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56-506: Singh ( IPA : / ˈ s ɪ ŋ / SING ) is a title , middle name , or surname that means " lion " in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it was later mandated in the late 17th century by Guru Gobind Singh (born Gobind Das) for all male Sikhs as well, in part as a rejection of caste -based prejudice and to emulate Rajput naming conventions. As
112-627: A "poorly worded" letter. Title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the first and last name (for example, Graf in German , Cardinal in Catholic usage – Richard Cardinal Cushing – or clerical titles such as Archbishop ). Some titles are hereditary . Titles include: Some people object to
168-667: A decade, the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi stated in letters to its Sikh clients that "the names Kaur and Singh do not qualify for the purpose of immigration to Canada", requiring people with these surnames to adopt new ones. The ban was denounced by the Sikh community, after which the Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced it was dropping the policy, calling the whole issue a misunderstanding based on
224-577: A garden palace at nearby Deeg . According to historian, Eric Stokes , When the power of the Bharatpur raja was riding high, fighting clans of Jats encroached into the Karnal/Panipat, Mathura, Agra, and Aligarh districts, usually at the expense of Rajput groups. But such a political umbrella was too fragile and short-lived for substantial displacement to be effected. When Arabs entered Sindh and other Southern regions of current Pakistan in
280-499: A paradigmatic example of community- and identity-formation in early modern Indian subcontinent . "Jat" is an elastic label applied to a wide-ranging community from simple landowning peasants to wealthy and influential Zamindars . A female Jat is often known as Jatni . By the time of Muhammad bin Qasim 's conquest of Sind in the eighth century, Arab writers described agglomerations of Jats, known to them as Zutt , in
336-575: A person's first name, and not immediately before their surname. Titles are used to show somebody's ordination as a priest or their membership in a religious order . Use of titles differs between denominations . Christian priests often have their names prefixed with a title similar to The Reverend . Military ranks are used before names. The names of shipboard officers, certain shipping line employees and Maritime Academy faculty/staff are preceded by their title when acting in performance of their duties. The names of police officers may be preceded by
392-574: A practice which is called Jathera. There are conflicting scholarly views regarding the varna status of Jats in Hinduism. Historian Satish Chandra describes the varna of Jats as "ambivalent" during the medieval era. Historian Irfan Habib states that the Jats were a "pastoral Chandala-like tribe" in Sindh during the eighth century. Their 11th-century status of Shudra varna changed to Vaishya varna by
448-540: A society or organization. Some titles are used in English to refer to the position of people in foreign political systems Titles used in Rajasthan and other neighbourhood states of India in honour of Rajputs (only): The following are no longer officially in use, though some may be claimed by former regnal dynasties. When a difference exists below, male titles are placed to the left and female titles are placed to
504-482: A surname or a middle name, it is now found throughout the world across communities and religious groups, becoming more of a generic, caste-neutral, decorative name—similar to names such as Kumar and Lal . The word "Singh" is derived from the Sanskrit word सिंह ( IAST : siṃha) meaning "lion", and is used to convey a "hero" or "eminent person". Several variants of the word are found in other languages: Originally,
560-489: A title such as "Officer" or by their rank. In North America, several jurisdictions restrict the use of some professional titles to those individuals holding a valid and recognised license to practice. Individuals not authorised to use these reserved titles may be fined or jailed. Protected titles are often reserved to those professions that require a bachelor's degree or higher and a state, provincial, or national license. Some titles are used to show one's role or position in
616-612: Is a common Hindu name in Guyana. Some Indian immigrants to British Guiana are believed to have adopted surnames traditionally associated with high caste status, including Sharma and Tiwari (Brahmin), as well as Singh (Kshatriya). A section of around a million adherents of Sikhism that live abroad in Western countries only keep Singh or Kaur as their last name. This has caused legal problems in immigration procedures, especially in Canada . For
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#1732773058455672-470: Is given to women in comparison to men. The birth of a male child in a family is celebrated and is considered auspicious, while the reaction to the birth of a female child is more subdued. In villages, female members are supposed to get married at a younger age and they are expected to work in fields as subordinate to the male members. There is general bias against education for the female child in society, though trends are changing with urbanisation. Purdah system
