Jat Sikh is a sub-group of the Jat people and the Sikh community, from the Indian subcontinent. They form nearly 21%-25% of the population of the Indian state of Punjab. and are thus the second most populous social group there after Dalits of Punjab.
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History
According to censuses of the British Raj period, most Sikh Jats were converted from Hindu Jats. The relationship between the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities of the Punjab region, and between communities such as the Jats and the more martial Rajputs, has been ambiguous over many centuries. The various groups often claim similar origins while asserting their distinctiveness.
Some Jats started to follow the teachings of Guru Nanak in small numbers and these swelled after the formation of the Khalsa. They formed the vanguard of Sikh resistance against the Mughal Empire from the 18th century onwards. W. H. McLeod, basing his work on the martial race theory, says that the Jats began to join Sikhism in large numbers during the period of the sixth guru, Hargobind, but this theory has been rebutted by Jagjit Singh, a Sikh historian.
At least seven of the 12 Sikh Misls (Sikh confederacies) were led by Jat Sikhs.
Influence of Sikhism on Jats
Irfan Habib has argued that Sikhism did much to uplift the social status of Jat people, who were previously regarded in the Punjab as being of Shudra or Vaishya status in the Hindu ritual ranking system of varna. Kishan Singh says
A serious contradiction afflicts the Jat farmer of the Punjab. He has unflinching faith in Guru Gobind Singh, yet at the same time he is inbued with traits typical of a Jat. There are two sides to the Jat’s known traits. One has a positive effect in the sense that it saves him from feeling inferior; and the other side is negative. It makes him overbearing and arrogant which is a disease. A Jat’s negative traits can be suppressed only through the true spirit of Sikhism.
Army recruits
Jat Sikhs, according to Major A.E. Barstow, were very good soldiers due to the influence of Sikhism, and possessed more of a martial quality than their non-Sikh Jat brethren. Barstow further comments, that due to their diet and their fondness for wrestling (something encouraged and taught by Guru Angad to the Sikh people) and weightlifting, they possessed good physical attributes for soldiery. According to R. W. Falcon, Jat Sikhs (alongside other Sikhs) were seen as a good source for recruitment. According to Captain A. H. Bingley they were particularly loyal soldiers.
The Jat Sikh community has constituted an important source of recruits for the Indian Army.
Agriculture
In Punjab (India), Jat Sikhs are associated with agricultural pursuits and land ownership. They own more than 80%, and possibly as much as 95% of available agricultural land in Punjab. They often reside in the rural areas, and are economically influential in the state.