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Pithoragarh

2026-04-01T08:35:36Z

162.158.23.103: /* The Cheh Patti Sor */

{{Short description|Town in Uttarakhand, India}}
{{About|the municipality in Uttarakhand, India|its namesake district|Pithoragarh district}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}

{{Infobox settlement
| name = Pithoragarh
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = Kumaoni
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type = [[Town]]
| image_skyline = Pithoragarh Sunrise.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = View of Pithoragarh city, Uttarakhand during Sunrise
| pushpin_map = India Uttarakhand#India
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Uttarakhand, India
| pushpin_relief = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|29.58|N|80.22|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Uttarakhand]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Pithoragarh district|Pithoragarh]]
| established_title = 
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 1627
| population_total = 56,044
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym = Pithoragarhiya (Kumaoni)
| population_footnotes = <ref name="2011 census data">{{cite web|title=Census of India Search details |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=56255|publisher=censusindia.gov.in|access-date=10 May 2015}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[Kumaoni (pahadi) language|Kumauni]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]]
| postal_code = 262501
| area_code_type = Telephone code
| area_code = 915964
| registration_plate = UK-05
| website = {{URL|pithoragarh.nic.in}}
| footnotes =
| leader_title = [[District collector]]
| leader_name = Reena Joshi, [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=सीमांत जिले पिथौरागढ़ में पहली बार महिला जिलाधिकारी तैनात, बागेश्वर में भी महिला डीएम, देखें किसे मिली कमान |url=https://www.jagran.com/uttarakhand/nainital-for-the-first-time-a-woman-dm-posted-in-pithoragarh-and-in-bageshwar-also-a-woman-dm-23169115.html |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Dainik Jagran |language=hi}}</ref>
}}

'''Pithoragarh''' ([[Kumaoni language|Kumaoni]]: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan town with a Municipal Board in [[Pithoragarh district]] in the Indian [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Uttarakhand]]. It is the largest and unplanned town in Kumaon hills. It is an education hub of the hilly region as the town has Laxman Singh Mahar Govt.P.G.College, Seemant Institute of Technology, now known as Nanhi Pari Seemant Engineering Institute and a nursing college.

== Etymology ==
"The district is named after its headquarters town, Pithoragarh. Tradition has it that during the reign of the [[Chand kings|Chand Rajas]] of [[Kumaon division|Kumaon]], one Piru, also called Prithvi Gosain, built a fort here and named it Prithvigarh which, in the course of time, got changed to Pithoragarh."<ref name=gazetteer />
[[File:Pithoragarh Fort.jpg|thumb|A view of Pithoragarh town from the Pithoragarh Fort (also known as London Fort)]]

== History ==
Pithoragarh city and its surrounding areas were part of the [[Manaskhand]] region, which extended from the [[Kailash Mountain]] in the north to [[Bhabar]] & [[Terai]] in the south, as mentioned in the [[Skanda Purana]].<ref name="Gazetteer 1979">{{cite book |title=Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Pithoragarh |date=1979 |publisher=Government of Uttar Pradesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EAJDAAAAYAAJ |access-date=21 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|12}} The [[Asura]]s and [[Nāga|Naga]]s appear to be the earliest inhabitants of the region, who were later superseded by the [[Kirata]]s, [[Khas people|Khasa]]s and the [[Kuninda Kingdom|Kuninda]]s.<ref name="Gazetteer 1979" />{{rp|13}} The Kuninda Kings of the region may have become the feudatories of The [[Kushan Empire|Kushana]] Kings, who held their sway over the region in the last quarter of the 1st century AD.<ref name="Gazetteer 1979" />{{rp|16}} The region subsequently came under the [[Katyuri kings|Kurmanchal kingdom]], which had its capital first at [[Jyotirmath]] and then at Karikeyapura (Modern day [[Baijnath, Uttarakhand|Baijnath]]) in the Katyur Valley.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Kaṭhoca, Yaśavanta Siṃha |title=Uttarākhaṇḍa kā navīna itihāsa |year=2010 |isbn=978-81-86844-91-5 |oclc=948116582}}</ref>

Upon the disintegration of the Katyuris and fall of kingdom in 13th century, Pithoragarh came under the rule of Bam kings of [[Saur Valley|Saur]]. The Bam kings were feudal to the Raikas of [[Doti]] and was a branch of katyuri kings, and had their capital at Udaipur near Pithoragarh, However, the Rajas used to come down to Rameshwar and Bailorkol during the winter months.<ref name="Gazetteer 1979" />{{rp|24}} The Bam kings, who ruled over Saur were:<ref name="Pande">{{cite book|last1=Pande|first1=Badri Datt|title=History of Kumaun : English version of "Kumaun ka itihas"|date=1993|publisher=Shyam Prakashan|location=[[Almora]]|isbn=81-85865-01-9}}</ref>{{rp|216}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
# Karakil Bam
# Kakil Bam
# Chanari Bam
# Arki Bam
# Jnani Bam
# Shakti Bam
# Vijai Bam
# Hari Bam
{{div col end}}

In the fifteenth century, King [[Chand kings#List of Chand Kings|Bharti Chand]] of [[Champawat]] amassed a huge army, and started plundering and killing in the regions ruled by the Doti Kings. This resulted in a war, which lasted for 12 years, and ended with a victory for the Chands.<ref name="Pande" />{{rp|213–214}} After the death of Bharti Chand in 1462, Nagmalla, the king of Doti attacked his son, Ratna Chand who was successful in defending himself.<ref name="Pande" />{{rp|213–214}} Nagmalla was killed in the war and the Bams became feudatories of the Chands.<ref name="Pande" />{{rp|215–216}} The pargana of Saur came under direct control of the [[Kingdom of Kumaon]] in the sixteenth century during the rule of King Balo Kalyan Chand, when it was given to him by the Raika king of Doti as dowry for marrying his Daughter.<ref name="Pande" />{{rp|226}}

In 1790, the Chand kings built a new fort on the hill where the present Girls Inter College is situated. This fort was destroyed by the Indian government in 1962 after China attacked India.[<nowiki/>[[wikipedia:Please clarify|why?]]] The Chand rule, at its zenith, is seen as one of the most prominent empires in Kumaon. Their rule also coincides with a period of cultural resurgence. Archeological surveys point towards the development of culture and art forms in this period.

A Branch of [[Indian National Congress]] was established in the region in 1912, and in 1916, many people from Pithoragarh attended the Lucknow session of Congress. The [[Non-cooperation movement]] was started in the region in 1921 and in 1930, 10 people from Pithoragarh participated in the [[Civil disobedience movement]]. Subsequently, the Congress won the Pithoragarh seat in the [[1937 Indian provincial elections|Provincial Elections in 1937]]. The [[Quit India Movement]] of 1942 found greater support in Pithoragarh and about 150 persons were arrested while several were fined. The Congress won the Pithoragarh seat again in the [[1945 Indian general election|General Elections of 1945]] for the Provincial Assembly, and in 1947, along with the rest of India, this region also won independence from the British Rule.<ref name="Gazetteer 1979" />{{rp|38}}

== The Cheh Patti Sor ==
The '''Soar Valley''' (historically known as Saur or Sor) was traditionally organised into six ancestral and adminstrative revenue circles known as the '''Cheh Patti Sor''' (छह पट्टी सोर) [6]. These division are central to the socio-cultural fabric of Pithoragarh and are uniquely tied to the management and traditions of the regional deity, '''Mostamanu Devta''' (the Rain God of the valley).

'''The Six Pattis'''
The social hierarchy and the adminstration of the valley are distributed among six primary lineages, traditionally listed in the following order of presedence

1 '''Mahar''' '''(महर)'''
2 '''Waldia''' ''' (वल्दिया)'''
3 '''Soun''' '''(सौन)'''
4 '''Seti''' '''(सेती)'''
5 '''Kharayat''' '''(खरायत)'''
6 '''Rawal''' '''(रावल)'''

'''Thokdari influence'''

Historically, the '''Mahar''' and '''Waldia''' clans emerged as the prominent '''Thokdars''' (regional chieftains\landed gentry) within the valley. During the reign of the khatyuri and chand Dynasties and the subsequent British administration, these families held significant socio-political authority, acting as the primary administrators of the valley's resources. While all six Pattis are considered the ''pillars'' of the valley's cultural identity and are equal stakeholders in the annual '''Mostamanu Fair''' (held on Rishi Panchami), the Waldia and Mahar families are noted for their historical role as the valley's '''De Facto Rulers'''.

'''Cultural Significanc

== Geography ==
[[File:AesculusIndica.jpg|left|250px|thumb| Himalayan view from Pithoragarh]]
Pithoragarh is located at {{Coord|29.58|N|80.22|E|}}.<ref>[http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/39/Pithoragarh.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc – Pithoragarh]</ref> in the district of [[Pithoragarh district|Pithoragarh]], [[Uttarakhand]], India. It lies in the revenue Division of [[Kumaon Division|Kumaon]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Kumaon Himalaya|publisher=Shree Almora Book Depot|isbn=9788190020992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWs-AgAACAAJ&q=almora|language=en}}</ref> and is located 188 km northeast of [[Nainital]], the administrative headquarters of Kumaon. It has an average elevation of 1,627 [[metre]]s (5,338 [[foot (length)|feet]]).<ref name=gazetteer>[http://pithoragarh.nic.in/Gazetteer/gazetter19.pdf A document from official website of Pithoragarh] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410072247/http://pithoragarh.nic.in/Gazetteer/gazetter19.pdf |date=10 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>[http://pithoragarh.nic.in/ Official website of Pithoragarh]</ref> It is situated in the centre of the western half of the [[Saur Valley]]. The valley is spread across around 50 square kilometers. According to the [[Bureau of Indian Standards]], on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside [[Earthquake hazard zoning of india|seismic zone V]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Hazard profiles of Indian districts|publisher=National Capacity Building Project in Disaster Management, UNDP|url=http://www.undp.org.in/dmweb/hazardprofile.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519100611/http://www.undp.org.in/dmweb/hazardprofile.pdf|access-date=17 October 2016|archive-date=19 May 2006}}</ref> It lies in the Moderate damage risk (B) area in Wind & Cyclone Zone and is declared a No Flood Zone.

===Climate===
Pithoragarh has a monsoon-influenced climate. The summer season from April to mid-June is moderately warm with occasional thunderstorms, whilst the monsoon season from mid-June to mid-September is humid with heavy showers almost daily. This gives way to a warm and sunny autumn season. The winter season brings pleasant afternoons, very cold mornings, and spells of frontal rain accompanied by sparse snowfall.
{{Weather box 
| width = auto
| open = yes
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
| location = Pithoragarh
| temperature colour = pastel

| Jan mean C =7.8
| Feb mean C =9.4
| Mar mean C =14.2
| Apr mean C =19.2
| May mean C =22.1
| Jun mean C =23.1
| Jul mean C =21.9
| Aug mean C =21.6
| Sep mean C =20.4
| Oct mean C =17.4
| Nov mean C =13.2
| Dec mean C =9.7
| year mean C = 16.7

|Jan high C= 13.7
|Feb high C= 15.5
|Mar high C= 20.7
|Apr high C= 25.9
|May high C= 28.7
|Jun high C= 28.5
|Jul high C= 25.9
|Aug high C= 25.4
|Sep high C= 24.9
|Oct high C= 23.3
|Nov high C= 19.7
|Dec high C= 15.8
|year high C= 22.3

| Jan low C =1.9
| Feb low C =3.4
| Mar low C =7.7
| Apr low C =12.6
| May low C =15.7
| Jun low C =17.7
| Jul low C =17.9
| Aug low C =17.8
| Sep low C =16
| Oct low C =11.5
| Nov low C =6.8
| Dec low C =3.5
| year low C =11

| Jan precipitation mm =37.4
| Feb precipitation mm =42.8
| Mar precipitation mm =39.4
| Apr precipitation mm =34.7
| May precipitation mm =56.7
| Jun precipitation mm =164.8
| Jul precipitation mm =317.3
| Aug precipitation mm =305.2
| Sep precipitation mm =174.4
| Oct precipitation mm =47.9
| Nov precipitation mm =7.3
| Dec precipitation mm =16.7
| year precipitation mm =1244.5
| precipitation colour = green
| unit precipitation days =
| Jan precipitation days =3.4
| Feb precipitation days =3.8
| Mar precipitation days =3.7
| Apr precipitation days =3.1
| May precipitation days =4.1
| Jun precipitation days =10.9
| Jul precipitation days =16.5
| Aug precipitation days =17.6
| Sep precipitation days =10.5
| Oct precipitation days =2.9
| Nov precipitation days =1.2
| Dec precipitation days =1.3
| year precipitation days =79.1

|source = Weatherbase<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=596060&cityname=Pithoragarh-Uttarakhand-India|title=Monthly Weather Averages Summary, Pithoragarh, India|access-date=2016-10-17}}</ref>
}}

== Government and politics ==
Pithoragarh is an urban town with a [[Municipal Council (India)|Nagar Palika Parishad]] or Municipal Council<ref>{{Cite web|title=Municipalities {{!}} District Pithoragarh, Government of Uttarakhand {{!}} India|url=https://pithoragarh.nic.in/public-utility-category/municipality/|access-date=2020-09-15|language=en-US}}</ref> spread over an area of 9 square km.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Census of India - Uttarakhand - Town Amenities (Excel Row 53)|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/DCHB.html|access-date=15 September 2020|website=Census of India}}</ref> It is divided into 20 wards for the sake of administration.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Prem Punetha|date=Dec 18, 2019|title=12 ward members resign over use of Dev Singh Ground for exhibition {{!}} Dehradun News - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/12-ward-members-resign-over-use-of-dev-singh-ground-for-exhibition/articleshow/72859073.cms|access-date=2020-09-15|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> It is also part of the [[Almora (Lok Sabha constituency)|Almora Lok Sabha Constituency]], thus has BJP MP [[Ajay Tamta]] representing the city<ref>{{Cite web|title=Uttarakhand: BRO constructs 180-feet-long bailey bridge in cloudburst-hit Jauljibi sector|url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/uttarakhand-bro-constructs-180-feet-long-bailey-bridge-in-cloudburst-hit-jauljibi-sector20200816233019/|access-date=2020-09-15|website=ANI News|language=en}}</ref> and part of the Pithoragarh Vidhan Sabha constituency, represented by INC's [[Mayukh Mahar]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=MP/MLA {{!}} District Almora, Government of Uttarakhand {{!}} India|url=https://almora.nic.in/mp-mla/|access-date=2020-09-15|language=en-US}}</ref>

Pithoragarh town, before the creation of a Municipal Board, was administered as a Town Area by a committee consisting of 10 members and a chairman. The Municipality of Pithoragarh came into existence on 24 Nov 1962 and the members and the chairman of Town Area Committee became its members. The board was, however, dissolved on 12 Mar 1963, and the town was then administered by the [[District Magistrate]], who was the ex-officio chairman of the board under the U.P. Municipalities Act of 1916. There was no elected body and the affairs were supervised by an Officer-in-charge (a deputy collector) to whom the powers were delegated by the District Magistrate.<ref name="Gazetteer 1979" />{{rp|157}}

== Culture ==
[[File:Hilljatra-festival-photos.jpg|thumb|Hiljatra in Pithoragarh]]

=== Festivals ===
[[Pithoragarh Mahotsav]] has played a significant role in conserving and sharing Pithorgarh's unique culture. It showcases local culture through music and dance, often featuring performances in the [[Kumaoni language]].