728-625: Is in line with established practice advocated by the World Wide Web Consortium and the Government Digital Service which sets the standard for UK government online services. This in turn means that titles are optional on UK passports and driving licences. Family titles in English-speaking countries include: Some job titles of members of the legislature and executive are used as titles. In
784-773: The Indian Army , including the Jat Regiment , Sikh Regiment , Rajputana Rifles and the Grenadiers , where they have won many of the highest military awards for gallantry and bravery. Jat people also serve in the Pakistan Army especially in the Punjab Regiment . The Jat people were designated by officials of the British Raj as a " martial race ", which meant that they were one of the groups whom
840-565: The Indus valley , and gradually became agriculturalist farmers. Around 1595, Jat Zamindars controlled a little over 32% of the Zamindaris in the Punjab region. According to historians Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot, The Jats also provide an important insight into how religious identities evolved during the precolonial era. Before they settled in the Punjab and other northern regions,
896-520: The Mughal Empire during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Gokula , a Hindu Jat landlord was among the earliest rebel leaders who fought against the Mughal rule during Aurangzeb 's era. The Hindu Jat kingdom reached its zenith under Maharaja Suraj Mal (1707–1763). The community played an important role in the development of the martial Khalsa panth of Sikhism. By the 20th century,
952-871: The Pakistani Punjab and Pakistan in general. Jat communities also exist in Pakistani-administered Kashmir , in Sindh, particularly the Indus delta and among Seraiki -speaking communities in southern Pakistani Punjab, the Kachhi region of Balochistan and the Dera Ismail Khan District of the North West Frontier Province . In Pakistan also, Jat people have become notable political leaders, like Hina Rabbani Khar . Many Jat people serve in
1008-643: The Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory , northeastern Rajputana , and the western Gangetic Plain in the 17th and 18th centuries. Of Hindu , Muslim and Sikh faiths, they are now found mostly in the Indian states of Punjab , Haryana , Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and the Pakistani regions of Sindh , Punjab and AJK . The Jats took up arms against
1064-569: The Rajput men was to have "Singh" as their last name, while Rajput women had the last name 'Kanwar'. However, now, many Rajput women have Singh in their name as well. Singh is a common name in Nepal; the appellation has acquired caste-neutral status due to its wide scale adoption by many members of Nepali society. Some notable examples of Nepalis with the middle name/surname Singh are: Amar Singh Thapa , Ranodip Singh , and Pratap Singh Shah . Singh
1120-627: The United Kingdom , "Lord" and "Lady" are used as titles for members of the nobility. Unlike titles such as "Mr" and "Mrs", they are not used before first names except in certain circumstances, for example as courtesy titles for younger sons, etc., of peers. In Scotland " Lord of Parliament " and "Lady of Parliament" are the equivalents of Baron and Baroness in England . These do not confer nobility. "Sir" and "Dame" differ from titles such as "Mr" and "Mrs" in that they can only be used before
1176-558: The community-funded completion of the Darbar Sahib to house the Guru Granth Sahib and serve as a rallying point and center for Sikh activity, established the beginnings of a self-contained Sikh community, which was especially swelled with the region's Jat peasantry. They formed the vanguard of Sikh resistance against the Mughal Empire from the 18th century onwards. It has been postulated, though inconclusively, that
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#17327730584551232-802: The states of Patiala , Faridkot , Jind , and Nabha were ruled by the Sikh Jats. According to anthropologist Sunil K. Khanna, Jat population is estimated to be around 30 million (or 3 crore ) in South Asia in 2010. This estimation is based on statistics of the last caste census and the population growth of the region. The last caste census was conducted in 1931, which estimated Jats to be 8 million, mostly concentrated in India and Pakistan. Deryck O. Lodrick estimates Jat population to be over 33 million (around 12 million and over 21 million in India and Pakistan, respectively) in South Asia in 2009 while noting
1288-526: The 17th century, with some of them aspiring to improve it further after their 17th-century rebellion against the Mughals. He cites Al-Biruni and Dabistan-i Mazahib to support the claims of Shudra and Vashiya varna respectively. The Rajputs refused to accept Jat claims to Kshatriya status during the later years of the British Raj and this disagreement frequently resulted in violent incidents between
