Gadaria people

Shepherd caste of North India (GADERIA) [1]
ReligionsHinduism[2]
LanguagesHindi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Bihari, Chhattisgarhi, Gujrati language, Bengali language, Gaddi language, Northern Indo-Aryan languages,[2]
Country India
Populated statesUttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir[2]
RegionNorth India[1]
Family namesPal/Rajpali, Baghel, Holkar, Hatkar, Mohaniya, Sisodiya, Chaudhary, Ghosh, Mandal, Bhagat, Dhangar, Chandel, Chauhan, Moria, Pradhan, Rathore, Singh, Prasad, Patel e.t.c.[2]
SubdivisionsNikhar and Dhangar[2]
Related groups• Pal - Rajpali Rajput

• Dhangar

• Rabari/Raika

• Gaddis

• Bharwad/Bharvad [3]

• konar/Idaiyar

• Kuruba

• Hatkar

• Sagar Rajput

• Holkar

• Kurumba Gounder

• Kurumbas[2]

The Gadaria or Gadariya is a herding caste of North India that was traditionally involved professionally in livestock breeding, especially sheep. They are primarily found in Uttar Pradesh and in some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar[4][2][1]

Etymology

The word Gadariya is derived from two words of Sanskrit language Garh and Arya. For example Gadh+Arya = GadhArya / Gadhariya / Gadariya.

The word Gadariya is derived from the o ld Hindi word Gadar, which means sheep.[4]

History

In the early 1910s, an educated class of Gadarias formed All India Pal Kshatriya Mahasabha. There were debates within the community whether to add Kshatriya suffix to the community name. In the 1930s, they started referring to themselves as "Pali Rajput", a synonym of Pal Kshatriya.[5] They started caste magazines like "Pal Kshatriya Samachar" and "Shepherd Times". Later the community went through the process of De-Sanskritisation and dropped the suffix Kshatriya. Among the reasons cited for de-sanskritization were losing autonomy of their caste identity and avoiding being submerged into the identity of high castes.[6]

Sub-castes and clans

There are two major subdivisions amongst Gadarias, namely Dhangar and Nikhar. They share the same gotras such as Chauhan, Parihar, Sisodiya, Shirashwar, Chandel, Mohania, Kula etc are some of the gotras amongst them.[7]

Classification

They are classified as Other Backward Class in the Indian System of Reservation.[8][9][10][11][12]

Religion

They generally practice Hinduism, worshipping various popular deities including Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Hanuman, Kali, Chandi and Lakshmi, as well as various Kuladevata, or family deities. Some of them wear the sacred thread. A majority of them are vegetarians.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane) (1916). The tribes and castes of the Central Provinces of India. University of California Libraries. London : Macmillan and Co., limited.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Sashi, Dr. Shyam singh (1982). Shepherds of India: A Socio-Cultural Study of Sheep and Cattle-Rearing Communities. Archaeological survey of india (1st ed.). Delhi: Sundeep publication. pp. 13–73. OCLC 4322453.
  3. ^ "National Commission for Backward Classes". www.ncbc.nic.in. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b Ghurye, G.S. (2008). Caste and race in India (5th ed.). Bombay: Popular Prakashan. p. 32. ISBN 9788171542055. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  5. ^ Singh (2020), p. Caste organisations in the pre-Independence period/Sanskritization phase (Roughly the 1920s-1950s).
  6. ^ Singh (2020), p. Phase II (1956 onwards): De-sanskritization towards an alternative culture.
  7. ^ Shashi (2011), p. 29.
  8. ^ Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Madhya Pradesh (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  9. ^ Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Chattisgarh (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  10. ^ Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Uttar Pradesh (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  11. ^ Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Uttarakhand (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  12. ^ Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Delhi (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  13. ^ Shashi (2011), p. 32.

Bibliography