a. It has already been observed that the author was completely
mistaken in his estimate of the social position of Jats. It is not
correct to say that they 'were without a place among the castes of
the Hindoos'. 'The Jat is in every respect the most important of the
Panjab peoples. . . . The distinction between Jat and Rajput is
social rather than ethnic. . . . Socially the Jat occupies a position
which is shared by the Ror, the Gujar, and the Ahir; all four eating
and smoking together. Among the races of purely Hindoo origin I think
that the Jat stands next after the Brahman, the Rajput, and the
Khatri. . . . There are Jats and Jats. . . . His is the highest of
the castes practising widow marriage.' (Ibbetson, _Outlines of Panjab
Ethnography_, Calcutta, 1883, pp. 220 sqq.) The Jats in the United
Provinces occupy much the same relative position.
b. The Sikhs are mostly, but not all, Jats. The organization is
essentially a religions one, and a few Brahmans and many members of
various other castes join it. Even sweepers are admitted with certain
limitations. The word Sikh means 'disciple'.
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