It is noteworthy that many of their names were based on names of places (region, town, or village): for example, Shrimali and Mewada on the Shrimal and Mewar regions in Rajasthan, Modh on Modhera town in north Gujarat, and Khedawal on Kheda town in central Gujarat. Traditionally, the Brahman division was supposed to provide the priests for the corresponding divisions. The point is that the Rajput hierarchy, with the princely families at the top, merged at the lower level imperceptibly into the vast sea of tribal and semi-tribal people like Bhils and Kolis. The name, Talapada, meaning mdigenous, commonly used in the 19th century, is most clear, since it is clearly distinguished from the other division called Pardeshi, meaning foreign, who during the last one or two centuries immigrated here from the area around Patan in north Gujarat and were, therefore, also called Patan- wadias. Britain's response was to cut off the thumbs of weavers, break their looms and impose duties on tariffs on Indian cloth, while flooding India and the world with cheaper fabric from the new steam mills of Britain. At one end there were castes in which the principle of hierarchy had free play and the role of the principle of division was limited. In the meanwhile, it is important to note that there does not seem to have been any attempt to form small endogamous units (ekdas, gols) at any level among the Rajputs unlike attempts made as we shall see, among some other hypergamous castes in Gujarat. Tirgaar, Tirbanda. caste: [noun] one of the hereditary social classes in Hinduism that restrict the occupation of their members and their association with the members of other castes. The existence of flexibility at both the levels was made possible by the flexibility of the category Rajput. They were involved in agriculture in one way or another. In each of these three divisions the top stratum was clear. How many sub-divisions existed in the various divisions of the various orders is a matter of empirical investigation. Bougies repulsion) rather than on hierarchy was a feature of caste in certain contexts and situations in traditional India, and increasing emphasis on division in urban Indian in modern times is an accentuation of what existed in the past. The small town sections therefore separated themselves from the respective large town sections and formed a new ekda. Castes pervaded by divisive tendencies had small populations confined to small areas separated from each other by considerable gaps. The understanding of changes in caste is not likely to be advanced by clubbing such diverse groups together under the rubric of ethnic group. The census operations, in particular, spread as they were over large areas, gave a great impetus to writings on what Srinivas has called the horizontal dimension of caste (1952: 31f;1966: 9,44,92,98-100,114-17). It will readily be agreed that the sociological study of Indian towns and cities has not made as much progress as has the study of Indian villages. Vankar is described as a caste as well as a community. The main aim of this paper is to discuss, on the basis of data derived mainly from Gujarat, these and other problems connected with the horizontal dimension of caste. Second, there used to be intense intra-ekda politics, and tads were formed as a result of some continuing conflict among ekda leaders and over the trial of violation of ekda rules. The existence of ekdas or gols, however, does not mean that the divisiveness of caste ended there or that the ekdas and gols were always the definitive units of endogamy. There was also another important correlation. In any case, the population of any large caste was found in many kingdoms. The primarily rural and lower castes were the last to form associations and that too mainly after independence (1947). Many of them became the norm-setting elite for Gujaratis in the homeland. Thus, finding any boundary between Rajputs and Kolis in the horizontal context was impossible, although there were sharp boundaries between the two in the narrow local context. They co-existed in the highlands with tribes such as the Bhils, so much so that today frequently many high caste Gujaratis confuse them with Bhils, as did the earlier ethnographers. The lowest stratum in all the three divisions had to face the problem of scarcity of brides. Some of the other such divisions were Kathi, Dubla, Rabari, Bharwad, Mer (see Trivedi 1961), Vaghri, Machhi, Senwa, Vanzara, and Kharwa. so roamed around clueless. But many Rajput men of Radhvanaj got wives from people in distant villages who were recognized there as Kolisthose Kolis who had more land and power than the generality of Kolis had tried to acquire some of the traditional Rajput symbols in dress manners and customs and had been claiming to be Rajputs. The castes of the three categoriesprimarily urban, primarily rural, and rural-cum-urbanformed an intricate network spread over the rural and urban communities in the region. The highland Bhils seem to have provided brides to lower Rajputs on the other side of the highlands also, i.e., to those in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (see, for example, Doshi, 1971: 7f., 13-15; Aurora 1972: 16, 32f.). Although some of them set up shops in villages they rarely became full-fledged members of the village community. By the beginning of British rule in the early 19th century, a considerable number of these chieftains had succeeded in establishing petty chiefdoms, each composed of one, and occasionally more than one, village, in all parts of Gujarat. With the exclusion of caste (except scheduled caste) from the census since 1951 (practically since 1941, because the census of that year did not result in much reporting), writings on castes as horizontal units greatly declined. 