Bhat
Bhat (Template:Lang-sa, Template:Lang-ur , Gurmukhi: ਭੱਟ), also spelled as Butt (Pahari: بٹ),[1][2] both of which are a shortened rendition of Bhatta (Template:Lang-sa), also spelled Bhatt (Template:Lang-sa, Template:Lang-ur), [2][3] is a common surname in the Indian subcontinent. The Bhatta surname is associated with the Brahmin varna (caste) of Hinduism,[4] however, large number of Muslims retained the surname after their conversion to Islam from Hinduism.[1]
Etymology
Historians state the surname is a distorted form of Bhatta, which originates from Sanskrit (भटट), meaning "scholar" according to the Brāhmaṇa.[5] While the original shortened rendition of "Bhatta" was "Bhat" or "Bhatt,"[3] many of the migrants to the Punjab region started spelling their surname as "But" or "Butt" which is the spelling of the clan used in the Pahari language.[6][7]
Geographic distribution
Nepal
Hindu Bhattas who reside in Nepal and speak Nepali language and Doteli language are mostly found in the Mahakali zone of Sudurpashchim Pradesh,Nepal. Some Nepali Bhattas are also found from the Gorkha district of Nepal. However, due to migration of people for opportunities nowdays, Bhattas can be found in different parts of Nepal.
Goa
The surname is in use among some Konkani Christians who trace their ancestry to the Goud Saraswat Brahmins of Goa.[4]
Karnataka
This is a common surname among the Tuluva Brahmins, Goud Saraswat Brahmins and Havyaka Brahmins of Karnataka.
Kashmir
Bhat, also spelled as Butt, is a Kashmiri surname, found among individuals native to the Kashmir Valley, as well as Kashmiri émigrés who have migrated to the Punjab,[1][8] a region divided between India and neighbouring Pakistan.[6] Many such Muslim Kashmiris migrated to the Punjab in the late 19th century due to natural disasters.[9][2][3] The surname is shared by both Kashmiri Hindus and Muslims.[10][11]
Punjab
Some Muslim Bhats/Butts found in the Punjab migrated from Kashmir and Jammu during the 1878 famine,[6][7] and are Brahmin Hindu converts to Islam.[1][2] Many such Muslim Kashmiris migrated to the Punjab in the late 19th century due to natural disasters and oppression at the hands of the Rajput Dogra Hindu rulers of Kashmir.[9]
Gujarat
Hindu Bhatts who speak the Gujarati language reside in the Indian state.
Notable individuals
Academics
- B. V. Rajarama Bhat, Indian mathematician
- Miriam Butt, Professor of Linguistics and Chair of the Department of Linguistics (Facereich Sprachwissenschaft) at the University of Konstanz
- Muhammad Asim Butt, Pakistani Urdu novelist, short story writer
- Motiram Bhatta, Nepali Sanskrit and Khas language poet
- P. Gururaja Bhat, Indian archaeologist
- Pamposh Bhat, Kashmiri Indian environmentalist
- Rasheed Butt, renowned Pakistani artist and recipient of "The Pride of Performance" 1989
- Shyam Bhat, physician
- Suresh Bhat, Marathi Indian ghazal writer
- U. Narayan Bhat, Indian mathematician
- U. R. Bhat, economist
- Vasanti N. Bhat-Nayak, Indian mathematician
- Vinay Bhat, Indian American chess player
- Aryabhata, Indian mathematician, astronomer
Actors, models and musicians
- Ahmed Butt, male Pakistani model and actor
- Ahmed Ali Butt, Pakistani actor and member of rock band Entity Paradigm
- Ali Azmat Butt, Pakistani rock artist, and former lead singer of rock band Junoon
- Alia Bhatt, Bollywood actress
- Ambreen Butt, Pakistani model
- Anuradha Bhat, Indian playback singer
- Asha Bhat, Indian model
- Asim Butt, Pakistani painter and sculptor and a member of the Stuckist Art Movement
- Biraj Bhatta, Nepalese actor
- DJ Butt, Pakistani disc jockey for PTI
- Farhan Saeed Butt, Pakistani singer and member of rock band Jal
- Imran Imtiaz Butt, Pakistani singer
- Ganapati Bhat, Hindustani classical vocalist
- Hrishitaa Bhatt, Indian model
- Mahesh Bhatt, Indian film producer and director
- Muhammad Younis Butt, Pakistani screenwriter
- Pooja Bhatt, Indian actress
- Praneet Bhat, Kashmiri Indian actor
- Rabia Butt, Pakistani model
- Rahul Bhat, Kashmiri Indian actor
- Ramesh Bhat, Indian actor
- Samina Peerzada Butt, Pakistani actress
- Shubhraj Bhat, Indian actor
- Yogaraj Bhat, Indian film writer and director
- Osman Khalid Butt, Pakistani actor
Businesspeople
- Baiju Bhatt (born 1984/1985), American billionaire, co-founder of Robinhood
Military
- Muhammad Zaki Butt, former Air Commodore in the Pakistan Air Force and bodyguard of Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- Ziauddin Butt, former Chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence
- Tahir Rafique Butt, 20th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force
- Malik Tazi Bhat, 15th century Warlord, from Jammu, who fought Lodhi Dynasty
Politics
- Ghulam Mustafa Bhat, former Mayor of Srinagar
- Hassan Butt, former spokesman for the disbanded British Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun
- Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif, First Lady of Pakistan, wife of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, of Kashmiri origin
- Khemraj Bhatta "Mayalu", Nepali Congress politician
- Lekh Raj Bhatta, Nepali CPN Maoist politician
