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{{short description|Sikh group}}
The '''Bhatra''' or '''Bhattra''' community, also known as the '''Sangat Bhatra''' community or the '''Bhat Sikh''' community, are a group of ]s whose origins lie in the ]. Today in the ] there are significant numbers of Sikhs with Bhatra ancestry, as there are in ]. In the Punjab most Bhatra Sikhs are now in ], ], ], ] or ] districts; elsewhere in ] they tend to live cities, particularly ] and ].<ref>Sikh Encyclopedia</ref>
{{Redirect|Bhatra|the village|Bhatra, Bangladesh}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group= Bhatra Sikhs
|image = Shivnabh manuscript.jpg
|image_caption=Hakikat-Rah-Muqaam-Shivnabh-Raje-Ki, description of the meeting of Guru nanak and Raja Shivnabh of an early 18th Century handwritten copy of Bhai Bannu’s Bir, the start of the Sikh Bhat Sangat.
|langs=], ], ], ]
|rels=]
}}{{Sikh literature}}


The '''Bhatra Sikhs''' (also known as '''Bhat Sikhs''') are a group within the ] who originated from the bards of the time of ].<ref>{{cite web |website=] ] ] |title=Practices in Sikhism |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zm848mn/revision/3 |accessdate=8 February 2021}}</ref>
==Heritage of Bhatra Sikhs in the UK==
Originally Bhatra was the name of a ] or ''jati'' within the Indian tradition of social classes, each with its own occupation. ] 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.<ref>HA Rose, ''Glossary of Tribes and Castes of the Punjab'' (Lahore 1883), quoted by Pradesh </ref> They were a small group: so small that even in the Punjab many people did not know of them.<ref>Pradesh</ref> Though some lived in ], many Bhatra can trace their roots to villages around ] and ]s. <ref>Pradesh</ref>


==Origins==
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 ] there were a few hundred Sikhs clustered in British seaports like ], ], and ]. Some returned to India when war broke out, but others stayed on and used contacts with Punjabi merchant seamen to import scarce goods.
Eleanor Nesbitt and ] suggested that they are a ].<ref name="EN1" /><ref name="WHM" />


