Bhati

This article is about the tribe. For other uses, see Bhati (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Bhatti.

Bhati (Hindi: भाटी, romanized: Bhātī) is an ancient warrior clan of Rajputs which claims descent from a common ancestor, Rao Bhatti.^[1] The Bhati clan historically ruled over several cities in present-day Pakistan and India, with their final capital and kingdom being Jaisalmer, India. The Punjabi inflection of the word is Bhatti.^[2][3]

The Royal Flag of Bhati Rajputs of Jaisalmer State

Maharawal Jaisal Singh, The notable Bhati Rajput Ruler

Jaisalmer Fort of the Bhati Rajputs

History

The Bhatis of Jaisalmer belonged to the Yadava clan of Rajputs.^[4] They reportedly originated in Mathura through a common ancestor named Bhatti, who was a descendant of Pradyumn.^[5] According to the seventeenth-century Nainsi ri Khyat, the Bhatis after losing Mathura moved to Bhatner in Lakhi Jungle, and from there to other locations in western and northwestern India including Punjab. The Bhati ruler of Tanot, Rao Tannu-ji, utilized his long reign (until 814 AD) to consolidate the Bhatis' expanding strength in western Rajasthan and the eastern Cholistan desert area. He is credited with defeating and destroying the domains of the Varya Rajputs and Langas of Multan. A unified attack against the Tanot Bhatis by the Pathans led by Hussain Shah, together with tribes such as the Langas, Khichis, Khokars (Ghakkars), Johiyas, and others, was successfully driven back under Tannu-ji's leadership.^[6]

By the 12th Century, Rohri and Sukkur in the present-day Sindh, Pakistan had been incorporated in dominion of the Bhati Rajputs.^[7] Jaisalmer had a dynasty with a successful line of rulers and this became their center. Bhatner, Pugal, Bikrampur, Barsalpur, Deravar, Maroth, Kehror, Aasnikot, Tanot, Lodhruva and Mamanvahan were some of the fortified settlements that were historically ruled by the Bhati clan or subclans. The Bhati ruler Vijayrao Lanjo ruled a large empire, He was known as the 'uttara disi bhad kivaad' (the sentinel of the north direction), due to his control over forts and settlements that extended from Ghazni to Gujarat, leading to several conflicts with the invading Muslim tribes.^[2] According to epigraphic evidence, Vijayarao Lanjo took the large title of Parambhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshwara (the paramount sovereign, great king of kings, the supreme reality).^[6] He was succeeded by his son, Bhojde in 1143.^[8] However, Bhojde's uncle Rawal Jaisal Singh colluded with the Ghaznavid chiefs, and Bhojde was killed in the resulting combat. Following Bhojde's death, Jaisal became the head of Bhatis.^[9] The Phulkian dynasty claimed direct descent from Rawal Jaisal Singh, the Bhati Rajput founder of the Kingdom of Jaisalmer.^[10] The Rathores, the Balochs, the Dehli Sultans, and eventually the Mughals had all clashed with the Bhati kings.^[9] Rao Kelana, a powerful Bhati Rajput ruler of Pugal in the 15th century had expanded his territories up to Bhatinda and Abohar, and was responsible for the death of Rathore ruler Chunda of Marwar. Rao Kelana invaded Dera Ghazi Khan and defeated the Balochs. As part of the peace settlement that followed, Zubeida, the daughter of the Baloch chief Jam Ismail Khan (founder of Dera Ismail Khan), was married to the Bhati ruler.^[6]

Sir Alexander Cunningham identified ruins on the site of the Rawalpindi Cantonment in Punjab as the ancient city of Gajipur (or Gajnipur), the capital of the Bhatis in the ages prior to the Christian era.^[11] The ancient history of the Bhatis alludes to a tradition in which they claim not only to have erected the fort and city of Gazni in Afghanistan, but also to have settled Sialkot (Salbahnpur), named after their ancestor Salbahan, who conquered the entire Punjab. The Bhatis also claim to be the ancestors of the Chughtai Mughals through an ancestor named Chakito who became the king of Balich and Bokhara. The historian Tanuja Kothiyal notes that a part of such claims may well be justified.^[2]

Culture and ethos

The greeting used by Bhati Rajputs is 'Jai - sri' or 'Jai - sri - Kishan' ( victory to Lord Krishna ) as opposed to the general Rajput greeting 'Jai - mata - jiri' (victory of the Mother Goddess).^[12]

Dulla Bhatti was a Punjabi landlord who led a revolt against Akbar.^[13] He remains Punjab's folk hero and is made the centrepiece of all Lohri songs.^[14]

See also

• Rajputs
• Bhatti
• Taoni
• Sidhu

References

1. Lethbridge, Sir Roper (1900). The Golden Book of India. A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated, of the Indian Empire. With an Appendix for Ceylon. London: S. Low, Marston & Company. p. 112.
2. Kothiyal, Tanuja (2016). Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian. Cambridgre University Press. pp. 18, 55–60, 70. ISBN 9781107080317. the various Hindu Rajput Bhati sub-clans, like Saran, Moodna, Seora as well as Muslim groups like Bhatti, Bhutto...and the trading community of Bhatiya, all link their origins to the Bhatis
3. Bhatnagar, Rashmi Dube; Dube, Reena (2005). Female Infanticide in India: A Feminist Cultural History. SUNY Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-7914-6327-7.
4. Mohammad Habib, Khaliq Ahmad Nizami (1970). A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF INDIA VOL.5. PEOPLE’S PUBLISHING HOUSE, NEW DELHI. p. 838. Like the Bhatis of Jaisalmer, the chiefs of Karauli also belonged to the Yadava clan of Rajputs.
5. Bond, J. W.; Wright, Arnold (2006). Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. p. 325. ISBN 978-81-206-1965-4. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
6. Hooja, Rima (2006). A History of Rajasthan. Rupa & Company. p. 551. ISBN 978-81-291-0890-6. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
7. Kothiyal, Tanuja (2016). Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian. Cambridgre University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9781107080317.
8. Erskine, K. D. (1909). A Gazetteer Of The Jaisalmer State And Some Statistical Tables. Ajmer: Scottish Mission Industries. pp. 11–12.
9. Kothiyal, Tanuja (2016). Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian. Cambridgre University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9781107080317.
10. Bond, J. W.; Wright, Arnold (2006). Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. pp. 232–242. ISBN 978-81-206-1965-4. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
11. Gazetteer of the Rawalpindi district. "Civil and Military Gazette" Press. 1895. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
12. Fisher, R. J. (1997). If Rain Doesn't Come: An Anthropological Study of Drought and Human Ecology in Western Rajasthan. Manohar. p. 61. ISBN 978-81-7304-184-6.
13. "Remembering Dulla Bhatti, the landlord who stood up to the mighty Akbar". Dawn.com. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
14. "Dulla Bhatti: Robinhood of Punjab, centerpiece of all Lohri songs, was hanged by Akbar publicly to set an example - Read full Story". Zee News. Retrieved 18 October 2024.