Bhabra

There are two theories regarding the origin of the name Bhabra. According to Sumitta Bhikkhu (1949), the term derives from the compound word bhāva-baṛā (“great belief”). As per Duggaṛ (1979), the term originates from the name of a village south of Lahore called Bhāvaṛā, where Karam Chand Bachhawat installed a foot-image (caraṇa-bimba) of Jinakuśalasūri, that was the local focus of the popular dādābāṛī cult.^[2]

The Bhabra community has had a close historical association with Jainism. It is believed to be connected with the Bhavadar or Bhavada Gachchha to which the legendary Śvetāmbara Jain Acharya Kalakacharya belonged to. They are believed to have originated from the Bhabra town (32° 13' 30": 73° 13') in Punjab, Pakistan.^[3] Inscriptions suggest that Bhavada Gachchha had survived until the 17th century.

Jainism has been present in Punjab since ancient times. This is where Alexander the Great encountered Gymnosophists and Xuanzang met Śvetāmbara monks.^[4] According to Shatrunjaya Mahatmya of Dhaneshwar Suri, Javad Shah of Taxila had restored Shatrunjaya Tirth and brought an idol of Lord Adinath from Taxila and installed it at Shatrunjaya.

Vaar 8 Pauri 12 of 24 of Vaaran Bhai Gurdas (1550-1620 CE)^[5] says: "kaytarhiaan hee baaneeay kitarhay bhaabharhiaan suniaaray",^[6] there are many traders and many Bhabras are goldsmiths.

In "Romantic Tales from the Punjab" Charles Swynnerton relates a folk tale about several girls. It mentions a girl being a Bhabra, and mentions them being strictly vegetarian.^[7] In the 17th century, Fray Sebastien Manrique met them in Amritsar district.^[8] Their presence has been noted in the Mughal period,^[9] and in the 19th century.^[10]

in West Punjab the Śvetāmbara Jains usually hailed from the Osavāla caste while in Sindh they usually belonged to the Poravāḍa and Śrīmālī castes. Despite the Punjabi Osavālas, who called themselves Bhābaṛās, having a Rajasthani origin, they gradually lost touch with their homeland and adopted Punjabi as their mother-tongue (also using Urdu and Persian) and stopped marrying Osavālas from Rajasthan. These Bhāvaṛā/Bhābaṛās were prevalent in mercantile, finance, education, and publishing fields, with many locations (such as villages, bazaars, and mohallas) being named after them in Pakistan. The organizations of the Bhabras controlled most of the Jain heritage sites in Pakistan prior to partition. Apart from the Bhabras, other Jain castes/communities in Punjab were from Brahmin, Rajput, Aggarwal, Jatt, and lower-caste origin.^[2]

Many Bhabra Jains were converted to Sikhism by the preacher Naria of Jahman village in Lahore district.^[11]

The original home region of the Bhabras is now in Pakistan where a small community still exists.^[12] While many of the Bhabras left Pakistani Punjab in 1947, for India. Many cities in Pakistan have sections named after Bhabras.

• Sialkot: All the Jains here were Bhabra and mainly lived in Sialkot and Pasrur. The Serai Bhabrian and Bhabrian Wala localities are named after them. There were several Jain temples here before partition of India.
• Pasrur: Pasrur was developed by a Jain zamindar who was granted land by Raja Maan Singh. Baba Dharam Dass belonged to the zamindar family who was murdered on a trading visit.^[13]
• Gujranwala: Two old Jain libraries managed by Lala Karam Chand Bhabra were present here which were visited by Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar^[14]
• Lahore: There were Jain temples at localities still called Thari Bhabrian and Gali Bhabrian.
• Rawalpindi: Bhabra Bazar is named after them.

In India they have been present at:

• Amritsar: Kucha Bhabrian, Katra Bhabrian
• Hansi: Mohalla bhabran

After 1947 Partition, most of displaced bhabra families were resettled in Ludhiana, Punjab and Ambala, Haryana.^[15] In Delhi, the majority of Jains in neighborhood of Roop Nagar have their origin in West Punjab.^[16]