Many academics suggests that the word Bhatra is a diminutive form of the word Bhat which comes from ] meaning a "bard or ]". Dharam Singh writes that in the Sikh tradition Bhatts are poets with the personal experience and vision of the spirituality of the Sikh Gurus whom they eulogize and celebrate in their verses, he suggests that Bhat is not an ] for a learned ]".<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Sikh Courier International |volume=33–37 |year=1993 |pages=21–22 |publisher=Sikh Cultural Society of Great Britain |place=London |title=Bhatras: Ambassadors of Sikh Faith |first=Dharam |last=Singh |issn=0037-511X |oclc=34121403 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGJRAAAAYAAJ |quote=As for their origin, the academicians hold that the term Bhatra is a diminutive of the Sanskrit word bhat which literally means bard or panegyrist. They used to recite poetry, lauding the grandeur of the ruler or the gallantry of warrior who happened to be their patron. In the Sikh tradition, Bhatts are poets with the personal experience and vision of the spirituality of the Sikh Gurus whom they eulogize and celebrate in their verses. According to another myth prevalent in India, Bhat is an epithet for a learned Brahman.}}</ref> However the late ] confirmed that the Bhat bards who contributed to the Guru Granth Sahib were descended from the Brahmins in his book, Bhatt Te Uhnah Di Rachna.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Giani Gurdit|first=Singh|title=Bhatt Te Uhnah Di Rachna|publisher=Punjabi Sahit Academy|year=1961|quote=ਭੱਟ ਬਾਹਮਣ ਸਨ ਤੇ ਹੁਣ ਭੀ ਉਹ ਬਾਹਮਣ ਹੀ ਸਦਾਉਂਦੇ ਹਨ । ਪਰ ਆਪਣੇ ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ ਕਰਮ ' ਉਸਤਤ - ਪਾਠ ਕਰਕੇ ਇਹ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣਾਂ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਵਖਰੀ ਸ਼ਰੇਣੀ ਬਣ ਗਈ ।}}</ref> They originated from the ] ''(Gaud)'' or ] ''(Saraswat)'' Brahmin lineage and started associating with the ] during the ] of ].<ref name="Sikh Reference">{{Cite book |last=Dilagīra |first=Harajindara Siṅgha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRpuAAAAMAAJ&q=Kirat+Bhatt+gaur+ |title=The Sikh Reference Book |date=1997 |publisher=Sikh Educational Trust for Sikh University Centre, Denmark |isbn=978-0-9695964-2-4 |pages=308 |quote=Bhatt is a family of bards. Their main professions were writing poetry and recording the genealogy of the prominent families. Bhatts belong to Kaushish sub-group of Gaur Brahmin caste.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Jagraj |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/319683249 |title=A complete guide to Sikhism |publisher=Unistar Books |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-7142-754-3 |location=Chandigarh, India |pages=245–46 |chapter=The Bhatts of the Punjab |oclc=319683249 |quote=The Bhatts are Brahmins, who sang praises of their patrons (Jajmans) and maintained the registers called Vahees, mentioning accounts of various happenings in different parts of the Punjab including birth and death records of their Jajmans, since ancient times. There are two major subdivisions of Brahmins namely Gaur and Sarsut (Saraswat) Brahmins. The Gaur Brahmins lived on the banks of the river Ganges on the eastern side of the Saraswati River (now Ghagar) in the Ganga-Jamna divide, while the Sarsut Brahmins lived on the western side of the Saraswati river in the Punjab. The Bhatts are a sub-sect of the Sarsut Brahmins. In the pre-modem times they inhabited numerous villages in the Punjab along the banks of Saraswati River in and around Pehowa, in Karnal district. Some of the Bhatts came to Guru's Darbar during the pontificate of Guru Arjan Dev soon after the demise of Guru Ram Dass and their hymns are found recorded in Guru Granth Sahib, under the heading, "Bhattan Dey Sawayye". A Bhatt Vahee related with the events in the ...}}</ref>
The ] 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. <ref>Nye</ref> Difficult journeys following Partition are not forgotten. The ] 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.<ref>''Western Mail'', ] ]</ref>


In the book, the Making of Sikh Scripture, Gurinder Singh Mann writes that a large number of the bards who contributed to the Guru Granth Sahib were upper-caste Hindus who came to the Sikh court in the sixteenth century in praise of the Guru and their court.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mann|first=Gurinder Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PC4d-5xrysIC&pg=PA138|title=The Making of Sikh Scripture|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-802987-8|page=138}}</ref><ref name="EN1" />
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.<ref> Pradesh</ref>


{{Sikhism sidebar}}
Not all Bhatras continued in self-employment. Many settled in big cities like ] or ] 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.


==Demographics and occupation==
When possible the Bhatra community has established its own ]s (temples). As of 2006 there are more than 30 Bhatra or Bhat Sikh temples in the UK, the newest being the one opened in ] in 2004. In some British towns Bhatras are a small proportion of the overall Sikh population (in ] 5%); elsewhere, as in Edinburgh, they are in the majority.<ref>'']'', ] ]</ref>
McLeod stated that the Bhatra Sikhs have an "extremely small" population and they are from some villages of the ] and ] districts of the ].<ref name="WHM">{{cite book |title=Sikhism |edition=illustrated |first=William Hewat |last=McLeod |year=1997 |page=258 |publisher=] |place=London |isbn=978-0140252606 |oclc=38452341 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH_XAAAAMAAJ |quote=At home in the Punjab the Bhatras were an extremely small caste, limited in origin to a few villages in Sialkot and Gurdaspur districts. In status they verged on the Outcaste. They had, however, one significant advantage, which was that they were by traditional occupation fortune-tellers and hawkers. In other words, they were well fitted to assume the role of pedlars in the British situation. No evidence seems to exist concerning their actual numbers in Britain nor how the first ones actually reached the country, but chain migration was established and in the 1920s and 1930s they were the more conspicuous of the few Sikhs in Britain, going from door to door hawking clothing and spices from suitcases. Most of them lived in small groups situated in ports and in the major industrial cities. Between 1939 and 1945 further immigration effectively ceased, but as soon as the Second World War was over the situation changed dramatically.}}</ref>


