The Khatris are a north Indian community that originated in the Potwar Plateau of Punjab. This region is historically connected with the composition of the Vedas and classics like the Mahabharata and Ashtadhyayi. The Kshatriya are members of the Hindu military order. As administrators and rulers, Kshatriya are assigned with protecting the Hindu Dharma, and serving humanity. In course of time, however, as a result of economic and political exigencies, the Khatri also expanded into mercantile occupations.
When Pakistan and India gained independence, most of the Khatris in what became Pakistan migrated to India. Today Khatris live in all regions of India, but are concentrated in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. While most Khatris are Hindu, some are also Sikh or Muslim and a small minority are Jain. Khatris of all these faiths collectively form one community. In modern times, the Khatri play a significant role in the Indian economy, serving as businessmen, civil and government administrators, landlords and military officials.
For the most part, Khatris have been in the civil, government, and military administrators roles for centuries. Some subgroups of Khatris have gone in the merchant business as traders, and have participated in trade well beyond India's borders, for many centuries from Burma to Russia. At one time, the Khatris controlled a significant share of the trade in the central Asian region. The Hindu fire-temple of Baku, Azerbaijan, supported for centuries by Khatri merchants flourished until the middle of 19th century. The Hindu temples of Kabul built by the Khatris still exist.
Khatris continue to be the most educated group in modern Punjab. Their historical access to resources and education, has translated into wealth, influence and service to the society.
Many prominent historical figures have emerged from the Khatri. All ten Sikh Gurus were Khatri, belonging to the Bedi, Trehan, Bhalla and Sodhi subcastes. Raja Todar Mal was a Tandon Khatri who codified the revenue collection system as Revenue Minister for Akbar. Haqiqat Rai was a Puri Khatri whose martyrdom was celebrated on Basant Panchami in Lahore until independence. Hari Singh Nalwa, an Uppal Khatri, was a prominent general under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The father and son pair of the Diwans Sawan Mal and Mul Raj Chopra were successive governors of Multan under Ranjit Singh. The former instituted vast improvement in agriculture, while the latter was instrumental in leading the revolt against the British to prevent the annexation of the Sikh kingdom into the East India Company territory. Sadhu Singh Gulla fought against the British Empire in 19th century. Later on he died in prison or battle.
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A minority of the Khatris are Sikh. The Sikh panth is not caste based, still the Khatris played a major role in development of Sikhism as a gentle and inclusive faith. All the Ten Sikh Gurus were Khatri. During the lifetime of the Gurus, most of their major supporters and Sikhs were Khatris. The Sikh institutions till the early 20th century were led by Mahants (Masands) who were generally Khatri. Widespread abuses by the Masands, such as introduction of idols in Gurudwaras, led to agitation for reform by the reformist Singh Sabha resulting in formation of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee to oversee Sikh Gurudwaras. After the formation of the Khalsa (1699), and especially during the reign of Ranjit Singh, Hindu Khatri families raised at least one son (usually the oldest) as an Amritdhari Sikh.
Among the Khatris the Khukrain or Kukhran were one of the foremost followers of the Sikh Gurus and traditionally brought up one son as a Keshdhari Sikh . This is evident from the large number of Kukhran surnames among Khatri Sikhs .
A predominant section of the Hindu Khukrain continue to follow dual religious traditions of both Sikh as well as Arya Samaj mores . This has been in spite of the religo-political competitive zeal of both the Arya Samaj and Tat Khalsa effort at creating purified identities.
Intermarriage between Khatri as well as Khukrain Sikhs and Hindus are common . The dual religious Hindu and Sikh identity and Kukhran biradri identity comfortably coexists
The Khatris were adversely affected by the partition of India, as it resulted in the loss of their traditional home regions.
Khatris have traditionally been an orthodox community, although there is now a significant amount of exposure to modernity in some Khatri families. However, even when they are modern, Khatris have a great affinity with their traditions and values.
Khatris take pride in their Indian heritage and have contributed significantly to the Indian culture in terms of industry, commerce, administration, scholarship, etc.
Khatri Family Names
Khatri family names include Anand, Awal, Badhwar, Baijal, Bagga, Bajaj, Bakshi, Batta, Bedi, Behal (Behl), Bhalla, Bhola, Bhasin, Bhandari, Bhandula, Bindra, Birghi, Chadha, Chandok, Charan, Chona, Chopra, Choudhary,Chetal, Dhall, Dhawan, Dhingra, Dhir, Dua, Duggal, Dhupar, Dumra, Gambhir, Gandhi, Gandhoke, Gadok, Gadhiok, Ghai, Gujral, Gulati, Gulla, Handa, Jerath, Jairath, Jaggi, Jalota, Jolly, Kakkar (Kacker) ,Kapoor (Kapur), Kalra, Katyal, Keer, Khanna, Kehar, Khosla, Khullar,Kochhar, Kohli, Koshal, Lala, Lamba, Loomba, Madhok, Mahendru, Maini, Malhotra, Malik, Mangal, Mankhand, Manraj, Mehra, Mehrotra, Mehta, Midha, Monga, Nair(Nayyar), Nagpal, Nakra, Nayer, Nehra, Nijhawan, Nikhanj, Oberoi, Ohri, Parwanda, Passi, Phull, Phul, Phool, Puri, Rai, Rehan, Roshan, Sabharwal, Sablok, Sadana, Saggar (Sagar), Saggi, Sahni(Sawhney), Sami, Sarin(Sareen), Sehgal (Sahgal), Sekhri, Sethi, Seth, Sial (Syal), Sibal, Sikka, Singh, Sobti, Sodhi, Sondhi, Soni, Sood(Sud), Suri, Talwar, Tandan (Tandon), Tehim, Tuli, Thapar, Trehan, Uberoi, Uppal, Vadehra, Vasudeva, Ved, Verma, Vig, Vij, Vinaik (Vinayak), Vohra, Wadhawan, Wahi (Wahie), Walia, Wassan(Wason).
The Arora (Ahuja, Aneja, Khurana, Chawla, Juneja), Sood, Bhatia and Lohana are distinct communities of the Punjab and Sindh. Although they are not Khatri, they share a similar cultural background with the sub-group communities of Khatris who are in the commercial/trade businesses.
One interesting difference between Aroras and Khatris is the colour of bangle (churah), which brides wear during the marriage ceremony. Arora women wear white bangles (Chitta churah) and Khatri women wear red ones (Laal churah), along with their bridal wear. But in many areas of Punjab, Arora women women red bangles as well and vice versa.
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