2 0 obj New Jersey had the highest population of Mehta families in 1920. This reflects the high degree of divisiveness in castes in Gujarat. Hypergamy was accompanied by sanskritization of at least a section of the tribal population, their claim to the Kshatriya Varna and their economic and political symbiosis with the caste population. Frequently, social divisions were neatly expressed in street names. It is not easy to find out if the tads became ekdas in course of time and if the process of formation of ekdas was the same as that of the formation of tads. Systematic because castes exist and are like each other in being different (298). To illustrate, among the Khadayata or Modh Vanias, an increasing number of marriages take place between two or more tads within an ekda. This stratum among the Kanbis coped with the problem mainly by practising remarriage of widows and divorced women. Koli Patels are recognised as a Other Backward Class caste by Government of Gujarat. Apparently this upper boundary of the division was sharp and clear, especially when we remember that many of these royal families practised polygyny and female infanticide until middle of the 19th century (see Plunkett 1973; Viswa Nath 1969, 1976). Co-residence of people, belonging to two or more divisions of a lower order within a higher order was, however, a prominent feature of towns and cities rather than of villages. Among the Kanbis, while there was hypergamy within the Leva division and possibly, similar hypergamy within the Kadva division, there was no hierarchy or hypergamy between the two second-order divisions. It seems the highland Bhils (and possibly also other tribes) provided brides to lower Rajputs in Gujarat. If this rule was violated, i.e., if he married a girl with whom the Vanias did not have commensal relations, the maximum punishment, namely, excommunication, was imposed. One of the reasons behind underplaying of the principle of division by Dumont as well as by others seems to be the neglect of the study of caste in urban areas (see Dumonts remarks in 1972: 150). The handloom weavers of Gujarat, Maharastra and Bengal produced and exported some of the world's most desirable fabrics. Nevertheless, a breakdown of the population of Gujarat into major religious, caste and tribal groups according to the census of 1931 is presented in the following table to give a rough idea of the size of at least some castes. That the sociological study of urban areas in India has not received as much attention as that of rural areas is well known, and the studies made so far have paid little attention to caste in urban areas. In other words, it did not involve a big jump from one place to another distant place. The incidence of exchange marriages and of bachelors in the lowest stratum among the Anavils also was high. The same problems would arise in the reverse direction if, as many scholars have done, the term caste cluster, caste complex or caste category is used for divisions of a higher order and the term caste or jati is used for divisions of a lower order. But this is not enough. First, since the tads were formed relatively recently, it is easier to get information about their formation than about the formation of ekdas. The division had an elaborate internal hierarchy, with wealthy and powerful landlords and tax-farmers at the top and small landholders, tenants and labourers at the bottom. Usually it consisted of wealthy and powerful lineages, distinguishing themselves by some appellation, such as Patidar among the Leva Kanbi, Desai among the Anavil, and Baj among the Khedawal. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Social_groups_of_Gujarat&oldid=1080951156, Social groups of India by state or union territory, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 April 2022, at 12:36. Thus, the result was the spread of the population of a caste division towards its fringes. TOS 7. But there were also others who did not wield any power. No analytical gains are therefore likely to occur by calling them by any other name. In most parts of Gujarat it merged into the various second-order divisions of the Koli division and possible also into the widespread tribe of Bhils. Their origin myth enshrined in their caste purana also showed them to be originally non-Brahman. We shall return later to a consideration of this problem. I shall first provide an analysis of caste in the past roughly during the middle of the 19th century, and then deal with changes in the modern times. I have bits and pieces of information about relations between a considerable numbers of other lower-order divisions in their respective higher-order divisions. If the Varna divisions are taken into account, then this would add one more order to the four orders of caste divisions considered above. There was apparently a close relation between a castes internal organization and the size and spatial distribution of its population. While the Rajputs, Leva Patidars, Anavils and Khedawals have been notorious for high dowries, and the Kolis have been looked down upon for their practice of bride price, the Vanias have been paying neither. Although they claimed to be Brahman they were closely associated with agriculture. The population of certain first-order divisions lived mainly in villages. 92. They have been grouped in Vaishya category of Varna system. This list may not reflect recent changes. Also, the horizontal spread of a caste rarely coincided with the territorial boundaries of a political authority. The Hindu and Muslim kingdoms in Gujarat during the medieval period had, of course, their capital towns, at first Patan and then Ahmedabad. However, on the basis of the meagre information I have, I am able to make a few points. professor melissa murray. In the second-order divisions of the Vanias the small endogamous units functioned more effectively and lasted longer: although the hypergamous tendency did exist particularly between the rural and the urban sections in a unit, it had restricted play. All of this information supports the point emerging from the above analysis, that frequently there was relatively little concern for ritual status between the second-order divisions within a first- order division than there was between the first-order divisions. The purpose is not to condemn village studies, as is caste in a better perspective after deriving insights from village studies. As a consequence, the continuities of social institutions and the potentiality of endogenous elements for bringing about change are overlooked (for a discussion of some other difficulties with these paradigms, see Lynch 1977). In central Gujarat, at least from about the middle of the 18th century, the population of the wealthy and powerful Patidar section of the Kanbis also lived in townsan extremely interesting development of rich villages into towns, which I will not describe here. Hindu society is usually described as divided into a number of castes the boundaries of which are maintained by the rule of caste endogamy. In the case of some of them the small population was so dispersed that a