====Origins==== ===Sikhism===
McLeod claimed that the Bhatras of the Gurdaspur and Sialkot districts, traditionally, used to work as "] and ]".<ref name="WHM"/>
]'s journeys with Sri Lanka (island south of India) coloured yellow]]
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 ] who became a disciple of Guru ]. 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".


Ethne K. Marenco claimed that in Punjab, after their conversion to Sikhism, several castes including the Bhats largely abandoned their "traditional occupation" in favor of other professions, particularly in the "industry, trade and transport" sectors.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Transformation of Sikh Society |first=Ethne K. |last=Marenco |year=1974 |page=281 |publisher=HaPi Press |place=Portland, Oregon |oclc=1047326 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeseAAAAMAAJ |quote=In 1921, as has been pointed out previously, many untouchables were being absorbed into Sikhism and there were reform movements as well. This process continued on to 1931 and we find that there had been considerable conversion to Sikhism among the Chuhras. We are also informed that there had been a great decrease in the traditional occupation for castes like the Chamars, Bhats, Jhinwars and others and that, after agriculture, alternate occupations were preferred in industry, trade and transport.}}</ref> ] notes that the "compositions" by some Bhatra Sikhs who were in service of the ] were added in the ].<ref>{{cite book |title=Sikh Ideology, Polity, and Social Order |section=The Nanak-Panth |first=Jagtar Singh |last=Grewal |year=1996 |page=28 |publisher=Manohar |place=New Delhi |isbn=978-8173041150 |oclc=36051569 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uX_XAAAAMAAJ |quote=This fact has sometimes been interpreted in terms of Kabir's influence on Sikhism or even on Guru Nanak. It may be pointed out that though Kabir's verses are the largest in number, he is one among many. The proportion of all their compositions put together remains rather small and they are nowhere included in those parts of the Granth which are used for liturgical purposes. The compositions of some of the ''bhats'' who served the Gurus are also included in the Granth. It may be suggested that Guru Arjan's decision to include the compositions of devotional theists in his compilation was an attempt to assimilate that tradition to Sikhism. His decision becomes easily understandable in the light of Guru Nanak's approval of ''sādhs'' and ''sants'' in general.}}</ref>
Today some UK Bhatra Sikhs explain the Bhatra name as made up of ''bhat'', referring to the poets whose verses are included in the ], and ''ra'', an honorary title for poet given to Changa Bhatra after he was educated in ]. {{fact}}