1344-619: The British favoured for recruitment to the British Indian Army . This was a designation created by administrators that classified each ethnic group as either "martial" or "non-martial": a "martial race" was typically considered brave and well built for fighting, whilst the remainder were those whom the British believed to be unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles. However, the martial races were also considered politically subservient, intellectually inferior, lacking
1400-751: The Chalukyas continued using Simha as a last name until the eleventh century. The Rajputs started using Singh in preference to the classical epithet of " Varman ". Among the Rajputs , the use of the word Singh came into vogue among the Paramaras of Malwa in 10th century CE, among the Guhilots and the Kachwahas of Narwar in the 12th century CE, and the Rathores of Marwar after the 17th century. By
1456-511: The Jats of Rajasthan – excluding those of Bharatpur district and Dholpur district – are entitled to reservation of central government jobs under the OBC reservation. In 2016, the Jats of Haryana organized massive protests demanding to be classified as OBC in order to obtain such affirmative action benefits. Many Jat Muslim people live in Pakistan and have dominant roles in public life in
1512-411: The Punjab, which may have been largely uncultivated in the first millennium. Many took up tilling in regions such as western Punjab , where the sakia (water wheel) had been recently introduced. By early Mughal times, in the Punjab, the term "Jat" had become loosely synonymous with "peasant", and some Jats had come to own land and exert local influence. The Jats had their origins in pastoralism in
1568-605: The Sanskrit word for lion, variously transliterated as Simha or Singh, was used as a title by Kshatriya warriors in northern parts of India. The earliest recorded examples of names ending with "Simha" are the names of the two sons of Rudraraman , who ruled the Western Satraps in the second century CE. Jayasimha , the first ruler of the Chalukya dynasty to bear the title Simha, ruled around 500 CE. The Vengi branch of
1624-468: The arid, the wet, and the mountainous regions of the conquered land of Sindh. The Arab rulers, though professing a theologically egalitarian religion, maintained the position of Jats and the discriminatory practices against them that had been put in place in the long period of Hindu rule in Sind. Between the eleventh and the sixteenth centuries, Jat herders at the Sind migrated up along the river valleys, into
1680-527: The army because the administration believed Hindus to be inferior for military purposes. The Indian Army admitted in 2013 that the 150-strong Presidential Bodyguard comprises only people who are Hindu Jats, Jat Sikhs and Hindu Rajputs. Refuting claims of discrimination, it said that this was for "functional" reasons rather than selection based on caste or religion. Deryck O. Lodrick estimates religion-wise break-up of Jats as follows: 47% Hindus, 33% Muslims, and 20% Sikhs. Jats pray to their dead ancestors ,
1736-565: The colonial period in the early 20th century, further waves of Jat conversions, from Hinduism to Sikhism, continued during the preceding decades. Writing about the Jats of Punjab , the Sikh author Khushwant Singh opined that their attitude never allowed themselves to be absorbed in the Brahminic fold. The British played a significant role in the rise of Sikh Jat population by encouraging Hindu Jats to convert to Sikhism so as to get larger number of Sikh recruits for their army. In Punjab ,
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1792-443: The colonial period. During much of this time, non-elite tillers and pastoralists, such as the Jats or Ahirs , were part of a social spectrum that blended only indistinctly into the elite landowning classes at one end, and the menial or ritually polluting classes at the other. During the heyday of Mughal rule, Jats had recognized rights. According to Barbara D. Metcalf and Thomas R. Metcalf : Upstart warriors, Marathas, Jats, and
1848-474: The earliest significant historical Sikh figures, and significant numbers of conversions occurred as early as the time of Guru Angad (1504–1552), the first large-scale conversions of Jats is commonly held to have begun during the time of Guru Arjan (1563–1606). While touring the countryside of eastern Punjab, he founded several important towns like Tarn Taran Sahib , Kartarpur , and Hargobindpur which functioned as social and economic hubs, and together with
1904-480: The geographical strengths of these religions. During the decline of Mughal rule in the early 18th century, the Indian subcontinent 's hinterland dwellers, many of whom were armed and nomadic, increasingly interacted with settled townspeople and agriculturists. Many new rulers of the 18th century came from such martial and nomadic backgrounds. The effect of this interaction on India's social organization lasted well into
