# Labana?



## Lostsikh (Nov 1, 2009)

I did some research and found that Multani's are Labana's who are salt traders and considered a 'low' caste. Is this  true? 

I am very lost about what clan I am from, what my ancestors did, and where the Labana's level up in the caste system. 

Any information is helpful.


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## Admin (Nov 1, 2009)

If you are a *Singh* then how you can  be _a Multani?_ :happysingh: A Sikh has no caste to worry about. :welcome:


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## Gyani Jarnail Singh (Nov 2, 2009)

The Most famous Lobanna i know is Makhan Shaha Lobana who discovered Guru Teg bahadur Ji....as the TRUE GURU. Yes Lobannas are TRADERS....

BUT as my friend Aman Singh Ji has pointed out above..ALL that Really matters Now is Khandey batte dee Pahul..and SINGH. IF you are a SINGH..then all the rest doesnt matter one iota...FORGET it and Begin Living as a PROUD SINGH..remember Singh is KING !! What does it matter to me..I am a Dhillon jatt..BUT i dont own an inch of land and never farmed..so you may be a lobanna..but may never trade in anything...who CARES ?? Its what we are TODAY that matters...enjoy Life.


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## dalbirk (Nov 2, 2009)

Lost Sikh ji , Please try to feel that merely this talk HIGH CASTE & LOW CASTE 
 of  is nothing but a trap set up by wily Brahmins who migrated from Persia in around 1500 BC . Wrote the first Veda Rigveda wherin Purush Sutra verse 1, it was written The Creator of Universe is Brahma from the mouth of Brahma was born Brahmin From the chest Kshatriya From the Legs was born Vaishya from the feet was born Shudra . All the four Vedas later Smritis gave this God status to Brahmin . In Varna system a starving Brahmin is superior than a Kshatriya emperor who IS the master of maybe whole country or even whole world . A shudra & also a women is treated worse than an animal they both CAN never be imagined to be liberated until they ARE born again as what is known as DWIJAS ie twice born Kshatriya or Vaishya This self-appointed status has been very cleverly & carefully preserved by WILY Brahmins in last 3500 years just to keep themselves in self- appointed   
top position Remember migrating Aryans were Brahmins & Kshatriyas , original inhabitants Dravidians were Shudras . All Puranas describe Asuras , Demons as bad like Ravana , Kans , Hirnyakashyapu etc among countless others & were black infact they were Dravidians or Shudras . All Devtas or Gods were fair comlexioned in short Brahmins & Kshatriyas . We all are very fimiliar with the term BRAHMIN DEVTA which is exactly what the reality is . All these DEVI DEVTAS were none other than Brahmins themselves , their wives , daughters , kings , queens ( labelled so by Brahmins themselves in lieu of Fat Dakshina ) . All Puranas Ramayana Mahabharata are FALSE MYTHOLOGICAL books depicting the superiority of Brahmins & Kshatriyas over Shudras only cementing the VARNA SYSTEM no other good comes out of them . No devi devta was ever born . India is UNIQUE in whole world in two respects . One is the Varna System which is not present in any of the 190 countries around the world . Other is 330 million Devi Devtas , out of seven major world religions namely Christinity , Islam , Hinduism , Buddhism , Sikhism , Judaism & Jainism , only Hinduism has 330 million Devi Devtas who are infact Brahmins themselves . Brahmin tells worshipper to worship certain Devi Devtas for fulfilment of certain wishes , method & offerings of worship ( Karam Kand ) In the evening the same is gobbled up by the same Brahmin the self appointed agent of 330 million gods & godesses . Which is why Hinduism is commonly known as BRAHMINISM . This system is very very hard on Shudras & women who cannot be liberated unless they take rebirth as Kshatriyas & Vaishyas . Sikhism with Ek OANGKAAR is a direct blow for Brahminism & a ray of hope for all down trodden including Shudras & women who are given un conditional equal status . So dear brother kindly don't let ourselves fall into the trap of wily Brahmins by this Low - High caste etc rubbish . We are all the same I say again DIRT OF HINDU SOCIETY & likely to remain so unless we try to listen to message of Gurbani & try to become better humans by becoming better & better Sikhs.
Let us look ourselves in the mirror & ask ourselves what have we become , a Follower of Gurus or a follower of CASTIST BRAHMIN . WJKK WJKF .