===Migration to the United Kingdom===
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.
Between the First and Second World War, the Bhatra Sikhs migrated to Britain. They settled mostly in Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Portsmouth, Southampton and Swansea with small populations of theirs also settling in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Nottingham.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sikhs in Europe: Migration, Identities and Representations |editor1-first=Kristina |editor1-last=Myrvold |editor2-first=Knut Axel |editor2-last=Jacobsen |editor2-link=Knut A. Jacobsen |orig-year=First published 2011 |year=2016 |publisher=] |place=London; New York |article=Sikh Diversity in the UK: Contexts and Evolution |first=Eleanor |last=Nesbitt |isbn=978-1317055051 |oclc=950004925 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6feCwAAQBAJ |quote=So, for example, Bhatra Sikhs settled between World War I and World War II in Britain's ports—Glasgow, London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol, Southampton, and Portsmouth—with only a few inland settlements in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.}}</ref> They also settled in Belfast, Northern Ireland.<ref name="EN1">{{cite book |title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction |edition=2nd |chapter=Sikhism Outside India |first=Eleanor |last=Nesbitt |orig-year=First published 2005 |year=2016 |publisher=] |place=Oxford |isbn=978-0191062773 |oclc=967264232 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zD8SDAAAQBAJ |quote=From World War I until the 1950s the vast majority of Sikh settlers in Britain were from a much less privileged background, however. In India Bhatras (as their caste was known) were perceived by others as low-status, itinerant fortune-tellers. Many UK Bhatras' families originated from the Sialkot area (now in Pakistan). Pioneering Bhatra Sikhs settled in London, in the seaports of Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, London, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Swansea, and inland in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Nottingham. From working as door-to-door salesmen Bhatra men moved into shopkeeping, letting property, and, in more recent generations, into a wide range of occupations and professions. By the end of the 20th century, moves were afoot to replace the stigmatized name 'Bhatra' with the title 'Bhat'.}}</ref> According to William Owen Cole, the Bhatra Sikhs were among the earliest Sikhs to arrive in Britain and they arrived as pedlars.<ref name="WOC1">{{cite book |title=Religion in Europe: Contemporary Perspectives |editor1-first=Sean |editor1-last=Gill |editor2-first=Gavin |editor2-last=D'Costa |editor2-link=Gavin D'Costa |editor3-first=Ursula |editor3-last=King |editor3-link=Ursula King (academic) |article=Sikhs in the United Kingdom |first=William Owen |last=Cole |year=1994 |page=110 |publisher=Pharos |place=Kampen, Overijssel |isbn=978-9039005088 |oclc=1120392621 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNsoAAAAYAAJ |quote=Bhatras, a group ranked very low in the Hindu spectrum of caste (from which Sikhs, Christians and members of other religions derive their status), were among the first Sikhs to come to Britain, as pedlars between the wars. They established ''gurdwaras'' in the post-war period wherever they lived, in ports such as Portsmouth, or Manchester, and Cardiff.}}</ref>


Nesbitt states that in the UK, the Bhatra men initially worked as "door-to-door salesmen" and later as shopkeepers and property renters. She suggests that in the recent times, they have started working in diverse fields.<ref name="EN1"/>
Traditions usually mention a Sri Lankan origin. Evidence offered may include the ]. M.S. Ahluwalia, a Senior Fellow at the Indian Council of Historical Research, ], discusses Guru Nanak's presence in Sri Lanka and the Adi Granth, but does not mention the Bhatra ''sangat''.<ref></ref>


After the end of the Second World War, the Bhatra Sikhs established ] in the regions where they resided.<ref name="WOC1"/>
====Bhatra Sangat name groups====
First of all there are two main groups: Darewal and the Landervaser. The Landervaser are from a village farming background.


==See also==
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:
*]
*]
*]
*]


==References==
*Raudh
{{reflist}}
*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..........


==Further reading==
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.
*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. ], Raymond Brady Williams, John R Hinnells
==Culture==
*
Commentators have found Bhatra Sikhs pride themselves on an orthodox approach to their religion, and many have more conservative attitudes than other Sikhs.<ref>Pradesh, also Ghuman</ref> 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.<ref>Study by Thomas and Ghuman (1980) quoted by </ref> While this may no longer be the case, some still feel that girls should be preparing for marriage and motherhood.<ref></ref>

====Food====

Sharing food or ] is important in Sikhism, and each Gurdwara has its own community centre with kitchen.

====Marriage====
] 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). <ref>''Glasgow Herald'', ] ]</ref> This is similar to the frequency of arranged marriage in other UK Asian communities.<ref></ref> 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. {{fact}} Most Sikh marriages in the UK involve members of the same caste. <ref>Gillespie</ref> <ref>''Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought'' (2003)</ref> Wedding ceremonies in their various stages may last up to two weeks. The ] 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. <ref>''Daily Record'', ] ]</ref>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: ]''

] has a long-term interest in Sikhism and has met Bhatra Sikhs in various parts of the UK, praising their community work in ].

