Khatri is a
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...
of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...
that is predominantly found in
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, but also in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade,
they were the dominant commerical & financial administration class of Late-Medieval India
some in Punjab often belonged to hereditary agriculturalist land-holding lineages,
others were engaged in artisanal occupations such as silk production and weaving
while some were scribes learned in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
and
Persian too
During the British colonial era, they also served as lawyers and engaged in administrative jobs in the colonial bureaucracy. Some of them served in the
British Indian army after being raised as Sikhs.
The
Sikh religion was founded by
Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated ...
, a Bedi Khatri. Subequently, all the Sikh religious leaders or Gurus were Khatris. During the
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore ...
, many Khatris formed the military vanguard of the
Khalsa Army and it's administrative class as
Dewans of all the provinces.
Hari Singh Nalwa, the commander-in-chief of the
Sikh Khalsa Army, was an Uppal Khatri and responsible for most of the Sikh conquests uptill the
Khyber pass
The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversi ...
. Others such as
Mokham Chand commanded the Sikh Army against the
Durrani Empire at Attock while those such as
Sawan Mal Chopra ruled
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the olde ...
after wrestling it from the Afghans.
Khatris have played an active role in the
Indian Armed Forces since 1947, with many heading it as the
Chief of Army or
Admiral of the Navy. Some such as
Vikram Batra and
Arun Khetarpal have won India's highest wartime gallantry award, the
Param Vir Chakra.
During the
Partition of British India in 1947, many Khatris migrated to India from the regions that comprise modern-day Pakistan.
Hindu Afghans and
Sikh Afghans are predominantly of Khatri and
Arora origin.
Etymology
The word ''Khatri'' in the
Hindi Language
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has bee ...
comes from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
word "''Kshatriya"'' according to the Śabdasāgara Lexicon by Shyamasundara Dasa According to
B. N. Puri, philologists agree that the terms "Khatri" and "Kshatriya" are synonymous. The Sanskrit conjunct Ksha (क्ष) turns into the Prakrit Kha (ख) as per the grammarian
Vararuchi.
This change is not only accepted in Prakrit but in all Indian vernaculars derived by it such as Gujarati, Urdu, Gurumukhi as well as Persian. For example, Sanskrit words kshetra, kshama, laksha, iksha turns into kheta, khama, lakha and ikha respectively. The substituition of Ri (ऋ) from Riya is also witnessed in case of Hindi. Hence, the change from Kshatriya to Khatri is in consonance with the Prakrit rule and Hindi usage. The same is also testified by scholars
R. G. Bhandarkar and
Shapurji Edulji.
Purnima Dhavan sees the claim as originating from a conflation of the phonetically similar words khatri and kshatriya, but refers to Khatris as a "trading caste" of the Sikh Gurus.
As per historian
W. H. McLeod
William Hewat McLeod (1932–2009; also Hew McLeod) was a New Zealand scholar who helped establish Sikh Studies as a distinctive field.J.S. Grewal (2010), ''W.H. McLeod and Sikh Studies'', Journal of Punjab Studies, 17 (2010): 1-2, pages 115–1 ...
and Louis Fenech, Khatri is a Punjabi form of the word Kshatriya.
Peter Hardy and
A. R. Desai also agree that Khatri is derived from Kshatriya. Despite the etymology, Hardy says that Khatri is "a mercantile class" and Desai says the Khatris were "traditionally tradesmen and government officials".
Dr. Dharamvir Bharati comments that in Punjabi language, Kshatriya is pronounced as Khatri. As per Dr. GS Mansukhani and RC Dogra, "Khatri appears to be unquestionably a Prakritised form of Sanskrit word Kshatriya." According to philologist
Ralph Lilley Turner, the Punjabi word "''khattrī''", meaning "warrior", derives from Sanskrit "''kṣatriya''", whereas the Gujarati word "''khātrī''", meaning "a caste of Hindu weavers", derives from Sanskrit "''kṣattr̥''", meaning "carver, distributor".
Many Khatris use this etymology to claim that they are Kshatriyas. However, most scholars dispute these claims.
John Stratton Hawley and Mann clarify that although the word "Khatri" derives from the word "Kshatriya", in Punjab's context Khatri refers to a "cluster of merchant castes including Bedis, Bhallas and Sodhis".
Early history
Ancient Greek accounts from historians
that accompanied
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
to Punjab mention a tribe called the ''Kathaioi'' whose territory lay from east of the Hydraotes (
Ravi Ravi may refer to:
People
* Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director
* Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist
* Ravi (music director) (1926 ...
) but between the Hydarpes (
Jhelum) & Akesines (
Chenab) and whose capital was ''Sagala'' (
Sialkot
Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Kas ...
). They were described as a powerful nation who resisted Alexander's advance.
Arrian
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; )
was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period.
'' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
in the
Anabasis (VI.15) mentions the ''Khathrois of Punjab (χάθροις - Khathrois),'' whose territory lay between the
Indus & Chenab.
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...
writing in the 2nd century AD refers again to another tribe called the ''Khatriaoi'' to whom belong cities lying east & west of the Indus.
