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Revision as of 18:45, 21 September 2006 by 193.62.251.32 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Bhatra or Bhattra community, also known as the Sangat Bhatra community or the Bhat Sikh community, are a group of Sikhs whose origins lie in the Punjab. Today in the United Kingdom there are significant numbers of Sikhs with Bhatra ancestry, as there are in India. In the Punjab most Bhatra Sikhs are now in Patiala, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur or Bhathinda districts; elsewhere in India they tend to live cities, particularly Delhi and Calcutta.
Heritage of Bhatra Sikhs in the UK
Originally Bhatra was the name of a caste or jati within the Indian tradition of social classes, each with its own occupation. Sikhism does not support the caste system, but traditionally the Bhatra hereditary profession was to work as (itinerant salesmen), and sometimes as fortune-tellers similar to the brumans. They were a small group: so small that even in the Punjab many people did not know of them. Though some lived in Lahore, many Bhatra can trace their roots to villages around Sialkot and Gurdaspur Districts.
In the 1920s some men travelled to Britain to work as door-to-door salesmen, most leaving their families in the Punjab to begin with. By the time of the Second World War there were a few hundred Sikhs clustered in British seaports like Cardiff, Bristol, and Southampton. Some returned to India when war broke out, but others stayed on and used contacts with Punjabi merchant seamen to import scarce goods.
The Partition of India in 1947 led many Sikhs to emigrate, and the Bhatra population in the UK was greatly enlarged. Later arrivals tended to join relatives, friends and neighbours from the Punjab, so that some British Bhatra communities have links to one or two particular villages. Difficult journeys following Partition are not forgotten. The Edinburgh Sikh women's group (Sikh Sanjog) has exhibited artwork telling the story of leaving the Punjab and arriving in a strange land. A 2001 obituary of a senior figure in the Cardiff Bhatra community described the trials of leaving northern India in turbulent times.
The traditional Bhatra profession of itinerant salesman was useful to those arriving in the UK. At first most Bhatras, like some other Sikhs, worked either as doorstep or market traders, whether or not they were qualified for other professions. They gradually moved into other roles as self-employed businessmen, often specialising in retailing. By the end of the 1950s selling door-to-door was less common and many British Bhatra Sikhs moved towards commercial enterprises like market stalls, shops, supermarkets and wholesale warehouses.
Not all Bhatras continued in self-employment. Many settled in big cities like Leeds or Birmingham and some took waged jobs in industry. Nowadays the younger Bhatra generation is represented in many varied professions from doctors to accountants, from engineers to musicians.
When possible the Bhatra community has established its own Gurdwaras (temples). As of 2006 there are more than 30 Bhatra or Bhat Sikh temples in the UK, the newest being the one opened in Peterborough in 2004. In some British towns Bhatras are a small proportion of the overall Sikh population (in Glasgow 5%); elsewhere, as in Edinburgh, they are in the majority.
Origins
According to the Sikh Encyclopedia, bhatra is related to the Sanskrit word bhatta, or bhat, a bard or poet. Bhatra Sikhs trace their name to Changa Bhatra, also known as Baba Changa Rai, or Changa Bhai, of Sri Lanka who became a disciple of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. He added Bhatra to his name and his followers became known by this name. The encyclopedia also says that "more than one story is current about their origin".
Today some UK Bhatra Sikhs explain the Bhatra name as made up of bhat, referring to the poets whose verses are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, and ra, an honorary title for poet given to Changa Bhatra after he was educated in Kashi.
The Bhat or Bhatra Sikhs refer to themselves as a sangat (congregation). Traditions say that they originate from Sangladeep, and some say that they are the original sangat of Guru Nanak. Apart from speaking various dialects of Punjabi they still possess a language which they only speak amongst themselves.
Traditions usually mention a Sri Lankan origin. Evidence offered may include the Adi Granth. M.S. Ahluwalia, a Senior Fellow at the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi, discusses Guru Nanak's presence in Sri Lanka and the Adi Granth, but does not mention the Bhatra sangat.
Bhatra Sangat name groups
First of all there are two main groups: Darewal and the Landervaser. The Landervaser are from a village farming background.
There is a story that the Names of the Jart came from 14 Tribes, with names representing animals like Snakes and Lions. The names are as follows:
- Raudh
- Ghola
- Chohan
- Laanda/Landa/Lakhanpal
- Digpal/Digwa
- Rathore: Suali became a derivative from Rathore after a marriage
- Ragge: also from a religious order
- Raudh
- Khalsa
- Bhaker
- Bhatti
- Sherek
- Kasbia
- Jogi
- Potiwal
- Swali
- Thariwal
- Taak
and many more..........
These help to stop the families getting married to their own relatives. It is not acceptable to marry someone who has the same father's family name.