====Other Sikhs in the UK====

Although Sikhism does not support the old Indian caste system, in the UK there are some tensions between ] Sikhs and Bhatra Sikhs which probably have an element of leftover caste prejudice.<ref>Nye, also ''Glasgow Herald'', ] ], and others</ref>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).<ref></ref> ] Sikhs (traditionally wood workers and craftsmen) <ref>Gillespie</ref>are another sizeable group.

====Films and music====
''See also: ]''

Actors, films, music which may be of special interest to Sikhs in the UK include:

* Baleah Baleh - a traditional Punjabi folk-singer
* ] - the film directed by ] which portrays the ]
* Films with ]
* Dholki drumming - a traditional art

====Historical figures====
''See also: ]''

People of historical importance for Sikhs in the UK include:

*]
*]
*]
*]

==Bibliography==
*Desh Pradesh, 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
*
*R and C Ballard, ''The Sikhs: the development of South Asian settlements in Britain'' in ''Between Two Cultures'' ed. JL Watson (1977) *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. *P Ghuman, ''Bhattra Sikhs in Cardiff: Family and Kinship Organization.'' New Community (1980) 8, 3.
* *
* Malory Nye, ''A Place for Our Gods: The Construction of an Edinburgh Hindu Temple Community'' (1995) * Malory Nye, ''A Place for Our Gods: The Construction of an Edinburgh Hindu Temple Community'' (1995)
*
*
*
*


==References== ==External links==
*
<references/>
*
*{{cite journal |journal=] |volume=9 |issue=1 |year=1981 |pages=70–72 |title=A note on Bhatra Sikhs |first=E. M. |last=Nesbitt |doi=10.1080/1369183X.1981.9975663}}


{{authority control}}
==External links==
*
*
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Latest revision as of 06:40, 10 November 2024

Sikh group "Bhatra" redirects here. For the village, see Bhatra, Bangladesh.

Ethnic group
Bhatra Sikhs
Hakikat-Rah-Muqaam-Shivnabh-Raje-Ki, description of the meeting of Guru nanak and Raja Shivnabh of an early 18th Century handwritten copy of Bhai Bannu’s Bir, the start of the Sikh Bhat Sangat.
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Sikh scriptures • Punjabi literature

The Bhatra Sikhs (also known as Bhat Sikhs) are a group within the Sikhs who originated from the bards of the time of Guru Nanak.

Origins

Eleanor Nesbitt and William Hewat McLeod suggested that they are a caste.

Many academics suggests that the word Bhatra is a diminutive form of the word Bhat which comes from Sanskrit meaning a "bard or panegyrist". Dharam Singh writes that in the Sikh tradition Bhatts are poets with the personal experience and vision of the spirituality of the Sikh Gurus whom they eulogize and celebrate in their verses, he suggests that Bhat is not an epithet for a learned Brahman". However the late Giani Gurdit Singh confirmed that the Bhat bards who contributed to the Guru Granth Sahib were descended from the Brahmins in his book, Bhatt Te Uhnah Di Rachna. They originated from the Gaur (Gaud) or Sarsut (Saraswat) Brahmin lineage and started associating with the Sikh Gurus during the guruship of Guru Arjan.

In the book, the Making of Sikh Scripture, Gurinder Singh Mann writes that a large number of the bards who contributed to the Guru Granth Sahib were upper-caste Hindus who came to the Sikh court in the sixteenth century in praise of the Guru and their court.

Part of a series on
Sikhism
Khanda
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Selected revered saints
Philosophy
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Sikhism and other religions

Demographics and occupation

McLeod stated that the Bhatra Sikhs have an "extremely small" population and they are from some villages of the Gurdaspur and Sialkot districts of the Punjab region.

Sikhism

McLeod claimed that the Bhatras of the Gurdaspur and Sialkot districts, traditionally, used to work as "fortune-tellers and hawkers".

Ethne K. Marenco claimed that in Punjab, after their conversion to Sikhism, several castes including the Bhats largely abandoned their "traditional occupation" in favor of other professions, particularly in the "industry, trade and transport" sectors. Jagtar Singh Grewal notes that the "compositions" by some Bhatra Sikhs who were in service of the Sikh Gurus were added in the Guru Granth Sahib.

