Origin of the Jat people

Nothing certain is known about the origin of Jat peoplecite book
first = Karine
last = Schomer
coauthors = W H McLeod
title = The Sants : studies in a devotional tradition of India
publisher = Motilal Banarsidass/Berkeley Religious Studies Series
location = Delhi/Berkeley, California
isbn = 8120802772
oclc = 17747311
year = 1987
page = 89] , but there is a general consensus amongst some scholars. [Professor P.S. Gill, Heritage of Sikh Culture, New Academic Publishing Co., Jullundur, Punjab, 1975, pp. 12-13.] There are several theories on the topic. [cite news
url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99nov21/book.htm#1
title = A hardy people in search of new role
author = D.R. Chaudhry
publisher = The Tribune
date = 21 November, 1999
accessdate = 2008-04-15] Some scholars, including Sir Alexander Cunningham, Prof. B.S. Dhillon, Arthur Edward Barstow, James Tod, Prof. Pettigrew, Prof. P.S. Gill, Prof. Williams, H.A Rose & Sir Elliot and Bhim Singh Dahiya, believe that the Jats are Indo-Scythians from Central Asia.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] Alexander Cunningham, "The Ancient Geography of India: The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang" (1871), pp. 290-291.] [Barstow, A.E., The Sikhs: An Ethnology, Reprinted by B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi, India, 1985, first published in 1928, pp. 105-135, 63, 155, 152, 145.] [Bingley, A.H., Handbooks for the Indian Army: Sikhs, Compiled Under the Orders of the Government of India, Printed at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, India, 1899, pp. 8-9, 3.] [Professor J. Pettigrew, Robber Noblemen: A Study of the Political System of the Sikh Jats, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London, 1975, pp. 25, 238.] [Professor H.S. Willliams, The Historians' History of the World, 21 Vols., The Outlook Company, New York, 1905, Vol. 2, pp. 481.] [Professor P.S. Gill, Heritage of Sikh Culture, New Academic Publishing Co., Jullundur, Punjab, 1975, pp. 12-13.] [Rose, H.A., A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, Reprinted by the Languages Dept., Patiala, Punjab, 1970, first published in 1883, pp. 362-363, (Vol. II), 58 (Vol. I).] [Sir H.M. Elliot, Encyclopaedia of Caste, Customs, Rites and Superstitions of the Races of Northern India, Vol. 1, Reprinted by Sumit Publications, Delhi, 1985, first published in 1870, pp. 133-134.] [Sara, I., The Scythian Origins of the Sikh-Jat, The Sikh Review, March 1978, pp. 26-35.] [Mahil, U.S., Antiquity of Jat Race, Atma Ram & Sons, Delhi, India, 1955, pp. 2, 9,14.] [Hewitt, J.F., The Ruling Races of Prehistoric Times in India, South-Western Asia and Southern Europe, Archibald Constable & Co., London, 1894, pp. 481-487.] [MacMunn, G. "(Sir and Lt. General)", The Martial Races of India, Reprinted by Mittal Publications, Delhi, India, 1979, first published in 1932, pp. 21-22.] [Latif, S.M., History of the Panjab, Reprinted by Progressive Books, Lahore, Pakistan, 1984, first published in 1891, pp. 56.] Other scholars, including E. B. Havell, KR Qanungo, Sir Herbert Risley, C.V.Vaidya and Thakur Deshraj, advocate a native Indo-Aryan lineage on the basis of ethnological, physical and linguistic standards. [E.B.Havell: "The history of Aryan rule in India", page 32] [Qanungo: "History of the Jats"] [C.V.Vaidya: "History of Medieval Hindu India"] [Sir Herbert Risley: "The People of India"] [Thakur Deshraj: "Jat Itihasa"] [Mangal Sen Jindal: "History of Origin of Some Clans in India"] Finally, with the development of DNA analysis and recent genectic studies are revealing important DNA ancestral information. [ [http://www.yhrd.org/index.html YHRD - Y Chromosome Haplotype Reference Database] ]

Etymology

Some 19th century authors have connected the name with that of the ancient Getae. [cite book |title=The Geats of Beowulf|author=Professor J. A. Leake|coauthors= |year=1967|pages= p. 68, 172|publisher=The University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=029904050X] [cite book |title=History and study of the Jats|author=Professor B. S. Dhillon|coauthors= |year=1994|publisher=Beta Publishers|isbn=1895603021]

The "Getae" etymology has been taken up in the "Jattan Da Ithihas". It has also been mentioned by Jat historian Bhim Singh Dahiya. Bhim Singh Dahiya, "Jats the Ancient Rulers", Dahinam Publishers, Sonepat, Haryana.] Jat people have many surnames common to German people even to this day.

