Jatt Sikh

A Jatt Sikh (also Jat Sikh) is an ethnoreligious group from the Indian subcontinent. There are nearly 11 million Jatt Sikhs in South Asia, mostly in Punjab, where they comprise 42.5% of the population. [ [http://www.go2southasia.org/peoples/p_jatt_sikh.html Jatt Sikh] ]

History

Colonel James Todd classified Jatts as one of the Rajput tribescite journal
last = Sidhu
first = I.S.
coauthors = K. Kaur, V.K. Sarhadi, D.S. Joshi, R. Mukhopadhaya, S.K. Mahajan, A.J.S. Bhanwer
year = 2003
title = Study of Genetic Polymorphism at D21S11 and D21S215 Loci in the Jat Sikh Population of Punjab
journal = International Journal of Human Genetics
volume = 3
issue = 1
pages = 45–50
issn = 0972-3757
url = http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/IJHG/IJHG-03-0-000-000-2003-Web/IJHG-03-1-001-067-2003-Abst-PDF/IJHG-03-1-045-050-2003-Sidhu/IJHG-03-1-045-050-2003-Sidhu.pdf
accessdate = 2008-04-01] , while Major Alexander Cunningham believed that they belong to the later waveof immigrants from the north-west, probably of Indo-Scythian origin.Alexander Cunningham, "The Ancient Geography of India".] Cunningham's belief is also shared by many other writers, who consider the Jatt Sikhs to be the merged descendants of the original Indo-Aryans and a later addition of Indo-Scythian tribes. [Bhim Singh Dahiya, Jats the Ancient Rulers, Dahinam Publishers, Sonepat, Haryana.] [cite book |title=History and study of the Jats|author=Professor B. S. Dhillon|coauthors= |year=1994|publisher=Beta Publishers|isbn=1895603021]

A 2003 genetic study by Sidhu, Kaur et al. indicates that "Caucasian" (White people), Jatt Sikh and other Indian populations may have their origin from a "common ancestral group", as all have partially overlapping frequency distribution of the alleles. The 216 bp allele is reported in Jat Sikhs and the other Indian populations, but not in "Caucasians". However, the allele with 218 and 244 bp, reported by Mahajan et al.Mahajan SK, Mukhopadhyaya R, Gangabhagirathi R, Mathur M, Shettigar SKG, Desai U, Joshi DS 1998. "Microsatellite polymorphism on HC21 in Indian population". In: JR Singh (Ed.): "Current Concepts in Human Genetics". Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University Press.] (1998) for other Indian populations, is absent from the Jat Sikh population samples studied by Sharma and Litt (1992).cite journal
last = Sharma
first = V
coauthors = Litt M.
year = 1992
month = April
title = Tetranucleotide repeat polymorphism at the D21S11 locus
journal = Human Molecular Genetics
volume = 1
issue = 1
pages = 67
publisher = Oxford University Press
issn = 0964-6906
url = http://hmg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/1/1/67-a
accessdate = 2008-04-01
doi = 10.1093/hmg/1.1.67-a] Similarly, the allele with 212 bp has been reported in Jat Sikh population by Sharma and Litt, but not reported for Indian population by Mahajan et al. (1998). Therefore, Sidhu, Kaur et al. conclude that confirmation of these genetic studies in future may confirm Cunningham's belief that the Jatt Sikhs are the descendants of an immigrant population. The authors believe that the presence of the common allele having 216 bp in Jatt Sikh and other Indian populations may be due to later genetic intermixing.

Traditionally, the Jatt Sikhs have been endogamous at caste level and exogamous at the (gotra) sub-caste level.

The Jatt Sikh community has constituted an important source of recruits for the Indian Army. [cite book
title = The Garrison State: The Military, Government, and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849-1947
author = Tan Tai Yong
publisher = SAGE Publications
isbn = 978-0761933366
oclc = 57043090
pages = 187]

ee also

* For more on the wider ethnic group, which crosses religious boundaries, see Jat people.

References

External links

* [http://www.jattsikhs.com/online/ The Jatt Sikh Foundation]