:Tarkhan (Punjab)

{{short description|Caste in Punjab region of India and Pakistan}}

{{About|the Punjabi community|other uses|Tarkan (disambiguation){{!}}Tarkan}}

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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}

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{{Infobox ethnic group

| group = Tarkhan

| image = Khati or Tarkhan, carpenter caste of the Panjab - Tashrih al-aqvam (1825), f.287v - BL Add. 27255.jpg

| caption = Tarkhan, carpenter caste of the Panjab - Tashrih al-aqvam (1825)

| popplace = India and Pakistan

| langs = Hindi • Punjabi

| rels = Hinduism • Islam • Sikhism

| related =

}}

File:Portrait of three unidentified Lahore carpenters (likely Tarkhan) with tools, ca.1862–72.png

The Tarkhan is a caste found in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. They are traditionally carpenters by occupation.{{cite book |first=W. H. |last=McLeod |title=Exploring Sikhism: Aspects of Sikh Identity, Culture and Thought |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-564902-4 |page=214}}

The Hindu members of this clan are generally identified as Khatis, Suthars or Lohars following the Vishwakarma community of India.{{cite book |title=Sociology: A Study of the Social Sphere |first=Yogesh |last=Atal |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-8-13179-759-4 |page=242 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RuK9z3jLcwgC&pg=PA242 |year=2012}} Whereas, Tarkhan Sikhs are among those groups who are identified as Ramgarhias, after the Misl leader Jassa Singh Ramgarhia.{{cite book |first=W. Owen |last=Cole |title=A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy |year=2005 |isbn=1135797609 |page=70 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |access-date=9 September 2020 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427070711/https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |url-status=live }} Despite Sikhism generally rejecting the caste system, it does have its own very similar socio-economic hierarchy and in that the Ramgarhias, of which the Tarkhans are a part, now rank second only to the Jat Sikhs, thanks to significant economic and social power that elevated this middle class group from its lower caste confines.{{cite book |last1=Childs |first1=Peter |title=Encyclopaedia of Contemporary British Culture |isbn=978-1134755547 |pages=270 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHiVvKbSLX8C&pg=PA270 |date=13 May 2013|publisher=Routledge }}

According to the 1921 census of India, which may not be reliable, some Tarkhan Sikhs owned large areas of land and, in some cases, whole villages.{{cite book |first=Subash Chander |last=Sharma |title=Punjab, the Crucial Decade |publisher=Nirmal Publications |year=1987 |isbn=978-8171561735 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L1RGX3whGEIC&pg=PA114 |access-date=9 September 2020 |archive-date=27 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427070713/https://books.google.com/books?id=L1RGX3whGEIC&pg=PA114 |url-status=live }}

In 2001, the Punjab Government included Ramgarhia, Tarkhan and Dhiman in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) to improve their economic conditions.{{cite news |title=Ramgarhias in OBC list |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Ramgarhias-in-OBC-list/articleshow/433739102.cms |access-date=3 September 2020 |work=The Times of India |date=31 August 2001 |language=en |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411093701/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Ramgarhias-in-OBC-list/articleshow/433739102.cms |url-status=live }} They were also added in the list of backward classes by the governments of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.{{cite web |title=List of Backward Classes {{!}} Welfare of Scheduled Caste & Backward Classes Department, Government of Haryana |url=http://haryanascbc.gov.in/list-of-backward-classes |website=haryanascbc.gov.in |access-date=4 September 2020 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020214546/http://haryanascbc.gov.in/list-of-backward-classes |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=HBCFDC |url=http://himachalservices.nic.in/hbcfdc/list.htm |website=himachalservices.nic.in |access-date=31 October 2020 |archive-date=4 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104195331/http://himachalservices.nic.in/hbcfdc/list.htm |url-status=live }}