Bhatra Community

[JRoudh]

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 16^th and 17^th 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.

[garch]

Are bhatras and bhatts (bhatts as in the saints to have their bani in sggs) the samething??

[Cisco_Singh]

I don't know many bhatras there isn't many where I live. But they seem to be a pretty religious community. The males generally all keep their dastaars and kesh which is to be admired. Similar to the ramgarhias that emigrated to east Africa.

I've noticed that bhatras seem to get their children married at very young ages I.e by the time they are 20.

Can anyone clarify the famous rumour about bhatras is it true they serve meat in their Gurdwaras I.e: bacon, eggs etc?? I have heard this rumour several times. Always assumed it to be false though..

[sat]

Nice freindly people , we have these sikh brothers and sister in our local community and they have established a local Gurdwara too.

Not ever seen any meat related products being served.

Sad to see they are picking up some of our bad habits i.e. surnames, parties etc hope they lose them quickly.

[JRoudh]

Are bhatras and bhatts (bhatts as in the saints to have their bani in sggs) the samething??

In relation to your question I am not 100% sure of that but I got this info regarding your question from Wikipedia

Bhat Vahis were scrolls or records maintained by Bhatts also known as Bhatra. The majority of Bhat Sikhs originate from Punjab and were amongst the first followers of Guru Nanak. Bhat tradition and Sikh text states their ancestors came from Punjab, where the Raja Shivnabh and his kingdom became the original 16th century followers of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. The Raja's grandson Prince Baba Changa earned the title ‘Bhat Rai’ – the ‘Raja of Poets, and then settled himself and his followers all over India as missionaries to spread the word of Guru Nanak, where many northern Indians became

Bhat Sikhs.^[1] The majority were from the northern Brahmin caste (Bhat clan),(Bhat (surname)) as the Prince Baba Changa shared the Brahmin heritage. The sangat also had many members from different areas of the Sikh caste spectrum, such as the Hindu Rajputs and Hindu Jats who joined due to Bhat sikh missionary efforts. The Bhats also contributed 123 compositions in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (pp.1389–1409), known as the "Bhata de Savaiyye".^[2] There hereditary occupations consisted of bards, poets, missionaries, astrologists, genealogists, salesmen. According to Nesfield as quoted in W. Crooke, The Tribes and Castes of the North Western India, 1896, Bhatts frequently visited the courts of princes and the camps of warriors, recited their praises in public, and kept records of their genealogies.

Bardic tradition as a source of Sikh history[edit]

These bards constantly attended upon or visited their patron families reciting panegyrics to them and receiving customary rewards. They also collected information about births, deaths and marriages in the families and recorded it in their scrolls. These scrolls containing information going back to several past centuries formed the valued part of the bards` hereditary possessions. A group of Bhatts was introduced to Guru Arjan, Nanak V, by Bhatt Bhikha who had himself become a Sikh in the time of Guru Amar Das.

According to Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 21, and Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, he had once visited Guru Arjan with the sangat of Sultanpur Lodhi. Some of the Bhatts who came into the Sikh fold composed hymns in honour of the Gurus which were entered in the Guru Granth Sahib by Guru Arjan. These Bhatts and their successors too maintained their vahis in which they recorded information concerning the Gurus, their families and some of the eminent Sikhs. These old vahis are still preserved in the descendant families, now scattered mostly in Haryana state. Their script is bhattakshari, a kind of family code like lande or mahajani. During the late 1950s, a researcher, Giani Garja Singh, obtained Gurmukhi transcripts of some of the entries pertaining to the Guru period, from Guru Hargobind (15951644) to Guru Gobind Singh (16661708) through Bhatt Man Singh of Karsindhu village, in Jind district. Some of these were published as footnotes to Shahid Bilas Bhai Mani Singh, edited by Giani Garja Singh and published by Punjabi Sahitya Akademi, Ludhiana, in 1961. The rest are still in manuscript form lying in the Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala. These extracts provide valuable information regarding dates, places and events of the period.

