Khatri | |
---|---|
Religions | Hinduism (majority), Sikhism |
Languages | Major: Lahnda variety of Punjabi (Potohari, Hindko, Multani/Saraiki)[1][2][3][4][5] Minor: Hindi, Gujarati, Dogri, Kangri, Sindhi,[6] Pashto, Urdu,[7] Kutchi |
Country | India, Pakistan and Afghanistan |
Region | Punjab, Sindh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir,[8] Himachal Pradesh,[9] Haryana,[10] Gujarat,[11] Maharashtra,[12] Uttar Pradesh |
Khatri is a caste originating from the Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region[13] of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are warriors who took to trade.[14] In the Indian subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantile professions such as banking and trade.[15][16][17] They were the dominant commercial and financial administration class of late-medieval India.[17] Some in Punjab often belonged to hereditary agriculturalist land-holding lineages,[18][19] while others were engaged in artisanal occupations such as silk production and weaving.[20][21][22][23]
Khatris of Punjab, specifically, were scribes and traders during the medieval period, with the Gurumukhi script used in writing the Punjabi language deriving from a standardised form of the Lāṇḍa script used by Khatri traders; [24] the invention of the script is traditionally ascribed to Guru Angad. During the medieval period, with the rise of Persian as an elite vernacular due to Islamic rule, some of the traditional high status upper-caste literate elite[25] such as the Khatris, Kashmiri Brahmins and Kayasthas took readily to learning Persian from the times of Sikandar Lodi onwards and found ready employment in the Imperial Services, specifically in the departments of accountancy (siyaq), draftsmanship (insha) and offices of the revenue minister (diwan).[citation needed][26][14]
In the 15th century, the Sikh religion was founded by Guru Nanak, a Bedi Khatri. The second guru, Guru Angad was a Trehan Khatri. The third guru, Guru Amar Das was a Bhalla Khatri. The fourth through tenth gurus were all Sodhi Khatris.[14] During the Sikh Empire, many Khatris formed the military vanguard of the Khalsa Army and its 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 up until the Khyber pass.[27][28] Others such as Mokham Chand commanded the Sikh Army against the Durrani Empire at Attock while those such as Sawan Mal Chopra ruled Multan after wrestling it from the Afghans.[29]
During the British colonial era, they also served as lawyers and engaged in administrative jobs in the colonial bureaucracy.[30][31] Some of them served in the British Indian army after being raised as Sikhs.[18]
During the Partition of British India in 1947, Khatris migrated enmasse to India from the regions that comprise modern-day Pakistan.[32][33] Hindu Afghans and Sikh Afghans are predominantly of Khatri and Arora origin.[34]
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.[35][36]
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page).(Pg 16)Group I. Castes which follow various professions like teachers, doctors, clerks, pleaders, engineers etc:-All Brahmins,Non Brahmins: Kayastha Prabhu,Pathare Prabhu, Pathare Kshatriya, Khatri, Vaishya Vani (pg 29) Castes called Khatris are found in Gujarat Karnataka and Maharashtra. This sample represents the Marathi speaking khatris who claim to have living near the Bombay island for the last century at least. Khatris are found in other towns in the west maratha countries their hereditary profession is said to be that of silk weavers and merchants. Now they have entered into all services like clerks, teachers and higher administrative jobs and also follow professions like law and medicine.....
Khatri: A predominantly merchant and trading community that originated from the Malwa and Majha areas in the Punjab
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page).In the past members of such castes such as Khatris served as shopkeepers, moneylenders, traders and teachers. Their reputation for mastering knowledge sometimes extended to the spiritual realm: Guru Nanak and the other nine founding gurus of the sikh tradition were Khatris, member of the Bedi subcaste.
For the role of the khatri caste as village moneylender, shopkeeper and grain-dealer in pre-Independence Punjab, see ...
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Oldenburg 2002 41, 15422
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).The traditional and present - day occupation of the Khatri is silk and cotton weaving, colouring, dyeing of threads and making jari and garlands. Some of them are engaged in other occupations like business and government jobs
KHATRI A caste of professional dyers
The silk trade between Bengal and Gujarat was a domain of Khatri merchants, for example.
Three Hindu communities had particularly strong ties with Persian and Urdu, namely the Kayasths, Kashmiri Brahmins and Khatris. Two of the three - Kayasths and Khatris could claim a high status among their fellow Hindus, while the third, Kashmiri Brahmins - ranked among the highest of the Brahmin castes.
Hindus—Kayasthas (of the accountant and scribe caste) and Khatris (of the trading and scribe caste of the Panjab) in particular—joined madrasahs in large numbers to acquire training in Persian language and literature, which now promised good careers in imperial service.
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