Jatha


A Jatha is an armed body of Sikhs that has existed in Sikh tradition since 1699, the beginning of the Khalsa. Jatthā in the Punjabi language means "a group of people."

Etymology

The word derives from the Sanskrit word yūtha, meaning a "herd, flock, multitude, troop, band, or host".

Origins

Damdami Taksal Jatha

After the creation of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh is said to have created the Damdami Taksal in 1706. Its first Jathedar was Baba Deep Singh who died at the age of 83 by having his head severed in a battle against Durrani forces.

Aftermath of the death of Banda Singh Bahadur

In the Sikh tradition, a Jatha refers to a group of Sikh volunteers working together for a common cause, whether that cause is violent or peaceful. The term was already in use by the first half of the 18th century amongst the Sikhs but its exact point of origin has not been traced as of yet. The aftermath of the execution of Banda Singh Bahadur and persecution of the Sikhs by the Mughal authorities led to the Sikhs gathering in armed nomadic groups, termed Jathas.
Each Jatha was headed by a local leader, known as a Jathedar. The Jathedar was chosen based on merit alone, as only the most daring and courageous warrior of a particular band was selected for the honour. Devout Sikhs of the Khalsa joined the various Jathas, which appealed to them to advance the cause of their religion and fight oppression. An important selection criterion for joining a Jatha was skill in horsemanship, as cavalry tactics and guerilla warfare was vital to the fighting style of the Jathas against the far more numerous Mughal and Afghan forces. Therefore, agility and maneuverability were the most critical skills that a Sikh had to master to succeed in a Jatha.
The Jathas were in ordinary times independent of one another and had to depend on itself to survive, but they co-operated on missions. All of the Jathas submitted to the authority of the Sarbat Khalsa and attended the annual Diwali convening in Amritsar. If a Gurmata was passed by the Sarbat Khalsa, the Jathas obeyed it.

Peace at Amritsar

The Mughal government made peace with the Sikhs for a short sliver of time between 1733 and 1735 and allowed the Jathas to reside in Amritsar without being harassed. During this period, Nawab Kapur Singh, leader of the Sikhs at that time, decided to organise the various Jathas into two groups : the Budha Dal and the Taruna Dal. The Taruna Dal itself was further split into five sub-sections. Each sub-section of the Taruna Dal flew its own banner.

Government oppression resumes

However, state oppression of the Sikhs shortly after began again and the jathas started dividing themselves into more and more groups. Then on the annual Diwali convening of the Sarbat Khalsa in 1745, a Gurmata was passed that reorganised the Jathas into 25 groups. Yet the number of Jathas kept on ballooning until around 65 Jathas had begun to be known, as recorded by the contemporary Ali ud-Din Mufti in his Ibrat Namah.
No.LeaderAffiliationAssociated habitationNotes
1.Nawab Kapur Singh Faizullapuria
2.Jassa Singh AhluwaliaKalal village
3.Hari Singh DhillonBhangiPanjwar village
4.Jhanda SinghBhangi
5.Ganda SinghBhangiPanjwar village
6.Natha SinghBhangi
7.Gujjar SinghBhangi
8.Garja Singh
9.Nibahu SinghBhangiNibahu Singh was the brother of Gujjar Singh Bhangi.
10.Lehna Singh KhallonBhangi
11.Mehtab SinghKhakh village, Amritsar district
12.Charat Singh KanahiyaKanhaiya
13.Diwan Singh
14.Phula SinghPanawala village
15.Sanwal Singh RandhawaBhangiWagha village
16.Gurbakhsh SinghBhangiDoda villageThis jatha later joined the Bhangis.
17.Dharam SinghBhangiKlalwala village
18.Tara SinghBhangiChainpuria village
19.Bagh SinghKot Syed Muhammad village
20.Haqiqat Singh KanahiyaKanhaiya
21.Mehtab SinghBhangiWadala Sandhuan village
22.Jai SinghKahna village
23.Jandu SinghKahna village
24.Tara SinghKahna village
25.Sobha SinghKahna village
26.Bhim SinghKahna village
27.Amar SinghWagha village
28.Sobha SinghBhika village
29.Baghel SinghJhabal village
30.Gulab SinghDallewal village
31.Hari SinghDallewal village
32.Naudh SinghSukerchakiaLed by the great-grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
33.Gulab SinghMajitha village
34.Mehtab SinghJulka village
35.Karora SinghPangarh village
36.Hara Singh
37.Lajja Singh
38.Nand SinghSanghna village
39.Kapur SinghBhangiSurianwala village
40.Amar SinghBhangiKingra villageLater joined the Bhangis.
41.Jiwan SinghBhangiQila Jiwan Singh village
42.Sahib SinghBhangiSialkotLater joined the Bhangis.
43.Baba Deep SinghLeader martyred.
44.Natha SinghLeader martyred.
45.Madan Singh
46.Mohan SinghRanian village
47.Bagh Singh HallowalBhangi
48.Jhanda SinghSultan Vind village
49.Mirja Singh Tarkhan
50.Sham Singh MannBulqichak village
51.Mala Singh
52.Bahal SinghShekupura village
53.Amar Singh
54.Hira Singh
55.Ganga Singh
56.Lal Singh
57.Tara Singh MannMannawala village, Amritsar districtLater joined the Bhangis.
58.Mehtab SinghLalpur village, Tarn Taran district
59.Roop Singh
60.Anoop Singh NakaiNakai
61.Dasaunda SinghNishanwalia
62.Tara Singh GhebaDallewal
63.Dharam Singh KhatriAmritsar
64.Sukha SinghMari Kamboke village
65.Jassa Singh Ramgarhia

Finally, on the annual Diwali meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar in 1748, the Jathas were reorganised into a new grouping called misls, with 11 Misls forming out of the various pre-existing Jathas and a unified army known as the Dal Khalsa Ji. Ultimate command over the Misls was bestowed to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. The words Jatha and Jathedar began to fall into disuse after this point, as leaders of Misls preferred the term 'Sardar' to refer to themselves, due to Afghan influence.

Dissolution

After the rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the establishment of the Sikh Empire, various aspects of 18th century Sikhism, including Jatha formations, were abolished.

Equipment

18th century warriors of a jatha were equipped at-first with knobbed clubs, spears, battle axes, bow and arrows, and matchlocks. As mandatory for a Khalsa, all the warriors were equipped with a long-sword and dagger. Some but not all of the warriors wore body armour, excluding helmets. Horses were incredibly valued and mounts of high-quality were targeted during raids on the enemy transport convoys.
Later-on as the Jathas succeeded in capturing hostile resources, they came into the possession of more firearms in the form of matchlocks to equip their ranks with. The Sikhs avoided the use of heavy-artillery pieces as it impeded their military strategy of being quick and mobile. As per Rattan Singh Bhangu in his Panth Prakash, some light-artillery pieces were used by the Sikhs of this era, such as zamburaks and a long-range musket known as a janjail.