The Bhatt are an Indian caste; Brahmin, traditionally employed as genealogists, found mainly in North India,^[1] with a smaller minority found in Pakistan. They are also known asRai Bhatt and Brahm Bhatt other sub title as Bandiji, Barna, Barwa, Bhargava, Bhatela, Maharaj/ Rao, Raja/ Rai, Kavi putra (in Hindi a poet), and Dasaundhi. The Bhat are a caste who traditionally the genealogists of a number of North Indian castes. The northern Indian Sikhs have a Brahmin Bhatt heritage, and are known as the Bhatt or Bhatra sangat and were amongst the first followers of Guru Nanak.^[2]

Contents [hide]

• 1 Origin
  • 1.1 Sikh Bhats
  • 1.2 Bhatt of South India
• 2 See also
• 3 References

Origin[edit]

In Gujarat the Bhat are known as Barots.In Rajasthan the Bhat are known as Rao.In Orissa Bhat are known as Baikar,Rai,Darwan,Sharma. Other names include Rao, Kavi (in Hindi a poet), and Dausandhi from dasham or tenth, i.e. one who is entitled to a tenth part, as it was customary for a chief to give his bard a tenth of his own income. They are divided into a number of sections, the Naqib or flag bearers in a procession the Nazir or ushers who introduced visitors to a Rajah, the Nagaria or players of drums, the Karaola who pour sesame oil on their clothes and beg, the Panda who serve as priests of Devi and the Baraigi Bhat who beg from Bairago and keep genealogies of the temple priests. Other Bhat sub-groups include the vuna, Brahmbhatt,Raibhatt, Jaga, Vartishar, Chandisar and Kutichar^[3]

In addition of being genealogists, the Bhatt are also famous puppeteers and with their string marionettes or katputlis, they used to travel the countryside holding village shows.

Sikh Bhats[edit]

In areas such as the Punjab most of the Northern Hindu Saraswat Brahmins and some various other northern Hindu castes, such as Rajputs converted to the Sikh Bhat/Bhatra sangat during the missionary efforts of prince Changa Bhat Rai who earned the title “Bhat Rai”, who was the grandson of Raja Shivnabh, a Hindu king who had met Guru Nanakand converted to Sikhism during the 16th century.^[4] (Bhat clan)

During the 14th to 16th century many Saraswat Brahmins were forced to lead unsettled lives due to religious oppression, 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. In the 15th century the religion of Sikhism was born causing many to follow the word of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Even though Sikhism itself does not support separation by caste, the social system meant that the Bhatra followed a hereditary profession of travelling missionaries, scribes, genealogies, bards astrologists and itinerant salesman.,^[5] however it is not uncommon to see Bhats in other professions such as farming and retail

[JagsawSingh]

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.

Thats definately true of the other cities you mentioned but definately not Southampton. I think the fact that Southampton has one bhatt sangat Gurdwara and 3 large non-bhatt Gurdwaras (Singh Sabha and Nanaksar etc) is testament to that. And, I think I might be correct in saying that the non-bhatt Sikh groups have massively overtaken bhatras in terms of population in Glasgow over the last decade or so given the massive influx of freshies there. But you're right, Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Portsmouth and Cardiff Sikhs are overwhelmingly bhatra and, interestingly enough, the majority of Sikhs that live in the traditional Muslim areas of eastern Birmingham such as Balsall Heath (most other Birmingham Sikhs live in the north western parts of the city such as Handsworth, Smethwick etc). One thing I hope you'll be able to shed some light on Roudh, because I've always wandered : One the UK's oldest Gurdwaras is the bhatra Gurdwara in the real East End of London (Campbell Road in Bow). I've always wandered why it was founded in Bow when history tells us that the Sikhs of the East End in the 1920's all the way up to the late 1950's lived in the Aldgate end of the East End (not Bow). Why was Bow chosen ?

In relation to your question I am not 100% sure of that but I got this info regarding your question from Wikipedia

No offence, but quite possibly the worst way to start a post.