Migration to the United Kingdom

Between the First and Second World War, the Bhatra Sikhs migrated to Britain. They settled mostly in Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Portsmouth, Southampton and Swansea with small populations of theirs also settling in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Nottingham. They also settled in Belfast, Northern Ireland. According to William Owen Cole, the Bhatra Sikhs were among the earliest Sikhs to arrive in Britain and they arrived as pedlars.

Nesbitt states that in the UK, the Bhatra men initially worked as "door-to-door salesmen" and later as shopkeepers and property renters. She suggests that in the recent times, they have started working in diverse fields.

After the end of the Second World War, the Bhatra Sikhs established gurdwaras in the regions where they resided.

See also

References

  1. "Practices in Sikhism". BBC GCSE Eduqas. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor (2016) . "Sikhism Outside India". Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0191062773. OCLC 967264232. From World War I until the 1950s the vast majority of Sikh settlers in Britain were from a much less privileged background, however. In India Bhatras (as their caste was known) were perceived by others as low-status, itinerant fortune-tellers. Many UK Bhatras' families originated from the Sialkot area (now in Pakistan). Pioneering Bhatra Sikhs settled in London, in the seaports of Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, London, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Swansea, and inland in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Nottingham. From working as door-to-door salesmen Bhatra men moved into shopkeeping, letting property, and, in more recent generations, into a wide range of occupations and professions. By the end of the 20th century, moves were afoot to replace the stigmatized name 'Bhatra' with the title 'Bhat'.
  3. ^ McLeod, William Hewat (1997). Sikhism (illustrated ed.). London: Penguin. p. 258. ISBN 978-0140252606. OCLC 38452341. At home in the Punjab the Bhatras were an extremely small caste, limited in origin to a few villages in Sialkot and Gurdaspur districts. In status they verged on the Outcaste. They had, however, one significant advantage, which was that they were by traditional occupation fortune-tellers and hawkers. In other words, they were well fitted to assume the role of pedlars in the British situation. No evidence seems to exist concerning their actual numbers in Britain nor how the first ones actually reached the country, but chain migration was established and in the 1920s and 1930s they were the more conspicuous of the few Sikhs in Britain, going from door to door hawking clothing and spices from suitcases. Most of them lived in small groups situated in ports and in the major industrial cities. Between 1939 and 1945 further immigration effectively ceased, but as soon as the Second World War was over the situation changed dramatically.
  4. Singh, Dharam (1993). "Bhatras: Ambassadors of Sikh Faith". The Sikh Courier International. 33–37. London: Sikh Cultural Society of Great Britain: 21–22. ISSN 0037-511X. OCLC 34121403. As for their origin, the academicians hold that the term Bhatra is a diminutive of the Sanskrit word bhat which literally means bard or panegyrist. They used to recite poetry, lauding the grandeur of the ruler or the gallantry of warrior who happened to be their patron. In the Sikh tradition, Bhatts are poets with the personal experience and vision of the spirituality of the Sikh Gurus whom they eulogize and celebrate in their verses. According to another myth prevalent in India, Bhat is an epithet for a learned Brahman.
  5. Giani Gurdit, Singh (1961). Bhatt Te Uhnah Di Rachna. Punjabi Sahit Academy. ਭੱਟ ਬਾਹਮਣ ਸਨ ਤੇ ਹੁਣ ਭੀ ਉਹ ਬਾਹਮਣ ਹੀ ਸਦਾਉਂਦੇ ਹਨ । ਪਰ ਆਪਣੇ ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ ਕਰਮ ' ਉਸਤਤ - ਪਾਠ ਕਰਕੇ ਇਹ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣਾਂ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਵਖਰੀ ਸ਼ਰੇਣੀ ਬਣ ਗਈ ।
  6. Dilagīra, Harajindara Siṅgha (1997). The Sikh Reference Book. Sikh Educational Trust for Sikh University Centre, Denmark. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-9695964-2-4. Bhatt is a family of bards. Their main professions were writing poetry and recording the genealogy of the prominent families. Bhatts belong to Kaushish sub-group of Gaur Brahmin caste.