Baij Nath Puri mentions that the modern descendants of these ''Kathaiois, Khathrois & Khatriaoi'' tribes mentioned by the Greeks in West Punjab are the Khatris of India. According to
S. Sasikanta Sastri, Greek historians have mentioned that Alexander faced stiffed resistance from Indian army of "Kathiyo" warriors. Sastri further adds that "even in present day modern-India, a group of martial caste members called Khati (Khatri) exist in
North-India".
Michael Witzel
Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–80).
Wi ...
, writing in his paper "''Sanskritization of the Kuru State"'' states the ''Kathaiois'' were Kaṭha
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
s.
Trans-regional trading history
The Khatris played an important role in India's trans-regional trade during the period, being described by Levi as among the "most important merchant communities of early modern India."
Levi writes : "
Stephen Dale
Stephen Frederic Dale, also known as Stephen F. Dale, is a historian and academic, Emeritus Professor at the Ohio State University, known for his studies on eastern Islamic world (southern and central Asia).Freitag, Sandria B. ''The Journal of Asi ...
locates Khatris in
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
during the late 17th century and, in the 1830s,
Elphinstone, was informed that Khatris were still highly involved in northwest India's trade and that they maintained communities throughout
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
and as far away as
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of ...
"".
According to Kiran Datar, they often married
Tatar local women in Astrakhan and the children from these marriages were known as ''Agrijan.'' As per Stephen Dale, the children born out of Indo-Turkic alliance was sufficient to form an Agrizhan suburb in the city.
Historian
Stephen Dale
Stephen Frederic Dale, also known as Stephen F. Dale, is a historian and academic, Emeritus Professor at the Ohio State University, known for his studies on eastern Islamic world (southern and central Asia).Freitag, Sandria B. ''The Journal of Asi ...
states that most of the 10,000 (as estimated by
Jean Chardin) Indian merchants and money-lenders in
Isfahan (Iran) in 1670, belonged to the Khatri caste of Punjab and north-west India. In Iran's
Bazaar's, Khatris sold cloth and various items and also practised money-lending. Dale believes that Khatris had possibly been travelling from Punjab via
caravans since the era of
Ziauddin Barani (around 1300 AD).
Chardin Chardin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, (1699–1779), French painter noted for his still life works
* Jean Chardin, (1643–1713), French jeweller and traveller, author of ''The Trave ...
specifically stereotyped and expressed disapproval of the money-lending techniques of the Khatri community. According to Dale, this racist criticism was ironic given Chardin's non-English background but adds that it was Chardin's way of giving an "ethnic explanation" to the economic disparity between Iran and India at that time.
Theology
According to ''
Bichitra Natak
Bachittar Natak (or Bachitar/Bichittar) (Gurmukhi: ; ''bacitara nāṭaka''; literally 'Resplendent Drama') is from Dasam Granth, ang (page) 94 to ang 175 of the 2326 ang. It is generally attributed to the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
A ...
'', traditionally said to be the autobiography of the last Sikh Guru,
Gobind Singh, but possibly not so, the Bedi sub-caste of the Khatris derives its lineage from
Kush, the son of
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...
(according to Hindu epic ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...
''). Similarly, according to the same legend, the
Sodhi
Sodhi () are landlord people from Khatri or Kshatriyas clan from the Punjab region. Seven of the Sikh Gurus, from Guru Ram Das to Guru Gobind Singh were of Sodhi surname.
In the Bachittar Natak Guru Gobind Singh wrote the origin of Sodhi clan an ...
sub-caste claims descent from
Lav
LAV or Lav may refer to:
Persons
* Lav, an alternative name for Lava (''Ramayana''), a son of the Hindu deity Rama and his wife Sita, whose story is told in the ''Ramayana''
* Lav, translation in some Slavic languages of the name Lev
* Luis A ...
, the other son of Rama.
[The Cosmic Drama: Bichitra Natak, Author Gobind Singh, Publisher Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the U.S.A., 1989 , ]
In
Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the rel ...
, the primary scripture of Sikhism, Khatri is mentioned as one among the four
varnas.
ਖਤ੍ਰੀ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣ ਸੂਦ ਵੈਸ ਉਪਦੇਸੁ ਚਹੁ ਵਰਨਾ ਕਉ ਸਾਝਾ ॥ ''(SGGS, ang 747)''
''Transliteration : "Khatri brahman sud vais updesu cahu varna ku sanjha''"
Translation : Kshatriyas, Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
s, Shudra
Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four ''Varna (Hinduism), varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoret ...
s and Vaishya
Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy.
The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking care ...
s all have the same mandate
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind ...
, said the following in a
swayya :
''"Chattri ko poot ho, Baman ko naheen kayee tap aavat ha jo karon ; Ar aur janjaar jito greh ko tohe tyaag, kahan chit taan mai dharon,''
''Ab reejh ke deh vahey humko jo-oo, hau binti kar jor karoon ; Jab aao ki audh nidaan bane, att hi ran main tab jujh maroon."''
Meaning : I am son of a Chhatri (Khatri), not of a Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
and I will live according to my Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ...