'''Kandali Festival''' A flower called Kandali ([[Strobilanthes wallichii]]) blooms once every twelve years in the Chaudans region of Pithoragarh district, and the people celebrate the Kandali festival between August and October. Local people, known as Shaukars or Rangs, take part in the week-long festival with joy and enthusiasm in various villages throughout the region. The festival begins with the worship of a [[Shiva linga]] made of a flour mixture of barley and buckwheat. During this festival, local liquor is traditionally consumed. It is performed in a decorated corner of the courtyard by each household. People pray for good fortune. The individual Poojas are followed by a community feast. Then, the women and men, in traditional dresses and laden with gold and silver ornaments, assemble around a tree on the sacred ground of the village. Strips of white cloth are tied to the tree and a flag is raised.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kumaon.gov.in/pages/display/90-kandali-festival|title=Kandali Festival|publisher=Govt of Kumaon}}</ref>

'''Hilljatra''' is a pastoralists' and agriculturalists' festival, which is celebrated in some parts of Pithoragarh districts. The aathon (eight day of bhado) and Gawra Visarjan became part of Hilljatra during the development process. The festival, which originated in West Nepal's Sorar (Mahakali) region, was first introduced to the valley in Kumor village, Pithoragarh.The hiljatra of Urai (Dewalthal)is the most famous.Tha tableau of the Lakhiya bhoot is the main attraction.On the evening of hiljatra,worship of goddess Mahakali is performed tableaux are tajen out.The people of Bajethi, another village near Pithoragarh, accepted the Jatra, and it was modified and introduced as Hiran chital in the Kanalichhina and Askot regions. Hilljatra is linked to ropai (paddy planting) and other rainy-season agricultural and pastoral labours (Hill = mud, Jatra = Jaat). It has also been linked to the [[Champawat]] ruler's victory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kumaon.gov.in/pages/display/89-hilljatra|title=Hilljatra|publisher=Govt of Kumaon}}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===
[[File:pithoragarh Panorama.jpg|center|900px|thumb|A panoramic view of Pithoragarh]]
The small town was extensively described in a novel by American author Bradley Swift, ''From Pithoragarh to Pittsburg''. Major parts of the Bollywood film [[Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar]] have been shot in the city.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Service |first1=Tribune News |title=Bollywood in Pithoragarh for 'Sandeep & Pinki Farar' |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/bollywood-in-pithoragarh-for-sandeep--pinki-farar-508379 |access-date=20 February 2020 |work=Tribuneindia News Service |language=en}}</ref>

== Transport ==

[[File:Pithoragarh Naini Saini Airport.jpg|thumb|[[Pithoragarh Airport|Naini Saini Airport]]]]
Pithoragarh is not connected by any direct [[Rail transport in India|train services]]; however, it is well connected by road, and it also has an airport. The [[National Highway 9 (India)|National Highway 9]] passes through Pithoragarh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2015/163579.pdf|title=National highway 9 route substitution notification|date=31 Mar 2015|website=[[The Gazette of India]]|access-date=1 Aug 2018}}</ref> [[Landslides]] and [[cloudburst]]s, caused by heavy rains that fall during the summer monsoon, often interrupt transportation networks.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Singh|first1=Kautilya|title=263 roads across Uttarakhand closed, efforts on to open them for vehicular movement|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/263-roads-across-Uttarakhand-closed-efforts-on-to-open-them-for-vehicular-movement/articleshow/53288408.cms|access-date=18 October 2016|agency=TNN|work=The Times of India|date=19 July 2016|location=Dehradun}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Singh|first1=Kautilya|title=Heavy rains block 338 roads in Uttarakhand|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Heavy-rains-block-338-roads-in-Uttarakhand/articleshow/53271509.cms|access-date=18 October 2016|agency=TNN|work=The Times of India|date=18 July 2016|location=Dehradun}}</ref>

The [[Pithoragarh Airport]], also known as the Naini Saini Airport, is located about {{convert|5|km|mi}} north-east of the city. The airport, which was constructed in 1991 for administrative use,<ref name="Chakrabarty">{{cite news|last1=Chakrabarty|first1=Arpita|title=Naini-Saini airstrip awaits flying license|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Naini-Saini-airstrip-awaits-flying-license/articleshow/52857515.cms|access-date=17 October 2016|agency=TNN|work=The Times of India|date=21 July 2016|location=Almora}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Chakrabarty|first1=Arpita|title=No commercial flights from Pithoragarh any time soon|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/No-commercial-flights-from-Pithoragarh-any-time-soon/articleshow/54270318.cms|access-date=17 October 2016|agency=TNN|work=The Times of India|date=10 September 2016|location=Almora}}</ref> was previously mainly used by the [[Indian Air Force]] for defence purposes.<ref name ="ER">{{cite web|title=Executive Summary, Expansion of Naini-Saini airport|url=http://ueppcb.uk.gov.in/files/Naini-Saiini-Airstrip-Executive-Summary-English_1.pdf |access-date=20 September 2019|work=[[RITES]]|date=October 2012}}</ref> The airport was upgraded in 2016 at an estimated cost of Rs 64.91 crore.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chakrabarty |first1=Arpita |title=Regular flights to take off from Naini Saini airstrip from Jan 26 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Regular-flights-to-take-off-from-Naini-Saini-airstrip-from-Jan-26/articleshow/49806761.cms |access-date=20 February 2020 |work=The Times of India |date=16 Nov 2015 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Bareilly Airport]] is located around 249 km from Pithoragarh is a major airport nearby which is connected to cities like Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru.

Pithoragarh is connected to the rest of [[Uttarakhand]] by all-weather motorable roads. The total road length in Pithoragarh is 80 km.<ref name="dchba" />{{rp|683}} [[Haldwani]] and [[Tanakpur]] are two entry points for entering Pithoragarh by road. Both are connected by railway services, the nearest railway stations being [[Tanakpur railway station|Tanakpur]] (151 km) and [[Kathgodam railway station|Kathgodam]] (212 km). Regular state bus transport services along with private taxi services are available at both places. Buses, which are the most commonly used mode of transport, are run by government agencies and private operators. Agencies operating long-distance bus services include [[Uttarakhand Transport Corporation]], K.M.O.U, and various private operators.

==Education==
[[File:Temporary campus of SIT pithoaragarh.jpg|thumb|Temporary campus of [[Seemant Institute of Technology]]]]
Schools in Pithoragarh are run by the state government or private organisations, Hindi and English are the primary languages of instruction. Schools in Pithoragarh follow the [[Education in India|"10+2+3" plan]].

After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in Inter Colleges that have a higher secondary facility and are affiliated with the [[Central Board of Secondary Education]], [[CISCE]] or the Department of Education of the [[Government of Uttarakhand]]. They usually choose a focus on liberal arts, business, or science.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

As of 2011, Pithoragarh had 17 primary schools, 20 middle schools, 22 secondary schools, 14 senior secondary schools, and 1 degree college.<ref name="dchba">{{cite book|title=District Census Handbook Pithoragarh Part-A|publisher=Directorate of Census Operations, Uttarakhand|location=Dehradun|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0507_PART_A_DCHB_PITHORAGARH.pdf|access-date=11 July 2017}}</ref>{{rp|685}} Before independence, during the middle of the 19th century when Pithoragarh was part of [[Almora district|Almora]], there were only two middle schools in Pithoragarh.<ref name="education">{{cite web|last1=Indusnettechnologies|first1=Goutam Pal, Dipak K S, SWD|title=Education: District of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India|url=http://pithoragarh.nic.in/pages/display/70-education|website=pithoragarh.nic.in|access-date=11 July 2017}}</ref>

LSM Govt. Post Graduate College is the only government college in the town providing studies up to post-graduation.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Indusnettechnologies|first1=Goutam Pal, Dipak K S, SWD|title=L. S. M. Government Post Graduate College Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand)|url=http://pithoragarh.nic.in/pages/view/36/37-l-s-m--government-post-graduate-college-pithoragarh-(uttarakhand)-|website=pithoragarh.nic.in|access-date=11 July 2017}}</ref> It was previously affiliated to [[Kumaun University]], [[Nainital]]. With the growing impact of [[Information technology in India|I.T.]], the government opened [[Seemant Institute of Technology|SIT Pithoragarh]] in 2011. Almost a dozen of privately owned computer centres opened up later in the town.<ref name="education" /> A few of the IT centres which are in Pithoragarh town are [[NIIT]], Hiltron, [[Aptech]], UpHill Computers, Info. Park, Sri Calculation and Care Computer.

Construction of a medical college is proposed by the state government and it has been allotted a budget of ₹450 crores ($64 million).<ref>{{Cite web|title=पिथौरागढ़ मेडिकल कालेज का कार्य प्रारंभ होने के आसार|url=https://www.jagran.com/uttarakhand/pithoragarh-the-work-of-pithoragarh-medical-college-is-likely-to-start-21867774.html|access-date=2022-02-15|website=Dainik Jagran|language=hi}}</ref>

== Temples==
*[[Haat Kalika Temple]]
*[[Kotgari Temple]]
*[[Patal Bhuvaneshwar]]

== Notable people ==
* [[Khadg Singh Valdiya]]
* [[Vinod Kapri]]
* [[Hemant Pandey]]

*[[Pushkar Singh Dhami]]
*[[Unmukt Chand]]
* [[Mary Reed (missionary)|Mary Reed]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [http://pithoragarh.nic.in/ Pithoragarh website]
* [http://wikimapia.org/country/India/Uttaranchal/Pithoragarh/ Pithoragarh] at ''[[wikimapia]]''.

{{Pithoragarh district}}
{{Municipalities of Uttarakhand}}

{{Uttarakhand}}

[[Category:Pithoragarh| ]]
[[Category:Tourism in Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Pithoragarh district]]
{{ci|date=October 2022}}

Ahir

2026-03-30T08:51:39Z

162.158.23.103:

{{Short description|Social community of India}}
{{for|the village in Turkey|Ahır, İpsala}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox caste
| caste_name = Ahir/Aheer
| subdivisions = Yaduvanshi Ahir Nandvanshi Ahir Gwalvanshi Ahir
| populated_states = India and Nepal
| religions = [[Hinduism]]{{cn|date=July 2025}}
| languages = Varies depending on region{{cn|date=July 2025}}
}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

'''Ahir''' or '''Aheer''' (derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word: [[Abhira people|abhira]])<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shashi |first=Shyam Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=duIjAQAAIAAJ&q=Ahir |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: The tribal world in transition |date=1994 |publisher=Anmol Publications |isbn=978-81-7041-836-8 |language=en}}</ref> is a [[community]] of traditionally elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the [[Yadav]] surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vkkK6SZOo_gC&pg=PA1551 |title=People of India: Uttar Pradesh |date=2005 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7304-114-3 |pages=1551 |language=en |quote=These Ahir of past, now identify themselves as Yadav or Yadubansi and to support this claim use the surname, Yadav, and thus try to distinguish themselves from other constituent groups forming the large Ahir caste.}}</ref> The Ahirs are variously described as a [[Caste system in India|caste]], a [[clan]], a [[Race (human classification)|race]], and/or a [[tribe]].

