Bhati (Gurjar clan)

Bhatis are a clan of Gurjars^[1]found primarily in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh (specifically Western Uttar Pradesh) and Haryana and in Punjab, Pakistan.

They follow both Hinduism and Islam although they follow primarily the former.

Origins

Bhatis claim origin from the ruler Rao Bhati who founded a city sixty miles from the city Multan in Punjab where his family ruled for centuries.^[2] This city was destroyed during Mahmud Ghazni's invasion in 1026 AD.^[3] The areas around the city survived till 1398 wherein they were destroyed by Taimur.^[4]

After the destruction of the city, the Gurjars who left Punjab retained their Hindu identity while Gurjars who remained in Punjab were converted to Islam.

The Bhatis of Punjab

The Bhatis who stayed in Punjab were divided into two camps, one who stayed in the region of the Rachna Doab and other who travelled into Malwa.

Those who remained in Punjab, Pakistan settled around trade routes and settled the districts of Gujrat, Gujranwala and Gujar Khan.^[5]

Those who settled in Malwa settled in the Lakhi Jungle and led an independent life, as the area was hard to administer owing to their geographical surroundings^[6]and their resistance to foreign invaders, including a failed offensive against Babur.^[7]

Resettlement in India

The Bhatis who travelled from Punjab travelled to hills of Gurugram district where they expanded up to 350 villages.^[8] The area from Gurgaon to the river Ganges was called Gujarat due to the prevalence of Bhati Gujars.^[9]

Social status

The Bhattis of Punjab slowly lost their identity, while clan identity grew stronger in the Bhattis of the Upper Doab.

Gurjars in the upper doab are considered a dominant caste, and among them the Bhattis the most dominant clan along with the Nagar clan.^[10]

The Bhattis were notorious for their ruthlessness and physical violence regarding agricultural and land disputes.^[11]

Culture

The Rajputs and Gurjars of the Upper Doab shared the same cultural habits and traditions.

The Bhatis, like other Hindu Gurjar clans, practiced exogamy.^[12]

There is also evidence within the Rajputs and Bhatti Gujjar populations of the Upper Doab of female infanticide in the 1820s^[13]^[14]and intercaste marriages due to the lack of females in the clan.^[15]

Female infanticide within the Bhattis had died out by the early 1900s^[16] and is completely non existent in the present day.

Role in the First War of Independence

Bhattis had a huge role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Gurugram district and Bulandshahr.

In Gurugram district, the Bhattis (among other Gurjar clans) waged guerilla warfare against British forces lead by Brigadier General Showers, who had in his command 1500 men, 18 pounder guns and 2 small mortars.^[17] After defeating Rao Tula Ram and ending the revolt in Mewat, the British perpetuated a small genocide against the Bhatis, destroying entire villages with their civilians, such as the villages of Sbahpur, Bali Khera, Kerla, Cbitora, Nahirika, Gujar Naogla, Babarpur and Kebri.^[18]

In Bulandshahr, the Bhattis had become Zamindars. Unhappy with invasive British-style social reforms, harsh land taxes, summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes,^[19]^[20] and skepticism about the improvements brought about by British rule^[a]^[21] started and lead the revolt in 1857.

After two months struggle they were defeated and overpowered by European soldiers superior in number and technology.^[22] After the defeat, lands of Bhattis were annexed and redistributed to the Jats, who had appeared to have remained loyal in the British memory.^[23] The Gurjars, in general throughout the upper doab, were characterized as "criminal tribes" and continuously demonized in British press while being contrasted to the Jats who were characterized as industrious and loyal.^[24]

Notes

^ "Indian soldiers and the rural population over a large part of northern India showed their mistrust of their rulers and their alienation from them. ... For all their talk of improvement, the new rulers were as yet able to offer very little in the way of positive inducements for Indians to acquiesce in the rule."^[21]