. All other complications of life are meaningless for me, and I set my heart on the path of righteousness. I humbly beseech thee God Almighty that when the time comes for me to fulfill my Dharma, may I die with honour in the field of battle. Translated by Vanit Nalwa
Demographics
Before partition
French traveller
Thevenot visited India during 1600s where he commented "At
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the olde ...
, there is another sort of gentiles whom they call Ca-try, the town is properly their country and from thence they spread all over the Indies." According to Dr. Madhu Tyagi, Thevenot is referring to Hindu Khatri caste here.
The last caste-based census was conducted by the British in 1931 which regarded Khatri and
Arora as a different caste. During 1931, Khatris were prominent in the
West Punjab and
North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP), which is now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).
The Khatris spoke
Hindko and
Potohari
The Indo-Aryan language spoken on the Pothohar Plateau in the far north of Pakistani Punjab, as well as in most of Pakistan's Azad Kashmir and in western areas of India's Jammu and Kashmir, is known by a variety of names, the most common of which ...
language.
Highest percentage concentration of Khatris (excluding Aroras) were in Potohar regions of
Jhelum and
Rawalpindi In NWFP, the Khatris were found mainly in
Peshawer and
Hazara
Hazara may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan
* Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin
* Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan
* Hazar ...
.
Arora-Khatris were centered in
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the olde ...
and
Derajat regions of Punjab and
NWFP.
In the NWFP, the Aroras which are considered a sub-caste of Khatris by some scholars were concentrated in the districts of
Bannu,
Kohat
Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th centur ...
and
Dera Ismail Khan.
The Aroras spoke Jatki language which is the 9th century version of Saraiki (Multani) according to
Ibbetson.
They were also found in Afghanistan at a population of 3,00,000 in 1880. According to a 1800s colonial source referred by
Shah Hanifi, "
Hindki is the name given to Hindus who live in Afghanistan. They are Hindus of Khatri class and are found all over Afghanistan even amongst the wildest tribes. They are wholly occupied in trade and form numerous portion of the population of all the cities and towns, and are also to be found in the majority of large villages."
After partition
Apart from
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, Khatris arrived in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...
and
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...
among other regions after the partition where they make up 9% and 6.5-8.0% of the population respectively.
Clan organisation
Historically, Khatris were divided into various hierarchal
endogamous
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships.
Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
sections. This includes
u''rhai/dhai ghar'', ''char ghar'',
''barah ghar/bahri'' and ''bunjayee or bavanjah ghar'' which translated to House of 2.5, 4, 12 and 52 respectively. They formed the majority of Khatris and were deemed superior. This was followed by Sareen Khatris who formed a minority. Another sub-group of Khatris include
Khukhrain which had split up from the ''bunjayees''.
Medieval history
Emperor
Jahangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ea ...
in his autobiography
Jahangirnama while talking about the castes, he observed "The second highest caste (after Brahmins in the caste system) is the Chhatri which is also known as Khattri. The Chhatri caste's purpose is to protect the oppressed from the aggression of the oppressors".
Benares
According to scholars, the Khatri Hindus dominated the
weaving industry in Benaras. When the first caravan of Muslim weavers arrived in
Benaras, the Khatri, who were considered low-caste Hindus at the time, helped them. The Muslims had to depend on the Khatri weavers because the Muslims found it difficult to interact with the high-caste Hindus directly at the time. Since these new immigrant Muslims were cheap labor, the Khatris took over marketing and thus transited from weavers to traders over time. The Muslims, who learned the technique of
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudin ...
from them, soon came to be known as ''Chira-i-Baaf'' or 'fine cloth weavers'.
Punjab
Historian
Muzaffar Alam describes the Khatris of Punjab as a "scribe and trading caste". They occupied positions in revenue collection and record keeping and learnt
Persian during Mughal era. However, this profession often created conflicts with the Brahmin scribes who discontinued the use of Persian and started using Marathi in the Deccan.
According to McLane, them being a trading group, had spread into many parts of India, possibly long before the 1700s and to Bengal, possibly even before the Mughals arrived.
The most prominent Mughal Khatri noble was
Raja Todar Mal, who was the Finance Minister of the Empire. He introduced an entirely new system of revenue and taxation known as ''zabt'' and ''dahshala'' respectively.
According to a 17th century legend, they continued their military service until the time of
Aurangzeb, when their mass death during the emperor's Deccan Campaign caused him to order their
widows to be remarried. The order was made out of sympathy for the widows but when the Khatri community leaders refused to obey it, Aurangzeb
terminated their military service and said that they should be shopkeepers and brokers.
This legend is probably fanciful: McLane notes that a more likely explanation for their revised position was that a Sikh rebellion against the Mughals in the early 1700s severely compromised the Khatri's ability to trade and forced them to take sides. Those who were primarily dependent on the Mughals went to significant lengths to assert that allegiance in the face of accusations that they were in fact favouring "
Jat Sikh followers of the rebel leader,
Banda
Banda may refer to:
People
*Banda (surname)
*Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician
*Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor
*Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician
*Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh warr ...