The traditional occupations of Ahirs are cattle-herding and agriculture. Since late 19th century to early 20th century, Ahirs have adopted ''Yadav'' word for their community and have claimed descent from the mythological king [[Yadu]]. This is a part of a movement of social and political resurgence ([[sanskritisation]]) under the influence of [[Arya Samaj]].<ref name="AhirSanskritisation"> Sanskritisation of Ahir:

* {{cite book|last=Jaffrelot|first=Christophe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|year=2003|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8|location=London|page=189|language=en|quote=Ahirs willingly subjected themselves to Sanskritisation because of their special relation to sacred cow but alas because the Arya Samaj exerted significant Sanskritising influence over the Yadav movement. As early as 1895, the ruler of Rewari, Rao Yudhishter Singh ( the father of Rao Bahadur Balbir Singh), invited Swami Dayananda to his state. Branches of the Arya Samaj flourished soon after and Rewari provided a base from which Arya Samaj ''updeshaks'' (itinerant preachers) operated in neighbouring areas.|access-date=2011-08-16}}
* {{cite book|last1=Jassal|first1=Smita Tewari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jA0tAQAAIAAJ|title=Contributions to Indian sociology|author2=École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales|author3=University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology|publisher=Mouton|year=2001|pages=319–351|chapter=Caste in the Colonial State: Mallahs in the census}} 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."
* {{Cite book|last1=Berti|first1=Daniela|title=''Cultural Entrenchment of Hindutva'' Local Mediations and Forms of Convergence|last2=Kanungo|first2=Pralay|last3=Jaoul|first3=Nicolas|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2011|isbn=978-1-138-65995-7|edition=1st|page=246|language=English|quote=Marginalised groups, often considered as Shudras, like the Ahirs (Yadavs), Kurmis and the Gujars, began to redefine their emerging political and economic role in society by fighting on the same 'religious' grounds. In so doing, they refashioned their status as warriors and kings who had played a special role in history as guardians of Hinduism (Gooptu 2001 : 195; see also Pinch 1996 : 118–38). Gyanendra Pandey (1990: 66–108) describes how, since the end of the 19th century, such processes of Sanskritisation (adoption of 'higher' forms of Hinduism) among lower castes have joined up with Hindu nationalist movements, such as the cow protection movement, and how these interrelations have been central to the formation of a Hindu and a Muslim community in northern India.}}
* {{Cite book|last=Adcock|first=C. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2UMfAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|title=Limits of Tolerance: Indian Secularism and the Politics of Religious Freedom|date=2014|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-999544-8|page=46|language=en|quote=In U.P., the Ahir/Yadav castes, whom elites deemed Shudras, also used shästrärth debates to defend their claims to elevated, Kshatriya status from at least the 1890s. In the eastern districts of U.P., monks of the Vaishnava Ramanandi order defended the Ahirs' claims in public debate; in western U.P., their champions in debate were often members of the Arya Samaj.}}</ref>

Ahirs are found throughout India but are particularly concentrated in the northern area. Apart from India, Ahirs have significant population in [[Nepal]], [[Mauritius]], [[Fiji]], [[South Africa]] and the [[Caribbean]] especially [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and [[Suriname]]. In Mauritius and Caribbean they are mostly the descendants of [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]] who arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries from the former pre-partitioned sub-continent of India during the British Raj.<ref>*{{Cite journal|doi = 10.4000/samaj.3886|title = The 'Land of the Vaish'? Caste Structure and Ideology in Mauritius|year = 2015|last1 = Claveyrolas|first1 = Mathieu|journal = South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal|doi-access = free| s2cid=143034648 |issn = 1960-6060}}
*{{Cite journal|jstor = 177986|title = The Retention of Caste Notions among the Indian Immigrants in British Guiana during the Nineteenth Century|last1 = Moore|first1 = Brian L.|journal = Comparative Studies in Society and History|year = 1977|volume = 19|issue = 1|pages = 96–107|doi = 10.1017/S0010417500008513|s2cid = 143278239}}
*{{Cite journal|jstor = 23050197|title = Indian Heritage in Trinidad, West Indies|last1 = Jha|first1 = J. C.|journal = Caribbean Quarterly|year = 1973|volume = 19|issue = 2|pages = 28–50|doi = 10.1080/00086495.1973.11829152}}
*{{cite journal |url=https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/3290/wp4.pdf?sequence=1 |title=Ethnic and Caste Diversity: Implications for Development |id=NRM Working Paper No. 4 |date=June 2005 |first1=Rajendra |last1=Pradhan |first2=Ava |last2=Shrestha |journal=Think Asia |publisher=[[Asian Development Bank]] |hdl=11540/3290 |archive-date=11 November 2022 |access-date=7 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111182352/https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/3290/wp4.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=dead }}
*{{Cite web|url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/indian-labour-british-guiana|title=Indian Labour in British Guiana | History Today}}
*{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/international/2017/09/02/the-legacy-of-indian-migration-to-european-colonies|title=The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies|newspaper=The Economist|date=2 September 2017}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
Ahir is believed to be a derivation of the [[Sanskrit]] word, "abhira", and the present term in the [[Bengali (language)|Bengali]] and [[Marathi language|Marathi]] languages is ''abhir''.<ref name="Garg1992">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&pg=PA113 |title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1992 |isbn=978-81-7022-374-0 |editor-last=Garg |editor-first=Gaṅga Ram |volume=1 |pages=113–114}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=People of Maharashtra |url=https://www.gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/land_and_people/L%20%26%20P%20pdf/Chapter%20II/2%20Major%20Castes%20and%20Tribes.pdf?}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Gujarati Ahir.jpg|thumb|300x300px|This is a picture clicked during an [[Ahir]] caste meeting in [[Gujarat]].]]

=== Early history ===
Theories regarding the origins of the ancient [[Abhira tribe|Abhira]] – the putative ancestors of the Ahirs – are varied for the same reasons as are the theories regarding their location; that is, there is a reliance on interpretation of linguistic and factual analysis of old texts that are known to be unreliable and ambiguous.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126" />

Some, such as A. P. Karmakar, consider the Abhira to be a [[Proto-Dravidian]] tribe who migrated to India and point to the ''[[Purana]]s'' as evidence. Others, such as Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya, say that the Abhira are recorded as being in India in the 1st-century CE work, the ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]''. Bhattacharya considers the Abhira of old to be a race rather than a tribe.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126">{{cite book |title=Krishna – Cult in Indian Art |first=Sunil Kumar |last=Bhattacharya |publisher=M.D. Publications |year=1996 |isbn=978-81-7533-001-6 |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyyNIL7Ug2kC}}</ref> The sociologist [[M. S. A. Rao]] and historians such as P. M. Chandorkar and T. Padmaja say that epigraphical and historical evidence exists for equating the Ahirs with the ancient [[Yadava]] tribe.<ref>{{Cite book|first = Sumit | last = Guha |title=Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GSa5blriOYcC&pg=PA47|year = 2006| publisher = University of Cambridge|page=47|isbn=978-0-521-02870-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| first = M. S. A. | last=Rao |title=Social Movements in India |volume=1| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=SODZAAAAMAAJ&q=124|year=1978 | publisher =Manohar|pages=124, 197, 210}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = Padmaja|last= T. |title=Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamilnāḍu|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=pzgaS1wRnl8C&pg=RA1-PA35|year = 2001 | publisher = Archaeology Dept., University of Mysore|pages=25, 34|isbn=978-8-170-17398-4}}</ref>

Whether they were a race or a tribe, nomadic in tendency or displaced or part of a conquering wave, with origins in Indo-Scythia or Central Asia, Aryan or [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] – there is no academic consensus, and much in the differences of opinion relate to fundamental aspects of historiography, such as controversies regarding dating the writing of the ''Mahabharata'' and acceptance or otherwise of the [[Indo-Aryan migration]] (which is universally accepted in mainstream scholarship).{{refn|name="OIT no support"|Out of India aka Indigenous Aryans has no support:
* Romila Thapar (2006): "there is no scholar at this time seriously arguing for the indigenous origin of Aryans".<ref>{{cite book |last=Thapar |first=Romila |date=2006 |title=India: Historical Beginnings and the Concept of the Aryan |publisher=National Book Trust |isbn=978-81-237-4779-8 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sDBuAAAAMAAJ&q=indigenous+aryans}}</ref>
* Wendy Doniger (2017): "The opposing argument, that speakers of Indo-European languages were indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, is not supported by any reliable scholarship. It is now championed primarily by Hindu nationalists, whose religious sentiments have led them to regard the theory of Aryan migration with some asperity."<ref>Wendy Doniger (2017), [https://inference-review.com/article/another-great-story "Another Great Story"]", review of Asko Parpola's ''The Roots of Hinduism''; in: ''Inference, International Review of Science'', Volume 3, Issue 2</ref>
* Girish Shahane (September 14, 2019), in response to Narasimhan et al. (2019): "Hindutva activists, however, have kept the Aryan Invasion Theory alive, because it offers them the perfect strawman, 'an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument' ... The Out of India hypothesis is a desperate attempt to reconcile linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence with Hindutva sentiment and nationalistic pride, but it cannot reverse time's arrow ... The evidence keeps crushing Hindutva ideas of history."<ref>Girish Shahane (September 14, 2019), [https://scroll.in/article/937043/why-hindutva-supporters-love-to-hate-the-discredited-aryan-invasion-theory ''Why Hindutva supporters love to hate the discredited Aryan Invasion Theory''], Scroll.in</ref>
* Koenraad Elst (May 10, 2016): "Of course it is a fringe theory, at least internationally, where the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) is still the official paradigm. In India, though, it has the support of most archaeologists, who fail to find a trace of this Aryan influx and instead find cultural continuity."<ref name="Elst_2016">Koenraad Elst (May 10, 2016), Koenraad Elst: "I am not aware of any governmental interest in correcting distorted history", ''Swarajya Magazine''</ref>}} Similarly, there is no certainty regarding the occupational status of the Abhira, with ancient texts sometimes referring to them as pastoral and cowherders but at other times as robber tribes.<ref>{{cite book |first=Aditya |last=Malik |chapter=The Puskara Mahatmya: A Short Report |page=200 |title=The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature |editor-first=Hans |editor-last=Bakker |location=Leiden |year=1990 |isbn=978-90-04-09318-8 |publisher=BRILL and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPgBdyxD5MkC&pg=PA200}}</ref>

=== Kingdoms ===
{{Expand section|date=November 2024}}
*Ahir dynasty in pre-12th century areas in present-day [[Nepal]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Punam |last=Yadav|title=Social Transformation in Post-conflict Nepal: A Gender Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QQRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT57|year=2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-35389-8|page=57}}</ref>
*Ahir-Rajas of [[Sagar, Madhya Pradesh|Sagar]]<ref>{{cite book |first= A N |last= Sharma | page =13 |title= The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YX1siOYKthgC&dq=ahir+Rajas+sagar&pg=PA13|isbn=81-7625-714-1|year= 2006|publisher= Sarup & Sons }}</ref>
*Ahir Rajas of Gawror fort, [[Patna district|Patna]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAO2AAAAIAAJ&q=ahir++rajas |title=Historical Researches Series |date=1963 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Military involvements ===
[[File:'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry.jpg|thumb|'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry, Quetta, 1918<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indian officers and non-commissioned officers from 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry, Quetta, 1918 {{!}} Online Collection {{!}} National Army Museum, London |url=https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?q=searchType=simple&resultsDisplay=list&simpleText=Ahirs&pos=2&total=10&page=1&acc=1960-12-120-4-95 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=collection.nam.ac.uk}}</ref>]]

[[File:Indian officers, 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, 5th Light Infantry.jpg|thumb|Indian officers, 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, 5th Light Infantry, Quetta 1918.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Collection {{!}} National Army Museum, London |url=https://collection.nam.ac.uk/results.php?searchType=simple&resultsDisplay=list&simpleText=Ahirs |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=collection.nam.ac.uk}}</ref>

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Rezang_La_Memorial.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Brave_Ahir.jpg

]]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0_rezangla_place.jpg

The [[British Raj|British]] rulers of India classified the Ahirs of Punjab as an "agricultural tribe" in the 1920s, which was at that time synonymous with being a "[[martial race]]".<ref>{{cite book|first=Rajit K. |last=Mazumder|title=The Indian army and the making of Punjab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8G8COTxOUkgC&pg=PA105|year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-059-6|page=105}}</ref> This was a designation created by administrators that classified each ethnic group as either "martial" or "non-martial": a "martial race" was typically considered brave and well built for fighting,<ref name="rand">{{Cite journal |last=Rand |first=Gavin |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 |date=March 2006 |url= |doi=10.1080/13507480600586726|s2cid=144987021 }}</ref> whilst the remainder were those whom the British believed to be unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles.<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 |location= |isbn=978-0-7190-6962-8 |page=241 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BscnZT_1po8C |access-date=20 October 2010}}</ref> However, the martial races were also considered politically subservient, intellectually inferior, lacking the initiative or leadership qualities to command large military formations. The British had a policy of recruiting the martial Indians from those who has less access to education as they were easier to control.<ref name="Khalidi2003">{{cite book|author=Omar Khalidi|title=Khaki and the Ethnic Violence in India: Army, Police, and Paramilitary Forces During Communal Riots|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-NtAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Three Essays Collective|quote= Apart from their physique, the martial races were regarded as politically subservient or docile to authority|page=5|isbn=978-81-88789-09-2}}</ref><ref name="Levine2003">{{cite book|author=Philippa Levine|title=Prostitution, Race, and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=It1lPzFCG9EC|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-94447-2|pages=284–285|quote=The Saturday review had made much the same argument a few years earlier in relation to the armies raised by Indian rulers in princely states. They lacked competent leadership and were uneven in quality. Commander in chief Roberts, one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the martial race theory, though poorly of the native troops as a body. Many regarded such troops as childish and simple. The British, claims, David Omissi, believe martial Indians to be stupid. Certainly, the policy of recruiting among those without access to much education gave the British more semblance of control over their recruits.}}</ref> According to modern historian Jeffrey Greenhunt on military history, "The Martial Race theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward". According to Amiya Samanta, the marital race was chosen from people of mercenary spirit (a soldier who fights for any group or country that will pay him/her), as these groups lacked nationalism as a trait.<ref name="Samanta2000">{{cite book|author=Amiya K. Samanta|title=Gorkhaland Movement: A Study in Ethnic Separatism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4GqdfG0EU8C&pg=PA26|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7648-166-3|pages=26–|quote=Dr . Jeffrey Greenhunt has observed that " The Martial Race Theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward. Besides their mercenary spirit was primarily due to their lack of nationalism.}}</ref> Ahirs had been recruited into the army from 1898.<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/peasantsmonksinb0000pinc |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/peasantsmonksinb0000pinc/page/90 90]}}</ref> In that year, the British raised four Ahir companies, two of which were in the [[95th Russell's Infantry]].<ref>{{cite book|first=M. S. A. |last=Rao |title=Social movements and social transformation: a study of two backward classes movements in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZAiAAAAMAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-90255-4 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}} In post-independence India, some Ahir units have been involved in celebrated military actions, such as at [[Rezang La]] in the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]] that saw the last stand of Charlie company, consisting of 114 Ahirs of 13 Kumaon, and in the [[1965 India-Pakistan War]].<ref name="Remembering Rezang La heroes">
{{cite news |author=Press Information Bureau, Government of India | title=Remembering Rezang La heroes |date=7 January 2007 |newspaper=Sainik samachar |url=http://sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2007/oct01-07/h4.htm}}
</ref><ref name="Heroes of Rezang La">
{{cite news |author= Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd) | title=Heroes of Rezang La 1962 |date=15 December 2018 |newspaper=The Tribune |url= https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/haryanatribune/heroes-of-1962-rezang-la-battle-698535}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Mohan |last=Guruswamy |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/dont-forget-the-heroes-of-rezang-la/article4112584.ece |title=Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La |work=The Hindu |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SBWc27AVmwC&pg=PA212| title=Combat Diary: An illustrated history of operations conducted by 4th Kumaon| publisher=Lancer Books |year=2010 |first=Jasbir |last=Singh |page=212| isbn=978-1-935501-18-3}}</ref>