There are many variations of the term Jat. In the Punjab, the phonetic sound is "Jutt" or "Jatt (जट्ट)."The nomenclature of the word Jat is variously spelt, in different periods, as Jit, Jat (pl. Jatān), Jat, finally Jāt. The Persian form of the name is "jatt", with short vowel and double short ‘t’. [Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 54] The sixth century Pali inscription (dated samvat 597-56 = 541 AD) mentions the race as Jit. Thus the term 'Jit' probably derives its nomenclature after the epithet of the founder of the tribe Jit Salindra. [James Todd, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I, inscription No. I,, pp. 622] According to James Tod, in Rajasthan and Punjab the tribe retained their ancient name Jit. [Ibid., op. cit., p.88] , [Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), "The Jats of Punjab and Sind": Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)", The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 54]

The Jatt (जट्ट) is generally referred by the Ghaznavid chronicler of the eleventh century (Gardezi, Alberuni, and Baihaqi); [Abd al-Hayy b Abd al Zahhak, Zain ul-Akhbar ed. Hayy Habibi, (Iran, 1347), p.191-192] , [Abu Railian Ibn Ahmad b. Muhammad Al-Beruni, Kitab fi Tahqiq Mali’l-Hind, text ed. by E.C. Sachau (London, 1887), Vol. I, p. 336] , [Abu Fazl Muhammad b. Hussain Baihaqi, Tarikh-i- Baihaqi ed. Q. Ghani and A.A. Fayyaz, (Tehra, 1946), p. 434] in the history of Sind (Chachnama and Tarikh-i-Masumi); by the Delhi Sultanate’s chronicler’s Isami; [Abd al-Malik Isami, Futuh us-Salatin, ed. M.Usha, (Madras 1948), p.139] and by the 18th century mystic writer Shah Wali Allah in his political letters. [K.A. Nizami, Shah Waliullah Ke Siyasi Hutut, Aligarh, 1954] Thus in the Indus Valley up to Saurashtra, the tribes are known as Jat. [Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 54] The author of Majmulat-Tawarikh tends to believe that the Arabs called the Sind people Jat. [Majmulat-Tawarikh in Elliot and Dowson, History of India as told by its own Historian, (London:1867), Aligarh rep. Vol.I, p. 104] In Sindhi dialect, the term is pronounced as ‘Yat’ and means ‘a camel-driver or breeder of camels’ [Richard F. Burton, Sind and the Races that inhabit the valley of the Indus with notices of the Topography and History of Province (London, 1851), 1992, p. 411] While the author of Dabistan-i-Mazahib (c. 1665) states that ‘Jat’ in the language of Punjab (read Jataki) means ‘a villager, a rustic’ (dahistani, rusta’i). [Muhsin Fani Kashmiri, Dabistan-i-Mazahib, Nawal Kishore ed., (Kanpur:1904), p. 224] , [Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55] During the Mughal period, phonetic and dialectic changes occurred, thus Deccan chronicler Firishta mentions them as ‘Jat (जट)’ with short vowel and hard ‘t’. [Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55] Finally the term gained the present day phonetic in Ain-i-Akbari, when Abul Fazl mentions the tribe as ‘Jāt (जाट)’ with long vowel ‘a’ and hard ‘t’. It is said that the term derives from middle Indo-Aryan term 'Jata'. [Encyclopedia of Islam, S.V.Djat, Vol. II, (Leiden, 1965), p. 488] , [Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55] In view of O’Brien in Jataki language the ‘Jat (जात)’ – the herdsmen and camel grazer is spelt with soft ‘t’, while the ‘Jat (जाट)’- the cultivator with hard ‘t’. [O’Brien, Multan Glossary, cited by Ibbetson, op. cit., p. 103] However in present day the tribes, almost all the cultivators, are known as Jāt (जाट) especially in the Yamuna-Ganges Valley. [Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55]