". The outcome of their assertions - which included providing financial support to the Mughals and shaving their beards - was that the Khatris became still more important to the Mughal rulers as administrators at various levels, in particular because of their skills in financial management and their connections with bankers.
Khatri standards of literacy and caste status were such during the early years of Sikhism that, according to
W. H. McLeod
William Hewat McLeod (1932–2009; also Hew McLeod) was a New Zealand scholar who helped establish Sikh Studies as a distinctive field.J.S. Grewal (2010), ''W.H. McLeod and Sikh Studies'', Journal of Punjab Studies, 17 (2010): 1-2, pages 115–1 ...
, they dominated it.
Gujarat
Historian Douglas E. Hanes states that the Khatri weavers in Gujarat trace their ancestry to either
Champaner (Bihar) or
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
(Pakistan) and the community genealogists believe that the migration happened during the late sixteenth' century.
Suraiya Faroqhi, writes that, in 1742 Gujarat, the Khatris had protested the immigration of Muslim weavers by refusing to deliver cloth to the East India Company. In another case Khatris taught weaving to
Kunbis due to receiving excessive orders who soon became strong competitors to the Khatris much to their chagrin. In the mid-1770s, the Mughal governor granted the Kunbi rivals rights to manufacture
saris. This licence was later revoked in 1800 due to pressure from the British, after a deal was struck between the Khatris and the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...
, in which the Khatris would weave only for the EIC until certain quotas were met.
The
Gujarat Sultanate
The Gujarat Sultanate (or the Sultanate of Guzerat), was a Medieval Indian kingdom established in the early 15th century in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat, India. The dynasty was founded by Sultan Zafar Khan Mu ...
(1407-1523) was a medieval Muslim dynasty founded by
Zafar Khan Muzaffar, a member of the Tank caste originally from South Punjab. The Tanks have been stated to be Khatris by some scholars, although others have stated the Tanks were Rajputs.,
or even a
Jat He started as a menial but rose to the level of a noble in the
Delhi Sultan's family and became the Governor of Gujrat. After Timur attacked the city, people fled to Gujarat and it became independent.
Bengal
In Bengal,
Burdwan Raj
The Bardhaman Raj ( bn, বর্ধমান রাজ, ), also known as Burdwan Raj, was a ''zamindari'' Raja estate that flourished from about 1657 to 1955 in the Indian state of West Bengal. Maharaja Sangam Rai Kapoor, a Khatri from Kotli ...
(1657-1955) was a Khatri dynasty, which gained a high social position for Khatris in the region resulting in greater migration of Khatris from North to Bengal.
When Guru
Tegh Bahadur visited Bengal in 1666, he was welcomed by the local Khatris, thereby supporting earlier waves of migration of Khatris to Bengal as well.
Afghanistan
According to historians Roger Ballard and
Harjot Oberoi, Afghan Hindus and Sikhs descend from the members of the country's indigenous Khatri population who resisted the conversion from
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
to Islam between 9th and 13th centuries. Later, they aligned themselves to the teachings of Guru Nanak, himself a Khatri and converted to Sikhism. Hence, Khatris of Afghanistan are in no way of "Indian origin" but are components of the original population of the region.
George Campbell says "I do not know the exact limits of Khatri occupation to the West, but certainly in all Eastern Afghanistan they seem to be just as much part of the community as they are in the Punjab. They find their way into Central Asia."
Sikh Empire
The Khatris took on a prominent role in the emerging Sikh milieu of post-Mughal Punjab. According to the Khalsa Durbar Records,
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...
's army was composed of majorly Jats followed by Khatris.
Sardar Gulab Singh Khatri
Sardar Gulab Singh alias Gulaba Singh was the founder of Dallewalia Misl, one of the Sovereign state, sovereign states of the Dal Khalsa, Sikh confederacy that rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region. The Dallewalia and Nishanwalia Misl w ...
founded the
Dallewallia Misl, an independent 18th century Sikh sovereign state in
Ludhiana
Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. ...
and
Jalandhar
Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...
district that would later on join Maharaja Ranjit Singh's kingdom. In the Sikh Empire,
Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) an Uppal Khatri from
Gujranwala, became the Commander-in-chief of the
Sikh Khalsa Army. He led the Sikh conquests of
Kasur,
Sialkot
Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Kas ...
,
Attock,
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the olde ...
,
Kashmir,
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
and
Jamrud. He was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh Empire to beyond the
Indus River, up to the mouth of the
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversi ...
. At the time of his death, the western boundary of the empire was Jamrud.
Dewan Mokham Chand (1750-1814) became one of the most distinguished leaders of the Khalsa Army. He was the commander in chief of armies in
Battle of Attock
The Battle of Attock (also known as the Battle of Chuch or the Battle of Haidru) took place on 13 July 1813 between the Sikh Empire and the Durrani Empire. The battle was the first significant Sikh victory over the Durranis.
Background
In 18 ...
which defeated
Durrani Empire Wazir Fateh Khan and
Dost Mohammad Khan Other Khatris like
Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra served as governors of
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...
and
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the olde ...
