jat community

[Guest guest]

Dear Colleagues on the Indology List:

 

I recently came across an article in "India Abroad" newspaper which recounts

several horrible tales of caste discrimination. It is entitled "World

Meeting on Racism Ignores Caste Discrimination" (sept. 7, 2001).

 

In this article, it is said that, in early August, an "upper caste" Brahmin

boy and a girl from a "lower caste" Jat community were dragged to a rooftop

in village in UP and publicly hanged because of their refusal to end an

intercaste relationship.

 

First of all, can anyone tell me about the frequency of such incidents?

Second of all, can anyone give me some detail about the caste (could we

translate "jati" for caste) of the Jats? Can they be classified as farmers

and therefore under the Vais'ya varn.a?

 

Thanks,

 

Lynken Ghose

Mt. Allison University

 

_______________

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[Guest guest]

Lynken Ghose wrote:

 

> I recently came across an article in "India Abroad" newspaper which

recounts

> several horrible tales of caste discrimination. It is

entitled "World

> Meeting on Racism Ignores Caste Discrimination" (sept. 7, 2001).

>

> In this article, it is said that, in early August, an "upper caste"

Brahmin

> boy and a girl from a "lower caste" Jat community were dragged to a

rooftop

> in village in UP and publicly hanged because of their refusal to

end an

> intercaste relationship.

 

I suspect there was something more in the story which did not get

reported. The news did report that they were hanged by members of

their own families, and everyone on the village supported the hanging.

 

First, Jats are considered fairly high caste in the region where they

dominate. Note that Jats are not dalit. In fact there have been cases

reported where the higher caste was Jat. In 1988 there was an

incident reported where a girl was higher caste Jat "in love with"

two "untouchable" boys.

 

Regarding the 2001 news, it seems very odd that a Brahmin family

would agree to get their son hanged. In India, illicit sex is

considered very unacceptable. But it is primarily the girl, whose

reputation is tarnished, and it would be her family which would be

humiliated.

 

The normal reaction of the parents of a Brahmin boy in such a case

would be to try to keep such a relationship secret. In the worst

case, the boy would be thrown out of the family, and perhaps the

brahmin community. Why would they agree to get their son lynched?

 

Incidentally the Jats are a very large and influencial community,

they dominate the political scene in Punjab, Haryana, UP and and also

have significant influence in Rajasthan.

 

Yashwant

[Guest guest]

Lynken Ghose wrote:

 

> Second of all, can anyone give me some detail about the caste

>(could we translate "jati" for caste) of the Jats? Can they be

>classified as farmers and therefore under the Vais'ya varn.a?

 

The 4-division varna system, for all practical purposes, is

meaningless today.

 

Orthodox scholars would say that any community, which has not

traditionally received the sacred thread, is shudra. However

most farmers would say that they are kshatriyas.

 

It has been said that Jats are descendants of the Yadavas.

There are some Jat jamindar families that claim descent from

Rajputs. Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, a jat, had wives

from Rajput hill chief families, suggesting that he was

accepted as an equal.

 

There are a few books on the Jat community. I have "History of Origin

of Some Clans in India with special reference to Jats" by Mangal Sen

Jindal (ISBN 81-85341-08-6). The analysis is perhaps not very

scholarly, but it is a nice compilation.

 

Yashwant

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, ymalaiya wrote:

> The 4-division varna system, for all practical purposes, is

> meaningless today.

>

> Orthodox scholars would say that any community, which has not

> traditionally received the sacred thread, is shudra. However

> most farmers would say that they are kshatriyas.

 

The Southern situation:

Historically, Tamil castes were not into the varNa scheme.

In the British rule, with the occupancy of most Govt. jobs

by Brahmins, and in the new cities like Madras, the shuudra-brahmin

distinction becomes wider. All castes were shuudras, except brahmins.

 

The Saiva mutt heads, (Darumapuram, Tiruvavaduthurai,

Tiruppanandal) - some holding 7000-10000 acres and several

temples, were velalas. The vELALas patronized some compilations

from agamas and published them. Whether the pontiffs

can ride a palanquin, whether they are fit to receive diksha etc.,

See my old posting:

http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-shl/WA.EXE?A2=ind9812&L=indology&P=R5157

 

The British colonial rulers' census operations brought

some problems when the varNa system gains ascendancy in the British

rule. Eg., One caste that made into Hindu high caste

from low status is Nadars. Traditionally toddy-tappers,

they transformed into a major trading caste. When Christian

missionaries were converting them in large numbers, some

well-to-do Nadars claimed that they are Aryans.

 

The million dollar question, Who is shudra? and Southern efforts

to run from the characterization can be studied from

agamas, both shaiva and srivaishnava.

http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-shl/WA.EXE?A2=ind9703&L=indology&P=R7496

 

The Liberals funded a 800+ page compilation, varuNakulacintAmaNi

(The nationalist poet C. Subramania Bharatiyar, among others,

wrote a foreword poem to it) saying that velalas are vaishyas.

But conservatives among velalas and brahmins wrote counter arguments

to this, and a lot of polemics in press, courts, ensued about 100

years ago.

 

Regards,

N. Ganesan

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, ymalaiya wrote:

> Lynken Ghose wrote:

>

> > Second of all, can anyone give me some detail about the caste

> >(could we translate "jati" for caste) of the Jats? Can they be

> >classified as farmers and therefore under the Vais'ya varn.a?

>

> The 4-division varna system, for all practical purposes, is

> meaningless today.

>

> Orthodox scholars would say that any community, which has not

> traditionally received the sacred thread, is shudra. However

> most farmers would say that they are kshatriyas.

>

> It has been said that Jats are descendants of the Yadavas.

> There are some Jat jamindar families that claim descent from

> Rajputs. Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, a jat, had wives

> from Rajput hill chief families, suggesting that he was

> accepted as an equal.

>

> There are a few books on the Jat community. I have "History of

Origin

> of Some Clans in India with special reference to Jats" by Mangal

Sen

> Jindal (ISBN 81-85341-08-6). The analysis is perhaps not very

> scholarly, but it is a nice compilation.

>

> Yashwant

 

 

There are other ( more thought out ) books and versions too.

 

See among others :

 

Jats - the ancient rulers - BS Dahiya, Sterling, New Delhi

 

The Jats : Origins, antiquities and migrations Dr. Hukam singh Pauria

 

Jat Ithihaas Thakur Deshraj

 

Jat Viron ka ithihas _ V S Ahlawat.

 

and many others.

 

The Jats did not accept the Varna system or the superiority of

Orthodox Brahminism.

 

It is also incorrect to make sweeping statements that they are

descendants of Rajputs or Yadhavas.

 

The above writers trace them and their gotras to antiquity, and there

are considerable arguments as to origins, some think they are

autochons to India, and some trace them from central asia.

 

The clans names( gotras) of the Jats, Rajputs,are basically the same.

 

one hypothesis is : that the lower or caste status was assigned by

orthodox writers as a form of denigration for their not accepting the

orthodox hindhuism, when Hinduism as we know is was being revived 7th

8th century.

 

Those who did so accept , were called Rajputs.

 

Regards

 

Ravi Chaudhary