View source for Saini

{{short description|Caste of North India}}
{{About|the Saini community of Punjab|the Mali community who were not recorded as Saini prior to  1937 |Mali caste|the communities in North India using the surname|Saini (surname)}}
{{distinguish|Siani (disambiguation){{!}}Siani|Sinai (disambiguation){{!}}Sinai}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox caste
|caste_name= Saini
|populated_states= [[Punjab, India]], [[Haryana]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu & Kashmir]], [[Chandigarh]] and [[Delhi]]
|country= Primarily India
}}
'''Saini''' ({{Audio|saini.ogg|pronunciation}}) is a farming and landowning [[caste]]<ref name=Paramjit>{{cite journal | last=Judge | first=Paramjit S. | title=Caste Hierarchy, Dominance, and Change in Punjab |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314832112_Caste_Hierarchy_Dominance_and_Change_in_Punjab | journal=Sociological Bulletin | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=64 | issue=1 | year=2015 | issn=0038-0229 | doi=10.1177/0038022920150104 | pages=60–62}}</ref> of [[northern India]]. The community is given [[reservation in India|representation in government jobs and educational institutes]] as an [[Other Backward Class]] (OBC)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chdengineering.gov.in/pages/list_obc.pdf|title=CENTRAL LIST OF OTHER BACKWARD CLASSES|website=CHANDIGARH ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=4 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104122022/http://www.chdengineering.gov.in/pages/list_obc.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> in the states of [[Uttar Pradesh]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/17-most-backward-castes-may-play-kingmaker-as-purvanchal-gears-up-to-vote-in-final-phase-2141707.html|title=17 Most Backward Castes May Play Kingmaker as Purvanchal Gears Up to Vote in Final Phase|website=News18|date=15 May 2019|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=20 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520131055/https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/17-most-backward-castes-may-play-kingmaker-as-purvanchal-gears-up-to-vote-in-final-phase-2141707.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/saini-swarnkarsunar-communities-to-be-backward-classes-in-punjab-3024245/|title=Saini, Swarnkar/Sunar communities to be backward classes in Punjab|date=10 September 2016|website=The Indian Express|language=en-US|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=17 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617020834/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/saini-swarnkarsunar-communities-to-be-backward-classes-in-punjab-3024245/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Haryana]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/haryana-government-adds-kushwaha-keori-maurya-castes-to-bc-list/articleshow/25267747.cms?from=mdr|title=Haryana government adds Kushwaha, Keori, Maurya castes to BC list|date=5 November 2013|work=The Economic Times|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=13 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213093229/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/haryana-government-adds-kushwaha-keori-maurya-castes-to-bc-list/articleshow/25267747.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Rajasthan]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rajasthan-assembly-polls-2018-rss-stronghold-anta-has-been-electing-influential-leaders/story-1PBDYFzDd0luazjapjzpfK.html|title=Rajasthan assembly polls 2018: RSS stronghold, Anta, has been electing influential leaders|date=11 September 2018|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=30 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230205531/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rajasthan-assembly-polls-2018-rss-stronghold-anta-has-been-electing-influential-leaders/story-1PBDYFzDd0luazjapjzpfK.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Commission-starts-hearing-on-inclusion-of-OBCs-from-Madhya-Pradesh/articleshow/42244508.cms|title=Shubha Mudgal: Commission starts hearing on inclusion of OBCs from Madhya Pradesh|last=N|first=TN|website=The Times of India|date=11 September 2014 |language=en|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-date=12 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312213450/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Commission-starts-hearing-on-inclusion-of-OBCs-from-Madhya-Pradesh/articleshow/42244508.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> Sainis, like other farming castes of Punjab, play a dominant role in shaping the social and cultural life of rural villages. Their size, farming and political visibility, strengthens their position in local society.<ref name=Paramjit/>

