Note 42 — Volume II.

Bhatiya.42—A tribe of money-dealers and traders found in these Provinces only in Mathura. Of those in the Panjâb Mr. Ibbetson writes:43—“The Bhatiyas are a class of Râjputs, originally coming from Bhatner, Jaysalmer, and the Râjputâna Desert, who have taken to domestic pursuits. The name would seem to show that they were Bhâtis (called Bhatti in the Panjâb); but be that as it may, their Râjput origin seems to be unquestioned. They are numerous in Sindh and Gujarât, where they appear to form the leading mercantile element, and to hold the place which the Aroras occupy higher up the Indus. They have spread into the Panjâb along the lower valleys of the Indus and Sutlej, and up the whole length of the Chenâb as high as its debouchure into the plains, being indeed most numerous in Siâlkot and Gujarât. They stand distinctively below the Khatri, and perhaps below the Arora, and are for the most part engaged in petty shop-keeping, though the Bhatiyas of Dehra Ismail Khân are described as belonging to a widely-spread and enterprising mercantile community. They are often supposed to be Khatris, and in Jahlam they are said to follow the Khatri divisions of Bhari, Bunjâhi, Dhâighar, Chârzâti, etc. They are very strict Hindus, far more so than the other trading classes of the Western Punjâb; and eschew meat and liquor. They do not practise widow-marriage.”