Jats in Jammu and Kashmir
The Jats in J&K are originally from Mirpur/Bhimber (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) who migrated in 1947 to Jammu, though there were a few Jat settlements in Jammu before 1947 as well.
In Jammu they are called Choudharys. The Jats in Jammu are Punjabi speaking, and are (therefore) called Jatt. Linguistically and culturally they are very similar to Jatt Sikhs of Punjab. Majority of Jatts are in Jammu are Hindus (70%) and the remaining Sikhs. The Hindu and Sikh Jatts in J&K inter-marry.[1]
Demography
Jats form an important element in the population of Jammu and Kashmir. According to the Census of India 1901, there were 148,000 Jats in the state, of which 123,000 were Muslim, and 25,000 were Hindu.[2] They were and still are concenterated in what is now Mirpur and Kotli Districts of POK and the Jammu region of India.
Jat clans in Jammu and Kashmir
The principal clans in Mirpur District are Arnyals, Dhamial, Kalyals, Nangyals, Jand ,Ranyals, Thathals, Dhoor, Jhaal, Kjaat, Nathyal, Pajhaal, Smotra.
Dhamial Jats
Dhamial Jats are a tribe of Punjab, Pakistan. According to the 1931 census the numbered 9,500 of which Jats numbered 1,500 and Rajputs, 8,000. They are chiefly found in the Rawalpindi District but also in Gujrat District, Jhelum District and Attock District of the Punjab and Mirpur District of POK.
The Dhamial are of both Rajput and Jat status, as are many tribes of the Pothohar region[3]. They account for themselves as having come originally from Ghazni to the Sialkot District, from whence they went to Dhamiak (Jhelum Tehsil) where they built a fort. According to some other sources, both the Dhamial Jats and Rajputs are of Janjua descent. [4]
The Dhamial have no connection with the Dhanyal , the two tribes being quite distinct. [5]
Notable Jats from Jammu and Kashmir
- Minisha Lamba - Actress
- Subedar Bahadur Singh - Vir Chakra (posthumous), from village Digiana ( डिगियाना) in district Jammu. He became martyr on 11 June 1999 in Kargil War. He was in Unit - 12 JAK Light Infantry.
- Havaldar Madal Lal - Vir Chakra (Posthumous) from village Ban Talab (बन तलब) in Jammu district in Jammu-Kashmir. He became martyr in Kargil War on 5 July 1999. He was in Unit - 18 Grenadiers. He was part of the Commando 'Ghatak' Platoon tasked to capture three strategic bunkers on Tiger Hill, whose gunner Yogendra Singh Yadav was awarded Paramvir Chakra while fighting with 12 Northern Light Infantry of Pakistan in Dras sector of Kargil area to recapture the Tiger hill on 04 July 1999.
- Ch. Kamal Singh - President, Jat Kalyan Sabha Jammu and Kashmir, Mob: 9419182937, 0191-2555490, Address: Chauhan's, A-42, Bharat Nagar, Talab Tillo, Jammu, - 180002, Email: jattkalyansabha@gmail.com. General Secretary, Sir Chhotu Ram Jat Charitable Trust, Sir Chhotu Ram Jat Bhawan, 17 Mile Stone, NH-1 A, Thandi Kui, Kamala Ganv, Vijpur, Jammu
- जम्मू कश्मीर जाट महासभा के अध्यक्ष चौधरी मनमोहन सिंह
References
- ↑ Information about Jats in J&K provided by Amit Pal Singh Smotra:
- ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India Volume 15 page 100
- ↑ Punjab Castes Denzil Ibbetson Sang-e-Meel Publication
- ↑ Tehreek-e-Janjua by Raja Muhammad Anwar Khan Janjua (Sahiwal Press 1982, v1)
- ↑ PUNJABI MUSALMANS Lt. Col. J.M. Wikeley Second Edition THE BOOK HOUSE
Back to Gotras