References

^ Kumar, R.(2008). Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern. Kalpaz Publisher. p.446
^ Rahi, J.(Ed.).(2012). The Gujjars Vol: 01. Jammu and Kashmir Acacademy of Art, Culture , Languages. p.284
^ (Rahi, 2012. p.284)
^ (Rahi, 2012. p.284)
^ Majumdar, RC.(1970). The History And Culture of the Indian People. 3rd Ed. Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan. p.64
^ Habib, I. (2001). The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707. Oxford University Press. p.399
^ Singh, S. (2022). Medieval Panjab in transition: Authority, Resistance and Spirituality c.1500 – c.1700. Routledge. p.38
^ (Rahi, 2012. p.285)
^ Singh, KR. (1874). HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL MEMOIR OF ZILA BULANDSIIAHAR. North Western Province Government Press. p.176 (this report like most sources by British authorities show the Gurjars in a negative light, this was because the role of Gurjars in the revolt of 1857)
^ Kolff, D. H. (2010). Grass in their Mouths: The Upper Doab of India under the Company’s Magna Charta, 1793-1830. BRILL. p.138
^ (Kolff, 2010. p.139)
^ (Kolff, 2010. p.138}
^ (Kolff, 2010. p.138)
^ L. S. Vishwanath. (2004). Female Infanticide: The Colonial Experience. Economic and Political Weekly, 39(22), 2313–2318. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4415098
^ (Kolff, 2010. p.138)
^ The District Gazetteers till 1905 refer to this practice in Gurjar dominated districts but not after 1905 pointing to the decline of the practice
^ Yadav, KC. (1977). The Revolt of 1857 in Haryana. Manohar Publishers. p.113
^ (Yadav, 1977. p.121)
^ Metcalf, Barbara D.; Metcalf, Thomas R. (2006), A Concise History of Modern India (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 100–103, ISBN 978-0-521-68225-1
^ Brown, Judith M. (1994), Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 85–86, ISBN 978-0-19-873113-9, archived from the original on 3 October 2008, retrieved 2 March 2008
^ ^a ^b Marshall, P. J. (2001), "1783–1870: An expanding empire", in P. J. Marshall (ed.), The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire, Cambridge University Press, p. 50, ISBN 978-0-521-00254-7
^ Tewari, J. P. (1966). THE REVOLT OF 1857 IN BULANDSHAHR DISTRICT. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 28, 365–376. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44140455
^ Stokes, E. (1978). Traditional elites in the Great Rebellion of 1857: some aspects of rural revolt in the upper and central Doab. In The Peasant and the Raj: Studies in Agrarian Society and Peasant Rebellion in Colonial India (pp. 185–204). chapter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
^ quoted " the notion that the Gujars were the prime force for revolt in the west of the region had much more to do with the desire of officialdom to preserve the reputation of the ‘sturdy’ Jat peasant farmer who was being groomed for the role of late Victorian development agent in the area." in Pati, B. (2010b). The 1857 Rebellion. Oxford University Press. p.207

[22] "Indian soldiers and the rural population over a large part of northern India showed their mistrust of their rulers and their alienation from them. ... For all their talk of improvement, the new rulers were as yet able to offer very little in the way of positive inducements for Indians to acquiesce in the rule."^[21]

[1] Kumar, R.(2008). Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern. Kalpaz Publisher. p.446

[2] Rahi, J.(Ed.).(2012). The Gujjars Vol: 01. Jammu and Kashmir Acacademy of Art, Culture , Languages. p.284

[3] (Rahi, 2012. p.284)

[4] (Rahi, 2012. p.284)

[5] Majumdar, RC.(1970). The History And Culture of the Indian People. 3rd Ed. Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan. p.64

[6] Habib, I. (2001). The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707. Oxford University Press. p.399

[7] Singh, S. (2022). Medieval Panjab in transition: Authority, Resistance and Spirituality c.1500 – c.1700. Routledge. p.38

[8] (Rahi, 2012. p.285)

[9] Singh, KR. (1874). HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL MEMOIR OF ZILA BULANDSIIAHAR. North Western Province Government Press. p.176 (this report like most sources by British authorities show the Gurjars in a negative light, this was because the role of Gurjars in the revolt of 1857)

[10] Kolff, D. H. (2010). Grass in their Mouths: The Upper Doab of India under the Company’s Magna Charta, 1793-1830. BRILL. p.138

[11] (Kolff, 2010. p.139)

[12] (Kolff, 2010. p.138}

[13] (Kolff, 2010. p.138)

[14] L. S. Vishwanath. (2004). Female Infanticide: The Colonial Experience. Economic and Political Weekly, 39(22), 2313–2318. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4415098

[15] (Kolff, 2010. p.138)

[16] The District Gazetteers till 1905 refer to this practice in Gurjar dominated districts but not after 1905 pointing to the decline of the practice

[17] Yadav, KC. (1977). The Revolt of 1857 in Haryana. Manohar Publishers. p.113

[18] (Yadav, 1977. p.121)

[19] Metcalf, Barbara D.; Metcalf, Thomas R. (2006), A Concise History of Modern India (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 100–103, ISBN 978-0-521-68225-1

[20] Brown, Judith M. (1994), Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 85–86, ISBN 978-0-19-873113-9, archived from the original on 3 October 2008, retrieved 2 March 2008

[Marshall2001-21] Marshall, P. J. (2001), "1783–1870: An expanding empire", in P. J. Marshall (ed.), The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire, Cambridge University Press, p. 50, ISBN 978-0-521-00254-7

[23] Tewari, J. P. (1966). THE REVOLT OF 1857 IN BULANDSHAHR DISTRICT. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 28, 365–376. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44140455

[24] Stokes, E. (1978). Traditional elites in the Great Rebellion of 1857: some aspects of rural revolt in the upper and central Doab. In The Peasant and the Raj: Studies in Agrarian Society and Peasant Rebellion in Colonial India (pp. 185–204). chapter, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[25] quoted " the notion that the Gujars were the prime force for revolt in the west of the region had much more to do with the desire of officialdom to preserve the reputation of the ‘sturdy’ Jat peasant farmer who was being groomed for the role of late Victorian development agent in the area." in Pati, B. (2010b). The 1857 Rebellion. Oxford University Press. p.207

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