division such as that of barbers, blacksmiths, or carpenters, would be represented by only one or two households in each village and by a significant number of households in towns. The most important example of primarily political caste association is the Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha. So in this way, the Maharashtra caste list is given to all cast Aarakshan belonging to the Scheduled Castes category for the state of MH. In the second-order divisions of the Leva Kanbis, the Anavils and the Khedawals, while the hypergamous tendency was strong, attempts were continually made to form small endogamous units: although the strength of the hypergamous tendency did not allow these units to function effectively, they nevertheless checked its free play to some extent. A first-order division could be further divided into two or more second-order divisions. We shall return to this issue later. Frequently, a division among Vanias corresponded to a division among Brahmans. They worked not only as high priests but also as bureaucrats. The unit might possess some other corporate characteristics also. Gujarat- A state in India. manvar surname caste in gujarat. Both Borradaile and Campbell were probably mixing up small endogamous units of various kinds. The tribal groups in the highland area, such as the Bhils and Naikdas, also did not have any urban component. The census reports provide such figures until 1931, but it is well known that these pose many problems for sociological analysis, most of which arise out of the nature of castes as horizontal units. Similarly, the Vanias were divided into such divisions as Disawal, Kapol, Khadayata, Lad, Modh, Nagar, Nima, Porwad, Shirmali, Vayada, and Zarola. Toori. The village was a small community divided into a relatively small number of castes; the population of each caste was also small, sometimes only one or two households, with little possibility of existence of subdivisions; and there were intensive relationships of various kinds between the castes. Firstly, there were divisions whose population was found almost entirely in towns. A block printed and resist-dyed fabric, whose origin is from Gujarat was found in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt. The highest stratum among the Leva Kanbi tried to maintain its position by practising polygyny and female infanticide, among other customs and institutions, as did the highest stratum among the Rajput. Unfortunately, although the Kolis are an important element in Gujarats population, their earlier ethnography is confusing, and there is hardly any modern, systematic, anthropological, sociological or historical study, so that the confusion continues to persist. //100 Most Common Surnames in India | Probability Comparison Let us now return to a consideration of the first-order divisions with subdivisions going down to the third or the fourth order. <>/Metadata 3086 0 R/ViewerPreferences 3087 0 R>> Today majority of these community members are not engaged in their ancestral weaving occupation still some population of these community contribute themselves in traditional handloom weaving of famous Patola of Patan, Kachchh shawl of Bhujodi in Kutch, Gharchola and Crotchet of Jamnagar, Zari of Surat, Mashroo of Patan and Mandvi in Kutch, Bandhani of Jamnagar, Anjar and Bhuj, Motif, Leheria, Dhamakda and Ajrak, Nagri sari, Tangaliya Shawl, Dhurrie, Kediyu, Heer Bharat, Abhala, Phento and art of Gudri. Nor do I claim to know the whole of Gujarat. However, it is well known that there were subtle arguments regarding the status of certain royal families being Rajput. If the first-order divisions are called jatis and castes, the second-order divisions would be called sub-jatis or sub-castes. Which caste is koli patel? Explained by Sharing Culture To obtain a clear understanding of the second-order divisions with the Koli division, it is necessary first of all to find a way through the maze of their divisional names. The handloom weavers of Gujarat, Maharastra and Bengal produced and exported some of the world's most desirable fabrics. Patidars or Patels claim themselves to be descendants of Lord Ram. The Rajputs, in association with the Kolis, were probably the only horizontal unit which had continuous internal hierarchy, i.e., hypergamy unbroken by any endogamous subdivisions, and which did not have discernible boundaries at the lowest level. In a paper on Caste among Gujaratis in East Africa, Pocock (1957b) raised pointedly the issue of the relative importance of the principles of division (he called it difference) and hierarchy. There was a continuous process of formation and disintegration of such units. I do not, however, have sufficient knowledge of the latter and shall, therefore, confine myself mainly to Rajputs in Gujarat. What is really required for a comprehensive understanding is a comparison of traditional with modern caste in both rural and urban areas (including, to be sure, the rural-urban linkages). These marriage links do not seem to have allowed, among the Kolis, formation of well organized, small, endogamous units (ekadas, gols) as were found among some other castes. The Rajput hierarchy had many levels below the level of the royal families of the large and powerful kingdoms: lineages of owners of large and small fiefs variously called jagir, giras, thakarat,thikana, taluka, and wanted-, lineages of substantial landowners under various land tenures having special rights and privileges; and lineages of small landowners. In contrast, there were horizontal units, the internal hierarchy and hypergamy of which were restricted to some extent by the formation of small endogamous units and which had discernible boundaries at the lowest level. The weavers were forced into selling exclusively to the British at extremely low rates, pushing them into poverty. Frequently, the urban population of such a division performed more specialized functions than did the rural one. Even the archaeological surveys and studies have indicated that the people of Dholavira, Surkotada. He does not give importance to this possibility probably because, as he goes on to state, what is sought here is a universal formula, a rule without exceptions (ibid.). We need to formulate some idea of the nature of the Indian urban society and its relation with the rural society in the past, at least at the beginning of the 19th century.
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