== Sanskritisation ==
===Recreating the past for new identity===
{{See also|De-Sanskritisation}}
It was from the 1920s that some Ahirs began to adopt the name of ''Yadav'' and created the [[All-India Yadav Mahasabha|Yadav Mahasabha]], founded by ideologues such as Rajit Singh. Several caste histories and periodicals to trace a Kshatriya origin were written at the time, notably by Mannanlal Abhimanyu. These were part of the jostling among various castes for socio-economic status and ritual under the Raj and they invoked support for a zealous, martial Hindu ethos.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nandini |last=Gooptu |title=The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India |pages=205–210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZTLEEGmZfQC&pg=PA205 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001|isbn=978-0-521-44366-1|quote=One of the most politically active and vocal among the shudra castes was the ahirs or yadavs. In 1922, an ahir conference was held in Lucknow, followed by another ahir ''mahotsav'' (festival) in Allahabad in 1923, where a provincial Mahasabha was inaugurated, with the new name of Yadav Mahasabha. The term yadav, to denote the ahirs, gained currency from this period. Rajit Singh, a yadav born in the Deoria district in 1897, and educated at Gorakhpur and Shikohabad, was instrumental in the formation of the Yadav Mahasabha. He had briefly worked in the Excise Department in Kanpur, but had resigned from his job to devote himself to organising yadav associations from 1921. In 1925, Rajit Singh settled in Benares and inaugurated the Benares Yadav Mahasabha, which soon emerged as the centre of the yadav caste movement in UP. From Benares, Rajit Singh edited the journal ''Yadav'', and also published a history of the yadav castes, entitled ''Yaduvamsa Prakash''. Several other yadav histories were published in rapid succession in the 1920s, written by another younger yadav leader of Benares, Mannalal Abhimanyu, a lawyer who was the son of a school teacher. He wrote ''Ahir Vamsa Pradip'' (1925) and ''Yadukul Sarvasya'' (1928), in which he attempted to demonstrate the kshatriya origin of the yadavs, with extensive references from both religious texts and British ethnographic tracts.|language=en}}</ref> Arya Samaj, a Hindu reformist organization also played an important role in ritual purification of Ahir/Yadavs and many low castes in order to incorporate them into Vedic Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=140 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2|quote=Hindu reformist organisations like the Arya Samaj which aimed to reform Hinduism and incorporate lower-caste groups within the fold of vedic Aryan Hinduism (see Rao 1979: 132-35), have a pivotal role in 'purifying' the customs of the Ahir/Yadavs and other lower castes through the adoption of Brahmanical Hindu practices. Brahmanical Hinduism emphasises vegetarianism, non-violence and ascetism (Fuller 1992: 88).|language=en}}</ref> In U.P, it was through shastrarth debates and with the help of reform movements like Arya Samaj and Vaishnava Ramanandi order in public debates that the Ahirs defended their claims to a higher social status.<ref>{{cite book|title=''The Limits of Tolerance'':Indian Secularism and the Politics of Religious Freedom|page=46|first= C.S.|last= Adcock|publisher= Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-999543-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DvMVDAAAQBAJ&dq=ahirs+The+Limits+of+Tolerance:+Indian+Secularism+and+the+Politics+of+Religious+Freedom+By+C.S.+Adcock&pg=PA46|quote= In U.P., the Ahir/Yadav castes, whom elites deemed Shudras, also used shastrarth debates to defend their claims to elevated, Kshatriya status from at least the 1890s. In the eastern districts of U.P., monks of the Vaishnava Ramanandi order defended the Ahirs' claims in public debate; in western U.P., their champions in debate were often members of the Arya Samaj.|language=en}}</ref> At the same time Ahir/Yadav intelligentsia also emphasized the socio-economic backwardness faced by their community and in 1927, a petition was sent to the [[Simon Commission]] describing how the Ahirs suffers from the same social disabilities and discrimination as the [[Chamar]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=83 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2|quote=This emphasis on number and on ''Yadavness'' versus 'status' is also evident in colonial petitions which portray the Ahirs as a 'backward/ depressed category' in an attempt to get benefits from the reservation provisions. It looks as if the Yadav intelligentsia not only learnt that Yadav social and economic progress or backwardness could be determined by measuring their share in the number of graduates, official appointments and parliamentary seats (Chakrabarty 1994: 150), but also that economic and social disabilities were not 'enough' and that 'ritual' disabilities had also to be proved. The political leaders invoked arguments about the historical deprivation of their communities' (see Gooptu 2001: 11). The following is an extract from a petition sent in 1927 to the Simon Commission, in which a member of the Ahir community illustrates how the community suffers from the same disabilities and discriminations as the Chamars (an untouchable caste).|language=en}}</ref> Despite explicitly expressing their commitment against untouchability, it has been observed that these movements by Yadav caste associations have not been egalitarian enough to include communities who are under Scheduled Castes and have claimed connection with Krishna.<ref name="Michuletti">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=149 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2|quote=Although Yadav caste associations organise Other Backward Classes meetings and explicitly express their commitment against untouchability, I never met an SC member attending or delivering a speech at such events. A recent controversy showed how, in practice, Yadav caste associations are not willing to encompass in their social category members of SC communities who claim to descend from Krishna. At the AIYM meeting held in Gurgaon in 1998, a member of the committee raised the issue that Jatavs in Agra and Rajasthan had begun to adopt the Yadav title. A member of the audience pointed out that he had already written to the Mahasabha secretary to inform him that in Bharatpur (Rajasthan) the local Jatavs were calling themselves Yadavs. Another pointed out that in Udaipur, Jatavs who worked as builders and did casual labour were also calling themselves Yadavs and had adopted the ''Kadamb'' Yadav clan.|language=en}}</ref> Yadavs of Braj-Ahirwal attempted to "endlessly portray themselves" as inheritors of the heritage of local dynasties such as the Jats of Bharatpur and Alwar, Jadon Rajputs of Jaleshar and Karauli and fellow Ahir dynasties of Rewari and Mahabhan who were considered to be of Yaduvanshi descent.<ref name="Michuletti"/>{{rp|43}}

=== Participation in reactionary communal conflicts ===
The Ahirs in [[Benaras]], UP had been one of the more militant Hindu groups during pre-independent India. In one of the instances before independence, Hindu ''[[shudra]]'' caste groups as the Ahirs actively participated in a counter-reactionary communal conflict orchestrated by Arya Samaj.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nandini |last=Gooptu |title=The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India |page=307 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZTLEEGmZfQC&pg=PA307 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001|isbn=978-0-521-44366-1 |quote=The spread of the tanzeem movement in Benares further fuelled the religious expansion of Hindu organisations, and contributed to an escalation in local competition and communal conflict. Khalil Das' movement elicited a counter-reaction from the Arya Samaj and from such Hindu shudra caste groups as the ahirs, who were active participants in volunteer corps and akharas, and who, in Benares, were involved in an especially active yadav caste movement.... The Ahirs in particular who played an important role in militant Hinduism, retaliated strongly against the Tanzeem movement. In July,1930, about 200 Ahirs marched in procession to Trilochan, a sacred Hindu site and performed a religious ceremony in response to Tanzeem processions.|language=en}}</ref> Some writers are also of the opinion that many low-castes (including Ahirs) took to cow protection for asserting higher status since ''cow'' already had symbolic importance in Hinduism. This view of cow protection was different from the UP's urban elites.<ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Gould|title=Religion and Conflict in Modern South Asia|year=2012|page=70|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|quote=Gyan Pandey's detailed research on the cow protection riots in eastern UP and Bihar in 1893 and 1917 relates the conflict to specific registers of caste difference and status assertion, in a context where the popular view of cow protection from the point of view of low-caste Ahirs, Koeris and Kurmis was quite different to that of UP's urban elites. For both Freitag and Pandey, cow protection became a means for relatively low-status communities to assert higher status via association with something of symbolic importance to Hinduism as a whole: in this case, the cow.|isbn=978-0-521-87949-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2oexn_mLPIC&q=Religion+and+Conflict+in+Modern+South+Asia+By+Williiam+gould|language=en}}</ref>

== Distribution ==
Ahirs in India are known by numerous other names, including Gauli<ref>{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=B. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gu_cN0MhteMC&pg=PA568 |title=Gonds of the Central Indian Highlands |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1994 |volume=II |location=New Delhi |pages=568–569}}</ref> and Ghosi or Gop in [[North India]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |year=2002 |title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town |url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf |work=PhD Thesis Social Anthropology |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science |pages=94–95}}</ref> In [[Gujarat]] and [[South India]] as Ayar, Golla and Konar.<ref>* {{cite book |last=Singh |first=Rajbir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn3aAAAAMAAJ |title=India's Unequal Citizens: A Study of Other Backward Classes |publisher=Manohar, 1994 |year=1994 |isbn=978-81-7304-069-6 |pages=34, 356, 390}}
* {{cite book |last=Sharma |first=Shish Ram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T3PaAAAAMAAJ |title=Protective Discrimination: Other Backward Classes in India |publisher=Raj Publications, 2002 |year=2002 |isbn=978-81-86208-23-6 |pages=153, 312, 410}}</ref> Some in the [[Bundelkhand]] region of [[Uttar Pradesh]] are known as Dauwa Thakur. <ref>{{cite book |last=Jain |first=Ravindra K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fghQhiowlycC&pg=PA32 |title=Between History and Legend: Status and Power in Bundelkhand |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2002 |isbn=978-8-12502-194-0 |page=30}}</ref> The Ahirs have more than 20 sub-castes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Patel |first=Mahendra Lal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC&pg=PA33 |title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects |publisher=M. D. Publications Pvt. Ltd |year=1997 |isbn=978-8-17533-029-0 |page=33}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2022}}

=== North India ===
They have a significant population in the region around [[Behror]], [[Alwar]], [[Rewari]], [[Narnaul]], [[Mahendragarh]], [[Gurgaon]]<ref name="nannak$">{{cite book|last1=Guru Nanak Dev University|first1=Sociology Dept|title=Guru Nanak Journal of Sociology|publisher=Sociology Department, Guru Nanak Dev University|pages=5, 6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=03_ZAAAAMAAJ&q=ahir|date=2003|language=en}}</ref> and [[Jhajjar]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Dip Chand |last=Verma|title=Haryana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JY5AQAAIAAJ|year=1975|publisher=National Book Trust, India}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Suresh K. |last=Sharma|title=Haryana: Past and Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VE71IqAC0YYC&pg=PA40|year=2006|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-8324-046-8|page=40}}</ref> – the region is therefore known as [[Ahirwal]] or the abode of Ahirs.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ&q=ahirwal |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |pages=41, 42 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2}}</ref>

=== Maharashtra ===
[[Ahirani]] dialect continues to be spoken today in the region and is widespread across [[Jalgaon]], [[Dhule]] and [[Nashik]]. It is an admixture of [[Marathi Language|Marathi]], [[Gujarati Language|Gujarati]], [[Hindi]], ancient [[Magadhi]], [[Saurashtra language|Saurashtri]], [[Sauraseni]], Lati, [[Maharashtri]], [[Prakrit]] and [[Paishachi]].<ref>{{cite periodical |url=https://gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/land_and_people/L%20&%20P%20pdf/Chapter%20III/3%20Distinctive%20Features%20of%20Sub-regional%20Culture%20of%20Maharashtra.pdf| title = Maharashtra: Land and its people |last=Pathak|first=A. S.|publisher=Government of Maharashtra |year=2009|periodical= Maharashtra State Gazetteer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first = Sumit |last=Guha|title=Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GSa5blriOYcC&pg=PA47|year=2006| publisher = University of Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-02870-7|page=47}}</ref>