In Arabian form, the term is mentioned as Zat or Zutt (in Arabic 'J' changes for 'Z') by the Arab geographers. [Ibn Hauqal, Kitab Masalik Wa al-Mamalik, in Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., I, p.40] , [Muhammad Tahir al-Patani, Mujma bihar al-Anwar (Kanpur:1283), II, S.V.Zutti, The tribes are mentioned in Iraq, and Syria as Zutt, while in Egypt as Zitt.] , [Cf. Gabriel Ferrand, S.V. Zutt, Urdu Daira-i-Ma’arif-i-Islamiya, X, p. 459] Thus the nomenclature of the tribe is of post-Sanskrit Indian origin and belongs to the Indo-Aryan language. [Dr S. Jabir Raja (AMU), “The Jats of Punjab and Sind”: Their settlements and migrations (c. 5th-12th AD)”, The Jats, Vol. I, Ed. Dr Vir Singh, 2004, p. 55]

In his etymological discussion the learned author, Quzi Athar Mubarakprui, has pointed out that the word Zutt or Zutti used in the Arabic Sources is an arabicised form of Jat as explained in several Arabic and Persian dictionaries including Lisan –al-Arab of lbn Manzur, the most famous and voluminous Arabic lexicon [Ibn Mauzur, Lisan al-Arab-Dar-i-Sidar, Beirut 1956, III/308] , [Ali Akbar, Lughat Namah-i-Dahkhuda, No. 53, P.379] Quoting the same work, he states that Zut are people of race from Sind who are of black colour. [Muhammad Tahir, Majma Bihar al–Anwar, Nawal Kishore (n.d.) II/62 (as cited by Qazi Athar, op. cit.,P.8)] This is arabicised from the Indian (Hindi) word Jat and its singular is Zutti. He has also given opinion of some other lexicographers who thinks that this is the Arabic form of the Indian word Chat. [Majma al-Bahrain under entry-Zutt, (as quoted by Quzi Athar ,P. 61 )] With reference to the well known geographical work, Taqwin al-Buldan, he observed that in the ancient period the Jats were also found in Baluchistan in a large number in addition to Sind [Abul Fida, Taqwin al-Buldan Paris, 1840, p 334] , [Zafarul Islam: Qazi Athar Mubarakpuri’s Studies on Jats, The Jats, Vol. II, Ed. Dr Vir Dingh, Delhi, 2006. p. 26]

The Mahabharata mentions in chapter 25, "shloka" 26 that Lord Krishna founded a federation ‘Gana-sangha’ of the Andhak and Vrishni clans. This federation was known as ‘ jñāti-sangh’. Natthan Singh theorises that over a period of time "jñāti" to became "jāṭ". Natthan Singh, "Jat-Itihas", (Jat History), page-41:Jat Samaj Kalyan Parishad, F-13, Dr Rajendra Prasad Colony, Tansen marg, Gwalior, M.P, India 474 002 2004]

According to Ram Lal Hala, the word Jat is derived from word 'Yat'. He proposes that there was a Chandra Vanshi king named Ushana (उशना), ancestor of Lord Krishna. Ushana was born after nine generations of Yadu. Ushana performed hundred Ashvamedha Yagyas and got the title of 'yat'. The word 'Yat' later may have changed to 'Jat'. Ram Lal Hala, Jat Kshatriya Itihas ]

