Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sikh Rules...
After Guru Harkrishan, there was a confusion about the identification of his successor. According to Sikh legends, Makhan Shah, a great merchant of the Lobana tribe, identified Guru Teg Bahadur as the successor of Guru Harkrishan. Makhan Shah was very helpful to Guru Teg Bahadur during his pontificate.
Another Lobana Sikh, Lakhi Shah, did valuable service to Sikhism in November 1675 by the cremation of Guru Teg Bahadur after his execution in Delhi. Afterwards Lakhi Shah, accompanied by his companions, went to Anandpur to pay homage to Guru Gobind Singh. It is said that his services were highly appreciated by Guru Gobind Singh.
The Lobanas participated in the battles fought by the tenth Guru. We know that Hem Singh. son of Lakhi Shah sacrificed his life in 1703 in the battle of Anandpur. After Guru Gobind Singh the Lobanas gave financial and military support to Banda Bahadur on his arrival in the Punjab. They joined Banda's army and took active part in the battles fought by him. Banda Bahadur consulted the Lobanas during his exploits like at Sadhaura. The Lobanas like Kaur Singh, Baj Singh and Bhagwant Singh occupied important positions in the army of Banda Bahadur.
During the MISL period, the Lobanas joined the services of various MISLDARS. They mostly served in the Bhangi, Ramgarhia, Shaheed and Ahluwalia MISLS. Some of them were in the ruling class of the Ahluwalia Misl. During the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Lobanas were recruited into the Khalsa Army. They proved to be good soldiers.
During the eighteenth century the Lobanas began to follow a settled way of life. There are many instances regarding their settlement as cultivators by the Sikh rulers to extend cultivation. The Lobanas of Lower Indus, Gujranwala and Jhang, for instance, settled as cultivators during the Sikh rule. In Kangra district, the Lobanas ascribed their settlement by Raja Dharam Chand and Langrapal. In the early nineteenth century, the Lobanas had established their own important villages. For instance in Gujrat district, they had three villages named Bazurgwal, Khori Dunna Singh and Tanda. Tanda was a well-known Lobana settlement. It was situated on the land of Moth-sa-duddin which was a part of chhachhan TAPPA.
Wherever the Lobanas settled they mainly named their villages as Tandas. Tanda in Lobanki dialect means a travelling body or gang. In Kangra district the Lobanas had four hamlets each called Tanda. In this way the Lobanas replaced their nomadic and pastoral life by settled way of life. By the mid-nineteenth century, the Lobanas at some places owned not only parts of villages, but also entire villages and even groups of villages. They were chiefly found in the Panjab during the Sikh rule.
Originally, the Lobanas were transporters and carriers. They supplied grains and other things of necessity in different parts of country. They had their own pack of animals. The trade was conducted in the shape of caravans and was responsible for security particularly in the dangerous tracts like forests and deserts. It was his duty to arrange fodder and make other administrative arrangements. He lived like a prince and wore a chain of pearls hanging from the neck.
Under the Sikh rule, majority of the Labanas continued their former occupations on traditional pattern. Bulk of them earned livelihood as professional carriers and only some of them as traders. Cattle-trade was also prevalent among them. In the business management, they could not compete with the Khatris and Aroras. Their position was similar to few other carrying and trading communities like Bhabras, Prachas and Khojas. Like the other trading communities the Lobanas also harvested profits from the expansion of trade. Thus their financial position gradually improved. The improvement in their economic condition paved the way for upward social mobility among the Lobanas.
In the late eighteenth century some of the Lobanas followed pastoral pursuits. Under the Sikh rule, the Lobanas were entering the agrarian hierarchy. This process was accelerated by the agrarian policy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to extend cultivation. The general policy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh towards the agrarian classes was guided by the security and development of revenues. The grants of waste land were given to new cultivators. Among other factors this gave an opportunity to the Lobanas to become agriculturists. For example, the Lobanas of Lower Indus settled as agriculturists during the period of Diwan Sawan Mal. Similarly, the Lobanas of Gujranwala and Jhang districts entered the agrarian hierarchy when the state repaired and dug the perennial an inundation canals. The land was given to them by Maharaja Ranjit Singh at nominal rent. They acquired proprietorship of the waste land cultivated by them. Thus, the Lobanas became peasant-proprietorship in some districts of the Panjab towards the end of the Sikh rule. Considering the premium attached to the possession of land in a predominantly agrarian society, this may be traced as signifying upward social mobility.
