Matharu

Matharus were fierce warriors especially during, the time when the Matharu tribe, had converted to Sikhism; they fought numbers of wars for Guru Gobind Singh, Banda Singh Bahadur and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia.

'Matharu or Matharoo (ਮਠਾੜੂ in Gurmukhī script) is a prominent Sikh clan belonging to the Jatt tribe.

Sir Denzil Ibbetson counted the Matharus as one of the major Jatt tribes of the Punjab and the Northwest Frontier Province, centred in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Lahore and Ludhiana.

The origin of Matharu was a Jatt clan.Later they were thought of Ramgharia / Tarkhan /Jatt etc. Matharu Jatts are dominant in some villages of Punjab including Jattana, Chounkimaan, Nakodar and areas around Moga. Matharus are widely known as successful landowning farmers through Punjab today. Matharus claiming Jadaun Rajput ancestry are found in Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Patiala and Ludhiana districts.

Variant forms of the name include Matharoo, Matharu, Matharo, Mathru and Matroo. Matharu’s live in Canada, India, U.K., USA etc.

They originate from the regions of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Lahore and Ludhiana in Punjab. The name Matharu appears on one of the marble slabs on the premises of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar. Matharus built battleships in olden times, and a cannon in the Ranthambore Fort at Rajasthan also bears the name Matharu. Matharus also built weapons for and fought in the armies of Guru Gobind Singh, Prithviraj Chauhan and Akbar.

In 1984, the Sikh extremist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale started a Sikh militancy against the Indian Government for creating an independent Sikh state in Punjab to Khalistan. A great number of Matharus and its village of Chaunkiman in Jagroan, Punjab were among the sikhs who supported him.

The Punjab Gazetteer says of the Matharus, in a description of the Amritsar District,They possess all the good qualities and martial spirit. Thus in the military atmosphere they have the honour to share up to this day, with their allies, the topmost position among the Brotherhood of Lions.