Jat Characteristics

The reputed historian Qanungo writes that the philologists like Dr. Trumpp and Beames 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.

Ram Sarup Joon

Ram Sarup Joon writes that...

The Jats have pure Aryan physical features. Their wheatish complexion, oval face with a firm jaw,

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prominent nose, dark eyes, thin lips, well set teeth, long neck, broad shoulders, thin waist and tall stature are unmistakably Aryan. Hardly any Jat will be found with non-Aryan features. They have retained racial purity due to their homogeneity. It can be safely said that if any people have preserved pure Aryan characteristics it is the Jats, Ahirs and Gujars.

Jatki: - Jats speak a dialect akin to Hindi, called Jatki or Haryanvi.

Their dress is simple. The men's dress consists of a turban, shirt, dhoti, jooties and cotton or woolen shawl.

Women wear orhna (veil) shirt or Angia (short blouse) ghagri (heavy skirt) jooties (country made shoes) and heavy ornaments around the neck, wrists and ankles.

Jats are mostly non-meat eaters as a result of Buddhist influence. Their staple food is wheat or bajra, vegetables and plenty of milk and ghee.

A Jat generally goes for only two professions, handed down by his ancestors, agriculture or soldiering, and excels in both. A Jat may starve but will seldom take up a profession involving menial labour for another person. As soldiers they are fearless and loyal but sensitive, and need careful handling and good leadership. As farmers they are very industrious and both men and women work hard on their land. They are very fond and proud of their cattle, which are amongst the finest breed in the world. Jats meet their simple needs from what they produce and are, therefore, self-reliant. This has had two effects. On one hand, they have managed to live in tact for centuries around Delhi, the capital of India, and could never be coerced in to changing their form or character inspite of numerous changes of governments with different ideologies and religions. On the other hand it has hampered their progress in modern times in educational and technical fields, because they stuck to their land.

A Jat is fearless and frank in expression. He

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neither likes to receive or extend flattery. Jats maintain both friendship and enmity for generations. An old Jat will not die in peace unless he has explained to his descendants the good or evil deeds done unto him by others and taken promise for a return favour or revenge. They are a very hardy lot. There is a popular saying that considers a Jat dead only after thirteen days have passed after his death. The reputed historian Qanungo writes that the philologists like Dr. Trumpp and Beames 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."

Mangal Sen Jindal

Mangal Sen Jindal writes .... Jats are brave, intelligent, hard working and possess capacity to rule. They are less merciful. They want to sub-due other people of their settlements. They form good soldiers and officers in military. There may not be a person in India who has not heard of the chivalry of Jat and Sikh regiments in wars against Pakistan. Most of the Sikhs are 'Jats'. They are the back bone of cultivation in the country and have added to the produce food grain and suarcane to a great extnt. They have proved to be best farmers ind work very hard with the soil. Their women and children go side by side in cultivation. Primarily they formed a martial race and then established to cultivation.

'Jats' up to past 30 years were very fond of horses. Every Chowdhry must possess a good horse to ride on. He took vanity in horse possession. Now the position of conveyance in India has changed from animal to machinery. Still they are fond of good breed bullocks and powerful tractors. There was a time when a Jat without a horse was looked down in his society. Nowadays 'jats' are well read and possess high positions in all branches of academic and technical subjects.

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'Jats' as we find them in India are fair in colour, tall, well-built. They have beautiful features.

The Jat Itihas refers to "The History of Aryan rule in India, page 32" that "Ethnographic investigation show that the Indo-Aryan type described in the Hindu Epic-a tall, fair complexioned, long headed race, with narrow prominent noses, broad shoulders, long arms, thin waists like lion and thin legs like a deer is now (as it was in the earliest times) most confined to Kashmere, the Punjab and Rajasthan represented by the Jats, Khatiris and Rajputs". Jat Itihas, page 120.

It further refers to Mr. Nesfield who said "If appearance goes for anything the Jats could not but be Aryans". It refers to Dr. Britain who has written "Their (Jats) intellectual faculties are not brilliant partaking more of shrewdness and cunning than ability." Jat Itihas, page 121.

They love gardens, Chopal was a necessity in every Jat village, Generally they choose one elderly man to be the head of their village. They are very loyal to the country of their habitation.

They love drinks and are non-vegetarian by nature. They want to clad themselves in shining cloths and desire to possess rarities. They are experts in picking up the trail of thieves or stolen animals which was a necessity in nomads of those days.

The Jat Itihas on pages 63 and 64 refers to Mohmad Bin Kasim who looted India in 712 A.D. and Mahmood of Gazni who also looted India up to Meerut in 1058. Jats had a Kingdom near about Multan where they robbed Mahmood Gazni of nearly half of his loot, while he was on his way back to Gazni. In between Gazni and Herat, there was Bodh religion under Gaur rulers.

"Jat" approaches most closely to that ascribed to the traditional Aryan colonists of India. The stature is mostly tall, complexion fair, eyes dark, hair on face plentiful, head long, nose narrow and prominent but not very long. Page 2,. see Risley's People of India," History of Jats by Qanungo page 8. ".

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"The Jats were in possession of the North Western division of Rajasthan before the Rajpoots entered the provinces, and there is good ground for believing that they had been there for a long period. Some persons have formed the idea that Jats are a branch of the Indo-Scythian from the bank of the Oxus." Hindu Tribes and Castes, Vol.III, page 73.

"Respecting the physical characteristics of the Jats, Dr. Brereton makes the following remarks: in physique the Jats are generally a fair height, but below the average of Rajputs and other castes. Their chest measurement and weight are in fair proportion to their height; the extremities, especially the lower, are often disproportionate to their abnormal length.

The women are of very strong physique, exceeding the men in this respect, proportionately speaking. They are not remarkable for personal beauty, but some have very fine figures. They are also most industrious and contented, working in the fields , but are said to rule their husbands. The prevailing complexion is a fair, and the colour of the eyes dark; the hair is dark, fine and straight, beard and moustachios scanty, and the former not usually worn. The cravia are of tolerably fair size and shape, often elongated, altogether a lower type than the Brahman skull. Their intellectual faculties are not brilliant, partaking more of shrewdness and cunning than ability. They are said to possess courage and fidelity, are industrious and preserving in their habits, and are of agile and muscular frame (The Rajputana Gazetteer Vol. I, page 162)." Hindu Tribes and Castes, Vol. Ill, page 73.

"The Jats, as well as the tribes of Merwara, permit the remarriage of widows. A man may marry the widow of his elder brother. In all the castes,-a widow who has no sons retains her deceased husband's property till her death or remarriage. The youngest brother has the first claim to marry the widow of a deceased brother. Widow marriage is called Natha. Marriage within the same Gotra of family order, are regarded as incestuous are for bidden." Hindu Tribes and Castes, Vol HI, page 75.