As both a statutory agricultural tribe and a designated [[martial race]] during the [[British Raj]] era that followed the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], Sainis had been chiefly engaged in both agriculture and military service. Since the independence of India, they have diversified into [[White-collar worker|white-collar professions]].<ref>''"The members of Saini community are employed in business and white-collar jobs and as teachers, administrators, lawyers, doctors and defence personnel."'' People of India, National Series Volume VI, India's Communities N-Z, p 3091, KS Singh, Anthropological Survey of India, Oxford University Press, 1998</ref>

==History==
===Mythology===
The Sainis of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts claim to be the descendants of kings of the Yaduvanshi or Surasena lineage who ruled these kingdoms, who came to these areas to avoid forced conversion to Islam.<ref name = "Surasena Mathura">"Surasena refers to an ancient region named after a Jadu raja who is believed to have lived before Krishna. Bayana (near Mathura) from where the Jadus ruled ..." ''Against History, Against State: Counterperspectives from the Margins'', p 54, Shail Mayaram, published by Permanent Black, 2004</ref>

===Academic===
Gahlot and Banshidhar indicate some commonality in origin with Rajput Malis of Rajputana, who also claim to be of Rajput descent.<ref name = "Saini Rajput">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DuAtAAAAMAAJ |quote=In the Punjab in the sub-mountainous region the community came to be known as 'Saini'. It maintained its Rajput character despite migration. In other parts, it came to be called by the name of "Kshatriya-Mali" (Rajput Mali) |title=Castes and Tribes of Rajasthan |page=108 |first1=Sukhvir Singh |last1=Gahlot |first2=Banshi |last2=Dhar |publisher=Jain Brothers |year=1989|isbn=9788185287003 }}</ref>

===British era===
During the British period Sainis were classified as both a statutory agricultural tribe and, later, a martial race.<ref name="Mazumder2003">{{cite book|first=Rajit K. |last=Mazumder|title=The Indian army and the making of Punjab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4Wop9vwS9sC&pg=PA105 |year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-059-6|pages=99, 105, 205}}</ref> The latter was an administrative device based on the now-discredited theories of [[scientific racism]]: ethnic communities were categorised as being either martial or non-martial, with the latter being those who were thought to be unfit to serve in armies due to their sedentary lifestyles.<ref name=rand>{{Cite journal|last=Rand|first=Gavin|s2cid=144987021|title=Martial Races and Imperial Subjects: Violence and Governance in Colonial India 1857–1914|journal= European Review of History|volume=13|issue=1|pages=1–20|publisher=Routledge|date=March 2006|doi=10.1080/13507480600586726 |issn = 1350-7486 }}</ref><ref name="Street">{{cite book |title=Martial Races: The military, race and masculinity in British Imperial Culture, 1857-1914 |last=Streets |first=Heather |year=2004 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-6962-8 |page=241 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BscnZT_1po8C}}</ref> The community was also one of several peasant peoples who benefitted from the development of the [[Punjab Canal Colonies]], through which they obtained land grants from the British authorities, especially in the [[Chenab Colony]] following the introduction of the [[Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Punjab Under Imperialism, 1885-1947 |first=Imran |last=Ali |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2014 |orig-year=1988 |isbn=978-1-40085-958-0 |pages=51, 56, 64, 73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MgUABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 |access-date=23 September 2019 |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221180659/https://books.google.com/books?id=MgUABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some Saini landlords were also appointed as ''[[zaildar]]s'', or revenue-collectors, in various districts.<ref name = "Hissar Zaildar">History of Hisar: From Inception to Independence, 1935–1947, p 312, M. M. Juneja, Published by Modern Book Co., 1989</ref>

===Post Independence India===
Castes similar to Sainis in north India are [[Koeri]], [[Kushwaha]], [[Maurya (surname)|Maurya]] and [[Shakya (surname)|Shakya]]. Over the time, these communities have come together and started inter-marrying among themselves for caste consolidation.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC|title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects|first=Mahendra Lal|last=Patel|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.|year=1997|page=37|isbn=8175330295|access-date=15 August 2020|archive-date=2 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202201928/https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Marriage==
According to the [[Anthropological Survey of India]], "The Saini are endogamous community and observe exogamy at village and gotra level." Remarriage after the death of a spouse is permitted nowadays, as is divorce.<ref>People of India, National Series Volume VI, India's Communities N-Z, p 3090, KS Singh, Anthropological Survey of India, Oxford University Press, 1998</ref>

