Jats as Musicians and dancers

[rkumar]

Dear Friends,

I was reading the material at the following link;

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/history.htm

Like in many history books, the site mentions that the gypsies in Europe are of Indian Jat origin. Sounds musical but there is hardly any similarity in the habits of we jats in North India and the gypsies. Jats in India are rarely known as the one who earn their livelyhood from music and dance performances. Or was it that Jats in olden days were involved in music and dance ?

May be Ravi and others active in history will enlighen us here on the seeming paradox.

Regards
Rajendra

[satbir_grewal]

Rajendra ji,

The gypsies were a displaced people and and an opressed one at that. They left India because of muslim persecution and they might not have had the luxury to decide what they're going to do and what not. It might've been a matter of staying alive in foreign lands. As it is, singing and dancing has never been looked down upon in western civilization. It's only in north-western India that we encounter this peculiar phenomenon. So, I don't think that the gypsies would've given much thought to that.

Satbir.

[ravichaudhary]

BS does on occasion baffle brains

A common growing perception among historians( roma and non roma) is that Roma gypsies are Indians and more to point- jats, enslaved by Ghazni circa 1100 AD.

The actual evidence for this is not quite so clear cut

Most arrived voluntarily in Europe from other places- Egypt etc

Some common words exist in the roma gypsy language which point to the Indian subcontinent.

That in itself does not make them Jat.

The Roma/Gypsies themselves do, as they seek a proud lineage- Jat

The DNA studies have also been discussed


For various discussions, see the Jathistory yahoo group for various messages and the responses on the Jathistory list

A trip through the archives may not be unfruitful


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/218

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/239
Re: Origins and Divergence of the Roma (article)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JatHistory/message/840
Re: Roma being Jats, is a false theory ...

Ravi

[vmalik]

Ravi ji,

When you say that the Gypsies are just trying to claim to a proud lineage, do you think a majority of the present day gypsies would even know anything about Jats. Neither do they care, I feel.