A jathedar (Punjabi: ਜੱਥੇਦਾਰ) is a leader of high regard chosen to head and ensure discipline within a jatha, a troop of Sikhs.[1]
During the early-to-mid 18th century, the term was used to refer to a leader of a Jatha.[2] However, it began to be replaced by titles, such as Sardar, due to Afghan influence from the mid-18th century onwards.[2] The terms "jatha" and "jathedar" were revived during the Singh Sabha movement to refer to "bands of preachers and choirs", an association which survives until the present-day.[2] However, during the later Gurdwara Reform Movement, the terms began to take on a martial tone once again, resuscitating and harking back to the 18th century's context for the word.[2]