[Y-Indology] jat community

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Yashwant and Indology:

 

 

My responses are below.

 

 

> > 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.

 

 

I heard something different. I heard that the varna system was still pretty

meaningful in the North (i.e. that there are jatis assigned to all 4

varnas), but in the South most jatis are either Sudra or Brahmin.

 

 

>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.

 

 

>From what I understand, the Yadavas are one of the tribes mentioned in the

Rg Veda, but what was their varna?

 

 

>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.

 

 

Thanks for your help. Does anyone know the following 2 questions. Does Dalit

come from the Sanskrit root dal+? Where are musicians usually placed in the

varna system? It is my understanding that artisans in the South are usually

considered to be Sudra.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Lynken Ghose

 

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