A jathedar (Punjabi: ਜੱਥੇਦਾਰ) is a leader of high regard chosen to head and ensure discipline within a jatha, a troop of Sikhs.
[2] However, it began to be replaced by titles, such as Sardar, due to Afghan influence from the mid-18th century onwards.
[2] 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.
[2] 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.
[2] Usurped by Minas from 1640 to 1698Usurped by Sarbarahs appointed by the British Indian Government from 1859 to 1920