== Culture ==
Ahir culture is rooted in pastoralism and closely associated to the worship of Krishna and Shiva.<ref>.{{cite book |last=danielou |first=Alain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua6yuxBPQdQC&q=ahir |title=The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59477-048-7 |page=56}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kirshna |first=Nanditha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pIFFEJXx7L8C&q=ahirs |title=Book of Vishnu |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-8475-865-8 |page=56}}</ref> the Ahirs are use the modern-day ‘Yadav’ surname and consider themselves to the [[Yadava|Yadu tribe]] by claiming descent from Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi, and Goallavanshi.{{efn|Through Sanskritization,<ref name="AhirSanskritisation"/> the Ahirs restructured its identity into three broad caste divisions for upliftment:
*Nandavanshi : Claim descent from Nanda, Krishna foster father, linking to Vrindavan pastoral traditions.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>
*Yaduvanshi: Trace lineage to King Yadu, the legendary founder of the Yadava dynasty.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>
*Goallavanshi: Originating from the Goala (cowherd) community, they associate with the Gopas and Gopis of Krishna childhood.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>}}<ref name="Michelutti2002">{{Cite thesis |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |title=Sons of Krishna: The Politics of Yadav Community Formation in a North Indian Town |url=https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/ |website=London School of Economics and Political Science |date=2002 |page=89 |quote=In Elliot’s description, ‘clan,’ ‘subcaste,’ ‘caste,’ ‘tribe,’ and ‘race’ are used interchangeably, indicating difficulty in isolating the social nature and functions of the different Ahir subdivisions. Following locality, Elliot categorizes the Ahir agricultural-pastoral ‘tribe’ into three main subdivisions ..... These subdivisions are based on mythological-ancestral claims and locality (see Chapter 3). The Yaduvanshi-Ahirs are said to descend from Yadu, one of Krishna’s ancestors; the Nandavanshi-Ahirs are descendants of Nanda, Krishna’s foster father; and the Goallavanshi-Ahirs descend from the Gopi and Gopas amongst whom Krishna spent his childhood on the banks of the Yamuna near Mathura. Elliot further lists the major clans (got) of the Nandavanshi in Central Doab and the Ahirwal region.}}</ref><ref name="AhirDivision:">Ahirs division through Sanskritization :
*{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Dipankar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pviHAwAAQBAJ |title=Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy? |date=2004-11-08 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-81-321-0345-5 |pages=58 |language=en |quote=Contemporary Ahir/Yadavs define themselves as "Krishnavanshi-Yadavs." Younger generations are often unaware that their original caste title was Ahir. The concept of a unique Krishnavanshi kinship category, which merges traditional subdivisions (Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi, and Goallavanshi) into a single endogamous unit, is rapidly gaining acceptance. Intermarriage between these previously distinct endogamous units is increasingly popular.}}
*{{cite book |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |url=https://archive.org/details/vernacularisatio0000mich |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415467322 |page=11 |quote=More specifically, it shows how Krishna has progressively become the main god as well as the main ancestor of the local Yadavs and how his cult is substituting the cults of local lineage deities. Such a process is accompanied by the adoption of conservative forms of Hinduism which has transformed the different Ahir/Yadav subdivisions (Nandavanshi, Goallavanshi, and Yaduvanshi) into superior 'Krishnavanshi' Yadavs.}}
*{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Bhrigupati |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhnRBgAAQBAJ&dq=ahirs+yaduvanshi&pg=PA21 |title=Poverty and the Quest for Life: Spiritual and Material Striving in Rural India |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-226-19468-4 |page=146 |quote=Perhaps the most famous love affair in classical Hinduism is between Krishna and Radha. In songs, Radha is often identified as the Gujari (pastoralist) from the village of Barsana, while Krishna belongs to the Yaduvanshi-Ahir caste. Their love affair is not only cross-caste but also pre- or extramarital (though it is never explicitly described as such), as Krishna is married to Rukmini. In temples across India, Krishna is often depicted standing beside Radha, who is described as his divine consort. Such divine affairs may offer human beings some moral respite.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kashyap |first=Anirban |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ni9uAAAAMAAJ&q=ahirs+adopted+yadav+surname |title=The Scheduled Castes in India |date=1996 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |isbn=978-81-212-0511-5 |language=en |quote=For example, appealed to the Census Commissioner that their caste names of Golla, Gowli, Gollawar and Ahir be changed to Yadava.}}</ref>

The [[Yadav]] community of Kashi associated with Chandravanshi Gop Seva Samiti and Shree [[Krishna]] Yadav Mahasabha have been performing jalabhishek on a shivling, traditionally for 94 years, starting in 1932.<ref><nowiki>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/yadav-bandhus-perform-jalabhishek-of-lord-shiva/articleshow/92968938.cms</nowiki></ref>

Ahir No Aasro" is a famous Gujarati proverb, meaning "Ahir's shelter" or "Ahir's support." This proverb reflects the kindness and bravery of the Ahir (Yadav) community, meaning that when someone finds shelter nowhere, Ahirs provide shelter.

=== Diet ===
In 1992, Noor Mohammad noted that most Ahirs in Uttar Pradesh were vegetarian, with some exceptions who were engaged in fishing and raising poultry.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ln6_PodhWC0C&pg=PA60 |title=New Dimensions in Agricultural ... |first=Noor |last=Mohammad |page=60|isbn=978-81-7022-403-7 |year=1992 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company }}</ref>

=== Language and tradition ===
Ahirs of Benares speak a [[Hindi dialect]] which is different from one used normally.<ref>.{{cite book |first= Alain |last= danielou | page =56 |title= The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua6yuxBPQdQC&q=ahir|isbn= 978-1-59477-048-7
|year= 2005|publisher= Inner Traditions / Bear & Co }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first= Nanditha |last= Kirshna | page =56 |title= Book of Vishnu
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pIFFEJXx7L8C&q=ahirs|isbn= 978-81-8475-865-8
|year= 2009|publisher= Penguin UK }}</ref> Ahirs usually speak the language of the region in which they live. Some languages/dialects named after Ahirs are Ahirani, also known as [[Khandeshi]], spoken in [[Khandesh]] region of Maharashtra, Ahirwati spoken in [[Ahirwal]] region of [[Haryana]] and [[Rajasthan]].

=== Folklore ===
The oral epic of [[Veer Lorik]], a mythical Ahir hero, has been sung by folk singers in North India for generations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Magahi Folklore and Folk Tales |first=Sheela |last=Verma |publisher=Manohar |date=2008 |page=88 |isbn=9788173048043 |quote=Another story of a local hero Lorik is also very famous [in the Magahi region]. ... The whole story of Lorik and Chanaini has been put in ballad form by different bards. This ballad is sung not only in Magadh but also in entire north India in all auspicious occasions by Ahirs (milkmen) with great devotion and love.}}</ref> Mulla Daud, a [[Sufi Muslim]], retold the romantic story in writing in the 14th century.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100801/spectrum/art.htm |title=Spectrum |work=The Sunday Tribune |date=1 August 2010 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref> Other Ahir folk traditions include those related to [[Kajri]] and [[Biraha]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0415994047 |title=The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia |editor-first=Ellen |editor-last=Koskoff |isbn=978-0-415-97293-2 |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=1026}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ahir clans]]
* [[Ahir Regiment agitation]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ahir clans |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Ahir| ]]
[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]

Ahir

2026-03-30T08:49:25Z

162.158.23.103:

{{Short description|Social community of India}}
{{for|the village in Turkey|Ahır, İpsala}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox caste
| caste_name = Ahir/Aheer
| subdivisions = Yaduvanshi Ahir Nandvanshi Ahir Gwalvanshi Ahir
| populated_states = India and Nepal
| religions = [[Hinduism]]{{cn|date=July 2025}}
| languages = Varies depending on region{{cn|date=July 2025}}
}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

'''Ahir''' or '''Aheer''' (derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word: [[Abhira people|abhira]])<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shashi |first=Shyam Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=duIjAQAAIAAJ&q=Ahir |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: The tribal world in transition |date=1994 |publisher=Anmol Publications |isbn=978-81-7041-836-8 |language=en}}</ref> is a [[community]] of traditionally elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the [[Yadav]] surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vkkK6SZOo_gC&pg=PA1551 |title=People of India: Uttar Pradesh |date=2005 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7304-114-3 |pages=1551 |language=en |quote=These Ahir of past, now identify themselves as Yadav or Yadubansi and to support this claim use the surname, Yadav, and thus try to distinguish themselves from other constituent groups forming the large Ahir caste.}}</ref> The Ahirs are variously described as a [[Caste system in India|caste]], a [[clan]], a [[Race (human classification)|race]], and/or a [[tribe]].

The traditional occupations of Ahirs are cattle-herding and agriculture. Since late 19th century to early 20th century, Ahirs have adopted ''Yadav'' word for their community and have claimed descent from the mythological king [[Yadu]]. This is a part of a movement of social and political resurgence ([[sanskritisation]]) under the influence of [[Arya Samaj]].<ref name="AhirSanskritisation"> Sanskritisation of Ahir:

* {{cite book|last=Jaffrelot|first=Christophe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|year=2003|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8|location=London|page=189|language=en|quote=Ahirs willingly subjected themselves to Sanskritisation because of their special relation to sacred cow but alas because the Arya Samaj exerted significant Sanskritising influence over the Yadav movement. As early as 1895, the ruler of Rewari, Rao Yudhishter Singh ( the father of Rao Bahadur Balbir Singh), invited Swami Dayananda to his state. Branches of the Arya Samaj flourished soon after and Rewari provided a base from which Arya Samaj ''updeshaks'' (itinerant preachers) operated in neighbouring areas.|access-date=2011-08-16}}
* {{cite book|last1=Jassal|first1=Smita Tewari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jA0tAQAAIAAJ|title=Contributions to Indian sociology|author2=École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales|author3=University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology|publisher=Mouton|year=2001|pages=319–351|chapter=Caste in the Colonial State: Mallahs in the census}} 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."
* {{Cite book|last1=Berti|first1=Daniela|title=''Cultural Entrenchment of Hindutva'' Local Mediations and Forms of Convergence|last2=Kanungo|first2=Pralay|last3=Jaoul|first3=Nicolas|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2011|isbn=978-1-138-65995-7|edition=1st|page=246|language=English|quote=Marginalised groups, often considered as Shudras, like the Ahirs (Yadavs), Kurmis and the Gujars, began to redefine their emerging political and economic role in society by fighting on the same 'religious' grounds. In so doing, they refashioned their status as warriors and kings who had played a special role in history as guardians of Hinduism (Gooptu 2001 : 195; see also Pinch 1996 : 118–38). Gyanendra Pandey (1990: 66–108) describes how, since the end of the 19th century, such processes of Sanskritisation (adoption of 'higher' forms of Hinduism) among lower castes have joined up with Hindu nationalist movements, such as the cow protection movement, and how these interrelations have been central to the formation of a Hindu and a Muslim community in northern India.}}
* {{Cite book|last=Adcock|first=C. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2UMfAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|title=Limits of Tolerance: Indian Secularism and the Politics of Religious Freedom|date=2014|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-999544-8|page=46|language=en|quote=In U.P., the Ahir/Yadav castes, whom elites deemed Shudras, also used shästrärth debates to defend their claims to elevated, Kshatriya status from at least the 1890s. In the eastern districts of U.P., monks of the Vaishnava Ramanandi order defended the Ahirs' claims in public debate; in western U.P., their champions in debate were often members of the Arya Samaj.}}</ref>

Ahirs are found throughout India but are particularly concentrated in the northern area. Apart from India, Ahirs have significant population in [[Nepal]], [[Mauritius]], [[Fiji]], [[South Africa]] and the [[Caribbean]] especially [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and [[Suriname]]. In Mauritius and Caribbean they are mostly the descendants of [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]] who arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries from the former pre-partitioned sub-continent of India during the British Raj.<ref>*{{Cite journal|doi = 10.4000/samaj.3886|title = The 'Land of the Vaish'? Caste Structure and Ideology in Mauritius|year = 2015|last1 = Claveyrolas|first1 = Mathieu|journal = South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal|doi-access = free| s2cid=143034648 |issn = 1960-6060}}
*{{Cite journal|jstor = 177986|title = The Retention of Caste Notions among the Indian Immigrants in British Guiana during the Nineteenth Century|last1 = Moore|first1 = Brian L.|journal = Comparative Studies in Society and History|year = 1977|volume = 19|issue = 1|pages = 96–107|doi = 10.1017/S0010417500008513|s2cid = 143278239}}
*{{Cite journal|jstor = 23050197|title = Indian Heritage in Trinidad, West Indies|last1 = Jha|first1 = J. C.|journal = Caribbean Quarterly|year = 1973|volume = 19|issue = 2|pages = 28–50|doi = 10.1080/00086495.1973.11829152}}
*{{cite journal |url=https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/3290/wp4.pdf?sequence=1 |title=Ethnic and Caste Diversity: Implications for Development |id=NRM Working Paper No. 4 |date=June 2005 |first1=Rajendra |last1=Pradhan |first2=Ava |last2=Shrestha |journal=Think Asia |publisher=[[Asian Development Bank]] |hdl=11540/3290 |archive-date=11 November 2022 |access-date=7 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111182352/https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/3290/wp4.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=dead }}
*{{Cite web|url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/indian-labour-british-guiana|title=Indian Labour in British Guiana | History Today}}
*{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/international/2017/09/02/the-legacy-of-indian-migration-to-european-colonies|title=The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies|newspaper=The Economist|date=2 September 2017}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
Ahir is believed to be a derivation of the [[Sanskrit]] word, "abhira", and the present term in the [[Bengali (language)|Bengali]] and [[Marathi language|Marathi]] languages is ''abhir''.<ref name="Garg1992">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&pg=PA113 |title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1992 |isbn=978-81-7022-374-0 |editor-last=Garg |editor-first=Gaṅga Ram |volume=1 |pages=113–114}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=People of Maharashtra |url=https://www.gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/land_and_people/L%20%26%20P%20pdf/Chapter%20II/2%20Major%20Castes%20and%20Tribes.pdf?}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Gujarati Ahir.jpg|thumb|300x300px|This is a picture clicked during an [[Ahir]] caste meeting in [[Gujarat]].]]