Indo-Scythian origin

Professor B.S. Dhillon states that Jat people are mainly of Indo-Scythian lineage with composite mixing of Sarmatians, Goths & Jutes in History and study of the Jats. [cite book |title=History and study of the Jats|author=Professor B. S. Dhillon|coauthors= |year=1994|publisher=Beta Publishers|isbn=1895603021] Historian James Tod agreed in considering the Jat people to be of Indo-Scythian Stock. [Tod, J., (Lt. Col.), Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol.1, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London, 1972 (reprint), first published in 1829, pp. 623.] Moreover, Sir Alexander Cunningham, Former Director-General of the Archeological Survey of India, considered the Jat people to be the Xanthii (a Scythian tribe) of Scythian stock who he considered very likely called the Zaths (Jats) of early Arab writers. [Sir Alexander Cunningham, (Sir, Major-General, and former Director-General of the Archeological Survey of India), Coins of the Indo-Scythians, Sakas, and Kushans, Indological Book House, Varanasi, India, 1971, first published in 1888, pp. 33.] He stated "their name is found in Northern India from the beginning of the Christian era." These people were considered by early Arab writers to have descended from Meds and Zaths. [Sir Alexander Cunningham, (Sir, Major-General, and former Director-General of the Archeological Survey of India), Coins of the Indo-Scythians, Sakas, and Kushans, Indological Book House, Varanasi, India, 1971, first published in 1888, pp. 33.] [Rose, H.A., A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, Reprinted by the Languages Dept., Patiala, Punjab, 1970, first published in 1883, pp. 362-363, (Vol. II), 58 (Vol. I).] Sir Cunningham believes they "were in full possession of the valley of the Indus towards the end of the seventh century.Alexander Cunningham, "The Ancient Geography of India: The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang" (1871), pp. 290-291.] Sir Alexander Cunningham held that the Rajputs belonged to the original Scythian stock, and the Jats to a late wave of immigrants from the north west, of Scythian race.Alexander Cunningham, "The Ancient Geography of India: The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang" (1871), pp. 290-291.]

*Sir Alexander Cunningham, "(Former Director-General of the Archeological Survey of India)" wrote: cquote|The Xanthii "(a Scythian tribe)" are very probably the Zaths (Jats) of the early Arab writers. As the Zaths were in Sindh to the west of the Indus, this location agrees very well with what we know of the settlement of the Sakas (Scythians) on the Indian frontier. [Sir Alexander Cunningham, (Sir, Major-General, and former Director-General of the Archeological Survey of India), Coins of the Indo-Scythians, Sakas, and Kushans, Indological Book House, Varanasi, India, 1971, first published in 1888, pp. 33.]

*Arthur Edward Barstow wrote: cquote|Greeks of Bactria "(partly modern Afghanistan)", expelled by the hordes of Scythians, entered India in the second and first centuries BC and are said to have penetrated as far as Orissa "(an Indian province in south-east)". Meanwhile the Medii, Xanthii, Jatii, Getae and other Scythian races, were gradually working their way from the banks of the Oxus "(River valley in Central Asia)" into Southern Afghanistan and the pastoral highland about Quetta "(a Pakistani city)", whence they forced their way by the Bolan Pass, through the Sulaiman Mountains into India, settling in the Punjab about the beginning of the first century AD. It is from these Scythian immigrants that most of the Jat tribes are at any rate partly descended. [Barstow, A.E., The Sikhs: An Ethnology, Reprinted by B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi, India, 1985, first published in 1928, pp. 105-135, 63, 155, 152, 145.]

*A.H. Bingley wrote: cquote|It is from these Scythian Immigrants that most of the Jat tribes are at any rate partly descended. [Bingley, A.H., Handbooks for the Indian Army: Sikhs, Compiled Under the Orders of the Government of India, Printed at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, India, 1899, pp. 8-9, 3.]

*Professor J. Pettigrew wrote: cquote|Another view holds that the Jats came from Asia Minor and Armenia in the successive invasions during the period 600 B.C. to A.D. 600. [Professor J. Pettigrew, Robber Noblemen: A Study of the Political System of the Sikh Jats, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London, 1975, pp. 25, 238.]

*Professor H.S. Williams wrote: cquote|The extent of the Scythian invasion has been variously estimated. Some scholars believe that they virtually supplanted the previous population of India (means Punjab), and there seems little doubt that by far the most numerous section of the Punjab population is of Scythian origin. [Professor H.S. Willliams, The Historians' History of the World, 21 Vols., The Outlook Company, New York, 1905, Vol. 2, pp. 481.]

*Professor P.S. Gill wrote: cquote|There is a general consensus of opinion that Jats, and with them Rajputs and Gujjars were foreigners who came from their original home, near the Oxus, Central Asia. [Professor P.S. Gill, Heritage of Sikh Culture, New Academic Publishing Co., Jullundur, Punjab, 1975, pp. 12-13.]

