KHATRIS: The Most Successful Indian Community?
Khatris have always piqued my curiosity as someone who has always been interested in the many castes, cultures, and communities in India. Actually, there isn’t much information available on them, and the sources that do include them don’t provide a comprehensive picture of this group. I will thus attempt to provide a solid foundation on them today through this blog.
Background
Khatri is a caste/clan of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They originated in Punjab Region of India and Pakistan, the region connected with the composition of Vedas, Mahabharata and many more. They were predominantly a Trading Community. They were the major commercial and financial administrative elite of Late-Medieval India; some belonged to family agriculturalist land-holding dynasties in Punjab, while others worked in craft vocations such as silk manufacture and weaving.
The Khatris are also mentioned by Historians that accompanied Alexander to India and referred them as Khathrois.
Khatris- Kshatriya or Casteless?
This is the most controversial and confusing issue regarding Khatris. Khatri ,according to many historians, comes from the Sanskrit word “Kshatriya”. Khatris considers themselves as Suryavanshis (Sun Dynasty) and Chandravanshi (Lunar Dynasty).
But many historians considers Khatris as a mercantile class and thus not Kshatriyas. In Indian historian Satish Chandra’s opinion, certain castes like Khatris and Kayasthas “do not quite fit” in the Hindu Varna system. According to him, Khatris are neither Vaishyas nor Kshatriyas but are “par excellence traders”. Some scholars consider castes in north India, like Khatri and Kayastha to be merchant castes who claim higher status to befit the educational and economic progress they made in the past.
Surnames/Subdivision in Khatris
There are believed to be 4 subcategories of Khatris
- Khukhrain Khatri- It consists of eight clans Anand, Kohli, Suri, Bhasin, Chaddha, Sawhney, Sethi and Sabharwal. Later three more clans were derived from above Chandhok, Ghai and Ghandhok.
- Dhaih-ye Khatri- It consists of clans Malhotra, Khanna, Kapoor, Mehra and Mehta.
- Baharaan Khatri- This category consist of several clans Tondon, Chopra, Bedi, Wahi, Sodhi, Sondhi, and Gujral.
- Bahu- Jayee Khatri- They are born in many castes, in different words this is the group of different sub-castes of Khatris who on the account of their indiscipline at any time, were out caste from their original higher castes.
Khatris Trading History
The Khatris played an important role in India’s trans-regional trade during the period, being described as among the important merchant communities of early modern India. Khatris were involved in trade that stretched from India to Afghanistan, Central Asia and even Russia.
The Khatris had their presence even in Isfahan, Iran (one of the places that I would love to visit).
In addition to being traders, Khatri people were financiers and moneylenders. Some had small shops and others were industrialists. Some were agriculturists and breed animals. Others were transporters and contractors, and were also involved in government work.
Why so many Khatris in Delhi?
Anyone who lives in Delhi or visits Delhi regularly must have seen a lot of Punjabis in Delhi particularly in certain areas such as Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Rajinder Nagar, Moti Nagar, Rajauri Garden, Punjabi Bagh, Tilak Nagar, Janak Puri, Vikas Puri, Narayana.
Actually Majority of Khatris/Punjabis in Delhi are refugees from 1947 Indo-Pak Partition who came from Trains to Delhi. Houses/Plots in these areas were allotted to Refugees who had lost their land in Pakistan. All of these areas are now regarded posh, and mid-sized properties can easily touch ₹5–10cr.
Religion
Khatris follow many religions- Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam. Majority of Khatris are Hindus. The media and Bollywood have presented Khatris/Punjabis as non-religious; this may be true to some extent, but I have also witnessed the contrary. Commonly worshipped Deities among them are Shiva, Hanuman, Durga Mata’s avatars and Vishnu’s avatars.
Khatris also follow Sikhism. All the ten Sikh Gurus were from various Khatri clans. The early followers of Guru Nanak were Khatris but later a large number of Jats joined the faith. Many Hindu Khatris made their first newborn a Sikh. Daughters were married into both Hindu and Sikh families according to the Khatri sub-hierarchy rules.
Muslim Khatris are commonly known as Khojas in Punjab and they are the dominant group in many parts of Punjab.
Khatris Dominance
India loves Bollywood. One just simply cannot ignore the utter dominance of Punjabis in Bollywood. Be it Kapoors, Malhotras/mehrotras, Khannas, Singhs, Khuranas.
Khatris also have their presence in Sports, the most famous being Virat Kohli.
The Khatri Community is also very much intellectually inclined. Any Top Ranked University in India will undoubtedly have Khatris in addition to the dominating Baniyas, Tamil Brahmins, and Telugus.
I consider them to be a part of KBKB (Khatri, Baniya, Kayastha and Brahmin) community, a term I coined for the most academically inclined communities in India.
The Khatris are indeed one of the most successful trading community in India. They can easily be rated second or third after the Marwaris and the Guajaratis.
Prominent Khatri businesses include M&M, Hero Moto, Hero Cycles, Apollo Tyres, Ranbaxy, Max Life, East India Hotels, Berger Paints, the Apeejay group and the India Today group. Most of India’s sports goods industry — centered around Jalandhar and Meerut — is controlled by Khatris.
Genetics Ancestry of Khatris
The most dominant component in Khatris DNA is the IVC, a component formed after mixing of IRAN_N ( Iranian Neolithic Farmers) and ASI( Ancestral South Indian ). The steppe component is also pretty high as compared to other groups in India, only certain Brahmins, Rors, Jats and Kashmiris might have higher Steppe Component than Khatris.
The average Steppe Component in Indians ( mostly Upper Caste Hindus) ranges from 10–25%. Some have 5% or less ( Dravidians Groups and lower castes ) and some may have 35% or more ( Rors, Nooristanis and Jats ). Dravidians and Dalits or Lower Castes ( according to Hindu Varna System ) have on average low IVC, Steppe and high AASI then an average Upper Caste Hindu and North Indians. Again some people amongst these groups might be outliers to the DNA results, all I have tried is to explain the average DNA component of an Indian.
Conclusion ?
I’m not sure how to summarise all I’ve just said above. I have done my best to provide a comprehensive insight of the Khatris. The question now is, are Khatris the most prosperous group in India? There is no way to answer this question appropriately; some may say Yes or some may state that Tamil Brahmins, Marwaris, Gujarati Baniyas, or Bengali Brahmins are the most successful.
I believe we should avoid all of this and instead celebrate the rich history, legacy, culture, and prosperity of every caste/community/culture in India.
The goal of my blog was to educate the reader about the community, and I hope it was received as such.