[JRoudh]

Thats definately true of the other cities you mentioned but definately not Southampton. I think the fact that Southampton has one bhatt sangat Gurdwara and 3 large non-bhatt Gurdwaras (Singh Sabha and Nanaksar etc) is testament to that. And, I think I might be correct in saying that the non-bhatt Sikh groups have massively overtaken bhatras in terms of population in Glasgow over the last decade or so given the massive influx of freshies there. But you're right, Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Portsmouth and Cardiff Sikhs are overwhelmingly bhatra and, interestingly enough, the majority of Sikhs that live in the traditional Muslim areas of eastern Birmingham such as Balsall Heath (most other Birmingham Sikhs live in the north western parts of the city such as Handsworth, Smethwick etc). One thing I hope you'll be able to shed some light on Roudh, because I've always wandered : One the UK's oldest Gurdwaras is the bhatra Gurdwara in the real East End of London (Campbell Road in Bow). I've always wandered why it was founded in Bow when history tells us that the Sikhs of the East End in the 1920's all the way up to the late 1950's lived in the Aldgate end of the East End (not Bow). Why was Bow chosen ?

No offence, but quite possibly the worst way to start a post.

Well I have not been to some of these cities in quite a long time so I dont know what the current makeup of these regions are. But going from the last time I went there the Bhats were the Majority . Maybe this has changed though in recent times as new Sikh communities have moved. I know for sure that Edinburgh is mostly a Bhat Majority area aswell as the other cities I mentioned. As I said many Bhats are moving away from these places and moving to the big cities. for some reason the Bhat community likes to stay in mainly white areas as this is what they are probably use to.

The Bow Gurdwara on Camphall road is very interesting and I do recall some kind of story behind it. I think there was some kind of disagreement in the Bhat Sangat as to where the new Temple would be built or something along those lines. Im not to sure but I know there was a fight and some kind of split in the community about it.

My Uncle was married in the Bow Gurdwara about 24 years ago so maybe he knows. I still go to this Gurdwara occasionaly. But due to Bhats being very close knit COMMUNITY they can sometimes become a bit nosey into your personal matters. I prefer to attend the local Ramgharia or Jat Gurdwara I can be left alone without being asked a million questions. Plus its alot closer for me to travel to.

[JRoudh]

I don't know many bhatras there isn't many where I live. But they seem to be a pretty religious community. The males generally all keep their dastaars and kesh which is to be admired. Similar to the ramgarhias that emigrated to east Africa.

I've noticed that bhatras seem to get their children married at very young ages I.e by the time they are 20.

Can anyone clarify the famous rumour about bhatras is it true they serve meat in their Gurdwaras I.e: bacon, eggs etc?? I have heard this rumour several times. Always assumed it to be false though..

Most Bhats do not live in traditional Sikh areas like Southall, Ealing, Handsworth, Hounslow hence why they are probably not as visible as other Sikh communities. This then gives a false impression that Bhatras are a small community when infact they are a very large group in the UK. This is starting to change though as more Bhatra are now moving into the big cities such as Birmingham/Nottingham/London ect to take up professional jobs.

with regards to meat being served in Gurdwaras. Having been to probably most of the Bhat Gurdwaras up and down the country I can categorically say I have never seen this occur in all my life.

I am not exactly sure were this false suggestion appeared. Bhats are very very orthodox in their beliefs and would not dare eat meat on the day they attend the Gurdwara let alone eat meat in the actual Gurdwara.

[gsinghysingh]

Nice post veer, any community that holds are gurus in there hearts are a good one. Akaal

[Ranjeet01]

Bhatra community it seems is an older Sikh community and it seems that they would arrived by boat. It seems that for this reason they would be based in port based coastal cities and towns.

The later Sikhs would have based themselves in more industrial areas. The reason why there are Sikhs in the Southall area is because of a Rubber Factory which was owned by some ex military person who served with many Sikhs. I presume that Birmingham and West Midlands again attracted Siks due to the abundance of factory/assembly work.