 One more thing I like to add , in last 3500 years only six persons IMHO have done something for so called Hinduism . First is Ved Vyasa author of Vedas & probabely Mahabharata in 10th BC , second is Adi shankracharya in 8th AD who single handedly drove Buddhism out of India which had become religion of 80% of India , third Vivekanada , fourth Rabindranath Tagore fifth Gandhi & sixth Radha Krishnana the past President of India . How many people remember today I can say for sure NOT MANY. Whom they remember is Raam , Krishna , Hanumaan , Ganesh etc who were mythological characters were never born 330 Million gods & goddesses whose reality I have explained . Because Brahmins will never allow any REAL HUMAN to change the system , everthing is created mythologically because the DIVINE word is the PRESERVANCE of Varna System which is suitabely done by mythological characters who are created & killed as per the STORY LINE demand The do all their deeds as per the whims of ALMIGHTY BRAHMIN DEVTA


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## Sikh royalist (Nov 2, 2009)

sat shri akal,
heartiest greetings on the birth anniversary of our beloved our lord Guru Nanak.

lost Sikh,
brother no one can make your feel small without your own consent you need to grow up enlarge your thinking.
about labana's i would say they are hard working race were amongst soldiers of Guru Gobind singh. but your surname reflects some other points multani is refered as a term for the people of multan and i have seen some Hindus who use it which may some exception as there might be few or no labana Hindus since most of them are Sikhs or Muslim(called rahmanis).

Aman singh, 
brother we Sikhs are humans and not all of us are committed Sikhs some of us may say they consider all equal but somewhere we are caste conscious may be you will try to understand but i admire you thinking and point of view and would like to see every Sikh like that.

dhillon shaab aka gyani ji,
actually like hairs don't make us Sikh land doesn't make us jatt i may have land today but i seldom know if my coming generations will have it or not what matters is our respect for our traditions and the way we conserve them so we are jats since we consider "dharti our maa"

dalbirk, 
brother you cannot consider Brahman's to be the soul cause of casteism actually people exploit you when the see they can 
if Hinduism is the reason of casteism why is it still prevalent in Punjabi community where Hinduism is so distinct(considering all Punjabi's world wide) just think about it as how when a khatri converted to Islam and became a sheikh and when a k'a'n'j'a'r converted he was still a K'a'n'j'a'r why?

yes there was a time when Hinduism was at the verge of getting extinct at about the 12 th century and the bharmins saved it but do you know how again holding the weak nerve of our society the caste system they actually declared that who so ever converts will be given a place in the kshatriya and other high castes community and soon people began to convert.

and there are two people you forgot to add without whom there would have been not even a kid to say "Rama".our Guru's Guru Tegh bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh.


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## Sikh royalist (Nov 2, 2009)

and one more thing which one of my favorite teacher told me at high school that hanumaan was a jatt how? i will answer it will reason if gurdas maan, harbhajan maan,
bhagwant maan are jatts why not hanu-maan:rofl!!:


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## Sikh royalist (Nov 21, 2009)

