Search the Community

First of all this topic is in no way to promote caste it is merely to educate people on the Bhatra Sikh community of the UK and India to dispell much misinformation about them due to a lack of knowledge. It is not a caste but community of Sikhs. This is due to a lack of awareness from most Sikhs who do not come across Bhats or have never heard of their Surenames and do not know any information about them. The Bhatras are one of the three main Sikh communities In the UK and India. The 3 being Ramghiria- carpenters- Jatt Farmers Bhatra - Traders/Businesses men. The Bhatra community is by no means a small community they are vast in numbers both in India and the UK but scattered densley throughout the UK. In areas that are not traditional Asian or Sikh areas. ie they mostly live in white middle class areas of Glasgow, Edindburgh, Bristol, Ipswitch Cardif, Southampton, Portmouth, Newcastle, Liverpool, Preston, Peterborough. And to a lesser extent but still a sizeable population. London, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, leeds, Ilford. Who are the Bhatra Sikhs? They are a Brahmin origin community who were the first to settle in Britain and hence became the first settlers of the subsequent Sikh immigration to the UK. When word spread that Bhatras had successfully established themselves into Britian. This then spread throughout Punjab and more Sikhs from other communities such as Jat and Ramghira started to immigrate after hearing the success stories of the Bhatras.The Bhats also provided the new communities with links and help with settling into the UK . They also built the very first Sikh temples in Britian. The Orgins of Bhatras The Bhats originate from the Saraswat Brahmins Hindus of north India. Who lived on the banks of the now-extinct river Saraswati of Pakistan Punjab or Kashmir. This connection with their Brahmin roots is also evident in that that Bhatras still retain their priestly attributes in similarity with the Brahmins. Most if not all of the Historial Gurdwaras are run by the Bhats and most of the early Bhats carried out much of Guru Nanaks missionary work/religious scriptures, writing ect.. In similar with the Brahmins they are known for being excellent in astrology. Saying this as the Brahmins are known for being priestly/missionary and religious community they naturally preached to people from all communities hence some Bhatras are made up. of people from other Sikh communities also, such as Rajput/Brahmin/jat/tharkan ect after being preached to by the Bhat Sikhs. Saraswat Brahmin The Bhatras/Bhats were originally northern Saraswat Brahmins, round 1900 BC, the river Saraswati started vanishing under ground and the people on its banks started migrating to other parts of South Asia thus forming sub-communities. During the Islamic invasions of modern day Pakistan and India, many Saraswat Brahmins were forced to flee due to religious oppression. During the 14th and 15th century many Saraswat Brahmins were forced to lead unsettled lifes, unable to practice their hereditary profession as Hindu priests, artists, teachers, scribes, technicians class (varna). They used their academia in there unsettled life travelling as scribes, genealogies, bards and astrologists. These Brahmins Bhats soon converted to Sikhism due to the word of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and due to missionaries such as prince Baba changa Bhat-Rai. The first Sikhs of Guru Nanak The Bhatras are the oldest Sikh community of all and most converted to Sikhism during the 16th and 17th Centrury. Ie they converted to Sikhism from Hinduism during Guru Nanaks very earliest times after Guru Nanak preached to them and followed him all the way back to Punjab from places such as Kashmir and areas surrounding Punjab. This is very different to other Sikh communities who converted to Sikhism much later, during the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Lack of awareness of Bhatra community – Only Singh and Kaur names are used The Bhatra community generally does not shout about their community name/Gotra names in songs/movies ect. Hence people simply do know of them due to this. Most Bhatras also fiercely retain the tradition which was instructed by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Of only having Singh or Kaur in their last name in fact it is unheard of of Bhatras to keep their family names. As they believe it is more important to have Singh or Kaur in their official name. This is to stop people from going down the line of caste and being proud of ones particular caste. Hence you won’t come across a Bhatra surnames like you would for instance a Jat or Tharkan name like Sandhu or Bansal. Hence people often do not come across any Bhatra surnames in their life to become aware of who they are. Even though they might meet or see Bhatras all the time. Although Bhatra community is very successful especially in owning business and shops you wont actually come across a shop or business with a Bhatra surname in it. It is always Singh or Kaur. This makes us as a community stand out less due to having no distinctive names to distinguish us from the rest of the Sikh communities. This is very different from the Jat and Tharkan community who will 99% of the time keep their family name and not even have Singh or Kaur in their name. Hence this further makes people unfamiliar with Bhatras. The Bhatra community place more importance in only have Singh or Kaur in line with the teachings of Sikhism.Although sadly this is starting to change during last decade. As some Bhatras are starting to copy their Jat and Tharkan brothers and now having their family name as officially on their birth certificates ect. Geographic Location of Bhatra community in the UK Another reason for the unfamiliarity of the Bhatra community is their geographic locations in the UK. When Sikhs first settled in the UK. They all first lived in seaport areas as they naturally came to the UK on ships in those days not on planes. Most other Sikh communities moved on from here to the big Cities like Birmingham London, ect to take up waged employment in the factories ect. But a lot of the Bhatras preferred to stay in the seaport areas and not move to the big cities as they were mostly already self-employed owning shops and businesses as this is their traditional occupation so they so no reason to move and leave their businesses behind. So this is the reason why many people do not see large Bhat populations in the big cities. They are mostly concentrated in the original places they migrated to in the UK. These include areas near sea ports such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Southampton, Cardiff, Swansea, Doncaster, Preston, Newcastle , Liverpool. In these areas the Bhat community make up the Majority of the Sikh community in all these areas. As can be seen The Bhats are scattered around all over the UK from all the way in the South of the Country to all the way up Scotland. But most other Sikh communities are concentrated in West Midlands, London, Southall ect making their community stand out more. This is now changing though as Many Bhatras want to take advantage of the greater opportunities in education there are in the big cities many are now starting to move to big cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham ect to study or work as doctors, accountants, lawyers ect. A Bhatra Sikh wedding in Nottingham Famous Bhatra Sikhs - Jay Status - Sukhwinder Roudh - UK Bhangra Singer from Birmingham Most common Surnames in the Bhatra community Roudh - They are mostly associated with coming from Aryan ancestors/Greek. known for their warrior fighting come from Amritsar. Bhakar - This one is the most associated with the Brahmins out of the Bhat Clans. Still perform some Brahmin rituals just for tradition purposes they are starting to stop this as most Bhats dont agree with them doing it. based in Ambala and Dehli. Rathore - They come from the Rajputs - Known for their warrior fighting Landa One of the Biggest Bhat Clans Bance Most business orientated Digpal Similar to Bhakar Clan Potiwal - Most traditional of the Bhats Taak also Rajput ancestry Thariwal - Very Fair skinned . Aryan ancestors Due to Bhat Community being involved in missionary work the Bhats also include surenames from other Sikh groups. Such as Rajput/Tharkan/Khatri/Jat When these people became Sikhs and Joined into the Bhat community they brought their surenames with them. Hence Some Bhats have mixed ancestry. But the Majority of Bhats exclusively are of North Indian Brahmin origin.Hence most Bhats are light Skinned but some are darker skinned depending on what part of Sikh spectrum they are from. Bhats consider themselves to be the true Punjabis and Khalsa as most originated in the Punjab. Particularly Amritsar as this is the Most holy of Sikh places and Bhats were naturally drawn here from the 16th century. There ancestors of course were in the Punjab many centuries before this.