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Ahir clans

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Ahir (Sanskrit: Abhira)[1] is a caste found in the Indian subcontinent, mainly modern-day India, Nepal and Pakistan.[2][3][4][5] The Ahir clans are spread almost all over country.[6] Ahirs are also known as Yadav, a surname they adopted following Sanskritisation in the 20th century.[7][8][9] The Ahir clans are spread almost all over country.[10]

Etymology

The word "ahir" is derived from the Sanskrit word "abhira."[11][1]

Clans

Nandvanshi Ahirs

The Nandvanshi Ahirs are a section of Ahirs.[12] Kamarias [13] are also a sub-clan of Nandvanshi Ahirs[14][15][16] in Uttar Pradesh.

Gwalvanshi Ahirs

Gwalvanshi Ahirs have migrated to other parts of Uttar Pradesh from Mathura and they claim descent from gopis and gopas of Krishna's time.[17]

Ghosi

For Main article, see Hindu Ghosi.

The Ghosi are a division of Ahir community found mainly in North India. The Ghosis are found in both Hindu and Muslim religion.[18][19] They were the zamidars and small rulers of various parts of country.[20]

Phatak

Main article: Phatak

The Phatak Ahirs claim to be descended from Digpal, the Ahirs of Mahaban.[20]

Dauwa

The Dauwas claim to be the descendants of Shree Balaram, elder brother of Krishna but according to modern scholars they descended from the illegitimate offspring of Bundela Rajput fathers by Ahir mothers.[21][22][23][24] An Ahir woman kept by a Bundela was known as ‘Pardwarin’.[25][26] It is said that Dauwas had established their power in Bundelkhand but not before Bundela Rajputs.[27] Dauwa Ahirs also swore allegiance to Bundelas and Dauwa women breastfed Bundela princes as part of a symbolic ritual.[28]

Dhadhor

Main article: Dhadhor

Dhadhor is a subcaste of Ahirs.[29]

Krishnaut

Krishnaut or Kishnaut are Ahirs that inhabits the state of Bihar.[30][31]

Majhraut

They inhabit the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand.[32][33][34][35] They claim to have descended from king Madhu.

Sorathia

Main article: Sorathia

Sorathia is a Ahir clan found in the state of Gujarat in India. According to B.S Suryavanshi, they are the descendents of chief Rao Navaghana of Junagadh.[36]

Yaduvanshi Ahirs

The Yaduvanshi Ahirs[37] claim descent from the Rigvedic Yadu tribe of Krishna.[38][12]

