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:''For the town with the same name, see Bhati (town).''
'Bhati' (Hindi: भाटी, Urdu: بھٹی) is a Rajput tribe and is one of the largest tribes among Rajputs. In the Punjabi language Bhatis came to be traditionally known as 'Bhatti' Rajputs, it was simply the Punjabi way of pronouncing Bhati, just like Punjabis pronounced "Gadi" (Hindi word for "Cart", now also used for "Car" or even "Train") as "Gaddi". Bhati and Bhatti are one and the same tribe.
It is also a prominent Jat gotra. They are found in Northern India and Pakistan.

Contents

Rawal Jaisal

Geographical distribution

Religion

Sub-clans

See also

References

External links

Rawal Jaisal

Rawal Jaisal was a descendant of the Yaduvanshi clan and was a Bhati Rajput. Rawal Jaisal founded the city of Jaisalmer in 1156 AD. The new fort that he built was on a hill called Trikuta.
The state of Jaisalmer was positioned right on the route from Afghanistan to Delhi. Taking advantage of this strategic position, the Bhatis levied taxes on the passing carvans. They were said to be great marksmen.
Bhati Rajputs were great horse riders and brave warriors. Their reign spread to the Punjab and beyond, to Afghanistan. In Lahore, a monument exists to this day, which is called the ''Bhati gate'', named so probably because it opens in the direction of the "Sandal Bar", an area ruled by the Bhati Rajputs.
The majority of the inhabitants of Jaisalmer are Bhati Rajputs, who take their name from an ancestor named Bhati, renowned as a warrior when the tribe were located in the Punjab. Shortly after this the clan was driven southwards, and found a refuge in the Indian desert, which was henceforth its home. Deoraj, a famous prince of the Bhati family, is esteemed the real founder of the Jaisalmer dynasty, and with him the title of rawal commenced. In 1156 Rawal Jaisal, the sixth in succession from Deoraj, founded the fort and city of Jaisalmer, and made it his capital as he moved from his former capital at Lodhruva (which is situated about 15 km to the south-east of Jaisalmer).
In 1294, the Bhatis so enraged the emperor Ala-ud-din Khilji that his army captured and sacked the fort and city of Jaisalmer, so that for some time it was quite deserted. After this there is nothing to record till the time of Rawal Sahal Singh, whose reign marks an epoch in Bhati history in that he acknowledged the supremacy of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Jaisalmer princes had now arrived at the height of their power, but from this time till the accession of Rawal Mulraj in 1762 the fortunes of the state rapidly declined, and most of its outlying provinces were lost. In 1818 Mulraj entered into political relations with the British. Maharawal Salivahan, born in 1887, succeeded to the chiefship in 1891.
The Maharajas of Jaisalmer trace their lineage back to Jaitsimha, a ruler of the Bhati Rajput clan. The major opponents of the Bhati Rajputs were the powerful Rathor clans of Jodhpur and Bikaner. They used to fight battles for the possession of forts, waterholes or cattle. Jaisalmer was positioned strategically and was a halting point along a traditional trade route traversed by the camel caravans of Indian and Asian merchants. The route linked India to Central Asia , Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Africa and the West.

Geographical distribution

In India, Bhatis reside mainly in the states of Punjab (India) (where they have traditionally come to be known as Bhattis in Punjabi), and Rajasthan. In Punjab, the erstwhile "Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU)" has a large concentration of Bhattis / Bhatis. In Rajasthan, they are found in the Jaisalmer region, the border villages of Bikaner and some tehsils of Gurdaspur Amritsar Jodhpur and Shergarh) and Udaipur (Mohi). In Pakistan, Bhatti / Bhati Rajputs are found in Jhang, Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Hafizabad, Narowal, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar,Sheikhupura districts of Punjab (Pakistan). In the Province of Sindh now in Pakistan, they are found in the District of Sukkur, Hyderabad, Nawabsha, Thatta, Daddu, Hala, Khairpur, Mirpur khas and Karachi.

Religion

Most Bhati Rajputs are Hindu along with significant Sikh and Muslim populations. The Muslim population of Bhatis is predominantly in Pakistan. District Rawalpindi is known by Rajas (Rajputs) especially Rajput Bhatis the very majority of Rawalpindi is Rajput Bhati. Rajabazar is in the city of Rawalpindi but also in Kolkata India and Dhaka in Bangladesh.

Sub-clans

There are about forty sub branches of the Bhatis. Many Rajput and Jat tribes trace their origin to the Bhati Rajputs. Some of these tribes include Rajputs of the Bajju clan as well as the famed Jats of the Sidhu dynasty (currently ruling Patiala, Brar, Bajwa, Ghuman and Mane clans.
The Bhatias of Northwestern India and Pakistan are also supposed to be descended from the Bhati Rajputs. The present-day Thattai, Shikarpuri and Gujarati Bhatias are said to be descendants of the Rajputs of Raja Jaiswal and Rani Padmini's rein.

See also

★ Rajput

★ Rajput Clans

★ Sikh Rajput

★ Sidhu

★ Jat

★ Dulla Bhatti

★ Jaspal Bhatti

★ Bhatinda City, Bala Rao Bhatti inhabited this city in 965, naming it Bhatinda after his caste name. The city also remained the capital of Raja Jaipal.

★ Mair Rajputs of Punjab

★ Nischal

★ Rawal Jaisal

★ Mers

★ Manes (Tribe)

References

★ Thakur Deshraj: Jat Itihas (Hindi), Maharaja Suraj Mal Smarak Shiksha Sansthan, Delhi, 1934.

★ Ram Swaroop Joon: History of Jats, India

External links