Bhati  clan of Jaisalmer :
Bhati (also spelled Bhatti) is a clan of Rajputs and Gurjars found in India and Pakistan.The Bhatti Rajputs (also known as Bargala) claim Chandravanshi origin. Bhatti is Chandravanshi clan name found in Jats. Also found in Rajputs and Muslims in India and Pakistan. They give their name to the Bhattianaand to the Bhattiora tracts, as well as to various places, such as Bhatinda, Bhatner, Pindi Bhattian and possibly the Bhattia? in Chamba. They live in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. They are found in Gujarat and known as Bhatiya. Bati clan is found in Afghanistan. Bati Jat clan is found in Multan. Bhati is a Jat, Arain, Gujar and Rajput clan found in Amritsar, also a Jat and Rajput clan found in Multan. Ram Sarup Joon writes that about 70 Jat Gotras joined the Gujar force and started calling themselves Gujars. Bhatti is one of them. Bhatiya is a Gotra of the Anjana Jats in Gujarat.

Origin :

The original name of the Bhati clan was Yadav, reflecting their descent from Lord Krishna and the Yadu or Yadav. There was a great poet named Bhatti  in the court of Dharasena IV. People coming from the side of Bhatinda were called Bahttis.

The branches of Yadu race are: 1. Yadu (Chief Karauli), 2. Bhatti (Chief Jaisalmer), 3. Jareja (Chief Cutch Bhuj), 4. Samecha (Muhammadans in Sind), 5. Madecha, 6. Bidman, 7. Badda, 8. Soha.

According to James Tod  Raja Baland had seven sons : Bhatti, Bhupati, Kullar, Jinj, Sarmor, Bhynsrecha, Mangreo.

Raja Bhatti succeeded his father Raja Baland. He conquered fourteen princes, and added their fortunes to his own. Among his effects, he reckoned twenty-four thousand mules laden with treasure ; sixty-thousand horse, and innumerable foot. As soon as he mounted the gadi, he assembled all his forces at Lahore preparatory to the teeka-dour destined against Beerbhan Bhagel, lord of Kanakpur. Beerbhan fell in the battle which ensued, at the head of forty thousand men. With Bhatti, the patronymic was changed, and the tribe thenceforth was distinguished by his name

Bhati Rajputs ruled Jaisalmer in the 12th century. These people were camel riders, warriors and fond of cattle herding as well as hunting. Being located deep in the desert, Jaisalmer escaped direct Muslim conquest during the Muslim expansion in India but were eventually defeated by the Muslims nonetheless.

History :

James Todd writes that Bhatti was the exile from Zabulistan, and as usual with the Rajput races on any such event in their annals, his name set aside the more ancient patronymic, Yadu. The Bhattis subdued all the tracts south of the Ghara ; but their power has been greatly circumscribed since the arrival of the Rathors. The Map defines their existing limits, and their annals (Annals of Jaisalmer) will detail their past history.

James Tod writes that Notwithstanding the lapse of eleven hundred years since the expulsion of the Bhattis from the Punjab, and in spite of the revolutions in laws, language, and religion, since the descendants of Salbahan abandoned that region, yet, even to this day, there is abundant testimony in its geographical nomenclature that the Bhattis had dominion there. We have Pindi Bhattia-ca, Bhatti-ca-chak, in the very position where we should look for Salbahanpoor.

Thakur Deshraj suggests that Bhatis were initially Yadavas. When the people were driven away from the fertile lands of Brij, Ghazni, Herat and Punjab, then they came to desert area of Jangladesh. Jangladesh was infertile and there was scarcity of water everywhere in this region. The people had to wander from here to there in search of water and food. These people were known as Bhati. The word Bhati is derived from Hindi word 'Bhatkana'.

Bhatis had come to Jangladesh prior to 4th century when the Buddhism was at peak. Later, when the influence of Buddhism came down and Hindu religion was spreading, Bhatis got divided into two categories namely - 1. Jat Bhati and 2. Rajput Bhati. Third category came into existence, Muslim Bhati, under the influence of Islam. Rajput Bhatis ruled Jaisalmer.

Jat Bhatis ruled Bhatner, presently Hanumangarh, and Bhatinda. Bhatner was historically important because it was situated on route of invaders from Central Asia to India. 'Wakaata Jaisalmer' writes that this area was known as Bhatner due to Bhati population in the area. 'Bhar Suthal' Geography tells us that northern part was called Ner and combined this with Bhat, which was proffered by Muslim Bhatis, became Bhatner.

Occupation :

Some Bhatis were nomadic cattle-keepers. In the years preceding the Indian rebellion of 1857, these groups lost land by decisions made by the British East India Company, which assigned to Jat peasants grazing lands formerly frequented by the Bhatis in the Delhi and Haryana regions. The British were not enamoured of nomadic tribes, whom they thought exacted protection in the areas that they visited, and the policies of land reform were designed in part to limit this mobility.

Culture :

In Jaisalmer, the Bhati clan sometimes refer to themselves as the Yadavpati, reflecting their claimed mythological descent from Krishna and the Yadu or Yadav.

Being one of the few Rajput clans to convert to Islam in the 12th century the Bhatti's began to lose their nomadic traditions and proceeded to purchase the lands they once grazed their animals on. However, in the years preceding the Indian rebellion of 1857, many of these groups lost land due decisions made by the British East India Company, which resulted in lands formerly owned by the Bhatti's to be given to other more farming orientated castes; namely Jatt and Cheema families.

At least some of the Bhatti Rajputs of Rajasthan were among the communities that practised female infanticide between 1883–1998. One princess, a daughter of the Muslim Bhati Jatt family in Dipalpur, was married to Salar Rajab, a Turkic Muslim ruler, and gave birth to Firuz Shah Tughlaq. This was one of several examples of inter-religious royal marriage alliances during the period of Turkic Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent. Rajput Bhati princesses were also married into the royal family of Jodhpur.

In some parts of modern Pakistan, especially in the Northern and Central Punjab, low-caste doms (or Mirasi singers/dancers) now also call themselves 'Bhattis'; a fact deeply resented by the authentic Bhatti Rajputs of Rajasthan.

The Sikh Sidhu Jatt rulers of Patiala and Nabha also claim to Bhattis and descendants of Rawal Jaisal. Geographically, the Sidhu are from the Punjab region of India.