==Notable people==
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<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
Notable people who bear the name and may or may not be associated with the caste are:

===Armed forces===
*[[Joginder Singh (soldier)|Joginder Singh]] (Param Vir Chakra)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mehta |first1=Raj |date=15 April 2018 |title=When the will became a weapon |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/when-the-will-became-a-weapon-572352 |work=The Tribune |access-date=23 June 2025}}</ref>

===Indian freedom movement===
*[[Gurdan Saini]] (Rajput General- died in Ranthambore also known as Rana Gurdan Saini)<ref name="Indian History Congress- Gurdan Saini">A Comprehensive History of India : The Delhi Sultanat, A.D. 1206–1526, pp 318,  Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, Indian History Congress, 1957</ref>{{qn|date=July 2023}}
* [[Harnam Singh Saini]] (Ghadar movement, died - hanged on 16 March 1917 after [[Lahore Conspiracy Case trial]])<ref>Agrarian Scene in British Punjab, pp 71, By Hari Singh, Published by People's Pub. House, 1983, Item notes: v.2, Original from the University of Michigan</ref>{{qn|date=July 2023}} 
===Religious and political leaders===
* [[Labh Singh Saini]] (Akali dal president)<ref>Pratap Singh, Giani, Gurdwara Sudhar arthat Akali. Lahir. Amritsar, 1975</ref>{{qn|date=July 2023}}
*[[Jathedar Sadhu Singh Bhaura]] (Akal Takht Jathedar)<ref>Surjit Singh Nanua, Saini Jagat (Utpati Ate Vikas), Patiala, 2008</ref>{{pn|date=July 2023}}{{qn|date=July 2023}}

===Sports===
* [[Sandeep Singh|Sandeep Singh Saini]] a [[field hockey]] player from [[Shahabad Markanda|Shahabad]] town of Haryana<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Taapsee Pannu to play ODI captain Mithali Raj in biopic |url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/starlife/taapsee-pannu-to-play-odi-captain-mithali-raj-in-biopic/article30152653.ece |magazine=Sportstar |date=3 December 2019 |access-date=23 June 2025}}</ref>

===Civilians with titles===
* [[Chaudhari Nand Ram Saini]] ([[Zaildar]] from Hissar Division)<ref name=inception>History of Hisar: From Inception to Independence, 1935–1947, pp 312, M. M. Juneja, Published by Modern Book Co., 1989</ref>{{qn|date=July 2023}}
* [[Sardar]] [[Nanu Singh Saini]](Sikh army General and well Known [[Jagirdar]] in Phulkian Rayast)<ref>Saini jagata utapati ate wikasa / Surajita Singha Nanua, pp 108, 109, pp 111, Patiala : Manajota Prakashana, ਪਟਿਆਲਾ : ਮਨਜੋਤ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ਨ, 2008, DK Agencies DKPAN-5413 ( HBD )</ref>{{qn|date=July 2023}}

===Others===
*[[Sumedh Singh Saini]] (former [[Director general of police]] of [[Punjab, India]]<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sumedh-singh-saini-a-former-top-cop-on-the-run/article32589647.ece | title=Sumedh Singh Saini &#124; A former top cop on the run | newspaper=The Hindu | date=12 September 2020 | last1=Vasudeva | first1=Vikas }}</ref>{{qn|date=July 2023}}
*[[Gurbux Saini]], Canadian MP

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth = 30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.SainiOnline.com SainiOnline.com]
*[http://www.sainiinfo.com SainiInfo.com]

{{Ethnic groups, tribes and clans of the Punjab}}
{{Rajput Groups of India}}

[[Category:Saini| ]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Punjabi tribes]]
[[Category:Social groups of Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]