1960-561: The imperial lines of communications had by the end of the century spawned a range of petty states linked by marriage alliance and religious practice. The Jats had moved into the Gangetic Plain in two large migrations, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries respectively. They were not a caste in the usual Hindu sense, for example, in which Bhumihars of the eastern Gangetic plain were; rather they were an umbrella group of peasant-warriors. According to Christopher Bayly: This
2016-421: The increased militarization of the Sikh panth following the martyrdom of Guru Arjan (beginning during the era of Guru Hargobind and continuing after) and its large Jat presence may have reciprocally influenced each other. At least eight of the 12 Sikh Misls (Sikh confederacies) were led by Jat Sikhs, who would form the vast majority of Sikh chiefs. According to censuses in gazetteers published during
2072-487: The initiative or leadership qualities to command large military formations. The British had a policy of recruiting the martial Indians from those who has less access to education as they were easier to control. According to modern historian Jeffrey Greenhunt on military history, "The Martial Race theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward". According to Amiya Samanta,
2128-426: The landowning Jats became an influential group in several parts of North India, including Punjab , Western Uttar Pradesh , Rajasthan , Haryana and Delhi . Over the years, several Jats abandoned agriculture in favour of urban jobs, and used their dominant economic and political status to claim higher social status. On 13 April, International Jat Day is celebrated every year all around the world. The Jats are
2184-743: The like, as coherent social groups with military and governing ideals, were themselves a product of the Mughal context, which recognized them and provided them with military and governing experience. Their successes were a part of the Mughal success. As the Mughal empire faltered, there were a series of rural rebellions in North India. Although these had sometimes been characterized as "peasant rebellions", others, such as Muzaffar Alam , have pointed out that small local landholders, or zemindars , often led these uprisings. The Sikh and Jat rebellions were led by such small local zemindars, who had close association and family connections with each other and with
2240-509: The martial race was chosen from people of mercenary spirit (a soldier who fights for any group or country that will pay him/her), as these groups lacked nationalism as a trait. The Jats participated in both World War I and World War II , as a part of the British Indian Army. In the period subsequent to 1881, when the British reversed their prior anti-Sikh policies, it was necessary to profess Sikhism in order to be recruited to
2296-457: The name, including the Bhils , Koeris , and Dusadhs . The name is also found among the Indian diaspora . "Singh" is generally used as a surname or as a middle name/title. When used as a middle name, it is generally followed by the caste, clan or family name. To reduce caste discrimination, some Sikhs append " Khalsa " or their native village names to Singh. Originally, a common practice among
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2352-416: The pastoralist Jats had little exposure to any of the mainstream religions. Only after they became more integrated into the agrarian world did the Jats adopt the dominant religion of the people in whose midst they dwelt. Over time the Jats became primarily Muslim in the western Punjab, Sikh in the eastern Punjab, and Hindu in the areas between Delhi Territory and Agra, with the divisions by faith reflecting
2408-469: The peasants under them, and who were often armed. These communities of rising peasant-warriors were not well-established Indian castes, but rather quite new, without fixed status categories, and with the ability to absorb older peasant castes, sundry warlords, and nomadic groups on the fringes of settled agriculture. The Mughal Empire, even at the zenith of its power, functioned by devolving authority and never had direct control over its rural grandees. It
2464-521: The post-independence situation. Through this participation they have been able to significantly influence the politics of North India . Economic differentiation, migration and mobility could be clearly noticed amongst the Jat people. Jats are classified as Other Backward Class (OBC) in seven of India's thirty-six States and UTs , namely Rajasthan , Himachal Pradesh , Delhi , Uttarakhand , Uttar Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh . However, only
2520-476: The right of the slash. Russian: German: Spanish: Others: Members of legislatures often have post-nominal letters expressing this: Jat people The Jat people , also spelt Jaat and Jatt , are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan . Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river -valley of Sindh , many Jats migrated north into
