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Butt (South Asian surname)

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For the English name, see Butt (name).

Butt (Urdu: بٹ) or Bhat (Hindi: भट) is a Kashmiri surname, common among people of Kashmir and Punjab in Pakistan.

Etymology

Historians claim the surname is a distorted form of Bhatta which originates from Sanskrit (भटट) meaning "scholar" according to Brāhmaṇa.[1]

Origins

The Butts were said to be a clan of descendants of intellectual Vedic and Dardic saints that inhabited the banks of the Saraswati River which ran dry around 2000 BC. This forced the community to migrate to Kashmir in search of "ultimate truth". [2] The river was said to run from the Pir Panjal Range in Kashmir down through Punjab and Sindh before emptying out into the Arabian Sea, closely following the path of the Indus River.

Kashmiri Pandits

Butts were known as Kashmiri Pandits which traditionally refers to people within the priestly Brahmin caste of Hinduism and are speculated as being descendants of Saraswat Brahmins, who are mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures as inhabiting the Saraswati River valley, the geographic location of which is unknown.[3] The actual origins of this community and the circumstances of its relocation to the areas that they now inhabit are not fully known. An ancient legend mentions that Parashuram, an avatar of Vishnu, is said to have carved the community out of the five sons of Raja Ratten Sen. Saraswat Brahmins are originally from what is today Kashmir, but can also be traced into Punjab and as far as Sindh in southern Pakistan. They were usually skilled in Sanskrit and Hindu law, religion, music or philosophy. They have the earliest recorded history in Kashmir and have also been mentioned in the Mahabharata.[4] Butts were also followers of Buddhism at various points in time related culturally to the great Gandhar. There culture showed various influences from ancient Vedic, Greek and Kushan cultures. They have contributed greatly to Indian culture through excellence in Sanskrit, mathematics and science.

Conversion to Islam

Islam had swayed over vast territories around Kashmir, and the new faith had made its entry gradually into Kashmir. By the 14th century, Islam gradually became the dominant religion in Kashmir, starting with the conversion in 1323 of Rincana, the first king of a new dynasty from Ladakh. The Muslims and Hindus of Kashmir lived in relative harmony, since the Sufi-Islamic way of life that ordinary Muslims followed in the region complemented the Rishi tradition of Kashmiri Pandits. The famous sufi saint Bulbul Shah was able to persuade the king of the time Rinchan Shah from Ladakh to adopt the Islamic way of life, and the foundation of Sufiana composite culture was laid when Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists were co-existing. Other Kashmiri rulers such as Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, were tolerant of all religions in a manner comparable to Akbar. However, according to Sultãn Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413) and his (former Brahmin) minister Saif ud-Din (Suha Bhat) are often considered the worst of these. According to Indian historians, the scholarly work of Butts were destroyed during the advent of Islam in Kashmir and many Kashmiri Pandits were "forced to convert", although this claim has refused by many Muslims and Butts alike. In the late 18th century during the reign of Emperor Alamgir, many converted to Islam. Today, most Butts are Muslims, although some still practice Hinduism and Christianity.[5]

Migration

Drought of 1800

During 1800, a massive drought swept across Kashmir which caused many in the region to migrate out of the Kashmir Valley, and south of the Jehlum River into what is today upper Punjab, primarily in Pakistan. Those which migrated mainly entered into agriculture and by the 1820s, after the drought had passed, many of the Kashmiri immigrants returned to the Kashmir Valley. Some, however, remained in Punjab as they had settled comfortably. Some chose to continue migrating southwards, eventually settling in the old city of Lahore mainly at Delhi gate and Bhatti gate.[6]

Partition

A second migration occurred during partition, where a vast majority were forced out of Kashmir into upper Punjab during the reign of Hira Singh Dogra and during the reign of Maharaja Hari Singh. By 1931, Muslim agitation started against Hari Singh because his policies and reforms were discriminatory against Muslims. The Maharaja intended to exploit the Kashmir issue and was not willing for the state to accede unconditionally to either Pakistan or India. The situation deteriorated in October, 1947 when in Jammu, Hindu and Sikh militants slaughtered thousands of Muslims. Almost the entire Muslim population of 500,000 was eliminated. 200,000 were murdered and the rest fled to Pakistan.[7]

Culture

Like other Kashmiri families, the social structure is based on the extended family. However the wider kinship network of biraderi and how it impacts on relations and mobilization is equally important. The extended family is of fundamental importance as a unit of decision making and with respect to the relations of its members with wider society. The institution of biraderi – which means brotherhood in a relatively loose sense – provides a useful collective framework for promoting mutual well-being. This is achieved through help and co-operation in social, economic and political spheres and it reinforces a sense of belonging and collective self-assurance.[8]

Lanugages

Butts today are mainly trilingual, speaking Urdu, Koshur and Punjabi. Koshur is a unique language spoken mainly in the Kashmir Valley. Koshur can also be referred to as a "culture" which differs greatly from other non-Kashmiris in neighbouring Mirpur, Poonch and Jammu. Many Koshur speaking Kashmiris settled in upper and central Punjab from 1800 onwards because of famine and bad social and economic conditions due to foreign occupation by the Sikhs. Butts today have adopted Punjabi culture but identify themselves as ethnic Kashmiris.