  7. Singh, Jagraj (2009). "The Bhatts of the Punjab". A complete guide to Sikhism. Chandigarh, India: Unistar Books. pp. 245–46. ISBN 978-81-7142-754-3. OCLC 319683249. The Bhatts are Brahmins, who sang praises of their patrons (Jajmans) and maintained the registers called Vahees, mentioning accounts of various happenings in different parts of the Punjab including birth and death records of their Jajmans, since ancient times. There are two major subdivisions of Brahmins namely Gaur and Sarsut (Saraswat) Brahmins. The Gaur Brahmins lived on the banks of the river Ganges on the eastern side of the Saraswati River (now Ghagar) in the Ganga-Jamna divide, while the Sarsut Brahmins lived on the western side of the Saraswati river in the Punjab. The Bhatts are a sub-sect of the Sarsut Brahmins. In the pre-modem times they inhabited numerous villages in the Punjab along the banks of Saraswati River in and around Pehowa, in Karnal district. Some of the Bhatts came to Guru's Darbar during the pontificate of Guru Arjan Dev soon after the demise of Guru Ram Dass and their hymns are found recorded in Guru Granth Sahib, under the heading, "Bhattan Dey Sawayye". A Bhatt Vahee related with the events in the ...
  8. Mann, Gurinder Singh (2001). The Making of Sikh Scripture. Oxford University Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-19-802987-8.
  9. Marenco, Ethne K. (1974). The Transformation of Sikh Society. Portland, Oregon: HaPi Press. p. 281. OCLC 1047326. In 1921, as has been pointed out previously, many untouchables were being absorbed into Sikhism and there were reform movements as well. This process continued on to 1931 and we find that there had been considerable conversion to Sikhism among the Chuhras. We are also informed that there had been a great decrease in the traditional occupation for castes like the Chamars, Bhats, Jhinwars and others and that, after agriculture, alternate occupations were preferred in industry, trade and transport.
  10. Grewal, Jagtar Singh (1996). "The Nanak-Panth". Sikh Ideology, Polity, and Social Order. New Delhi: Manohar. p. 28. ISBN 978-8173041150. OCLC 36051569. This fact has sometimes been interpreted in terms of Kabir's influence on Sikhism or even on Guru Nanak. It may be pointed out that though Kabir's verses are the largest in number, he is one among many. The proportion of all their compositions put together remains rather small and they are nowhere included in those parts of the Granth which are used for liturgical purposes. The compositions of some of the bhats who served the Gurus are also included in the Granth. It may be suggested that Guru Arjan's decision to include the compositions of devotional theists in his compilation was an attempt to assimilate that tradition to Sikhism. His decision becomes easily understandable in the light of Guru Nanak's approval of sādhs and sants in general.
  11. Nesbitt, Eleanor (2016) . "Sikh Diversity in the UK: Contexts and Evolution". In Myrvold, Kristina; Jacobsen, Knut Axel (eds.). Sikhs in Europe: Migration, Identities and Representations. London; New York: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1317055051. OCLC 950004925. So, for example, Bhatra Sikhs settled between World War I and World War II in Britain's ports—Glasgow, London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol, Southampton, and Portsmouth—with only a few inland settlements in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.
  12. ^ Cole, William Owen (1994). "Sikhs in the United Kingdom". In Gill, Sean; D'Costa, Gavin; King, Ursula (eds.). Religion in Europe: Contemporary Perspectives. Kampen, Overijssel: Pharos. p. 110. ISBN 978-9039005088. OCLC 1120392621. Bhatras, a group ranked very low in the Hindu spectrum of caste (from which Sikhs, Christians and members of other religions derive their status), were among the first Sikhs to come to Britain, as pedlars between the wars. They established gurdwaras in the post-war period wherever they lived, in ports such as Portsmouth, or Manchester, and Cardiff.

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