2576-477: The seventh century, the chief tribal groupings they found were the Jats and the Med people . These Jats are often referred as Zatts in early Arab writings. The Muslim conquest chronicles further point at the important concentrations of Jats in towns and fortresses of Lower and Central Sindh. Today, Muslim Jats are found in Pakistan and India. While followers important to Sikh tradition like Baba Buddha were among
2632-504: The sixteenth century, "Singh" had become a popular surname among Rajputs. It was adopted by the Sikhs in 1699, as per the instructions of Guru Gobind Singh . Singh is used by all baptized male Sikhs, regardless of their geographical or cultural binding; the women use Kaur . According to Pashaura Singh , the Guru gave male Sikhs the name "Singh", which was associated with aristocracy, to imitate
2688-401: The surname came to be associated with power and authority, and was adopted by people of multiple castes, including Brahmin zamindars . Citing Kshatriya status, numerous communities use 'Singh' as part of their names. Some Jains have also adopted the surname in addition to various Hindu castes. Many Muslim Shins historically used the surname "Sing", the earlier form of the name, "Simha",
2744-478: The total population. In the 20th century and more recently, Jats have dominated as the political class in Haryana and Punjab. Some Jat people have become notable political leaders, including the sixth Prime Minister of India, Charan Singh and the sixth Deputy Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Devi Lal . Consolidation of economic gains and participation in the electoral process are two visible outcomes of
2800-729: The traditions of the Rajput hill chiefs near Anandpur Sahib. In the 18th century, several groups started using the title "Singh". These included the Brahmins, the Kayasthas and the Baniyas of what are now Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In the 19th century, even the Bengal court peons of the lower castes adopted the title "Singh". Bhumihars , who originally used Brahmin surnames, also started affixing Singh to their names. In Bihar and Jharkhand ,
2856-563: The two communities. The claim at that time of Kshatriya status was being made by the Arya Samaj , which was popular in the Jat community. The Arya Samaj saw it as a means to counter the colonial belief that the Jats were not of Aryan descent but of Indo-Scythian origin. During the colonial period, many communities including Hindu Jats were found to be practicing female infanticide in different regions of Northern India. A 1988 study of Jat society pointed out that differential treatment
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#17327730584552912-574: The unavailability of precise statistics in this regard. His estimation is based on a late 1980s population projection of Jats and the population growth of India and Pakistan. He also notes that some estimates put their total population in South Asia at approximately 43 million in 2009. In India, multiple 21st-century estimates put Jats' population share at 20–25% in Haryana state and at 20–35% in Punjab state. In Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, they constitute around 9%, 5%, and 1.2% respectively of
2968-407: The usage of titles to denote marital status, age or gender. In 2018, a campaign named GoTitleFree was launched to encourage businesses to stop requesting, storing and using marital status titles in their registration forms, and when speaking with customers, launched on the grounds that titles often lead to assumptions about a woman's age or availability for marriage, and exclude non-binary people. This
3024-449: Was a society where Brahmins were few and male Jats married into the whole range of lower agricultural and entrepreneurial castes. A kind of tribal nationalism animated them rather than a nice calculation of caste differences expressed within the context of Brahminical Hindu state. By the mid-eighteenth century, the ruler of the recently established Jat kingdom of Bharatpur , Raja Surajmal , felt sanguine enough about durability to build
3080-625: Was frequently appended to names found in the Gilgit Manuscripts, a corpus of Buddhist texts and the oldest surviving manuscripts in India, discovered in the Gilgit region of Kashmir. People belonging to several other castes and communities have also used Singh as a title, middle name or a surname; these include non-Sikh Punjabis, Charans , Yadavs , Gurjars , Brahmins , Marathas , Hindu Jats , Kushwahas , Rajpurohits , Kumawats etc. Dalit and other backward groups have also adopted
3136-688: Was these zemindars who gained most from these rebellions, increasing the land under their control. The triumphant even attained the ranks of minor princes, such as the Jat ruler Badan Singh of the princely state of Bharatpur. In 1669, the Hindu Jats, under the leadership of Gokula , rebelled against the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Mathura . The community came to predominate south and east of Delhi after 1710. According to historian Christopher Bayly Men characterised by early eighteenth century Mughal records as plunderers and bandits preying on
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