=== Early history ===
Theories regarding the origins of the ancient [[Abhira tribe|Abhira]] – the putative ancestors of the Ahirs – are varied for the same reasons as are the theories regarding their location; that is, there is a reliance on interpretation of linguistic and factual analysis of old texts that are known to be unreliable and ambiguous.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126" />

Some, such as A. P. Karmakar, consider the Abhira to be a [[Proto-Dravidian]] tribe who migrated to India and point to the ''[[Purana]]s'' as evidence. Others, such as Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya, say that the Abhira are recorded as being in India in the 1st-century CE work, the ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]''. Bhattacharya considers the Abhira of old to be a race rather than a tribe.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126">{{cite book |title=Krishna – Cult in Indian Art |first=Sunil Kumar |last=Bhattacharya |publisher=M.D. Publications |year=1996 |isbn=978-81-7533-001-6 |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyyNIL7Ug2kC}}</ref> The sociologist [[M. S. A. Rao]] and historians such as P. M. Chandorkar and T. Padmaja say that epigraphical and historical evidence exists for equating the Ahirs with the ancient [[Yadava]] tribe.<ref>{{Cite book|first = Sumit | last = Guha |title=Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GSa5blriOYcC&pg=PA47|year = 2006| publisher = University of Cambridge|page=47|isbn=978-0-521-02870-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| first = M. S. A. | last=Rao |title=Social Movements in India |volume=1| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=SODZAAAAMAAJ&q=124|year=1978 | publisher =Manohar|pages=124, 197, 210}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = Padmaja|last= T. |title=Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamilnāḍu|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=pzgaS1wRnl8C&pg=RA1-PA35|year = 2001 | publisher = Archaeology Dept., University of Mysore|pages=25, 34|isbn=978-8-170-17398-4}}</ref>

Whether they were a race or a tribe, nomadic in tendency or displaced or part of a conquering wave, with origins in Indo-Scythia or Central Asia, Aryan or [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] – there is no academic consensus, and much in the differences of opinion relate to fundamental aspects of historiography, such as controversies regarding dating the writing of the ''Mahabharata'' and acceptance or otherwise of the [[Indo-Aryan migration]] (which is universally accepted in mainstream scholarship).{{refn|name="OIT no support"|Out of India aka Indigenous Aryans has no support:
* Romila Thapar (2006): "there is no scholar at this time seriously arguing for the indigenous origin of Aryans".<ref>{{cite book |last=Thapar |first=Romila |date=2006 |title=India: Historical Beginnings and the Concept of the Aryan |publisher=National Book Trust |isbn=978-81-237-4779-8 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sDBuAAAAMAAJ&q=indigenous+aryans}}</ref>
* Wendy Doniger (2017): "The opposing argument, that speakers of Indo-European languages were indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, is not supported by any reliable scholarship. It is now championed primarily by Hindu nationalists, whose religious sentiments have led them to regard the theory of Aryan migration with some asperity."<ref>Wendy Doniger (2017), [https://inference-review.com/article/another-great-story "Another Great Story"]", review of Asko Parpola's ''The Roots of Hinduism''; in: ''Inference, International Review of Science'', Volume 3, Issue 2</ref>
* Girish Shahane (September 14, 2019), in response to Narasimhan et al. (2019): "Hindutva activists, however, have kept the Aryan Invasion Theory alive, because it offers them the perfect strawman, 'an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument' ... The Out of India hypothesis is a desperate attempt to reconcile linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence with Hindutva sentiment and nationalistic pride, but it cannot reverse time's arrow ... The evidence keeps crushing Hindutva ideas of history."<ref>Girish Shahane (September 14, 2019), [https://scroll.in/article/937043/why-hindutva-supporters-love-to-hate-the-discredited-aryan-invasion-theory ''Why Hindutva supporters love to hate the discredited Aryan Invasion Theory''], Scroll.in</ref>
* Koenraad Elst (May 10, 2016): "Of course it is a fringe theory, at least internationally, where the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) is still the official paradigm. In India, though, it has the support of most archaeologists, who fail to find a trace of this Aryan influx and instead find cultural continuity."<ref name="Elst_2016">Koenraad Elst (May 10, 2016), Koenraad Elst: "I am not aware of any governmental interest in correcting distorted history", ''Swarajya Magazine''</ref>}} Similarly, there is no certainty regarding the occupational status of the Abhira, with ancient texts sometimes referring to them as pastoral and cowherders but at other times as robber tribes.<ref>{{cite book |first=Aditya |last=Malik |chapter=The Puskara Mahatmya: A Short Report |page=200 |title=The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature |editor-first=Hans |editor-last=Bakker |location=Leiden |year=1990 |isbn=978-90-04-09318-8 |publisher=BRILL and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPgBdyxD5MkC&pg=PA200}}</ref>

=== Kingdoms ===
{{Expand section|date=November 2024}}
*Ahir dynasty in pre-12th century areas in present-day [[Nepal]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Punam |last=Yadav|title=Social Transformation in Post-conflict Nepal: A Gender Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QQRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT57|year=2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-35389-8|page=57}}</ref>
*Ahir-Rajas of [[Sagar, Madhya Pradesh|Sagar]]<ref>{{cite book |first= A N |last= Sharma | page =13 |title= The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YX1siOYKthgC&dq=ahir+Rajas+sagar&pg=PA13|isbn=81-7625-714-1|year= 2006|publisher= Sarup & Sons }}</ref>
*Ahir Rajas of Gawror fort, [[Patna district|Patna]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAO2AAAAIAAJ&q=ahir++rajas |title=Historical Researches Series |date=1963 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Military involvements ===
[[File:'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry.jpg|thumb|'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry, Quetta, 1918<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indian officers and non-commissioned officers from 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry, Quetta, 1918 {{!}} Online Collection {{!}} National Army Museum, London |url=https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?q=searchType=simple&resultsDisplay=list&simpleText=Ahirs&pos=2&total=10&page=1&acc=1960-12-120-4-95 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=collection.nam.ac.uk}}</ref>]]

[[File:Indian officers, 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, 5th Light Infantry.jpg|thumb|Indian officers, 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, 5th Light Infantry, Quetta 1918.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Collection {{!}} National Army Museum, London |url=https://collection.nam.ac.uk/results.php?searchType=simple&resultsDisplay=list&simpleText=Ahirs |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=collection.nam.ac.uk}}</ref>

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Rezang_La_Memorial.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Brave_Ahir.jpg

]]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0_rezangla_place.jpg

The [[British Raj|British]] rulers of India classified the Ahirs of Punjab as an "agricultural tribe" in the 1920s, which was at that time synonymous with being a "[[martial race]]".<ref>{{cite book|first=Rajit K. |last=Mazumder|title=The Indian army and the making of Punjab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8G8COTxOUkgC&pg=PA105|year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-059-6|page=105}}</ref> This was a designation created by administrators that classified each ethnic group as either "martial" or "non-martial": a "martial race" was typically considered brave and well built for fighting,<ref name="rand">{{Cite journal |last=Rand |first=Gavin |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 |date=March 2006 |url= |doi=10.1080/13507480600586726|s2cid=144987021 }}</ref> whilst the remainder were those whom the British believed to be unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles.<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 |location= |isbn=978-0-7190-6962-8 |page=241 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BscnZT_1po8C |access-date=20 October 2010}}</ref> However, the martial races were also considered politically subservient, intellectually inferior, lacking the initiative or leadership qualities to command large military formations. The British had a policy of recruiting the martial Indians from those who has less access to education as they were easier to control.<ref name="Khalidi2003">{{cite book|author=Omar Khalidi|title=Khaki and the Ethnic Violence in India: Army, Police, and Paramilitary Forces During Communal Riots|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-NtAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Three Essays Collective|quote= Apart from their physique, the martial races were regarded as politically subservient or docile to authority|page=5|isbn=978-81-88789-09-2}}</ref><ref name="Levine2003">{{cite book|author=Philippa Levine|title=Prostitution, Race, and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=It1lPzFCG9EC|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-94447-2|pages=284–285|quote=The Saturday review had made much the same argument a few years earlier in relation to the armies raised by Indian rulers in princely states. They lacked competent leadership and were uneven in quality. Commander in chief Roberts, one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the martial race theory, though poorly of the native troops as a body. Many regarded such troops as childish and simple. The British, claims, David Omissi, believe martial Indians to be stupid. Certainly, the policy of recruiting among those without access to much education gave the British more semblance of control over their recruits.}}</ref> According to modern historian Jeffrey Greenhunt on military history, "The Martial Race theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward". According to Amiya Samanta, the marital race was chosen from people of mercenary spirit (a soldier who fights for any group or country that will pay him/her), as these groups lacked nationalism as a trait.<ref name="Samanta2000">{{cite book|author=Amiya K. Samanta|title=Gorkhaland Movement: A Study in Ethnic Separatism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4GqdfG0EU8C&pg=PA26|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7648-166-3|pages=26–|quote=Dr . Jeffrey Greenhunt has observed that " The Martial Race Theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward. Besides their mercenary spirit was primarily due to their lack of nationalism.}}</ref> Ahirs had been recruited into the army from 1898.<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/peasantsmonksinb0000pinc |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/peasantsmonksinb0000pinc/page/90 90]}}</ref> In that year, the British raised four Ahir companies, two of which were in the [[95th Russell's Infantry]].<ref>{{cite book|first=M. S. A. |last=Rao |title=Social movements and social transformation: a study of two backward classes movements in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZAiAAAAMAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-90255-4 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}} In post-independence India, some Ahir units have been involved in celebrated military actions, such as at [[Rezang La]] in the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]] that saw the last stand of Charlie company, consisting of 114 Ahirs of 13 Kumaon, and in the [[1965 India-Pakistan War]].<ref name="Remembering Rezang La heroes">
{{cite news |author=Press Information Bureau, Government of India | title=Remembering Rezang La heroes |date=7 January 2007 |newspaper=Sainik samachar |url=http://sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2007/oct01-07/h4.htm}}
</ref><ref name="Heroes of Rezang La">
{{cite news |author= Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd) | title=Heroes of Rezang La 1962 |date=15 December 2018 |newspaper=The Tribune |url= https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/haryanatribune/heroes-of-1962-rezang-la-battle-698535}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Mohan |last=Guruswamy |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/dont-forget-the-heroes-of-rezang-la/article4112584.ece |title=Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La |work=The Hindu |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SBWc27AVmwC&pg=PA212| title=Combat Diary: An illustrated history of operations conducted by 4th Kumaon| publisher=Lancer Books |year=2010 |first=Jasbir |last=Singh |page=212| isbn=978-1-935501-18-3}}</ref>

== Sanskritisation ==
===Recreating the past for new identity===
{{See also|De-Sanskritisation}}
It was from the 1920s that some Ahirs began to adopt the name of ''Yadav'' and created the [[All-India Yadav Mahasabha|Yadav Mahasabha]], founded by ideologues such as Rajit Singh. Several caste histories and periodicals to trace a Kshatriya origin were written at the time, notably by Mannanlal Abhimanyu. These were part of the jostling among various castes for socio-economic status and ritual under the Raj and they invoked support for a zealous, martial Hindu ethos.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nandini |last=Gooptu |title=The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India |pages=205–210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZTLEEGmZfQC&pg=PA205 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001|isbn=978-0-521-44366-1|quote=One of the most politically active and vocal among the shudra castes was the ahirs or yadavs. In 1922, an ahir conference was held in Lucknow, followed by another ahir ''mahotsav'' (festival) in Allahabad in 1923, where a provincial Mahasabha was inaugurated, with the new name of Yadav Mahasabha. The term yadav, to denote the ahirs, gained currency from this period. Rajit Singh, a yadav born in the Deoria district in 1897, and educated at Gorakhpur and Shikohabad, was instrumental in the formation of the Yadav Mahasabha. He had briefly worked in the Excise Department in Kanpur, but had resigned from his job to devote himself to organising yadav associations from 1921. In 1925, Rajit Singh settled in Benares and inaugurated the Benares Yadav Mahasabha, which soon emerged as the centre of the yadav caste movement in UP. From Benares, Rajit Singh edited the journal ''Yadav'', and also published a history of the yadav castes, entitled ''Yaduvamsa Prakash''. Several other yadav histories were published in rapid succession in the 1920s, written by another younger yadav leader of Benares, Mannalal Abhimanyu, a lawyer who was the son of a school teacher. He wrote ''Ahir Vamsa Pradip'' (1925) and ''Yadukul Sarvasya'' (1928), in which he attempted to demonstrate the kshatriya origin of the yadavs, with extensive references from both religious texts and British ethnographic tracts.|language=en}}</ref> Arya Samaj, a Hindu reformist organization also played an important role in ritual purification of Ahir/Yadavs and many low castes in order to incorporate them into Vedic Hinduism.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=140 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2|quote=Hindu reformist organisations like the Arya Samaj which aimed to reform Hinduism and incorporate lower-caste groups within the fold of vedic Aryan Hinduism (see Rao 1979: 132-35), have a pivotal role in 'purifying' the customs of the Ahir/Yadavs and other lower castes through the adoption of Brahmanical Hindu practices. Brahmanical Hinduism emphasises vegetarianism, non-violence and ascetism (Fuller 1992: 88).|language=en}}</ref> In U.P, it was through shastrarth debates and with the help of reform movements like Arya Samaj and Vaishnava Ramanandi order in public debates that the Ahirs defended their claims to a higher social status.<ref>{{cite book|title=''The Limits of Tolerance'':Indian Secularism and the Politics of Religious Freedom|page=46|first= C.S.|last= Adcock|publisher= Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-999543-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DvMVDAAAQBAJ&dq=ahirs+The+Limits+of+Tolerance:+Indian+Secularism+and+the+Politics+of+Religious+Freedom+By+C.S.+Adcock&pg=PA46|quote= In U.P., the Ahir/Yadav castes, whom elites deemed Shudras, also used shastrarth debates to defend their claims to elevated, Kshatriya status from at least the 1890s. In the eastern districts of U.P., monks of the Vaishnava Ramanandi order defended the Ahirs' claims in public debate; in western U.P., their champions in debate were often members of the Arya Samaj.|language=en}}</ref> At the same time Ahir/Yadav intelligentsia also emphasized the socio-economic backwardness faced by their community and in 1927, a petition was sent to the [[Simon Commission]] describing how the Ahirs suffers from the same social disabilities and discrimination as the [[Chamar]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=83 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2|quote=This emphasis on number and on ''Yadavness'' versus 'status' is also evident in colonial petitions which portray the Ahirs as a 'backward/ depressed category' in an attempt to get benefits from the reservation provisions. It looks as if the Yadav intelligentsia not only learnt that Yadav social and economic progress or backwardness could be determined by measuring their share in the number of graduates, official appointments and parliamentary seats (Chakrabarty 1994: 150), but also that economic and social disabilities were not 'enough' and that 'ritual' disabilities had also to be proved. The political leaders invoked arguments about the historical deprivation of their communities' (see Gooptu 2001: 11). The following is an extract from a petition sent in 1927 to the Simon Commission, in which a member of the Ahir community illustrates how the community suffers from the same disabilities and discriminations as the Chamars (an untouchable caste).|language=en}}</ref> Despite explicitly expressing their commitment against untouchability, it has been observed that these movements by Yadav caste associations have not been egalitarian enough to include communities who are under Scheduled Castes and have claimed connection with Krishna.<ref name="Michuletti">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=149 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2|quote=Although Yadav caste associations organise Other Backward Classes meetings and explicitly express their commitment against untouchability, I never met an SC member attending or delivering a speech at such events. A recent controversy showed how, in practice, Yadav caste associations are not willing to encompass in their social category members of SC communities who claim to descend from Krishna. At the AIYM meeting held in Gurgaon in 1998, a member of the committee raised the issue that Jatavs in Agra and Rajasthan had begun to adopt the Yadav title. A member of the audience pointed out that he had already written to the Mahasabha secretary to inform him that in Bharatpur (Rajasthan) the local Jatavs were calling themselves Yadavs. Another pointed out that in Udaipur, Jatavs who worked as builders and did casual labour were also calling themselves Yadavs and had adopted the ''Kadamb'' Yadav clan.|language=en}}</ref> Yadavs of Braj-Ahirwal attempted to "endlessly portray themselves" as inheritors of the heritage of local dynasties such as the Jats of Bharatpur and Alwar, Jadon Rajputs of Jaleshar and Karauli and fellow Ahir dynasties of Rewari and Mahabhan who were considered to be of Yaduvanshi descent.<ref name="Michuletti"/>{{rp|43}}