dear brother aman and Gyani jarnail singh ji

your quietness well approves that you are not satisfied with my point of view and in the last post i couldn't explain you in the right manner actually words are like dead bodies and only scavengers like emotions can eat and digest them away i cannot present the emotions that i have with words when you read them your mind interprets the emotions that are produced by you this is one of the reasons that while some people like a book the others don't.
let me now explain my point of view look brothers no one of us will accept the saying that we are not males because we are Sikhs to show respect and equality for womens similarly saying that we are not Indians because we are Sikhs to show respect for people from other nationalities is not the right way in a similar fashion saying that we are not Punjabi's since we are Sikhs to show respect for people having other ethnicity is wrong too.
being a Sikh a jatt an Indian a Punjabi a male these are all limited to this earth i have to identify my own soul without all these things but as long as i am with them i will have to accept the truth.
like there is a saying in Punjabi "sheran diyan mariyan giddar khande ne" people may claim to be from the caste and tribe of great mens but at last what matters is our personal bravery and skills.
most of the socialist governments advocate not to use surnames because the surnames are a hindrance in the path of equality as per their beliefs but is it possible that by not using a surname they can expect their people to have the feeling of equality no that is not possible we on the other hand are Sikhs we must consider every every human equal whatever be his cate creed sex tribe or nationality he/she is equal to us we must not loose our identity at the same time is that a big deal?

you can watch this video if you wish

YouTube- Glenn Beck = Racist


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## spnadmin (Nov 21, 2009)

sikh_royalist ji

I understand your frustration -- and you are right -- sometimes language gets in the way of sharing honest thoughts.

If you feel misunderstood-- I think it is because you have stated something that is more implied than directly out there in the world of concrete observation -- in other words you are talking about double meanings and hidden intentions -- and these are hard to explain directly. But I don't see your message as hard to understand.  The story about your teacher is shocking and he managed to talk in a way that allowed him to get away with it. He was using sarcasm -- and probably said more than once -- OH, that is just my humor -- don't you get it.

People like that are really hard to put aside and their words are even harder to forget.


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## Randip Singh (Nov 22, 2009)

Lostsikh said:


> I did some research and found that Multani's are Labana's who are salt traders and considered a 'low' caste. Is this  true?
> 
> I am very lost about what clan I am from, what my ancestors did, and where the Labana's level up in the caste system.
> 
> Any information is helpful.



Multani is the area your ancestors came from. Mutani can be many castes. Labana's are traditionally salt traders and rope makers.

As Sikh Labana's have become formidable warriors and enlisted in huge numbers in the British Army as Sikhs.

Some famous Labana's of late are:



Bibi Jagir Kaur - President of the SGPC (formerly)
Fiddhoo - Kabbadhi player (probably the best in the world).
Older Labana chachaters are:



Makhan Shah Labana - follower of the Sikh Guru's.
Here is a list of some others:

List of Labanas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Labana World - Lobanas of Panjab(1849-1947)

Hope this helps.

Important to remember, that although knowing your history is important, as a Sikh, in front of the history our Guru's gave us, it is unimportant.


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## Amrinder Singh (Oct 25, 2010)

hii to all,
my question is also same ,from your comments is not shown the proper answer,simply give me my bro.. lobana is jatt or not ???? simple yes or not...ya lobana is equal to jatt???? coz my name is amrinder singh bhagtana,,,,,so thts y am asking ...pls bro..am wating for ur ans with proper reason,,


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## spnadmin (Oct 25, 2010)

Veer ji

Here is all I could find to be more specific. But please keep in mind that the varna system itself was never cut and dry. If you research clan names sooner or later you discover that often the subcaste for a name might differ from geographical region of India, one to the other --- or that the same subcaste will have a different name depending on region of India The classic example for this is the name that "tarkans" have as you traverse the subcontinent.

Now for labanas. Do not be surprised if someone comes on line and disputes this article, because there will be variations. 

Labanas are an Indian tribe. The Labanas of Punjab and Haryana are mostly Sikhs.
Contents

History

With Jatts

The Labana in the Punjab are equal to Jats in social standing and are a Landholding caste here. 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 Khatri, Arora, Churah, Suneaar and Tarkhans saw the highest conversions into Sikhism during the 1881-1891.

History has it that LabanaJatt's exist in the world today. They are of equal standing and regarded highly in society. Many recite themselves as "Jatt" to prevent complexities.


