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Bhatia caste

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Bhatia
ReligionsHinduism, Islam and Sikhism
Populated statesPunjab, Gujarat, Sindh
SubdivisionsKutchi, Halai, Kanthi, Navgam, Pachisgaam, Thathai

Bhatia is a group of people and a caste found in Punjab, Sindh and Gujarat. The Bhatias primarily live in Northwestern India and Pakistan.[1] The Bhatias, Lohanas and Khatris were similar communities and were known to intermarry. The Bhatias recruit Saraswat Brahmins as priests.[2]

Origins

Bhatia men in western India (c. 1855-1862)
Bhatia women in western India (c. 1855-1862)

According to General Alexander Cunninghum, Bhatia is derived from the word "Bhat" meaning a warrior.[3] The geographical origins of the Bhatia caste are uncertain. Denzil Ibbetson, an ethnographer of the British Raj, noted that many were found in Sindh and Gujarat in the 19th century but that there were grounds to believe that they had migrated from Bhatner, Jaisalmer and the area then known as Rajputana (approximating to modern-day Rajasthan). A more recent study by André Wink traces a 12th-century connection between the Bhatias of Jaisalmer and the Caulukyas of Gujarat, while Anthony O'Brien almost-contemporaneous attempt to discover their homeland caused him to place them around Sindh from the 7th century. Wink, who is a professor with interests in medieval and early modern Indian history, records that many of the community in Sindh converted to Islam during the reign of Firoz Shah Tughluq, although Robert Vane Russell, another Raj ethnographer, was of the opinion that those engaged in foreign trade in the 19th century were exclusively Hindu.[4]

Many Punjabi Bhatias along with Punjabi Khatris migrated to Sindh from Multan, where they took the identity of Lohana.[2] In Kutch, they are mainly associated with Mundra and Mandvi.[3]In Punjab, they are associated with Sialkot, Gujrat, Lahore and Multan. In North West Frontier Province, they were found in Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan.[5][6]

History

The Battle of Muktsar, in which 12% of known soldiers were Bhatias.

Bhatias along with Khatris and Lohanas were prominent Rajput merchants who had contacts right from Volga River (Russia) to Kolkata (India) and Bhatias were descendants of bhati kshatriyas. The Bhatias, who had been associated in particular with the Multan area in Sindh, were historically merchants and they probably formed part of the earliest Indian diaspora found in Central Asia, together with the Bohra and the Lohana communities.[a] Their emergence as a significant merchant group pre-dates the 17th century and certainly by the time that India became subject to colonial rule, the Bhatias and the other two early diaspora communities had established trade and moneylending networks that, according to Scott Levi, who specialises in the history of Central Asia, "... extended across Afghanistan, Central Asia, and eventually reached even beyond the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa to the Caribbean islands in the west, and to Southeast Asia and China in the east."[8]Bhatias of Thatta (Sindh) established a colony in Muscat (Oman) where they conducted international trade between Arabian peninsula and India.[4]

During the Battle of Chamkaur, 5 out of the 40 Punjabi soldiers were Bhatias. They fought against a large army of Mughals.[9] During the Battle of Mukstar, 40 Punjabis laid down their lives fighting against the Mughals. Out of the 25 soldiers whose caste is recorded, 3 soldiers belonged to Bhatia families.[9]

Religion

The oldest temple of Gulf was constructed by Bhatias of Thatta, Sindh in 1817.

Hindu Bhatias follow Vaishnavism. They revere Vishnu's avatars including Rama and Krishna.[3] They also worship Hinglaj Mata as well as Dariya Sagar (sea).[10][11]Moreover, some Bhatias are Jains.[3]The oldest temple of Gulf, Shrinathji Temple in Bahrain was constructed by the Thatthai Bhatia community in 1814 and is still managed by them. It is dedicated to Lord Shrinathji, a form of Krishna.[12] Dwarka Temples were largely funded by Bhatias.[13]

Many Bhatias followed Sikhism. Bhai Banno was the son of Bishan Chand Bhatia of village Mangat of district Gujrat in Punjab (now in modern-day Pakistan). He became a faithful follower of Guru Arjan who involved him in the preparation of the Adi Granth.[14]Maharaja Ranjit Singh's ancestors were initiated into Sikhism by the efforts of Bhai Banno Bhatia.[15]