=== Participation in reactionary communal conflicts ===
The Ahirs in [[Benaras]], UP had been one of the more militant Hindu groups during pre-independent India. In one of the instances before independence, Hindu ''[[shudra]]'' caste groups as the Ahirs actively participated in a counter-reactionary communal conflict orchestrated by Arya Samaj.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nandini |last=Gooptu |title=The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India |page=307 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZTLEEGmZfQC&pg=PA307 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001|isbn=978-0-521-44366-1 |quote=The spread of the tanzeem movement in Benares further fuelled the religious expansion of Hindu organisations, and contributed to an escalation in local competition and communal conflict. Khalil Das' movement elicited a counter-reaction from the Arya Samaj and from such Hindu shudra caste groups as the ahirs, who were active participants in volunteer corps and akharas, and who, in Benares, were involved in an especially active yadav caste movement.... The Ahirs in particular who played an important role in militant Hinduism, retaliated strongly against the Tanzeem movement. In July,1930, about 200 Ahirs marched in procession to Trilochan, a sacred Hindu site and performed a religious ceremony in response to Tanzeem processions.|language=en}}</ref> Some writers are also of the opinion that many low-castes (including Ahirs) took to cow protection for asserting higher status since ''cow'' already had symbolic importance in Hinduism. This view of cow protection was different from the UP's urban elites.<ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Gould|title=Religion and Conflict in Modern South Asia|year=2012|page=70|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|quote=Gyan Pandey's detailed research on the cow protection riots in eastern UP and Bihar in 1893 and 1917 relates the conflict to specific registers of caste difference and status assertion, in a context where the popular view of cow protection from the point of view of low-caste Ahirs, Koeris and Kurmis was quite different to that of UP's urban elites. For both Freitag and Pandey, cow protection became a means for relatively low-status communities to assert higher status via association with something of symbolic importance to Hinduism as a whole: in this case, the cow.|isbn=978-0-521-87949-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2oexn_mLPIC&q=Religion+and+Conflict+in+Modern+South+Asia+By+Williiam+gould|language=en}}</ref>

== Distribution ==
Ahirs in India are known by numerous other names, including Gauli<ref>{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=B. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gu_cN0MhteMC&pg=PA568 |title=Gonds of the Central Indian Highlands |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1994 |volume=II |location=New Delhi |pages=568–569}}</ref> and Ghosi or Gop in [[North India]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |year=2002 |title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town |url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf |work=PhD Thesis Social Anthropology |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science |pages=94–95}}</ref> In [[Gujarat]] and [[South India]] as Ayar, Golla and Konar.<ref>* {{cite book |last=Singh |first=Rajbir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn3aAAAAMAAJ |title=India's Unequal Citizens: A Study of Other Backward Classes |publisher=Manohar, 1994 |year=1994 |isbn=978-81-7304-069-6 |pages=34, 356, 390}}
* {{cite book |last=Sharma |first=Shish Ram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T3PaAAAAMAAJ |title=Protective Discrimination: Other Backward Classes in India |publisher=Raj Publications, 2002 |year=2002 |isbn=978-81-86208-23-6 |pages=153, 312, 410}}</ref> Some in the [[Bundelkhand]] region of [[Uttar Pradesh]] are known as Dauwa Thakur. <ref>{{cite book |last=Jain |first=Ravindra K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fghQhiowlycC&pg=PA32 |title=Between History and Legend: Status and Power in Bundelkhand |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2002 |isbn=978-8-12502-194-0 |page=30}}</ref> The Ahirs have more than 20 sub-castes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Patel |first=Mahendra Lal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC&pg=PA33 |title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects |publisher=M. D. Publications Pvt. Ltd |year=1997 |isbn=978-8-17533-029-0 |page=33}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2022}}

=== North India ===
They have a significant population in the region around [[Behror]], [[Alwar]], [[Rewari]], [[Narnaul]], [[Mahendragarh]], [[Gurgaon]]<ref name="nannak$">{{cite book|last1=Guru Nanak Dev University|first1=Sociology Dept|title=Guru Nanak Journal of Sociology|publisher=Sociology Department, Guru Nanak Dev University|pages=5, 6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=03_ZAAAAMAAJ&q=ahir|date=2003|language=en}}</ref> and [[Jhajjar]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Dip Chand |last=Verma|title=Haryana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JY5AQAAIAAJ|year=1975|publisher=National Book Trust, India}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Suresh K. |last=Sharma|title=Haryana: Past and Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VE71IqAC0YYC&pg=PA40|year=2006|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-8324-046-8|page=40}}</ref> – the region is therefore known as [[Ahirwal]] or the abode of Ahirs.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ&q=ahirwal |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |pages=41, 42 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2}}</ref>

=== Maharashtra ===
[[Ahirani]] dialect continues to be spoken today in the region and is widespread across [[Jalgaon]], [[Dhule]] and [[Nashik]]. It is an admixture of [[Marathi Language|Marathi]], [[Gujarati Language|Gujarati]], [[Hindi]], ancient [[Magadhi]], [[Saurashtra language|Saurashtri]], [[Sauraseni]], Lati, [[Maharashtri]], [[Prakrit]] and [[Paishachi]].<ref>{{cite periodical |url=https://gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/land_and_people/L%20&%20P%20pdf/Chapter%20III/3%20Distinctive%20Features%20of%20Sub-regional%20Culture%20of%20Maharashtra.pdf| title = Maharashtra: Land and its people |last=Pathak|first=A. S.|publisher=Government of Maharashtra |year=2009|periodical= Maharashtra State Gazetteer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first = Sumit |last=Guha|title=Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GSa5blriOYcC&pg=PA47|year=2006| publisher = University of Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-02870-7|page=47}}</ref>

== Culture ==
Ahir culture is rooted in pastoralism and closely associated to the worship of Krishna and Shiva.<ref>.{{cite book |last=danielou |first=Alain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua6yuxBPQdQC&q=ahir |title=The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59477-048-7 |page=56}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kirshna |first=Nanditha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pIFFEJXx7L8C&q=ahirs |title=Book of Vishnu |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-8475-865-8 |page=56}}</ref> the Ahirs are use the modern-day ‘Yadav’ surname and consider themselves to the [[Yadava|Yadu tribe]] by claiming descent from Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi, and Goallavanshi.{{efn|Through Sanskritization,<ref name="AhirSanskritisation"/> the Ahirs restructured its identity into three broad caste divisions for upliftment:
*Nandavanshi : Claim descent from Nanda, Krishna foster father, linking to Vrindavan pastoral traditions.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>
*Yaduvanshi: Trace lineage to King Yadu, the legendary founder of the Yadava dynasty.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>
*Goallavanshi: Originating from the Goala (cowherd) community, they associate with the Gopas and Gopis of Krishna childhood.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>}}<ref name="Michelutti2002">{{Cite thesis |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |title=Sons of Krishna: The Politics of Yadav Community Formation in a North Indian Town |url=https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/ |website=London School of Economics and Political Science |date=2002 |page=89 |quote=In Elliot’s description, ‘clan,’ ‘subcaste,’ ‘caste,’ ‘tribe,’ and ‘race’ are used interchangeably, indicating difficulty in isolating the social nature and functions of the different Ahir subdivisions. Following locality, Elliot categorizes the Ahir agricultural-pastoral ‘tribe’ into three main subdivisions ..... These subdivisions are based on mythological-ancestral claims and locality (see Chapter 3). The Yaduvanshi-Ahirs are said to descend from Yadu, one of Krishna’s ancestors; the Nandavanshi-Ahirs are descendants of Nanda, Krishna’s foster father; and the Goallavanshi-Ahirs descend from the Gopi and Gopas amongst whom Krishna spent his childhood on the banks of the Yamuna near Mathura. Elliot further lists the major clans (got) of the Nandavanshi in Central Doab and the Ahirwal region.}}</ref><ref name="AhirDivision:">Ahirs division through Sanskritization :
*{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Dipankar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pviHAwAAQBAJ |title=Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy? |date=2004-11-08 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-81-321-0345-5 |pages=58 |language=en |quote=Contemporary Ahir/Yadavs define themselves as "Krishnavanshi-Yadavs." Younger generations are often unaware that their original caste title was Ahir. The concept of a unique Krishnavanshi kinship category, which merges traditional subdivisions (Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi, and Goallavanshi) into a single endogamous unit, is rapidly gaining acceptance. Intermarriage between these previously distinct endogamous units is increasingly popular.}}
*{{cite book |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |url=https://archive.org/details/vernacularisatio0000mich |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415467322 |page=11 |quote=More specifically, it shows how Krishna has progressively become the main god as well as the main ancestor of the local Yadavs and how his cult is substituting the cults of local lineage deities. Such a process is accompanied by the adoption of conservative forms of Hinduism which has transformed the different Ahir/Yadav subdivisions (Nandavanshi, Goallavanshi, and Yaduvanshi) into superior 'Krishnavanshi' Yadavs.}}
*{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Bhrigupati |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhnRBgAAQBAJ&dq=ahirs+yaduvanshi&pg=PA21 |title=Poverty and the Quest for Life: Spiritual and Material Striving in Rural India |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-226-19468-4 |page=146 |quote=Perhaps the most famous love affair in classical Hinduism is between Krishna and Radha. In songs, Radha is often identified as the Gujari (pastoralist) from the village of Barsana, while Krishna belongs to the Yaduvanshi-Ahir caste. Their love affair is not only cross-caste but also pre- or extramarital (though it is never explicitly described as such), as Krishna is married to Rukmini. In temples across India, Krishna is often depicted standing beside Radha, who is described as his divine consort. Such divine affairs may offer human beings some moral respite.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kashyap |first=Anirban |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ni9uAAAAMAAJ&q=ahirs+adopted+yadav+surname |title=The Scheduled Castes in India |date=1996 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |isbn=978-81-212-0511-5 |language=en |quote=For example, appealed to the Census Commissioner that their caste names of Golla, Gowli, Gollawar and Ahir be changed to Yadava.}}</ref>

The [[Yadav]] community of Kashi associated with Chandravanshi Gop Seva Samiti and Shree [[Krishna]] Yadav Mahasabha have been performing jalabhishek on a shivling, traditionally for 94 years, starting in 1932.<ref><nowiki>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/yadav-bandhus-perform-jalabhishek-of-lord-shiva/articleshow/92968938.cms</nowiki></ref>

=== Diet ===
In 1992, Noor Mohammad noted that most Ahirs in Uttar Pradesh were vegetarian, with some exceptions who were engaged in fishing and raising poultry.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ln6_PodhWC0C&pg=PA60 |title=New Dimensions in Agricultural ... |first=Noor |last=Mohammad |page=60|isbn=978-81-7022-403-7 |year=1992 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company }}</ref>

=== Language and tradition ===
Ahirs of Benares speak a [[Hindi dialect]] which is different from one used normally.<ref>.{{cite book |first= Alain |last= danielou | page =56 |title= The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua6yuxBPQdQC&q=ahir|isbn= 978-1-59477-048-7
|year= 2005|publisher= Inner Traditions / Bear & Co }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first= Nanditha |last= Kirshna | page =56 |title= Book of Vishnu
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pIFFEJXx7L8C&q=ahirs|isbn= 978-81-8475-865-8
|year= 2009|publisher= Penguin UK }}</ref> Ahirs usually speak the language of the region in which they live. Some languages/dialects named after Ahirs are Ahirani, also known as [[Khandeshi]], spoken in [[Khandesh]] region of Maharashtra, Ahirwati spoken in [[Ahirwal]] region of [[Haryana]] and [[Rajasthan]].

=== Folklore ===
The oral epic of [[Veer Lorik]], a mythical Ahir hero, has been sung by folk singers in North India for generations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Magahi Folklore and Folk Tales |first=Sheela |last=Verma |publisher=Manohar |date=2008 |page=88 |isbn=9788173048043 |quote=Another story of a local hero Lorik is also very famous [in the Magahi region]. ... The whole story of Lorik and Chanaini has been put in ballad form by different bards. This ballad is sung not only in Magadh but also in entire north India in all auspicious occasions by Ahirs (milkmen) with great devotion and love.}}</ref> Mulla Daud, a [[Sufi Muslim]], retold the romantic story in writing in the 14th century.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100801/spectrum/art.htm |title=Spectrum |work=The Sunday Tribune |date=1 August 2010 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref> Other Ahir folk traditions include those related to [[Kajri]] and [[Biraha]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0415994047 |title=The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia |editor-first=Ellen |editor-last=Koskoff |isbn=978-0-415-97293-2 |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=1026}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ahir clans]]
* [[Ahir Regiment agitation]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ahir clans |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Ahir| ]]
[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]

Kushwaha

2026-03-19T11:38:34Z

162.158.23.103:

{{short description|Ethnic group/caste}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2013}}

{{Infobox caste
| caste_name = Kushwaha
| country =[[India]] [[Nepal]] [[Mauritius]]
| region = [[Eastern India]]
| populated_states =[[Bihar]] • [[Uttar Pradesh]]
| languages = {{unbulleted list|[[Hindi language|Hindi]] • [[Bhojpuri]]}}
| religions = [[Hinduism]]
| image =
| caption =
}}

'''Kushwaha''' (sometimes, '''Kushvaha''')<ref name="Pinch1996p91">{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=91}}</ref> is a community of the Indo-Gangetic Plain which has traditionally been involved in agriculture (including [[beekeeping]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Harper|first=Malcolm|title=Inclusive Value Chains: A Pathway Out of Poverty|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VODZCM5qblYC&pg=PA182|year=2010|publisher=World Scientific|isbn=978-981-4293-89-1|pages=182, 297}}</ref> The term has been used to represent at least four subcastes, being those of the [[Kachhi (caste)|Kachhis]], [[Kachwaha]]s, [[Koeri]]s and '''Muraos'''. They claim descent from the mythological [[Suryavansh]] (Solar) dynasty via [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]], who was one of the twin sons of [[Rama]] and [[Sita]]. Previously, they had worshipped [[Shiva]] and [[Shakta]].

