Jatha

[citation needed] Its first Jathedar (leader) was Baba Deep Singh who died at the age of 83 by having his head severed in a battle against Durrani forces.

[3] The Mughal government made peace with the Sikhs for a short sliver of time between 1733 and 1735 and allowed the Jathas to reside in Amritsar without being harassed.

[3] The words Jatha and Jathedar began to fall into disuse after this point, as leaders of Misls preferred the term 'Sardar' to refer to themselves, due to Afghan influence.

[3] After the rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the establishment of the Sikh Empire, various aspects of 18th century Sikhism, including Jatha formations, were abolished.

[3] 18th century warriors of a jatha were equipped at-first with knobbed clubs, spears, battle axes, bow and arrows, and matchlocks.

[3] Horses were incredibly valued and mounts of high-quality were targeted during raids on the enemy transport convoys (columns and baggage trains).

[3] As per Rattan Singh Bhangu in his Panth Prakash, some light-artillery pieces were used by the Sikhs of this era, such as zamburaks (camel-mounted swivel cannons) and a long-range musket known as a janjail.

[3] The terms "jatha" and "jathedar" were revived during the Singh Sabha movement to refer to "bands of preachers and choirs", an association which survives until the present-day.

[3] However, during the later Gurdwara reform movement, the terms began to take on a martial tone once again, resuscitating and harking back to the 18th century's context for the word.

[3] The term Jatha began to refer to a "band of [Sikh] volunteers going forward to press a demand or to defy an unjust fiat of the government".

Some Sikh jathas such as the Babbar Akali Movement, formed in 1921, rejected non-violence and gave stiff resistance to the British, which led to small battles and assassinations, and eventually by 1939 were down to large shootouts.

Painting of a small jatha (contingent or band) of Akali-Nihang Sikhs on the march, ca.1850
Photograph of the 2nd Shahidi Jatha procession at Jaito, showing the Nishan Sahib carriers, circa February 1924 during the Jaito Morcha
Photograph of the aftermath of the streets of Amritsar after Muslim locals were evicted and butchered by Sikh jathas, The Sphere, 6 September 1947