Tarkhan (Punjab)

This article is about the Punjabi community. For other uses, see Tarkan.

Tarkhan
Tarkhan, carpenter caste of the Panjab - Tashrih al-aqvam (1825)
Regions with significant populations
India and Pakistan
Languages
Hindi • Punjabi
Religion
Hinduism • Islam • Sikhism
Portrait of three unidentified Tarkhan carpenters from Lahore with tools, ca.1862–72

The Tarkhan is a caste found in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. They are traditionally carpenters by occupation.[1]

The Hindu members of this clan are generally identified as Khatis, Suthars or Lohars following the Vishwakarma community of India.[2] Whereas, Tarkhan Sikhs are among those groups who are identified as Ramgarhias, after the Misl leader Jassa Singh Ramgarhia.[3] Despite Sikhism generally rejecting the caste system, it does have its own very similar socio-economic hierarchy and in that the Ramgarhias, of which the Tarkhans are a part, now rank second only to the Jat Sikhs, thanks to significant economic and social power that elevated this middle class group from its lower caste confines.[4]

According to the 1921 census of India, which may not be reliable, some Tarkhan Sikhs owned large areas of land and, in some cases, whole villages.[5]

In 2001, the Punjab Government included Ramgarhia, Tarkhan and Dhiman in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) to improve their economic conditions.[6] They were also added in the list of backward classes by the governments of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.[7][8]

  1. ^ McLeod, W. H. (2000). Exploring Sikhism: Aspects of Sikh Identity, Culture and Thought. Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-19-564902-4.
  2. ^ Atal, Yogesh (2012). Sociology: A Study of the Social Sphere. Pearson Education India. p. 242. ISBN 978-8-13179-759-4.
  3. ^ Cole, W. Owen (2005). A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy. p. 70. ISBN 1135797609.
  4. ^ Childs, Peter (13 May 2013). Encyclopaedia of Contemporary British Culture. p. 270. ISBN 978-1134755547.
  5. ^ Sharma, Subash Chander (1987). Punjab, the Crucial Decade. Nirmal Publications. p. 114. ISBN 978-8171561735.
  6. ^ "Ramgarhias in OBC list". The Times of India. 31 August 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  7. ^ "List of Backward Classes | Welfare of Scheduled Caste & Backward Classes Department, Government of Haryana". haryanascbc.gov.in. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  8. ^ "HBCFDC". himachalservices.nic.in. Retrieved 31 October 2020.