- Masarat Alam Bhat, Kashmiri separatist
- Maqbool Bhat, executed Kashmiri separatist
- Sohail Shaukat Butt, Pakistani politician
- Trilochan Bhatta, Nepalese politician and current Chief Minister of Sudurpashchim Pradesh, Nepal
- Umer Tanveer Butt, a young politician and Member of Punjab Provincial Assembly, businessman and philanthropist
- Shakeel Bhat, outspoken Kashmiri separatist activist, labelled as "Islamic Rage Boy" by Western media
- S. L. Bhat, Kashmiri Indian serving as the Chairman of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission
- Balaji Vishwanath Bhat, Peshwa of the Maratha Empire
Scientists
- Noor Muhammad Butt, Pakistani nuclear physicist, research scientist and chairman of Pakistan Science Foundation
- Parvez Butt, Pakistani nuclear engineer and former chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
- Atul Butte, researcher in biomedical informatics and biotechnology entrepreneur in Silicon Valley
Sports
- Amad Butt, Pakistani cricket player for Islamabad United, of Kashmiri origin
- Arif Butt, Pakistani cricket player
- Arvind Bhat, Indian badminton player
- Abhishek Bhat, Indian cricket player
- Ijaz Butt, former Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board and cricket player, of Kashmiri origin
- Muhammad Sharif Butt, Pakistani sprinter
- Pramila Bhatt, Indian cricketer
- Raghuram Bhat, Indian cricketer
- Rehan Butt, Pakistani field hockey player
- Samad Bhat, Kashmiri Indian cricket player
- Salman Butt, Pakistani cricketer
- Sadia Butt, Pakistani cricketer
- Shujauddin Butt, Pakistani cricketer
- The Great Gama, Pakistani wrestler
- Yasir Butt, Pakistani squash player
- Yousuf Butt, Pakistani footballer
See also
References
- ^ a b c d The Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India. The Survey. 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
The But/Butt of Punjab were originally Brahmin migrants from Kashmir during 1878 famine.
- ^ a b c d The quarterly journal of the Mythic society (Bangalore)., Volume 96. The Society. 2005. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
Even today most common family name in Kashmir is Butt, a distortion of Bhatt, a Hindu surname common amongst the Brahmins in India.
- ^ a b c Saligram Bhatt (2008). Kashmiri Scholars Contribution to Knowledge and World Peace. ISBN 9788131304020. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
Bhat {Bhatt}, surnames are found in Uttaranchal, Northern Belt, Central and Western parts of the country and is a surname of sizeable Brahmins in Konkan, Maharashtra and Gujarat; where they had migrated in sizeable strength. Bhatta's who migrated to Gauda {Bengal} were called Acharaya's {Scholars} and thus Bhattacharaya's. In Nepal they became priests, ardent worshippers of Bhadrakali and spread Kali worship; mostly around Pashupatinath Temple. In Uttaranchal they became Purohit {Priestly} class, adopted surname Purohit, many changed profession but retained Bhatt surname. In northern plains, few became Bhatta's, many Bhatt's; in both cases Purohit {Priestly} class. In Central and Western parts, strict requirements of a Bhatta {Purohit} could not be sustained and to indicate their Brahmin roots they opted for surname only. Thus Bhatta and Purohit are surnames of the same category. Bhatta has a shortened version, Bhat {Bhatt}; referring to the same class of people. Surname Bhat {Bhatt} in Kas'mira can also be traced to short form of Bhatta. In Kas'mira, Bhatta honorific has been associated with many personalities, scholars of 9th and 10th centuries, scriptures and specific in many cases in 14th century and later.
- ^ a b Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians, Alan Machado Prabhu, I.J.A. Publications, 1999, p. 137
- ^ 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 .
- ^ a b c The Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India, Volume 52. The Survey. 2003. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
The But/Butt of Punjab were originally Brahmin migrants from Kashmir during 1878 famine.
- ^ a b P.K. Kaul (2006). Pahāṛi and other tribal dialects of Jammu, Volume 1. Eastern Book Linkers. ISBN 9788178541013. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
The But/Butt of Punjab were originally Brahmin migrants from Kashmir during 1878 famine.
- ^ Explore Kashmiri Pandits. Dharma Publications. ISBN 9780963479860. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ a b Bahl, Arvin (2007). From Jinnah to Jihad: Pakistan's Kashmir Quest and the Limits of Realism. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 76. ISBN 9788126907212.
- ^ Parvéz Dewân (January 2004). Parvéz Dewân's Jammû, Kashmîr, and Ladâkh: Kashmîr. Manas Publications. ISBN 9788170491798. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
This is a surname shared by Hindus and Muslims.
- ^ Sharma, Usha (1 January 2001). Political development in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Radha Publications. ISBN 9788174870629. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
Surnames like 'Bhatt' and 'Pandit' are common to both Hindus and Muslims.