, after helping conquer the region
while his son
Diwan Mulraj Chopra, (1814-1851) the last
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
ruler of Multan led a Sikh rebellion against British suzerainty over Multan after the fall of the
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore ...
in the
Anglo-Sikh Wars Anglo-Sikh War may refer to:
* First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845–46
* Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulte ...
. He was arrested after the Siege of Multan and put to death.
Purnima Dhawan described that together with
Jat community, the Khatris gained considerably from the expansion of the Mughal empire, although both groups supported
Guru Hargobind in his campaign for Sikh self-government in the Punjab plains.
In the 1830s, Khatris were working as
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
s in the districts like
Bardhaman,
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...
,
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the olde ...
,
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
and
Hazara
Hazara may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan
* Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin
* Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan
* Hazar ...
, but independent from the Mughal rule.
British Colonial Era
Punjab
In Punjab, they were moneylenders, shopkeepers and grain-dealers among other professions.
Hyderabad
A Peshkari Khatri family in
Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and ...
would become part of the Hyderabadi nobility and occupy the post of Prime Minister of Hyderabad. Notable inviduals of the family include
Maharaja Kishen Prasad,
GCIE who would serve as Prime Minister of the State twice. In
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
, around the mid-20th century, Khatris and
Padmasalis were the leading "Hindu weaving castes" who owned 43% of the
looms. The Khatris specialised in silk, while the Padmasalis in cotton weaving.
Gujarat
In
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...
, during the colonial rule, Khatris contributed greatly to the weaving industry there. They as well as the Muslim and
Kunbi weavers purchased imported yarn in the 1840s. In
Mandvi, the silk products were highly valued and the Khatri dyers would work in the pits on the bank of the
river Rukmavati because the water was supposed to have special properties to give steadfast colours. These products were often exported to east Africa.
In Dhamadka,
Kutch,
"block printing cloth" was the traditional occupation of the Khatri men since the seventeenth century.
Rajasthan
In the early 19th century, the Khatris,
Bhatias and
Lohana
Lohana, also referred to as Loharana, Thakkar and Lohrana, are an Indian trading or mercantile '' jāti''. Lohanas claim to be descendants of the Lava, son of Rama, and to descend from the Raghuvanshi dynasty.Lachaier, Pierre. "Cérémonies D'ho ...
s were the main trading castes in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...
,
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
,
Sind and
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. Banking, trading and business were considered "traditional occupations of the Khatri in Rajasthan".
Culture and lifestyle
According to
Prakash Tandon, during Khatri weddings, a ritual is carried out to test the Khatri groom's strength. The groom is supposed to slice the thick branch or stem of a
Jandi Tree (Prosopis cineraria) in one blow using a sword. During the pregnancy period of a female, a
baby shower ceremony called "reetan" or "goadbharai" is carried out amongst Khatris and Aroras. During the event, gifts are showered to the pregnant mother from family and friends among other traditions.
Post-Independence
Harish Damodaran says the rise of Khatri industrialists in post-1947 India was a consequence initially of the cataclysmic
Partition, which pushed them in droves towards Delhi and its neighbourhoods. This exodus opened new opportunities for them. A combination of enterprise, articulation, and strategic closeness to the national capital— which, in itself, was becoming a major growth hub - created conditions for Khatri capital to flourish in the post-Partition period.
Damodaran adds that the land Khatris originally belonged to had very little industry and rail infrastructure until the 20th century and hence were not comparable to merchant groups like
Banias
Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Gree ...
in terms of scale and spread of operation. Before independence they were only regional players and their rise in phenomenal proportions was a post-independence feature. Since then, they have produced leading entities in fields of pharmaceuticals, two-wheelers, tractors, paper, tyre-making and hotels with the groups of
Ranbaxy,
Hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...
,
Mahindra
Mahindra may refer to:
Business
* Mahindra & Mahindra, an Indian multinational car manufacturing corporation
**Mahindra Truck and Bus Division, an Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer owned by Mahindra & Mahindra
* Mahindra Group
*Kotak Mahindr ...
,
Ballarpur Industries,
Apollo Tyres
Apollo Tyres Limited is an Indian Multinational tyre manufacturing company headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. It was incorporated in 1972, and its first plant was commissioned in Perambra in Chalakudy, Kerala (India). The company now has fiv ...
and
Oberoi
Oberoi (also spelled as Uberoi, Oberai and Obhrai) is a surname originating among the Punjabi Khatri caste of northern India.
Notable people
*Akshay Oberoi (born 1985), American-born Hindi film actor of Punjabi origin, nephew of Suresh Oberoi
*H ...
respectively.
They have also co-founded companies like
Snapdeal,
Hotmail,
YesBank,
IndiaToday,
AajTak,
IndiGo Airlines
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...
,
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, ...
,
Max Group etc.
Punjabi Khatris and others, together with the traditionally "urban and professional" castes, formed a part of the elite middle class immediately after independence in 1947. According to P. K. Verma, "Education was a common thread that bound together this pan Indian elite" and almost all the members of these
upper castes communities could read and write English and were educated beyond school.
Delhi NCR
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...
