Tyagi
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| Total population |
|---|
| Unknown |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Sindh, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Footnotes |
| Alternative names include Taga and Tagha |
Tyagi is a surname of North India and Pakistan. There are both Hindu and Muslim Tyagis. Tyāgī is a Sanskrit word meaning the renouncer[1][2] Once localized to Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, they are now also found in Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan due to the migration of some Muslim Tyagis to those areas.[1][3] Taga, Tagha and Taga-Bhatt are alternative names that are sometimes used for the community. Surnames common to the community include Tyagi and Chaudhry.[4] Tyagi also meaning sacrificing (oneself) has led some Tyagis to claim Brahmin ancestors who rejected priestly occupations and were traditionally either landowning agriculturists or soldiers.[4]
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[edit] History and origin-myths
The term Tyagi derives from the Sanskrit root tyag, meaning "to sacrifice."[5]
Tyagis are landlords and with significant land holdings, having entirely discarded the tradition of dakshina ages ago.Also they started tilling of land and using weapons which was not allowed for Brahmins. A number of Brahmin gotras exist in the Tyagi community, including Bachas, Vatsa, Bhardwaj, Vasistha, Gautam, Atreya, Kaushik, Vatsyayana, Kashyap, Shandilya, Dixit, Vaksas and Parashara, as well as Pulastya, Garg and Kaushik if from the Haryana and Rajasthan areas.[citation needed] Another name for Tyagis is Taga Bhatt (tagya meaning specialist or tatva gyani in Sanskrit, and Bhatt meaning intellectual/warrior Brahman). They were the oldest settlers in the land of Haryana, Rajasthan and Western Uttar Pradesh. Tyagis belong to original Adi Gaur subgroup of Brahmins. Taga Bhatt were involved in administration, teaching, writing and military activities, leading to their current professions. As with other tribes in northwestern India, they were organised by Khaps (clan based on descent from one ancient patriarch), with each Khap headed by a powerful and respected person in the community.[6]
North Indian and Pakistani genealogies, including origin myths of each tribe, have traditionally been tracked by the Bhat scribes of Hardwar, Garh Mukteshwar and Benaras. Tyagis claim descent from Parshuram, a warrior-Brahmin incarnation of Vishnu.[6] Bhat records hold that the Tyagis originated as a distinct group from Gaur Brahmans because of their social and feudal status coming out of secular professions (teaching, administration, landholding and warrior roles). Bhumihars are also said[by whom?] to be direct descendants of Parshuram. Parshuram had demanded that the Bhumihar renounce all future dakshina, instead imparting their religious and administrative knowledge without reciprocity to ensure social and agricultural development in northern India. Those that obeyed him were given the surname 'Tyagi' to commemorate their sacrifice.[7] Bhumihar Brahmins and Tyagis have a common origin and affinity for each other. The Bhumihars, of whom many belong to the Saryupareen Brahmin division of Kanyakubja Brahmin, moved from Western Uttar Pradesh to Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the reign of Harsh Vardhan (606-647 CE).[6]
[edit] District Gazetteer
According to the District Gazetteer, produced during the period of the British Raj, the surname 'Tyagi' is equivalent to an earlier form of the word, 'Taga'. If these records are accurate, the Tagas held about five percent of the total land in the state however in Haryana and West Uttar Pradesh, Tagas were the main land lord community.. The majority of this land has been historically maintained in coparcenary tenure.[8]
The records indicate that Tagas also played a considerable part in the resistance to the Islamic Crusades, most notably those of the Muslim general Timur the Lame. According to Gazetteer records, Umra Taga served as Deputy General of the Sarv Khap coalition army and Rampyari Taga served as a Delegate and Deputy on its counsel. The major goal of the resistance was to defend the Holy city of Haridwar from desecration by Timur, as he massacred, pillaged, and raped the indigenous Hindu populace during his army's trek. Timur's ultimate goal, incidentally, was to ultimately invade the city of Delhi during the city's internal battle for ascension.[8]
Four-hundred years later, Tagas in Uttar Pradesh clashed again with Muslim invaders's and many were forcibly converted to Islam by Shah Jahan, a descendant of Timur and sixth ruler of the Mughal dynasty.[8] Since Tyagis were sufficiently well to do, as compared to the other castes like Jats etc., in the region near Delhi and were controlling the politics & economy of this region, they were badly targeted by Mughals, especially Shah Jahan, resulting into some forcibly conversions also. Despite all odds, it is one of the major community who fought bravely for the cause of their country in all freedom struggles along with the other people of the region. Tyagis suffered heavily in British rule as well, 26 Tyagi Villages were auctioned after 1857 revolution by the Britishers.
Perhaps however, is that the early 20th century Gazetteer records maintained that they had originally arrived in the district from the region now known as East and West Bengal. It is of note that the British authors who compiled the Gazetteer were uncertain as to the veracity of this claim.[8]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b Ethnographic and Folk-Culture Society (Peshawar, Pakistan) (1947). The Eastern anthropologist. Ethnographic and Folk Culture Society, Peshawar. http://books.google.com/books?id=LaIRAAAAIAAJ.
- ^ Kripa Shankar Mathur, Binod C. Agrawal, Tribe, caste, and peasantry, Ethnographic & Folk Culture Society, U. P., 1974, http://books.google.com/books?id=YnqwAAAAIAAJ, "... The present Hindu and Muslim Tyagis are the descendants of a common ancestor ..."
- ^ Paul R. Brass, Factional Politics in an Indian State, http://books.google.com/books?id=WEMJJKBYwqkC, "... The Tyagis are a highly localized Hindu caste, found only in the northwestern districts of Uttar Pradesh, in Delhi, and in two eastern districts of the Punjab ..."
- ^ a b Brij Raj Chauhan, Extending frontiers of sociological learning, Dept. of Sociology, Institute of Advanced Studies, Meerut University, 1980, http://books.google.com/books?id=YkAtAAAAIAAJ, "... Economically, the Tyagis are the biggest landowning and cultivating category. This is reflected in the title 'Chaudhary' addressed for this caste by other castes. They share about 70% land ..."
- ^ Mahendra Nath Gupta (1908). Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita Volume III. Sri Ma Trust. http://www.kathamrita.org/kathamrita3/k3sec21.htm.
- ^ a b c Matthew Atmore Sherring, Hindu Tribes and Castes, as Represented in Benares, BiblioBazaar, 2010; first edition 1872, ISBN 9781143027963, http://books.google.com/books?id=O6vqQwAACAAJ
- ^ Kumar Suresh Singh, Madan Lal Sharma, A. K. Bhatia, Anthropological Survey of India, Haryana: Volume 23 of People of India, Anthropological Survey of India, 1994, ISBN 9788173040917, http://books.google.com/books?id=qUZuAAAAMAAJ
- ^ a b c d Muzaffarnagar District Gazetteer 1901 Census. 1901.
[edit] References
- Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Rachnawali (Selected works of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati), Prakashan Sansthan, Delhi, 2003.
