Modern Indus Valley Populations from Northwest India". The American Journal of Human Genetics. 103 (6): 04. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.10.022. Jat (also spelled as "Jatt" and "Jaat") people are an ethnic agricultural apparently setled in Northwest South Asia The term Jat is supposedly derived from Jatta, a broad word used for cattle gazers and camel breeders, moving in a group - jatha. Jats have been known as zamindars (landowner) since the period of Mogul emperor Akbar in 16th century".
  3. ↑ Kaur, Harjinder (2010). Nationalist Historians On Sikh History. Punjab (India): Department of History-University of Patiala. p. 238. Jatt/ Jaat: A section of Indian society which dominates the rural areas in the Northern India. These people are most agriculturist
  4. ↑ Etienne, Gilbert (2023-11-15). Studies in Indian Agriculture: The Art of the Possible. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-32378-0.
  5. ↑ Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2016). Migrations in medieval and early colonial India. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-48854-0.  Out of the 45 parganas of the sarkars of Delhi, 17 are reported to have Jat Zamindars. Out of these 17 parganas, the Jats are exclusively found in 11, whereas in other 6 they shared Zamindari rights with other communities
  6. ↑ Asher, Catherine B. (2006). India before Europe. Cynthia Talbot (1 ed.). West Nyack: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-80904-7.
  7. ↑ Mayaram, Shail (2003). Against history, against state: counterperspectives from the margins. Cultures of history. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12730-1.
  8. ↑ Grewal, J. S. (2003). The Sikhs of the Punjab. The new Cambridge history of India / general ed. Gordon Johnson 2, Indian States and the transition to colonialism (Rev. ed., transferred to digital print ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-521-63764-0. “the most numerous of the agricultural tribes (in the Punjab) were the Jats. They had come from Sindh and Rajasthan along the river valleys, moving up, displacing the Gujjars and Rajputs to occupy cultural lands”.
  9. ↑ Khan, Iftikhar Ahmad (1982). "A Note on Medieval Jatt Immigration in the Punjab". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 43: 342–350. ISSN 2249-1937.
  10. ↑ Metcalf, Barbara D.; Metcalf, Thomas R. (2006-09-28). A Concise History of Modern India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-45887-0.
  11. ↑ Bayly, C. A. (1988-05-19). Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770-1870. CUP Archive. ISBN 978-0-521-31054-3.
  12. ↑ Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh (2013-08-08). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4411-0231-7.
  13. ↑ Dhavan, Purnima (2011-11-03). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-975655-1.
  14. ↑ Bates, Crispin (2013-03-31). Mutiny at the Margins: New Perspectives on the Indian Uprising of 1857: Volume I: Anticipations and Experiences in the Locality. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-81-321-1589-2. “The passage to Delhi, however, lay through the cis–Sutlej states of Patiala, Jind, Nabha and Faridkot, a long chain of Jat Sikh states that had entered into a treaty of alliance with the British as far back as April 1809 to escape incorporation into the kingdom of their illustrious and much more powerful neighbour, 'the lion of Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh”
  15. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Hurst. ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
  16. ↑ The Indian Journal of Political Science. Indian Political Science Association. 2006.
  17. ↑ "SC removes Jats from OBC list". The Hindu. 2015-03-17. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  18. ↑ "History repeats itself as yet another Central govt faces a Jat stir". Hindustan Times. 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  19. ↑ Sumner, Ian (2001-08-25). The Indian Army 1914–1947. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-84176-196-1.
  20. ↑ Britten, Thomas Anthony (1997). American Indians in World War I: At Home and at War. UNM Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-2090-2.
  21. ↑ Streets, Heather; Streets-Salter, Heather (2004). Martial Races: The Military, Race and Masculinity in British Imperial Culture, 1857-1914. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-6962-8.
  22. ↑ Jackson, Ashley (2006). The British Empire and the Second World War. London: Hambledon and London. ISBN 978-1-85285-417-1.
  23. ↑ Veer, Peter van der (1994-02-07). Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-08256-4.

Notes

Further reading

  • Census Of India 1911 Volume XIV Punjab Part 2 by Pandit Narikishan Kaul
  • 'A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province' by H.A. Rose, Page 354, published in 1919.
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