's population increased by 1.1 million in the period 1941-51. This growth of 106% largely resulted from the influx of
Partition migrants among other reasons. These were members of the Hindu and Sikh Khatri/Arora castes of the
West Punjab. Many moved to the city for better economic opportunities.
Haryana
During 1947, Punjabis who migrated to Haryana during Partition were mostly Khatris or Aroras. As per a survey conducted by
Maharishi Dayanand University, the migrant population were forced to live in camps under open sky. Only a meager 5% received "grossly undervalued claims against their properties in shape of very poorly cultivable land, while remaining 95% though entitled for compensation could not get any thing to sustain". This migrant population is also referred to as ‘refugee’ and ‘sharnarthi’ (शरणार्थी) in a derogatory manner by some locals. A Punjabi organisation had approached the Haryana government with a demand to ban both words and to enact a law on the lines of the
SC/ST Act with similar penalties. The community has a high literacy rate and are not dependent on money-lending and shopkeeping. They are engaged as doctors, engineers, administrators etc.
Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh
Khatris of
Kashmir, also known as "Bohras" were traders and had the 2nd largest Hindu population after the
Pandits. Many of these Khatris had to face the brunt of
1990 Kashmiri Hindu Exodus. Khatris of Himachal Pradesh are numerically most important commercial classes are mostly concentrated in
Mandi,
Kangra and
Chamba.
Maharashtra
Anthropologist Karve, based on the post-Independence research of castes by a in
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterla ...
,
Maharashtra, classified
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
Khatris as one of the "professional/advanced castes" as they were doctors, engineers, clerks, lawyers, teachers, etc. during independence. She states that their traditional professions were
silk weaving and working as merchants although they had entered other professions later.
Khatris in modern Maharashtra are divided into endogamous subgroups, such as the Brahmo Khatris and Kapur Khatris.
Varna status
Khatris claim that they are Kshatriyas. However, most scholars do not agree with the claims. They consider castes in north India, like Khatri and
Kayastha to be merchant castes who claim higher status to befit the educational and economic progress they made in the past.
According to
Anand Yang, the Khatris in the
Saran district of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
, were included in the list of "Bania" along with Agarwals and Rastogis of the
Vaishya
Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy.
The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking care ...
Varna.
Jacob Copeman also agrees and writes "
Agarwal
Agrawal (anglicised as Agarwal, Agerwal, Agrawala, Agarwala, Agarwalla, Aggarwal, Agarawal, Agarawala) is a Bania community found throughout northern, central and western India, mainly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Hi ...
, Khatri, and Bania usually denote people of merchant-trader background of middling clean-caste status, often of Vaishya varna".
Thus, while some historians agree with the claim of Khatris to be of
Kshatriya varna,
many others dont.
On the other hand, according to some historians even though they participated in mercantile or other occupationally diverse professions such as Agriculture, they were originally Kshatriyas.
In Indian historian
Satish Chandra's opinion, certain castes like Khatris and Kayasthas "do not quite fit" in the Hindu Varna system. According to him, Khatris are neither Vaishyas nor Kshatriyas but are "par excellence traders".
The
Saraswat Brahmins are the
purohits of Khatris and accept gifts only from them.
Susan Bayly
Susan Bayly is a Professor Emerita of Historical Anthropology in the Cambridge University Division of Social Anthropology and a Life Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. She is a former editor of the '' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Ins ...
states that the Khatris had scribal traditions and despite that Khatri caste organisations in the British Raj era tried to portray their caste as Kshatriyas. Similar caste glorifying ideas were written by the historian
Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as ''S ...
who describes Khatris as "one of the most acute, energetic, and remarkable race
icin India", "pure descendants of the old Vedic Kshatriyas" and "true representatives of the Aryan nobility". Puri also tried to show the Khatris as higher than the Rajputs whose blood he considered "impure", mixed with ‘inferior’ Kolis or ‘aborigines’.
She considers his views to represent those of "pre-Independence race theorists". Bayly further describes the Khatris as a "caste title of north Indians with military and scribal traditions". Hardip Singh Syan says Khatris considered themselves to be of pure
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
descent and thus superior to the Rajputs, who like them claim the Kshatriya status of the Hindu
varna system.
M. N. Srinivas states that Khatri made different Varna claims at different times in the
Census of India before Independence. In 1911, they did not make any Varna claim, while in 1921 and 1931 they claimed a Kshatriya and Vaishya status respectively.
Punjab
Historian Kenneth W. Jones states that the Khatris of Punjab had some justification in claiming Kshatriya status from the British government. However, the fact that this claim was not granted at the time showing their ambiguous position in the varna system. Although Jones also classifies Khatris as one of the Vaishya caste of Punjabi Hindus, he shows that their social status was higher than the Arora, Suds and Baniyas in the 19th century Punjab. He quotes Ibbetson who states that the Punjabi Khatris who held prominent military and civil posts were traditionally different from the Aroras, Suds or Baniyas who were rural, of low status and mostly commercial. Punjabi Khatris, on the other hand, were urban, usually prosperous and literate. Thus, the Khatris led the vaishyas in seeking a higher social position in the flexible Varna hierarchy based on their superior achievements. Similar social mobility efforts were followed by other Hindus in Punjab
McLane also describes them as a "mercantile caste who claimed to be Kshatriyas". In the 19th-century, British failed to agree whether their claim of Kshatriya status should be accepted.