Source = Transformation of the Sikh Society (Ethene K. Marenco) p. 120

The Jat and Lobana castes of Sikhs possess in a high degree in millitary support. Source = Studies on military transport By George Armand Furse P. 215

Origin

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.labanas.com

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.

Sikh rule

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.

Lobanas, Vanjaras 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] Labana's also have been linked with Gypsies from Turkey. Though some had trading background too, currently most Labana's in Punjab are wealthy and rich and involved in agriculture.This is because they receive a lot of foreign money from NRI's and other sources.

Labanas today

Lobanas are a Landholding high caste community. In pre-partition Punjab, Sant Baba Prem Singh Muralewale brought a lot of Labanas into the Sikh fold. After partition, Sant Baba Prem Singh Muralewale shifter to Begowal, Kapurthala. Ex-President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee belongs to the Labana community,


The Labana in the Punjab are equal to Jats in social standing and are a Landholding caste here. 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 Khatri, Arora, Churah, Suneaar and Tarkhans saw the highest conversions into Sikhism during the 1881-1891.


Source = Transformation of the Sikh Society (Ethene K. Marenco) p. 120

The Jat and Lobana castes of Sikhs possess in a high degree in millitary support. Source = Studies on military transport By George Armand Furse P. 215

Demographics

The Labanas are found in the Indian states of Punjab), Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttaranachal, Chandigarh, and Madhya Pradesh.

Most of the Labanas speak Punjabi. Other languages include Hindi, Harauti, Mewari, Pahari-Potwari (Punchhi), and Haryanvi (Bagdi). Some Labanas also speak a language called Lubanki.

Clans

The major Labana clans include [Garha]and most of them belong to Nangal Lubana Ghotra or Ajrawat, Baghiana,Bhagtana,Gujjar', Ghotra Lakhman, Multani, Labana, Sujlana, Maniani, and Chaniana. Other Clans are Badwalie, Belia,bakhelia,Bhagtaun, Bhonie, Dahgre, Danie, Dara Shah, Datla, Dhandsi,Dharim, Dotal, Fatra, , Gojalia, Gujars, Jullon, jTatra, Kankanya, Kharrie, Khera, Khasria, Kulwana, Lahoriae, Lavana, Lohana, Lulia, Makhan Shahi, Mathaun, mathaunie, Mochie, Nanaut, Narowal, Padurgi, Palsiya,Parwal, Pelia, TAdra,tarheem,Vakhil,Wamial, Wamowal,Lalia , Azrot

See also

    * List of Labanas
    * Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib
    * Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadar

References

    * Article on Lubanas by Jaswant Singh which appeared in 'Sikhstudies.org'
    * Gurmat Parkash, October 2002 (pages 11-43) Monthly Journal of Dharam Parchar Committee, SGPC, Amritsar.
    * Guru Shabad Ratankar Mahan Kosh.

External links

    * http://www.labanas.com/
    * http://www.lubana.com/
    * http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/gurus/makhanshah.html
    * http://www.sikh-history.com/literature/essays/gurladh.html
    * http://www.srigurugranthsahib.org/guru-teg-bahadur/discovery.htm
    * http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040622/main8.htm
    * http://www.sikh-heritage.co.uk/movements/lobanas/lobanasVS.htm
    * http://www.sikh-heritage.co.uk/gurus/TegBahadur/TegBahadur.htm

http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Labana


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## Randip Singh (Oct 25, 2010)

Amrinder Singh said:


> hii to all,
> my question is also same ,from your comments is not shown the proper answer,simply give me my bro.. lobana is jatt or not ???? simple yes or not...ya lobana is equal to jatt???? coz my name is amrinder singh bhagtana,,,,,so thts y am asking ...pls bro..am wating for ur ans with proper reason,,




*Sikh* Jatt = *Sikh* Labana = *Sikh* Tarkhan = *Sikh* Chamar etc etc

As *Sikhs *we have no caste.

In terms of actual caste both Hindu Jatts and Hindu Labana's have been classified as Sudra and Vaisya.


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