Culture
Commentators have found Bhatra Sikhs pride themselves on an orthodox approach to their religion, and many have more conservative attitudes than other Sikhs. Though Sikhism supports equality for women, a generation ago researchers found some Bhatra girls were withdrawn from English schools before the official leaving age of 16. While this may no longer be the case, some still feel that girls should be preparing for marriage and motherhood.
Food
Sharing food or Langar is important in Sikhism, and each Gurdwara has its own community centre with kitchen.
Marriage
Marriages arranged by the couple's parents are common, and in 1999 were found to be almost the rule in some UK Bhatra communities (for instance, Edinburgh) while elsewhere about half of Bhatra Sikh marriages are arranged by the parents (for instance, Birmingham). This is similar to the frequency of arranged marriage in other UK Asian communities. The typical age of marriage in the Bhatra community is younger than in the UK as a whole although there are signs of change as more go into higher education or focus on careers. Most Sikh marriages in the UK involve members of the same caste. Wedding ceremonies in their various stages may last up to two weeks. The BBC filmed a Bhatra wedding in 1997 which was a traditional "blind marriage" involving a bride and groom who had not seen each other before the ceremony. These are becoming rare and involve only a small minority of Sikhs.
Names for relationships within the family
- Bupu - Papa: Father, Grandfather
- Bebe - Bube: Mother, Grandmother
- Chacha - Chuche: Younger than Father
- Thi-ya - Theuy: Older than Father
- Pupore: Uncle To Sister
- Prajai: Brother's Wife
Further information
See also: List of Sikhism-related topics
Prince Charles has a long-term interest in Sikhism and has met Bhatra Sikhs in various parts of the UK, praising their community work in Manchester.
Other Sikhs in the UK
Although Sikhism does not support the old Indian caste system, in the UK there are some tensions between Jat Sikhs and Bhatra Sikhs which probably have an element of leftover caste prejudice.Jat Sikhs are the biggest group of the approximately 600,000 Sikhs in the UK, though in the first half of the 20th century they and the Bhatra Sikhs had equal numbers of people in the country. The Jats worked as "door-knock" salesmen then too, though it was not their traditional occupation (farming). Ramgharia Sikhs (traditionally wood workers and craftsmen) are another sizeable group.
Films and music
See also: Music of Punjab
Actors, films, music which may be of special interest to Sikhs in the UK include:
- Baleah Baleh - a traditional Punjabi folk-singer
- Gandhi - the film directed by Richard Attenborough which portrays the Amritsar massacre
- Films with Gurdas Maan
- Dholki drumming - a traditional art
Historical figures
See also: List of prominent Sikhs
People of historical importance for Sikhs in the UK include:
Bibliography
- Desh Pradesh, Differentiation and Disjunction among the Sikhs in South Asian Experience in Britain (1994) ed. Roger Ballard
- Roger Ballard, The Growth and Changing Character of the Sikh Presence in Britain in The South Asian Religious Diaspora in Britain, Canada, and the United States (2000), ed. Harold Coward, Raymond Brady Williams, John R Hinnells
- Roger Ballard, Migration,Remittances, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction: Reflections on the basis of South Asian Experience
- R and C Ballard, The Sikhs: the development of South Asian settlements in Britain in Between Two Cultures ed. JL Watson (1977)
- P Ghuman, Bhattra Sikhs in Cardiff: Family and Kinship Organization. New Community (1980) 8, 3.
- Marie Gillespie, Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change (Routledge 1995)
- Malory Nye, A Place for Our Gods: The Construction of an Edinburgh Hindu Temple Community (1995)
- Difference within Sikh Communities
- Sikh settlers in Britain (includes material on caste and on "Bhattra")
- The Sikh Encyclopedia
References
- Sikh Encyclopedia
- HA Rose, Glossary of Tribes and Castes of the Punjab (Lahore 1883), quoted by Pradesh
- Pradesh
- Pradesh
- Nye
- Western Mail, December 13 2001
- Pradesh
- Glasgow Herald, April 17 1999
- M.S. Ahluwalia, Guru Nanak in Ceylon (Sikh Spectrum Quarterly 2004)
- Pradesh, also Ghuman
- Study by Thomas and Ghuman (1980) quoted by Paul A Singh Ghuman in South Asian Girls in Secondary schools: A British Perspective
- Sikh Sanjog: the Family
- Glasgow Herald, April 17 1999
- Roger Penn and Peter Lambert, Arranged Marriages in Western Europe 2002
- Gillespie
- Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought (2003)
- Daily Record, February 17 1997
- Nye, also Glasgow Herald, April 17 1999, and others
- William Gould, Hindu Nationalism and the Language of Politics in Late Colonial India: Glossary
- Gillespie
External links
- Bhatra in the UK before Partition
- Sikh Sanjog
- Sikh Directory UK - includes Bhatra Gurdwaras
- Cardiff Bhatra Gurdwara
- Who are the Bhat Sikhs?
- Bhat Sikh Community in Peterborough
- The Bhatra Forum