Nesfield
Nesfield is a small village, north-west of Ilkley on the north bank of the River Wharfe, in the civil parish of Nesfield with Langbar, in the Harrogate district, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of York ...
and
Campbell were leaning towards accepting this claim but
Risley and
Ibbetson cast doubts on it. McLane opines that the confusion was caused since Khatris pursued mercantile occupations and not military ones. However, he adds that this Vaishya occupation fact was balanced by their origin myths, the "possible" derivation of the word Khatri from ''Kshatriya,'' their large physical stature, the superior status accorded to them by other
Punjabis
The Punjabis (Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India ...
as well as the willingness of the
Saraswat Brahmins, their
chaplains, to accept cooked food from them.
In the case of
Sikh Khatris, their Kshatriya claim reflects a contradictory attitude towards the traditional Hindu caste system. It is evident in ''
Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the rel ...
'', which on the one hand rises above the Hindu caste paradigm and on the other hand seeks to portray the Khatri gurus as a group of warrior-defenders of their faith, just as with the Kshatriya varna.
Majority of the male members of the
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the san ...
in the late 19th century Punjab came from the
Arora and Khatri merchant castes. In Punjab, the Kshatriya castes who were ritually higher than the Aroras and Khatris had been disempowered and thus the Brahmins who had lost their patrons had to turn to these non-Kshatriya castes.
Christophe Jaffrelot
Christophe Jaffrelot (born 12 February 1964) is a French political scientist and Indologist specialising in South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan. He is a professor of South Asian politics and history the ''Centre d'études et de recherche ...
explains the attraction of these trading castes to the Arya Samaj as a means of social mobility associated with their prosperity during the British rule. He cites N. G. Barrier to show that the philosophy of the Arya Samaj founder,
Dayananda Saraswati
Dayanand Saraswati () (born Mool Shankar Tiwari; 2 February 1824 – 30 October 1883) also known as Maharshi Dayanand is an Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement. His Magnum Opus is the bo ...
, was responsible for the aspirations of these
Vaishya
Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy.
The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking care ...
castes from Punjab to higher status:
Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra
Dasharatha Sharma described Khatris of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
as a mixed ''pratiloma'' caste of low ritual status but they could be a mixed caste born of Kshatriya fathers and Brahmin mothers.
Banking
A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
,
trading, agriculture and service are traditional occupations of the Khatris in Rajasthan. The
literacy rate is appreciably high among them.
Ashok Malik, former press secretary to the President of India, says that there were two groups of Khatris in Gujarat, that arrived right after the Mughal invasion and during the reign of
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...
respectively. The latter considered themselves superior to the former and they called themselves "Brahmakshatriyas" after arriving in Gujarat. When the older Khatri community of Gujarat started prospering, they also started calling themselves "Brahmakshatriya", causing the new Khatri community to panic and adopt the name "Nayar Brahmakshatriyas" for themselves. In addition, another community - the Gujarati
Telis, considered an
Other Backward Class (OBC)
The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, ...
in India began to call themselves ''Khatris.'' Malik calls this as
Sanskritization
Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper ...
.
Historian Vijaya Gupchup from the
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai.
The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...
states that in
Maharashtra, Brahmins showed resentment in the attempt by the
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
Khatris or Koshti to elevate themselves from ritually low status to Kshatriya by taking advantage of the British neutrality towards castes. She quotes a translation from a
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
publication that gave a Brahminic opinion of this attempt:
Religious groups
Hindu Khatris
The vast majority of Khatris are Hindu.
Many Hindu Khatris made their first newborn a Sikh. Daughters were married into both Hindu and Sikh families according to the Khatri sub-hierarchy rules. Hindu-Sikh intermarriages among Khatris and
Aroras were common in the cities of
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
and
Rawalpindi. They worship
Hinglaj Mata
Hinglaj Mata (Hindi: हिंगलाज माता, bal, هنگلاج ماتا, ), also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and Nani Mandir, is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochista ...
,
Chandi Mata,
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
,
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and ...
and
Vishnu's avatars. Worship of
totemistic symbols such as snakes and trees used to be common among them.
Meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
upon the flame while reciting
Vidhyavasini's hymns was a common practice and reverence was paid to the dead ancestors.
They are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian depending on their affiliations with the sects of
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
and
Shaktism
Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti (Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, all ...
respectively. Sects of
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the san ...
,
Nirankari and
Radhasoami are also followed.
Sikh Khatris
All the ten Sikh Gurus were from various Khatri clans: The early followers of
Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated ...
were Khatris but later a large number of
Jats joined the faith. Khatris and Brahmins opposed "the demand that the Sikhs set aside the distinctive customs of their castes and families, including the older rituals."
