Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Khatri/Kshatriya of India

Khatris/Kshatriyas of India

The area between Lahore (named after Love) and Hindu Kush (named after Kush) and area between Harayu (Afghanistan) and Sarayu (Ayodhya) carry the legacy of Lord Rama as their ancestors.

While opposing Hinduism, people missed the distinction between Varna and Jati (castes). Varnas are four as known: Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudras. Jatis are basically the occupations of these four varnas, many in numbers. Jati groups were then further sub divided into Paraganas and Gols, mainly utilised for their social order of marriages, etc. Each Jati-Paragana-Gol have their constitution to follow during social and customary events. It is different than the religion. For example, some Hindus allows widow marriage and some not. The surname or family name mostly derived from the family occupation. Intervarna marriages and births were either absorbed as Vaishya or as Shudra. And those had unclear identification were absorbed as Shudras. However, social relations follow the Jati, not the Varna.

Khatri/Kshatriya is a word derived from the word kshetra, the territory. As a ruler or as a farmer, they own land, the territory. And with development in trades-industries-commerce; the trade area, the business area, the service area, etc, become territory. In modern world, all humans are Kshatriya, are in search of their kshetra!

It seems that, the Khatris as one group, under the pressure of population increase, diversified in many professions other than military: farmers, weavers, rangrej, tailors, merchants, traders, goldsmiths, etc. There trades are different but varna one Khatri. All the 10 Shikh Gurus were Khatri. Muslim rule in India made the diversification of Khatris faster.

From Hindukush to Pataliputra and upto Dhaka, the people living on the banks and plains of Sindhu, Yamuna and Ganga were Khatri/Kshatriya, the majority Hindu population of North India. And their mixing with the local tribes and invader communities created new Jatis in India.

Whether Sindhi or Punjabi, Pakistan is nothing but a Khatri Land. And upto end of Ganga (Bangladesh) North India is a Khatri land. There is a strength in demand of unification of Khatri land of Pakistan and India under one umbrella of united Hindustan. But Religion is the barrier.

Punamchand
29 March 2017

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