AN INTRODUCTION OF JAT COMMUNITY

In the democratic India, pressure groups and to be still clear, vote banks are more dependable elements for winning an election and forming a  government. This vote bank may be carved out on the basis of religion, caste, business, culture regional affinity etc. In this backdrop, the preponderance of the Jat community in Western UP, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan has assumed a great importance as all political parties go out of way to woo them. Who are these Jats?

 In the Indian mythology, according to the Deva Samhita and some Puranas, Jats originated from the mat (Jataa) of Lord Shiva. When his consort Sati committed immolation in her father’s yajna in which her husband Shiva had not been invited, the lord became angry. He unknotted his matted locks from which two shining men appeared who demolished the venue of Yaksha’s  sacrifice. The people, later born in this clan became known as Jats.

On the other hand, a Persian and Greek account believe them being Scythians as well as the most ancient settlers in Sindh. The Persian account of 1026 AD held the Jats to be the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah. Several other references indicate their existence in 6^th and 8^th centuries in Sindh. They were  basically a pastoral community which later became tillers in Northern India and modern Pakistan. By and by they started moving towards Punjab, Delhi, Eastern Rajputana and the Gangetic plains of Western UP. It is reported in a Persian source  that in 1024 AD, when Mamud was returning to Ghazni after plundering Somnath, they attacked the aggressors and destroyed their several regiments. As a revenge, Mamud returned in 1026 to punish the main Jat regions between the Indus and Sutlej.

When they came to Punjab in the later middle age, Islam had established its hold.The Jats yearned after their place in the caste system hierarchy. During the period between their stay in Sindh and eastward migration, they had no specific caste and religious identity. When one said Jat, it simply meant a herder or tiller. By that time Sikhism had also been founded. So the Jats of Western Punjab became Muslims, Estern Punjab Sikhs and of Delhi and Agra assumed Hinduism. The Hindu Jats of Western UP, Delhi and Agra continued to challenge the Mughal prowess. They took up arms against the Mughal empire during the late 17^th and early 18^th centuries. The Hindu Jat kingdom reached its zenith under Raja Surajmal (1707-1763) of Bharatpur. By the 20^th century, the land-owning Jats became an influential group in several parts of Northern India. Over the years, after exposure to other powerful pressure groups, many of them abandoned agriculture in favour of urban jobs. They used their affluence to claim reasonable slices among the ruling gentry.

Thus like some other ancient communities, the Jats have also covered a long distance to carve out a niche in the national politics.