_of_Akali-Nihang_Sikhs_on_the_march,_ca.1850.jpg/2000px-Painting_of_a_small_jatha_(contingent_or_band)_of_Akali-Nihang_Sikhs_on_the_march,_ca.1850.jpg)
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Jatha
A Jatha (Punjabi: ਜੱਥਾ [sg]; ਜਥੇ [pl] (Gurmukhi)) is an armed body of Sikhs that has existed in Sikh tradition since 1699, the beginning of the Khalsa (Sikh martial order). A Jatha basically means a group of people.[citation needed]
The word derives from the Sanskrit word yūtha, meaning a "herd, flock, multitude, troop, band, or host".
After the creation of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh is said to have created the Damdami Taksal in 1706.[citation needed] Its first Jathedar (leader) was Baba Deep Singh who died at the age of 83 by having his head severed in a battle against Durrani forces.[citation needed]
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.
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 ('Dals', referring to a "branch" or "section"): the Budha Dal (army of the old) and the Taruna Dal (army of the young). The Taruna Dal itself was further split into five sub-sections. Each sub-section of the Taruna Dal flew its own banner.
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.
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Jatha
A Jatha (Punjabi: ਜੱਥਾ [sg]; ਜਥੇ [pl] (Gurmukhi)) is an armed body of Sikhs that has existed in Sikh tradition since 1699, the beginning of the Khalsa (Sikh martial order). A Jatha basically means a group of people.[citation needed]
The word derives from the Sanskrit word yūtha, meaning a "herd, flock, multitude, troop, band, or host".
After the creation of the Khalsa, Guru Gobind Singh is said to have created the Damdami Taksal in 1706.[citation needed] Its first Jathedar (leader) was Baba Deep Singh who died at the age of 83 by having his head severed in a battle against Durrani forces.[citation needed]
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.
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 ('Dals', referring to a "branch" or "section"): the Budha Dal (army of the old) and the Taruna Dal (army of the young). The Taruna Dal itself was further split into five sub-sections. Each sub-section of the Taruna Dal flew its own banner.
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.