References

  1. ^ a b Shashi, Shyam Singh (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: The tribal world in transition. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-7041-836-8.
  2. ^ Shashi, Shyam Singh (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: The tribal world in transition. Anmol Publications. p. 76. ISBN 978-81-7041-836-8.
  3. ^ Heath, Anthony F.; Jeffery, Roger (2010). Diversity and Change in Modern India: Economic, Social and Political Approaches. OUP/British Academy. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-19-726451-5.
  4. ^ Gurung, Harka B. (1996). Faces of Nepal. Himal Books. p. 80. ISBN 978-99933-43-50-9.
  5. ^ Biographical Encyclopedia of Pakistan: Millennium 2000. Research Institute of Historiography, Biography and Philosophy. 2001.
  6. ^ Fox, Richard Gabriel (1971). Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-01807-5.
  7. ^ Jassal, Smita Tewari; École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales; University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology (2001). "Caste in the Colonial State: Mallahs in the census". Contributions to Indian sociology. Mouton. pp. 319–351. Quote: "The movement, which had a wide interregional spread, attempted to submerge regional names such as Goala, Ahir, Ahar, Gopa, etc., in favour of the generic term Yadava (Rao 1979). Hence a number of pastoralist castes were subsumed under Yadava, in accordance with decisions taken by the regional and national level caste sabhas. The Yadavas became the first among the shudras to gain the right to wear the janeu, a case of successful sanskritisation which continues till date. As a prominent agriculturist caste in the region, despite belonging to the shudra varna, the Yadavas claimed Kshatriya status tracing descent from the Yadu dynasty. The caste's efforts matched those of census officials, for whom standardisation of overlapping names was a matter of policy. The success of the Yadava movement also lies in the fact that, among the jaati sabhas, the Yadava sabha was probably the strongest, its journal, Ahir Samachar, having an all-India spread. These factors strengthened local efforts, such as in Bhojpur, where the Yadavas, locally known as Ahirs, refused to do begar, or forced labour, for the landlords and simultaneously prohibited liquor consumption, child marriages, and so on."
  8. ^ Mandelbaum, David Goodman (1970). Society in India. Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 443. ISBN 978-0-520-01623-1.
  9. ^ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India. Columbia University Press. pp. 210–211. ISBN 978-0-231-12786-8. Quote: "In his typology of low caste movements, (M. S. A.) Rao distinguishes five categories. The first is characterised by 'withdrawal and self-organisation'. ... The second one, illustrated by the Yadavs, is based on the claim of 'higher varna status' and fits with Sanskritisation pattern. ..."
  10. ^ Fox, Mr. (1971). Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India. University of California Press. p. 19. ISBN 9780520018075.
  11. ^ "People of Maharashtra" (PDF).
  12. ^ a b Gupta, Dipankar (2021). Caste in Question. SAGE Publication. p. 58. ISBN 9788132103455. Their original caste title was Ahir. The idea of a unique Krishnavanshi kinship category which fuses traditional subdivisions Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi and Goallavanshi into a single endogamous unit Cite error: The named reference "Gupta 2021 58" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ Mutatkar, Ramchandra Keshav (1978). Caste Dimensions in a Village. Shubhada-Saraswat.
  14. ^ Dass, Arvind (2002). Caste System: Caste commentaries and documentation. Dominant Publishers and Distributors. ISBN 978-81-7888-029-7.
  15. ^ Mutatkar, Ramchandra Keshav (1978). Caste Dimensions in a Village. Shubhada-Saraswat.
  16. ^ Gupta, Dipankar (8 December 2004). Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy?. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-7619-3324-3.
  17. ^ Michelutti, Lucia (29 November 2020). The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste and Religion in India. Taylor & Francis. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-000-08400-9.
  18. ^ Russell, Robert Vane “ Sir D. Ibbetson says that in the Punjab the name Ghosi is used only for Muhammadans, and is often applied to any cowherd or milkman of that religion, whether Gujar, Ahir or of any other caste, just as Goala is used for a Hindu cowherd. It is said that Hindus will buy pure milk from the Musalmān Ghosi, but will reject it if there is any suspicion of its having been watered by the latter, as they must not drink water at his hands.“ (28 September 2020). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India (Complete). Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-8294-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Hasnain, Nadeem “ Ghosi is a Muslim caste of herdsmen. The name of this community is derived from the word 'ghosh' meaning 'to shout' while herding the cattle. Crooke (ibid) mentions that they are converts like the Gaddi from the Ahir community. They belong to the Sunni sect of Islam. They use Urdu as mother tongue and also speak Hindi.” (2016). The Other Lucknow. Vani Prakashan. ISBN 978-93-5229-420-6.
  20. ^ a b Lucia Michelutti, Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town (2002) London School of Economics and Political Science University of London, p.90-98
  21. ^ Russell, Robert Vane “ The Dauwa or wet-nurse Ahirs are descended from the illegitimate offspring of Bundela Rajput fathers by Ahir mothers who were employed in this capacity in their families. An Ahir woman kept by a Bundela was known as Pardwarin, or one coming from another house. This is not considered a disgraceful origin; though the Dauwa Ahirs are not recognised by the Ahirs proper, they form a separate section of the caste, and Brähmans will take water from them. The children of such mothers stood in the relation of foster-brothers to the Rajpüts, whom their mothers had nursed. The giving of milk, in accordance with the common primitive belief in the virtue attaching to an action in itself, was held to constitute a relation of quasi-maternity between the nurse and infant, and hence of fraternity between her own children and her foster-children.” (28 September 2020). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India (Complete). Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-8294-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ The Nagpur Law Journal. Central Law House. 1920.
  23. ^ Dvivedi, Harihar Nivas (1963). The Madhya Pradesh Leading Cases, 1882-1956. Law Journal Publications.
  24. ^ Commissioner, India Census “ Similarly the Ahir clans bearing similar names may have been personal servants of Rajput families. The Dauwa sub-caste of Ahirs supplies nurses for royal families, and prides itself on this. In other cases it is possible that the name may have originated from the fact that some ancestor of the clan took up the occupation of the caste whose name it bears.” (1902). Census of India, 1901. Printed at the Government central Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Provinces (India), Central (1909). Central Provinces District Gazetteers. Printed at the Pioneer Press.
  26. ^ Russell, Robert Vane (1916). pt. II. Descriptive articles on the principal castes and tribes of the Central Provinces. Macmillan and Company limited.
  27. ^ Russell, Robert Vane (1916). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India. Macmillan and Company, limited.
  28. ^ Jain, R.K. (2002). Between History and Legend: Status and Power in Bundelkhand. Orient Blackswan Private Limited. p. 32. ISBN 978-81-250-2194-0. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  29. ^ India Today. Aroon Purie for Living Media India Limited. 1994.
  30. ^ Bihar (India); Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1957). Bihar District Gazetteers: Bhagalpur. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar.
  31. ^ The National Geographical Journal of India. National Geographical Society of India. 1975.
  32. ^ Bihar (India); Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1957). Bihar District Gazetteers: Bhagalpur. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar.
  33. ^ Singh, Rana P. B. (1977). Clan Settlements in the Saran Plain (Middle Ganga Valley): A Study in Cultural Geography. National Geographical Society of India, Banaras Hindu University.
  34. ^ Bihar (India); Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1962). Bihar District Gazetteers: Hazaribagh. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar.
  35. ^ Siddiqui, M. K. A. (1993). Inter-caste and Inter-community Relationship: Developing Patterns. Commonwealth Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7169-260-6.
  36. ^ SurvaVanshi, Bhagwansingh (1962). Abhiras their history and culture. p. 84.
  37. ^ Singh, Bhrigupati (2021). Poverty and the Quest for Life Spiritual and Material Striving in Rural India. University of Chicago Press. pp. 21, 146. ISBN 9780226194684.
  38. ^ Michelutti, Lucia (2002). Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town (PDF). p. 89.
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