Tribes of The Bar Region of The Punjab - Tribes of The Bar

Tribes of The Bar

The Bar region was inhabited by a number of pastoral tribes that went by the common name Jat. Captain Mounstuart Elphinstone, the first British district administrator of the Bar, wrote the following in his district settlement report:

The population is distinctly divided into marked sections - the purely agriculture inhabitants and the pastoral tribes. The former consist of the castes, both Muhammadan and Hindu, which are generally met throughout Eastern Punjab, viz Arain, Kamboh, Hindu Jat, e.t.c But the latter are almost entirely confined to the region which extends from the southern extremity of Multan District to within thirty miles of Lahore. They are all Muhammadans, and their favourite occupation is breeding and grazing cattle. They are locally known by the name of Jat, in contradistinction to more settled inhabitants, who call themselves ryots or subjects. The most important tribes are the Kharals, Fattianas, Murdanas, Kathias, Dullus Wahiniwals, Baghelas, Wattus ad Johiyas. The two latter are chiefly confined to the Sutlej, but the others only possess land on the Ravi, and graze their herds in the Doabs adjoining that river"".

Unfortunately however these distinctions were made by the visiting British who could not clearly understand the local culture. These local tribes are referred by the migrants from East Punjab as Janglis or people of the jungle, whereas they refer to the migrants as Panahgir or refugee. They are termed Jats metaphorically only.

Starting with the Lower Chenab colony, the British administration in the 19th century began a process of large scale canal building, which ultimately resulted in the loss of the pastoral lands that had belonged to the tribes.