meeting with his officials, the founder of
Rampur State The
Jats were one of the first communities of the
Subcontinent to interact with the
Muslims. They were known as the
Zuṭṭ (), although this term also referred to several other groups—such as the Sāyabija, Andāghar, and Qufs—not all of whom were necessarily ethnic Jats. The Zutt were originally from the
Indus Valley, but had been settling in
lower Iraq since the reign of
Bahram V. Following the failed
Zutt Rebellion, the Zutt lost their power and distinct identity. They ceased their migrations into Iraq following the fragmentation of the
Abbasid Caliphate. The Arabs had noted several agglomerations of Jats settled throughout the province of
Sind. Between the 11th and 16th centuries, some
Sindhi Jats migrated up into
Punjab. Many clans have traditions of converting to Islam during this period, influenced by
Sufis like
Baba Farid. By the 16th century, many
Punjabi clans west of the
Ravi river had converted. Despite conversion, many Jats continued to resist foreign
Muslim imperial powers such as the
Timurids,
Mughals, and
Surs. Meanwhile, others chose to cooperate with the Muslim rulers to advance their own interests. During the
Delhi Sultanate,
Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq was appointed as the governor of
Multan, and later of
Dipalpur. His early forces were primarily composed of Jat tribesmen recruited from Dipalpur, who fought alongside him in all his campaigns. During Mughal rule, Jats came to own considerable land and exert local influence. The Mughals never had direct control over many of these rural grandees.
Faujdar of
Sialkot,
Rahmat Khan Bajwa, prominent
Jagirdar, Rai Muhammad Jani
Malhi, and governor of
Gujrat,
Rehmat Khan Warraich. As the
Mughal empire began to decline, various groups vied to fill the resulting power vacuum. And in
Punjab, the
Gondal Jats of the
Gondal Bar resisted
Nader Shah, With the establishment of the
British Raj, all formerly independent or autonomous polities were either annexed or integrated into the colonial empire as
princely states. During British rule, many
Punjabi Muslims, including Jats, would enlist in the
British Indian Army. Most were recruited from the
Pothohar Plateau. Certain Punjabi Jat families—such as the
Mokals,
Nakais, and
Pahuwindias—had strong ties to the
Lahore Durbar before their conversion to Islam, which granted them significant influence in the districts of Lahore, Kasur, Sahiwal, and Okara. Despite their conversion and the subsequent
Partition of Punjab, these families maintained much of their social and political standing. Notable figures from these lineages include Habibullah Khan Mokal,
Muhammad Arif Nakai, and Ahmed Said Pahuwindia. == Demographics ==