*H.A Rose wrote: cquote|Many of the Jat tribes of the Punjab have customs which apparently point to non-Aryan origin. Suffice it to say that both Sir Alexander Cunningham and Colonel Tod agreed in considering the Jats to be of Indo-Scythian Stock. The former identified them with the Zanthi of Strabo "(Greek Geographer of the ancient times)" and the Jatii of Pliny "(Roman writer)" and Ptolemy "(Another Greek Geographer of the ancient times)"; and held that they probably entered the Punjab from their home on the Oxus (in Central Asia) very shortly after the Meds or Mands (still exist as one of the Jat clans of the Punjab), who also were Indo-Scythians, and who moved into the Punjab about a century before Christ. [Rose, H.A., A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, Reprinted by the Languages Dept., Patiala, Punjab, 1970, first published in 1883, pp. 362-363, (Vol. II), 58 (Vol. I).]

*Sir H.M. Elliot wrote: cquote|These ignorant tribes (Jats) pointing to the remote Ghazni (Afghanistan) as their original seat, the very spot we know to have been occupied by the Yuechi, or, as Klaproth says, more correctly, Yuti, in the first centuries of our era, after the Sakas "(a Scythian tribe)" were repelled back from the frontiers of India, and left the country between India and Persia open for their occupation. The Jat tribes no doubt emigrated, not at all once, but at different times, and it is probable that those in the North-West are among the latest importations. [Sir H.M. Elliot, Encyclopaedia of Caste, Customs, Rites and Superstitions of the Races of Northern India, Vol. 1, Reprinted by Sumit Publications, Delhi, 1985, first published in 1870, pp. 133-134.]

*I. Sara wrote: cquote|Recent excavations in the Ukraine and Crimea. The finds points to the visible links of the Jat and Scythians. [Sara, I., The Scythian Origins of the Sikh-Jat, The Sikh Review, March 1978, pp. 26-35.]

*Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff wrote: cquote|My conclusion, therefore, is, that the Jats may be of Scythian descent. [Elphinstone, M. (Hon.), The History of India, Reprinted by Kitab Mahal Private Ltd., Allahabad, India, 1966, first published in 1874, pp. 226-229, 16-17, 12.]

*U.S. Mahil wrote: cquote|Jat were called Scythians; because they were the inhabitants of the ancient country of Scythia. The Jats who invaded the Punjab and conquered India up to Benares were called Indo-Scythians. [Mahil, U.S., Antiquity of Jat Race, Atma Ram & Sons, Delhi, India, 1955, pp. 2, 9,14.]

*J.F. Hewitt wrote: cquote|Further evidence both of the early history and origin of the race of Jats, or Getae, is given by the customs and geographical position of another tribe of the same stock, called the Massagetae, or great (massa) Getae. [Hewitt, J.F., The Ruling Races of Prehistoric Times in India, South-Western Asia and Southern Europe, Archibald Constable & Co., London, 1894, pp. 481-487.]

*Sir George MacMunn "(Sir and Lt. General)" wrote: cquote|Alexander came to India in his capacity as the holder of the Persian throne. From his camp near Kabul (Afghanistan), theMacedonian (Alexander) summoned those chiefs whom Skylax "(Persian general)" hadconquered in the old time afore, to come and renew their homage to their ancient Persianoverlord in the person of himself. Several obeyed his summons, others did not, and it hasbeen surmised that those who did were later arrivals, of Jat or Scythian origin, outsidethe normal Aryan fold as later comers to India. [MacMunn, G. "(Sir and Lt. General)", The Martial Races of India, Reprinted by Mittal Publications, Delhi, India, 1979, first published in 1932, pp. 21-22.]

