User:Lakhjinder Singh Jawanda

Jawanda                                                                                                                                                                                                                  is a Jat surname traditionally found in India particularly in Punjab (India). Most Jawandas are Punjabis of the Sikh faith in India. The Jats/Jatts (Hindi: जाट,Punjabi: ਜੱਟ, Urdu: جاٹ) of Northern India and Pakistan. In India, they inhabit the states of Punjab, Haryana.Jatts are genetically closely related to Rajputs, Gujjars people, The Jats, like most South Asians, are mostly farmers; they are the dominant land owner caste, particularly in Panjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. However they are also found in many other professions. A large number of Jats serve in the Indian Army, including the Jat Regiment, Rajputana Rifles, Sikh Regiment and the Grenadiers, among others. Jats also serve in the Pakistan Army particularly in the Punjab Regiment.

There are numerous theories about the origin of the Jats. Jats are commonly considered to be of Scythian (Saka), Indo-European, Indo-Iranian or Indo-Aryan stock in view of the similar physical features and common practices. A recent study of the people of Indian Punjab, where about 40% or more of the population are Jats, suggest that the Jats are similar to other populations of the Indus Valley.

The Jats seem to have first occupied the Indus valley as far down as Sindh, whither the Meds followed them about the beginning of the present era. But before the earliest Muslim conquests the Jats had spread into Punjab proper, where there were firmly established in the beginning of the eleventh century.

Jats were previously ardent followers and supporters of Buddhism and Jainism, along with the Vedic religion, and its successor, modern Hinduism. Today, about 30% of all Jats follow Sikhism, especially in the Punjab, the rest are evenly split between Islam and Hinduism. Most Hindu Jats reside in India in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Most Sikh Jats reside in Punjab (India), though they have also spread throughout India and across the globe, especially in Canada, England, and Northern California in the United States.

Despite having followed different religions for centuries, Jats have maintained their ancestral Jat characteristics. The common clan names among the jats of various faiths and regions are an important proof of their common ancestry or ethnic background. Many Jatt clans are also cross-listed as Khatri, Rajput, Choudhary, Zamindar, Gujjar, Tarkhan and Kamboj especially Sodhi, Sial, Kashyap, Kakkar (Khakkar/Ghakkar), and Walia