In retrospect, we see that the Lobanas became a well-known community in the Panjab towards the end of the Sikh rule. Their financial position gradually improved under the Sikh rule. A good number of the Lobanas followed pastoral occupation. They began to enter in the agrarian hierarchy by making the best use of facilities provided by the state. But majority of the Lobanas still continued with their traditional occupations.
Labanas were listed as a martial race by the British.
Lobanas are said to have nomadic roots and have been related to the Lambada or Labada tribe of Andhra among others, and there are some who believe that they are of the same stock as the Gypsies or Roma people in Europe.[citation needed] Labanas also have been linked with Gypsies from Turkey. Though some had trading background too, currently most Labanas in Punjab are wealthy and rich and involved in agriculture.This is because they receive a lot of foreign money from NRIs and other sources.
Origin
According to Para Singh Tanda Of Labana Sewak, January 2008, Labanas were once part of the Rajputs (a warrior caste). He attributes the name Laban to use of iron (loh) in the armor they wore. Some people from among these warriors started trading to earn their livelihood in times of peace with the result that the name altered to Vanzaras (trade/transport). They first traded in food grains. When the army was in action they would supply foodstuffs to the front lines using mainly oxen or bulls (thagha) as pack animals or to pull their wagons laden with the supplies necessary to keep an army on the move. Travernier in his book, "Travels of India" wrote that an ox or bull can carry weight of around 300 to 500 pounds (135 to 225 kg).
The kaafila was of 10,000 to 12,000 thagaas in which they took rice, wheat, salt, etc. Colonel Gulcharan Singh said, "the Lobanas took products from all over South Asia to the harbours of Soorat to be sent to ports scattered around the world on ships that were often owned by Lobanas. Makhan Shah Labana was the maalik (owner/master) of many ships. Travernier also wrote that one Lobana owned at least 100 to 200 thagaas. The Sardar of a kaafila (caravan) was known as a Naik (also a modern term of rank in the Indian army). In the past the Naiks would wear a garland of diamonds and pearls around their necks.
They were fast walkers too because of dhagaas walk so fast. Lobanas had to travel a lot for trade so they learned a lot about geographical areas and the needs of the people in those areas. Lobanas were also used by kings for the demand study of their people of kingdom. and also used by old kings as intelligence or spies. Gulcharan Singh also claims that both Tipu Sultan and the Duke of Wellington were also labanas. Labanki the dialect of labanas have mixture of Rajasthani Gujrati & Marathi. The bodies of lobanas were fit and they were tall as they were fighters later they travel a lot. The Ladies of Lobanas were said to be beautiful and fair in colour. they were bold to as their husbands use to go out for trade so they control all activities household and were not like old women which use to live in purdah etc. they were not fearful. J.H Huttel in book the Tribe & caste wrote that The ladies of labans were famous for beauty & Ghareloo Azadee and also put beautiful clothes.
In Ludhiana and Jhang districts, the Lobanas claimed to be the descendants of Chauhan Rajputs of Jaipur and Jodhpur.[citation needed] In Gujrat district, they claimed to be Raghuvanshi Rajputs.[citation needed] The Lobanas of Kangra and Hoshiarpur districts claimed their origin from the Gaur Brahmins of Pilibhit.[citation needed] A good number of them traced their origin from Gaur Brahmins who came to the Punjab from Ranthambore in Aurangzeb's time.[citation needed] It appears to be more appropriate to regard the Lobanas as a sub-division of the great Banjara tribe, forming one of their principal sub-castes. For more details click www.labana.org
The Lobanas are well-known in the history of the Punjab in general and that of the Sikhs in particular since the days of the last two Sikh Gurus.
History of lobana's
According to British records 33% of them were Kesh Dhari Sikhs and were found primarily in the Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot areas. The Labanas along with the jatts and many others saw the highest conversions into Sikhism during 1881–1891.[1]
The Lobana caste of Sikhs possess a high degree ofmilitary support.[2]