*S.M Latif wrote: cquote|A considerable portion of the routed army of the Scythians settled in the Punjab, and a race of them, called Nomardy, inhabited the country on the west bank of the Indus (river). They are described as a nomadic tribe, living in wooden houses, after the old Scythian fashion, and settling where they found sufficient pasturage. A portion of these settlers, the descendants of Massagetae, were called Getaes, from whom sprung the modern Jats. [Latif, S.M., History of the Panjab, Reprinted by Progressive Books, Lahore, Pakistan, 1984, first published in 1891, pp. 56.]
*Sir Denzil Ibbetson wrote: " .... the original Rajput and the original Jat entered India at different times in its history. But if they do originally represent to separate waves of immigration, it is at least exceedingly probable, both from their almost identical physique and facial character and from the close communion which has always existed between them, that they belong to one and the same ethnic stock; and it is almost certain that the joint Jat Rajput stock contains not a few tribes of aboriginal descent, though it is probably in the main Aryo-Scythian."

Indo-Aryan origin

The Indo-Aryan origin of Jat people has been advocated on the basis of ethnological, physical and linguistic standards by many historians like E.B. Havell, [E.B.Havell: "The history of Aryan rule in India", page 32] Qanungo, [Qanungo: "History of the Jats"] C.V.Vaidya, [C.V.Vaidya: "History of Medieval Hindu India"] Sir Herbert Risley, [Sir Herbert Risley: "The People of India"] Thakur Deshraj, [Thakur Deshraj: "Jat Itihasa"] Mangal Sen Jindal [Mangal Sen Jindal: "History of Origin of Some Clans in India"] etc.

They had to migrate from India on economic, social and political reasons for some period but they returned back to India. In the migration also they did not leave their language and cultural traditions. Due to this reason only Jats do not have linguistic or physical similarities with other groups including Huns,Scythiansetc. [Dr Natthan Singh: Jat - Itihas (Hindi), Jat Samaj Kalyan Parishad Gwalior, 2004 (Page 38)] This view is also supported by Thakur Deshraj who writes that on the basis of ethnological, physical, cultural and linguistic standards Jats are Aryans who inhabited the areas on the banks of Ganga-Yamuna or Sarswati-Sindhu during time of the Vedic civilization. [Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihasa, Page 64]

Popular tradition

Thakur Deshraj, [Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihasa, Page 65] Ram Lal hala [Ram Lal Hala, Jat Kshatriya Itihas ] and

Al-Biruni [Al-Biruni, India:Trans by Kayamuddin, Published by National Book Trust, India, 1997 page-176 ] considers Jats to be the descendants of Krishna.

If popular tradition counts for anything, it points to the view that they (Jats) are an essentially Indo-Aryan people who have migrated from the east to the west and not Indo-Scythian [Qanungo: History of the Jats]

In scientific racism

In 19th century scientific racism, British scholars struggled with the definition of "races" in India, asking whether the Jats are "Aryans". Sir Herbert Risley considered the Rajput and the Jat to be the "true representatives of the Vedic Aryans". [Sir Herbert Risley : The People of India page number] Risley has mentioned in 1901 census report that as per their physique Jats are "pure Aryans". [Sir Herbert Risley: Census of India report 1901, Page 500 ] Qanungo appeared to rely on Sir Risley's theory. Qanungo wrote, "The European pioneers of Indian antiquities and ethnology apparently started with the presumption that fine and energetic martial peoples like the Rajput and the Jat must have been comparatively newcomers from the north-west into India who overcame the effete descendants of the Vedic Aryans (Hindus)----. [Qanungo: History of the Jats] The Jats has been declared by all eminent authorities, to pass successfully the combined test of the physical type and language of true Aryan." [Qanungo: History of the Jats]

Khushwant Singh wrote, "It is now generally accepted that the Jat people who made the northern plains of India their home were of Aryan stock. The origin of the Jat people has been exhaustively dealt with by K.R. Quanungo, who states emphatically that the Jat people are of Aryan stock (Hindus) that came from Rajasthan into Punjab". [Khushwant Singh: The History of the Sikhs, 1963 ]

Dr. Trump and Beams very strongly claimed a pure Indo-Aryan descent for Jats both in consideration of their physical type and language, which has been authoritatively pronounced as a pure dialect of Hindi, without slightest trace of Scythian.