Bhapa (pronounced as Pahpa) is a term used in a derogatory sense to denote Sikhs who left
Potohar Region of modern-day Pakistan during
Partition, specifically of Khatri and
Arora caste. Bhapa translates to elder brother in the
Potohari
The Indo-Aryan language spoken on the Pothohar Plateau in the far north of Pakistani Punjab, as well as in most of Pakistan's Azad Kashmir and in western areas of India's Jammu and Kashmir, is known by a variety of names, the most common of which ...
dialect spoken around
Rawalpindi region.
McLeod, referring to the Khatris and Aroras says "The term is typically used dismissively by
Jats to express opprobrium towards Sikhs of these castes. Until recently it was never used in polite company or print, but today the word is used quite openly"
According to Birinder Pal Singh,
Jat Sikhs consider only themselves as Sikhs and consider Khatris as "bhapas". In Nicola Mooney's opinion, Jat Sikhs consider Arora Sikhs as "Hindu Punjabis" which reserves Sikhism for the Jats alone, denying even the fully
baptised
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
Arora as Sikhs.
Muslim Khatris
According to Historian
B. N. Puri,
Muslim Khatris are commonly known as
Khojas
The Khojas ( sd}; gu, ખોજા, hi, ख़ोजा) are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people originating in Gujarat, India.
Derived from the Persian Khwaja, a term of honor, the word Khoja is used to refer to Lohana Rajpu ...
in Punjab.
Khattak tribe of
Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically ...
is credited with origin from the Khatris but was divided in belief to its descent according to the 1883 book "Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province".
Literature and in Popular Culture
Khatris are mentioned in a popular Punjabi literature "
Heer Ranjha
''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being " Sohni Mahiwal", " Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic ...
" written by
Waris Shah.
"''Heer's beauty slays rich Khojas
The Khojas ( sd}; gu, ખોજા, hi, ख़ोजा) are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people originating in Gujarat, India.
Derived from the Persian Khwaja, a term of honor, the word Khoja is used to refer to Lohana Rajpu ...
and Khatris in the bazaar, like a murderous Kizilbash
Trachonas ( el, Τράχωνας; tr, Kızılay or ) is a northern suburb of Nicosia, Cyprus. ''De facto'', it is under the control of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cypru ...
trooper riding out of the royal camp armed with a sword''"
- Waris Shah (Translated by Charles Frederick Usborne)
Related communities
Arora
The Arora is a community that Levi describes as a sub-caste of Khatris.
They originate in
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
and
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
region. The name is derived from their native place
Aror and the community comprises both Hindus and Sikhs. As per
W. H. McLeod
William Hewat McLeod (1932–2009; also Hew McLeod) was a New Zealand scholar who helped establish Sikh Studies as a distinctive field.J.S. Grewal (2010), ''W.H. McLeod and Sikh Studies'', Journal of Punjab Studies, 17 (2010): 1-2, pages 115–1 ...
, a historian of Sikhism, "traditionally the Aroras, though a relatively high caste were inferior to the Khatris, but the difference has now progressively narrowed. Khatri-Arora marriages are not unknown nowadays."
Lohana, Bhatia and Bhanushali
According to Claude Markovits, castes such as
Bhatia and
Lohana
Lohana, also referred to as Loharana, Thakkar and Lohrana, are an Indian trading or mercantile '' jāti''. Lohanas claim to be descendants of the Lava, son of Rama, and to descend from the Raghuvanshi dynasty.Lachaier, Pierre. "Cérémonies D'ho ...
were close to the Khatris and intermarried with them. Jürgen Schaflechner mentions that many Khatris and
Bhatias were absorbed into Lohanas when they arrived in Sindh during 18th century from cities in Punjab such as
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the olde ...
.
He further adds that the genealogy of communities such as Khatri, Lohana and Arora is described in the composition of Hiṃgulā Purāṇ that brings them all into one mytho-historic narrative. He also notes that common mythologies found among Khatris and Lohanas. Some members, around 10-15% of the
Sindhi Lohanas began working for the local rulers and hence achieved a higher status than Khatris and Lohanas. These people came to known as "
Amils" while the ones who continued with their merchant professions came to be known as "
Bhaibands". The Amils then started to recruit members from the general Khatris and Lohanas.
Upendra Thakur mentions that there is a strong connection between the Khatris, Aroras, Lohanas and the
Bhanushalis who all recruit the Saraswat Brahmins as their priests.
Gaddi
Gaddi is a
nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...
ic
shepherding tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
that resides in the mountainous terrains of the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...
. Gaddi is an amalgamation of various groups such as Khatris, Rajputs, Brahmins etc. Most
Gaddis of Himachal Pradesh call themselves Khatris.
There is a popular saying among them "Ujreya Lahore te baseya Bharmaur" meaning that when
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...
was deserted (possibly by the Muslim invasion),
Bharmour was inhabited. Some Khatris clans are known to have settled there during Aurangzeb's reign.
See also
*
List of Khatris
*
Roman Catholic Kshatriyas
*
Caste system
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...
References
{{Social groups of Rajasthan
Social groups of Punjab, India
Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan
*
Merchant castes
Indian castes
Sikh communities
Social groups of Rajasthan