Jat people‌

Majectic kingsman of Indian subcontient

Jat also known as Jaat or Jutt is a traditional rural Sanatan community, substantially belong to the sub-caste of landholding[1][2] agriculturalist dominantly found in north western region of India including some parts of Pakistani Punjab.[3] The Jat community is found majorly in three religions: Hindu, Muslim and Sikh.[4][5]

Statue of ruler Surajmal Jat

History

Jats had its origins in pastoralism in the lower Indus valley of Sindh until they were forced northwards due to the Islamic conquests.[6]

"... (North India) contained large numbers of non-elite tillers.Like many similar titles used elsewhere, this was not so much a caste name as a broad designation for the man of substance in rural terrain. … To be called Jat has in some regions implied a background of pastoralism, though it has more commonly been a designation of non-servile cultivating people".[7]

Many Jat people 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. Jat people also serve in the Pakistan Army especially in the Punjab Regiment.

Distribution

Jaats inhabited throughout the Punjab region, Sindh and some other northwestern parts of Subcontinent. [source?]

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. "Jat | Ethnic Group | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-08-03. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  5. Etienne, Gilbert (2023-11-15). Studies in Indian Agriculture: The Art of the Possible. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-32378-0.
  6. Asher, Catherine B.; Talbot, Cynthia (2006). India Before Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 270. ISBN 0-521-80904-5.
  7. Bayly, Susan (2001). Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age. Cambridge University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-521-79842-6. Retrieved 15 October 2011.

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.