Butts are closely related to other Kashmiri tribes and clans. The Mir family are a sub caste of Butts and are predominantly found in Kotli and Khuiratta, Azad Kashmir who fled the Kashmir Valley during the 1800 drought. Dar, Lone, Khawaja and Sheikhs are also Kashmiri tribes and clans which are closely related to Butts.

Geographical distribution

The geographical distribution of the Butts.[9]

Prominent Butts

Academics

Activists

Arts

  • Ahmed Butt, male Pakistani model and actor
  • Ambreen Butt, female Pakistani model
  • Asim Butt, Pakistani painter and sculptor and a member of the Stuckist Art Movement
  • Asma Butt, female Pakistani model
  • Maria Butt, Pakistani fashion designer

Military

Musicians

Politicians

Scientists

Sports

  • Arif Butt, former Pakistan international cricket player
  • Ayaz Butt, chairman of KRL FC football club
  • Asim Butt, Scottish cricket player
  • Hafiz Salman Butt, chairman of Wohaib FC football club
  • Ijaz Butt, current chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and former Pakistan international cricket player
  • Muhammad Sharif Butt, represented Pakistan in Track and Field at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London
  • Rehan Butt, former Pakistani field hockey player
  • Salman Butt, Pakistan international cricket player
  • Sadia Butt, Pakistani women international cricket player
  • Yasir Butt, professional squash player who represented Pakistan
  • Shujauddin Butt, a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 19 Test Cricket matches from 1954 to 1962
  • Yaqoob Butt, a Canadian-born Danish footballer playing for Herlev IF and the Pakistan National Football Team

Television and Film

  • Mudasir Butt, Pakistani TV anchor
  • Dr. Muhammad Younis Butt, a Pakistani television director
  • Hafiz Afzal Butt, President of The Islamabad Journalist Association and Secretary of The National Press Club (Islamabad)

References

  1. ^ For definition of ब्राह्मण brāhmaṇa, with last syllable showing a Vedic accent, used as a noun as "m. (having to do with Brahman or divine knowledge), one learned in the Veda, theologian, priest, Brāhman, man of the first four castes"; and definition of ब्राह्मण brāhmaṇa, with only first syllable showing a Vedic accent, used as an adjective as "a. (i) belonging to a Brāhman, Brāhmanic", see: Macdonell 1924, p. 199.
  2. ^ http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=QpjKpK7ywPIC&pg=PA365&lpg=PA365&dq=History+of+kashmir+and+its+people&source=bl&ots=-RI_8tLrab&sig=8d9tzPeeB5lAjaq9RZqzYO8QydA&hl=en&ei=ab9pSobcB46PkAXutZW4Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6
  3. ^ For definition of the neuter noun brahman (with Vedic accent on first syllable) as "n. the class of men who are the repositories and communicators of sacred knowledge, the Bramānical caste as a body (rarely an individual Brāhman)"; and the masuline noun brahman (with Vedic accent on final syllable) as "one who prays, a devout or religious man, a Brāhman who is a knower of Vedic texts or spells, one versed in sacred knowledge", see: MW, pp. 737-738.
  4. ^ For definition of the noun ब्राह्मणः brāhmaṇaḥ as "1. A man belonging to the first of the four classes (varṇas instead of castes in Apte's Skt-Hindi dictionary) of the Hindus, a Brāhmaṇa(priest) (born from the mouth of the Purusha)"; and the adjective ब्राह्मण brāhmaṇa as "a. 1. Belonging to a Brāhmaṇa", and other meanings, see: Apte 1965, p. 707 ,Apte 1966, p. 724-25 ; on p.901 of the latter, Apte gave one of the meanings of varṇa as caste but qualified it with a statement :"mainly people of four varṇas of brāhmaṇa (scholars,priests), kṣatriya (warriors), vaiśya (merchants), śudra (artisans)", and did not permit use of the term varṇa for any caste other than these four.
  5. ^ A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and Northwest Provinces, compiled by H.A. Rose, Vol II, Page 98
  6. ^ http://www.sam.gov.tr/perceptions/Volume9/June-August2004/hilali.pdf
  7. ^ Barry Buzan and Gowher Rizvi, South Asian Insecurity and the Great Powers, p. 98.
  8. ^ Diasporic Communities and Identity Formation:
  9. ^ Alan Campbell Johnson, Mission with Mountbatten (London: Robert Hale, 1952), pp. 357­-358.
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