Sub-groups

Among the Bhatias, there are different sub-castes, such as Kutchi, Bannuwal, Derawal, Multani, Veha, Halai, Kanthi, Pavrai, Navgam, Pachisgaam, Thattai and Punjabi. Bhatias from Kutch are Kutchi Bhatias, those from around Jamnagar district are known as Halai Bhatia, those from Sindh in present-day Pakistan are known as Sindhi Bhatias and those from Punjab in present-day India and Pakistan are known as Punjabi Bhatias.[16]

Some of the major groups derived from the principal professions they follow or the crafts they practice.[17]

According to the 1980 Gurdaspur Gazetteer published by the Government of Punjab.[18]

"In the All-India meeting in 1936, held by the Khatris at Lahore (Pakistan), it was decided that the Aroras, Soods and Bhatias were Khatri for all intents and purposes. And, as such, they should be admitted to the Khatri stock. This interpretation did not find much favour then, but with the lapse of time, it has almost been accepted"

References

Informational notes

  1. ^ Claude Markovits, whose studies encompass commercial networks in colonial India, says that the Lohana term referred to all merchant communities of Sindh other than the Bhatias and the Khatris.[4] Mark-Anthony Falzon considers all Sindhi Hindu communities to be jatis of the Lohana caste, with the exception of Brahmins and Bhatias.[7]

Citations

  1. ^ Tribalism in India, pp 160, By Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, Edition: illustrated, Published by Vikas, 1978, Original from the University of Michigan.
  2. ^ a b Schaflechner 2018, pp. 71–75.
  3. ^ a b c d Goswami, Chhaya (2016-02-18). Globalization before Its Time: The Gujarati Merchants from Kachchh. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-93-85890-70-3.
  4. ^ a b c Levi, Scott (2007). "Multanis and Shikarpuris: Indian Diasporas in Historical Perspective". In Oonk, Gijsberk (ed.). Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-90-5356-035-8. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  5. ^ Singh, K. S. (1992). People of India: Chandigarh. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-7304-119-8.
  6. ^ Singh, K. S. (1996). People of India: Delhi. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-7304-096-2.
  7. ^ Falzon, Mark-Anthony (2004). Cosmopolitan Connections: The Sindhi Diaspora, 1860-2000. Brill. pp. 32–34. ISBN 978-90-0414-008-0. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  8. ^ Levi, Scott (2007). "Multanis and Shikarpuris: Indian Diasporas in Historical Perspective". In Oonk, Gijsberk (ed.). Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 44–46. ISBN 978-90-5356-035-8. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  9. ^ a b Singh, Jagjit (1981). The Sikh Revolution: A Perspective View. Bahri.
  10. ^ The Great Circle: Journal of the Australian Association for Maritime History. Australian Association for Maritime History. 1983.
  11. ^ Schaflechner, Jürgen (2018). Hinglaj Devi: Identity, Change, and Solidification at a Hindu Temple in Pakistan. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-085052-4.
  12. ^ "PM Modi to take part in Janmashtami event in Bahrain temple on Sunday". Zee News. 2019-08-24. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  13. ^ Tambs-Lyche, Harald (2017-08-09). Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-39396-6.
  14. ^ Singha, H. S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1.
  15. ^ Bhatia, Harbans Singh (1986). Political, Legal, and Military History of India. Deep & Deep Publications.
  16. ^ People of India: Gujarat Part 1, pp 201, 899, By Kumar Suresh Singh, Rajendra Behari Lal, Published by Popular Prakashan, 2003
  17. ^ The Sikhs in History, pp 92, By Sangat Singh, Edition: 2, Published by S. Singh, 1995, Original from the University of Michigan
  18. ^ Punjab (India) (1980). Punjab District Gazetteers: Gurdaspur. Controller of Print. and Stationery.

Further reading

  • Markovits, Claude (2000). The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750 - 1947: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama. Cambridge Studies in Indian History and Society (Book 6). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • O'Brien, Anthony (1996). The Ancient Chronology of Thar: the Bhattika, Laukika and Sindh Eras. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Wink, André (1997). Al-Hind - The Making of the Indo-Islamic World: The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest, 11th - 13th Centuries. Vol. 2. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
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