Sardar

Sardar (Persian: سردار, pronounced [sɐrdaːr]) is a title of Persian origin, used for military or political leaders.

The word's cognate in Persian, Sardâr, means commander. Literally sar means "head" while dâr means "holder" in Persian. Thus, the term Sardar may also mean a military or political leader, comparable to the English chieftain.

In Pakistan, the leaders of Balochi, Kashmiri, Pashtun, Punjabi, Seraiki, Sindhi tribes and clans have the title Sardar.

In India, Sardar means a Leader. While calling a "Sardar", often the suffix -ji is added to the word to denote respect, resulting in the word "Sardarji". This word may convey several meanings, often associated with military authority.

Military uses

In the colonial era, the title Sirdar or Sardar applied to native nobles in British India, e.g. the sirdars of the Deccan. Sirdar Bahadur was an Indian military distinction.
Sirdar was the official title of the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Egyptian army.
In many Indian languages, Sardar means an army chieftain (who may have been granted a Jagir).

Ruler title

Marathas - Royal Kshtriya community in Maharashtra, India possess "Sardar" title which means "Knight/ Head of the Army / Ruler of Small Kingdom" and it is prestigious among them.

A few princely states in South Asia, notably in Punjab, have been ruled by a prince styled Sardar or Gujjar Sardar:

Kalsia (Sikh *) - the last incumbent became Raja in 1917
Kapurthala - the third Sardar assumed the style Raja; later styles, again higher, were Raja-i Rajgan and finally Maharaja
The title, Serdar, is also common amongst Ottomans to refer to commander-in-chief (of an army). The Serbs adopted it from the Ottomans (e.g. Serdar Janko Vukotić).

Sikhism

In Sikhism, every man is expected to lead and Sardar also means leader. In India Sardar refers to a man who has a beard, hair and covers their hair with a turban since the leader or the head (Sardar) of the group usually wears a turban. Although this is used respectively for Sikh men, (Sardar) the actual titles in Punjab are held by feudal landlords often belonging to prosperous clans with their ancestors being chieftains.

In Punjabi, the word often refers to a male follower of the Sikh faith. Sikhism was founded by Guru Gobind Singh (the Tenth Guru or Spiritual or religious leader) of the Sikhs). The word Sardar in Sikhism actually means Sirdaar or a person with unshorn head or hair. It also means a person who is a leader, leading his own life on the path shown by his 10 Gurus and the 11th, immortal Guru; the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

Other uses

Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Deputy Prime Minister of Independent India was referred to as Sardar Patel, or "Sardar" for short; he is also known as 'Iron Man' of India.
In Maratha Kshatriya Community, the royal army head is referred as "Sardar" which is equivalent to Knight. Many of the Maratha Community members possess this honorable title. It indicates royalness as well as brave martiality.
Sardar was the name of the famous horse gifted to former American First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy by Pakistani president Ayub Khan in Lahore in 1962.
Males of the Sikh faith in India are called Sardar-ji, (similar to effendi in Turkish). Sikhs often use Sardar as prefix to their name instead of Mister, e.g. Sardar Surjit Singh.
Historically, Sardar was long used for important political, tribal, military and religious officers including the families of the Sikh principalities.
In the local language of Kashmir (mainly in the small province of Sudhnati), Sardar is used to refer to the descendants of King Ahmad Shah Durrani. Also in Poonch families are used sardar in the start of their names like douli and sudan,s.
In mountaineering, specifically in the Himalayas of Nepal and Pakistan, the Sirdar or Sardar is the local, native leader of the Sherpas and porters.^[1] Among other things, he takes note of the heights reached by individual Sherpas, which affects the amounts the Sherpas will be paid.
HMS Sirdar, a World War II Royal Navy submarine.
"Siridar" is part of the title of planetary rulers in Frank Herbert's Dune. The Padishah Emperor's elite troops are also called the Sardaukar
In Hazara Division of Pakistan the word Sardar is used by the Karlal tribe before their name, like Sardar Haiderzaman (District Nazim Abbottabad).^{[clarification needed]}

Derived and compound ranks and titles

In Turkish the style Serdar or Serdar i Ekrem was the title of the Commander in Chief in several military operations thorughout the Ottoman Empire history.
In Persian the style Sardar or Sardar i Bozorg was the title of Hosein Qoli Khan Qajar (Sardari Iravani) and his brother Hasan Khan Qajar (Sardari Iravani) the Chief in Command of Fath Ali Shah Qajar in the Russo-Persian wars, 1807-1828.
In Persian, the style Sardar i-Azam ("Supreme Sardar") was occasionally used as an alternative title for the Shahanshah's Head of government, normally styled Vazir i-Azam, notably in 1904-06 for a Qajar prince, Major-General H.R.H. Shahzada Sultan 'Abdu'l Majid Mirza .
In the Afghan kingdom, recipients of the original Nishan-i-Sardari "Order of the Leader", founded by King Amanullah in 1923, as a reward for exceptional services to state and crown, conferred by the King on his own initiative, enjoyed the titles of Sardar-i-Ala 'the most high leader' or Sardar-i-Ali (first viz. second class) before their names and received grants of land, until the order was made obsolete in 1929 (no longer when later revived by King Muhammad Zahir Shah).
In Afghanistan, Sardar-i-Salar meant Field Marshal.
Sadar-i-Riyasat was the title of one Constitutional Head of State of the princely state of Kashmir, Yuvaraj Shri Karan Singhji Bahadur, who was appointed as Heir Apparent on 11 May 1931 and (after his father had acceded to India, ending the sovereign Monarchy) Regent 20 June 1949 to 31 October 1956, Sardar-i-Riyasat 1 November 1956 to 9 April 1965 (succeeded on the death of his father as Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, 26 April 1961, no longer carrying any hereditary power), next Governor of the Indian constitutive State of Jammu and Kashmir 10 April 1965 to 15 March 1967.

In Kurdistan Sardar is a common name. Literally sar means "head" while dâr means "tree or branch" in Kurdish and thus, meaning a leader or commander.

Baluchistan

In Baluchistan title Saradar is for the chief of his tribe. Twelve Sardars make one Nawab which means if a Saradr have twelve Sardars under him then it makes him Nawab.

Notes

^ Sayre, Woodrow Wilson (1964). Four Against Everest. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall. p. 223. Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 64-15208. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
The Royal Ark Genealogies- here Persia, see every present country
Kasur Profile
Article in Dawn

[1] Sayre, Woodrow Wilson (1964). Four Against Everest. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall. p. 223. Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 64-15208. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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