Lathi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007) |
| Lathi | |
|---|---|
| Type | Stick |
| Place of origin | India |
| Part of a series on Indian martial arts |
|---|
| styles |
| wrestling: Malla-yuddha · Pehlwani · Mukti yuddha · Mukna · Inbuan Kalarippayattu: Silambam · Varma ati · Kuttu Varisai |
| Notable Practitioners |
| Phillip Zarrilli · Jasmine Simhalan · Gobar Goho · Gulam · Guru Har Gobind · John Will |
Lathi (Devanagari: लाठी) means stick and is the name of an Indian cane-fighting martial art . The word lathi means stick or cane in Hindi, Bengali and some other Indian languages. It is basically a 6 to 8-foot (2.4 m) long cane tipped with an optional metal blunt. It is the Indian Police's most used crowd control device. When referring to the weapon itself, a lathi could be considered the world’s oldest weapon.
Lathi wielders (called a lathial) need to be quick and precise. Blows can be powerful and sometimes even fatal. A good lathial must be able to fight using sticks of different lengths and thicknesses.
Contents |
[edit] History
The stick is one of the world's oldest weapons. Martial artists favoured the stick for its easy accessibility and the fact that it is not necessarily lethal made it a popular self-defence implement among Hindu priests and Buddhist monks in South Asia. Lathi or cane-fighting has a long history in India where the weapon was often used to control domestic animals. Rural villagers would use the lathi to protect their flocks from thieves and in fights between herdsmen. The men of villages used to carry a lathi with them at all times. It used to help them in walking/climbing, controlling their herd, defending themselves and to carry a small parcel (called potli) with lunch etc, at one end of the lathi, while resting the lathi over the shoulder. A common Hindi saying goes "Jiski lathi, uski bhains" meaning, "He who wields the lathi gets to keep the buffalo". As the art evolved, lathi duels became especially popular in east and south Indian villages which eventually began holding regular tournaments. Village landlords would raise armies of lathial for security purposes and to settle conflicts. Local warlords would also use lathial armies to oppress and punish common people. The size of the army was an indication of the power of a warlord or landlord.
Following their conquest of India the Mughals introduced zamindar, which refers to intermediary landed elements with various levels of inheritable land rights. Lathial groups were sent to forcefully collect taxes from villagers. The zamindari system continued during British rule and wasn't abolished until after India's independence in 1947. Rich farmers and other eminent people in today's Indian villages still hire lathials for security and as a symbol of their power. Disputes in villages, when settled illegally, still involve lathi battles but this is no longer a common practice and it has largely been replaced by legal methods or, rarely, shootouts. This led to a decline in lathi as a martial art. Although lathi remains a famous sport in Indian villages, urbanisation has led to a decline of this rural martial art.
[edit] Lathi in law enforcement
The British colonists introduced lathi as a weapon for the Indian Police. This gave birth to the lathicharge, a military-style rush that uses lathi to disperse crowds. Lathi are now often used to control riots and also as a secondary weapon. In modern times, lathi is the primary weapon of the Indian riot police along with helmets, shields, tear gas and other methods. Policemen are trained in highly co-ordinated drill movements which can leave many of the rioters crippled. This drill has been quite controversial among human rights activists so in many places the police do not follow the drill but hit in such a way to disperse the crowds. Security guards and police officers often carry a lathi along with or in place of firearms. They prefer lathi for their ease of use and comparative safety and only resort to firearms in situations when lathi cannot be used efficiently.