C.V.Vaidya in History of Medieval Hindu India writes that-

"Lastly we have to speak about the Jat people. Their ethnological characteristics also we have already seen, are clearly Aryans. They are fair tall high nosed and long headed. Does their history contradict of their being Aryans ? ….. They are the purest Aryans in India and belong to the first race of Aryans invaders according to our view the solar race of Aryans. …There is not a scrap of historical evidence even to suggest much less to prove such immigration there is neither foreign mention of their coming into India nor have they any tradition of their own sometime coming into India nor is there any historical India record stone inscription or other of their so coming, and we can only ascribe such theories to that unaccountable bias of the winds of many European and native scholars to assign a foreign and Scythic origin to every fine and energetic caste in India." [C.V.Vaidya: History of Medieval Hindu India ]

E.B.Havell writes based on physical features and the language that Ethnographic investigations show that the Indo Aryan type described in Hindu epic a tall fair complexioned long headed race with narrow prominent noses broad shoulders long arms thin waists like a lion and legs like a deer is how (as it was in the earliest) most confined to Kashmir the Punjab and Rajputana and represented by the Khattris, Jats and Rajputs. [E.B.Havell: The history of Aryan rule in India, page 32]

The Jat historian Thakur Deshraj refers to E.B.Havell as above and Mr. Nesfield who said that-

"If appearance goes for anything the Jat could not be Aryans." He further refers to distribution of races of 'North Western Provinces of India' where it has been said that the arguments derived from language are strongly in favour of the pure Aryan origin of the Jats. If they were Scythian conquerors where there Scythian language gone to and how came it that they now speak and have for centuries spoken an Aryan language, a dialect of Hindi". [Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihasa]

"Jat" approaches closely to that ascribed to the traditional Aryan colonies of India. The stature is mostly tall, complexion fair, eyes dark, hair on face plentiful, head long. Nose narrow and prominent but very long. [Risley, H., The People of India] [Qanungo: History of the Jats]

The reputed historian Qanungo writes that the philologists like Dr Trumpp and Beames [Elliot's Memoirs of the Races of North-Western Provinces of India, I, 135-137] very strongly claimed a pure Indo-Aryan descent for Jats both in consideration of their physical type and language, which has been authoritatively pronounced as a pure dialect of Hindi, without the slightest trace of Scythian. But they were silenced by the progressive science, which established the unassailable dictum "Language is not a proof of race." [Qanungo, History of the Jats, Ed dr Vir Singh, Delhi, 2003, p.4]

Next, the anthropologists appeared in the field armed with his scientific apparatus to measure the skull and noses of the various peoples of India for the purpose of restoring their lost pedigree. This investigation resulted in the sevenfold classification of the races of India by Sir Herbert Risley, who, on the basis of his research, declared the Rajput and the Jat to be the true representatives of the Vedic Aryans. This was one of the first scientific assaults upon the Indo-Scythian theory. [Qanungo, History of the Jats, Ed dr Vir Singh, Delhi, 2003, p.4]

Sir Herbert Risley's classification of Indian Races table:

The skull or Cephalic Index is considered very important in the classification of races. The Length-Width ration of the skull expressed in percentage is Cephalic Index. These are classified into three categories the Long-headed (dolichocephalic), Medium-headed (mesocephalic) and Short-headed (brachycephalic). [Dr Atal Singh Khokhar, Jāton kī Utpati evam Vistār (Jarta taranginī), 2002, p.322]

Cephalic Index are grouped as in the following table:

Dr Naval Viyogi in his book 'Nagas, The Ancient rulers of India' [Dr Naval Viyogi:'Nagas, The Ancient rulers of India',2002] discusses in detail Sir Herbert Risley's studies to investigate the racial affinities as evidences of anthropology, for consideration to show the affinities of Naga people with other races. The list above has been developed, based on his tables .

Sir Herbert Risley, as Head of Department of Anthropology in 1901 demonstrated, that if a table is compiled of the nasal Indices of various communities from Bengal, Bihar ,Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, then those that with lowest nasal index are closest to the standard. Jats have the lowest nasal Index of 63.1. [Dr Atal Singh Khokhar, Jāton kī Utpati evam Vistār (Jarta taranginī), 2002, p.322]

ee also

* Origin of Jat people from Shiva's Locks: Article on the Hindu mythological account in "Deva Samhita" that traces the origin of Jats to Shiva's locks.

References