== Origin ==
The Kushwaha claim descent from the Suryavansh dynasty through Kusha, a son of the mythological Rama, an [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]], a myth of origin developed in the twentieth century. Prior to that time, the various branches that form the Kushwaha community - the Kachhis, Kachwahas, Koeris, and Muraos - favoured a connection with Shiva and Shakta.<ref name=Pinch1996pp91-92>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |pages=12, 91–92}}</ref> Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha sanskritization, claimed in the 1920s that Kushwaha families worshiped [[Hanuman]] - described by Pinch as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita" - during [[Kartika (month)|Kartika]], a month in the [[Hindu calendar|Hindu lunar calendar]].<ref name=Pinch1996p98>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=98}}</ref>

== Demographics and distribution ==
[[File:Twee Koeri mannen op een pad in Gorakhpur met gereedschap voor de landbouw Koerees. Low caste tribe, possibly aboriginal. Goruckpoor (titel op object), RP-F-2001-7-1122B-44.jpg|thumb|Two men from Koeree(Koeri) tribe in Goruckpoor([[Gorakhpur]]) (1858)]]
William Pinch notes a Kushwaha presence in [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]],<ref name=Pinch1996pp91-92 /> and they are also recorded in [[Haryana]].<ref name="ht"/> Outside India, they are found in the [[Terai]] of Nepal, where they have variously been officially recorded as ''Kushwaha'' and as ''Koiri''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Social Inclusion of Ethnic Communities in Contemporary Nepal |pages=109–110 |first=Monika |last=Mandal |publisher=KW Publishers |year=2013 |isbn=978-93-81904-58-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0y6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT108}}</ref> They also have significant presence among Bihari diaspora in [[Mauritius]]. The migration of [[Biharis]] to neighbouring countries was a phenomenon which became more pronounced in the post independence [[India]]. Thus, small island nations like Mauritius has significant population of people of Indian origin. The tradition and culture of [[Hindu]] migrants in countries like Mauritius is quite different from Indian subcontinent. This is so with ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]'' status and "social hierarchy" as both these terms have several variation in Mauritius vis a vis India. The traditional ruling elites like [[Rajput]]s and [[Brahmin]]s are politically and economically marginalised on the island while cultivating castes like Koeri, [[Ahir]], Kurmi, [[Kahar]] and others have improved their social and financial position.<ref name="Crispin">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_F7NCwAAQBAJ&q=koeri+in+Mauritius&pg=PA14|title=Community, Empire and Migration: South Asians in Diaspora|first=Crispin|last=Bates|publisher=Springer|page=14|year= 2016|isbn=978-0333977293|access-date=2020-07-01}}</ref> According to Crispin Bates:
{{quote|The Vaish are the largest and most influential caste group on the island. Internally the group is divided into Koeri, Kurmi, Kahar, Ahir the kshtriya, Lohar and other jatis. In the past many admitted to Chamar status (as shown by historical records), but recently this seems to have become completely taboo. This group, now commonly known as 'Rajputs', will also sometimes describe themselves as 'Raviveds.' An explanation may lie in the rapid economic growth of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the lack of positive discrimination measures of the sort seen in India.<ref name="Crispin"/> |author=|title=|source=}}

==Economy==
According to Arun Sinha, the Koeris were known for their market gardening activities. Since [[Independence Day (India)|Indian independence]], the land reform movement was making it difficult for the erstwhile upper-caste landlords to maintain their existing holdings. The growing pressure from left-wing militants backed by [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)|CPI(ML)]] and some local political parties, as well as the weakening of the [[Zamindar|Zamindari system]] was making it difficult for them to survive in the rural areas. Hence, the decades following independence were marked by the urbanization of upper castes. Their migration to cities was accompanied by selling off of their unproductive holdings, which were mostly bought by the peasants of cultivating middle castes, who were financially sound enough to purchase land. Some of the land was also bought from Muslim families who were migrating to [[Pakistan]]. The Koeris, along with [[Kurmi]]s and [[Yadav]]s were the main buyers of these lands.<ref name="Sinha">{{cite book | last=Sinha | first=A. | title=Nitish Kumar and the Rise of Bihar|publisher=Viking | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-670-08459-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rT2xWp_iTCYC|pages=80–84 | access-date=7 April 2015}}</ref>

However, since the peasant castes considered their land to be their most productive asset, they rarely sold it. The zeal of peasant castes to buy more and more land gradually changed their economic profile, and some of them became 'neo-landlords'. This transformation caused them to attempt to protect their new economic status from those below them, especially the Dalits, who were still mainly landless labourers. Thus they adopted many of the practices of their erstwhile landlords.<ref name="Sinha"/> The pattern of land reform in states like [[Bihar]] which mainly benefitted the middle castes like those of Koeris was also responsible for the imperfect mobilisation of backward castes in the politics. The space carved by backwards in electoral politics after 1967 was dominated mainly by these middle peasant castes and they were the biggest beneficiary of the ''politics of [[socialism]]'', the proponent of which were people like [[Ram Manohar Lohia]].<ref name="Sanjay 55">{{cite book |last=Kumar|first=Sanjay |title=Post mandal politics in Bihar:Changing electoral patterns|publisher=SAGE publication|pages=55|isbn=978-93-528-0585-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2zhODwAAQBAJ&q=jagdeo+prasad&pg=PA55|date=2018-06-05}}</ref> The unequitable political space at the disposal of other ''Backward Castes'' and [[Scheduled Caste]]s was thus an implicit implication of these land reforms as according to Varinder Grover:
{{quote|The pattern of land reforms in Bihar is one of the main reason for imperfect mobilisation of backward castes into the politics. The abolition of all intermediaries had definitely helped the hard working castes like Kurmi, Koeris and Yadav. These small peasant proprietors worked very hard on their land and also drive their labourers hard, and any resistance by agricultural labourers gives rise to the mutual conflicts and atrocities on [[Harijan]]s.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=M4yABACTXw4C&pg=PA780|title=Indian Political System: Trends and Challenges, Volume 10
|isbn=8171008844|chapter=Political system and constitution of India|author=Verinder Grover|publisher=Deep and Deep Publications|year=1997|pages=780–781|access-date=2020-10-05}}</ref>}}

The differences between upper backward castes and the extremely backward castes and Dalits due to unequal distribution of the benefits of land reforms was thus a major challenge before the CPI(ML) in mobilisation of collective force of lower castes against the upper caste landlords. The upper backward castes like Koeri were initially less attached to the CPI(ML) due to their economic progress and the communists were successful in mobilising them only in some regions like [[Patna]], [[Bhojpuri region|Bhojpur]], [[Aurangabad]] and [[Rohtas District|Rohtas]] district. These success were attributed to the widespread [[dacoity]] and oppressive attitude of the upper caste landlords faced by these hardworking caste groups which propelled them to join the fold of revolutionary organisations.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zA2rCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT178|title=Government of Peace: Social Governance, Security and the Problematic of Peace|chapter=Bihar 1990-2011|author=Ranabir Samaddar|date=3 March 2016|publisher=Routledge, 2016|isbn=978-1317125372|access-date=2020-10-05|page=178}}</ref>

==Political presence==
The Kushwaha also engaged in political action during these latter days of the Raj. Around 1933–1934,{{efn|The date of formation of the Triveni Sangh has been variously stated. Some sources have said it was the 1920s but Kumar notes recently discovered documentation that makes 1933 more likely,<ref>{{cite book |pages=43, 196 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA43 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}</ref> whilst Jaffrelot has said 1934.<ref name="Jaffrelot197"/>}} the Koeris joined with the Kurmis and Yadavs to form the [[Triveni Sangh]], a caste federation that by 1936 claimed to have a million supporters. This coalition followed an alliance for the 1930 local elections which fared badly at the polls. The new grouping had little electoral success: it won a few seats in the 1937 elections but was stymied by a two-pronged opposition which saw the rival [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] wooing some of its more wealthy leading lights to a newly formed unit called the "''Backward Class Federation''" and an effective opposition from upper castes organised to keep the lower castes in their customary place. Added to this, the three putatively allied castes were unable to set aside their communal rivalries and the Triveni Sangh also faced competition from the [[All India Kisan Sabha]], a peasant-oriented socio-political campaigning group run by the Communists. The appeal of the Triveni Sangh had waned significantly by 1947<ref name="Jaffrelot197">{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |edition=Reprinted |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |pages=197–198}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=44 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA44 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}</ref> but had achieved a measure of success away from the ballot box, notably by exerting sufficient influence to bring an end to the [[Veth (India)|begar]] system of forced unpaid labour and by providing a platform for those voices seeking reservation of jobs in government for people who were not upper castes.<ref>{{cite book |page=36 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA36 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}</ref> Many years later, in 1965, there was an abortive attempt to revive the defunct federation.<ref>{{cite book |page=62 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA62 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}</ref>

The Kisan Sabha was dominated by peasant castes like the Koeri, Kurmi and Yadav, which led some historians such as [[Gyanendra Pandey (historian)|Gyan Pandey]] to term them mainly movements of the middle peasant castes who organized against ''bedakhil'' (eviction), with limited participation of other communities. The reality, however, was more complex. Dalit communities like the Chamars and Pasis, whose traditional occupations were leatherwork and toddy-tapping respectively, formed a significant portion of the landless peasantry and were thus significant in the Kisan Sabha, and present were even members of the high castes such as Brahmins.<ref>{{cite book |title=Reconsidering Untouchability: Chamars and Dalit History in North India |first=Ramnarayan S. |last=Rawat |author-link=Ram Narayan Rawat |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-25322-262-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bz5dKC81O3IC&pg=PA12 |publisher=Indiana University Press |pages=12–15}}</ref>

The Koeris also had significant presence in the Naxalite movement of 1960's rural Bihar, particularly in [[Bhojpuri region|Bhojpur]] and nearby areas like [[Arrah]], where an economic system dominated by the upper caste landlords was still in place.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/politics/bihar-seat-sharing-amit-shah-had-no-time-to-meet-kushwaha-rlsp-leaders-upset|title= Bihar-seat-sharing-amit-shah-had-no-time-to-meet-kushwaha-rlsp-leaders-upset|website=[[National Herald]]|first=Suroor|last=Ahmed|access-date=2020-08-03}}</ref> For the lower castes, the issue was not merely economic but it was the question of ''Ijjat'' (honour), since upper caste men often raped lower-caste women with impunity. Here, the Communist upsurge against the prevalent feudal system was led by [[Jagdish Mahto]], a Koeri teacher who had read [[B. R. Ambedkar|Ambedkar]] and [[Marx]] and was sympathetic to the cause of [[Dalit]]s.<ref name="Santosh"/>

According to Santosh Singh, the [[Bhumihar]]s of the region beat him mercilessly when he was found voicing support for [[Communist Party of India|CPI]] in upcoming elections. After Mahto was discharged from the hospital he formed his own militant outfit with the help of his associates Ram Naresh Ram and Rameswar Ahir. Mahto's organisation was affiliated to [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War|Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)]], a radical faction of [[Communist Party of India]]. Mahto led his militia, which assassinated many upper-caste landlords in the region, until he was killed during a police raid. However, the action of Jagdish clearly demarcated the dividing lines between Koeris and [[Bhumihar]]s in the Ekwaari.<ref name="Santosh">{{cite book|title = Reinventing Revolution: New Social Movements and the Socialist Tradition in India|first=Gail|last= Omvedt|publisher=M.E.Sharpe |page=59|year=1993|isbn=0765631768|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wlxb0uacnRcC&q=Reinventing+Revolution:+New+So/jagdish+mahto&pg=PA59|access-date=2020-06-16}}^ Its first mass leader was Jagdish Mahto, a koeri teacher who had read ambedkar before he discovered Marx and started a paper in the town of arrah called Harijanistan("dalit land")..</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVu8CgAAQBAJ&q=on+February+17+1967+jagdish+went+to+the+polling+booth+to+caste+his+vote&pg=PT142|title=Ruled or Misruled: Story and Destiny of Bihar|first=Santosh|last= Singh|publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing|year= 2015|isbn=978-9385436420|access-date=2020-07-19}}</ref>

For much of the 20th century, the Koeries were generally less politically effective, even less involved, than the Kurmis and Yadavs who broadly shared their socio-economic position in Hindu society. The latter two groups were more vociferous in their actions, including involvement in caste rioting, whilst the Koeris had only a brief prominence during the ascendancy of [[Jagdeo Prasad]]. This muted position changed dramatically in the 1990s when the rise to power of [[Lalu Prasad]] in Bihar caused an assertion of Yadav-centric policies that demanded a loud reaction.<ref name="Ashwini">{{cite book |pages=34–37 |title=Community Warriors: State, Peasants and Caste Armies in Bihar |first=Ashwani |last=Kumar |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=num2I4NFGqIC&pg=PA36 |isbn=978-1-84331-709-8}}</ref>

Earlier, the Koeris were given fair representation in Laloo Yadav as well as [[Rabri Devi]] regime. The backward politics unleashed by Laloo Prasad resulted in rise to political prominence of numerous backward castes, among which Koeri were prominent.<ref name="Ashwini"/> In this period, caste remained the most effective tool of political mobilisation and even leaders who were theoretically against caste-based politics also appealed to caste loyalties to secure their victory. The Rabri Devi government had appointed ten Koeris as minister in her cabinet, which was sought by many community leaders as a fair representation to the clan.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5-CavJF-EVEC&q=rabri+devi+government+had+10+koeri+minister&pg=PA166|title=Towards a New Era: Economic, Social and Political Reforms|first=M. L.|last= Sondhi|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|year= 2001|isbn=8124108005|access-date=2020-07-19}}</ref>
The portrayal of Laloo Yadav as a "Messiah of backward castes" lost the ground when the Yadav ascendancy in politics led other aspirational backward castes to move away from his party. In the meantime during 1990s, [[Nitish Kumar]], who was projected as the leader of Kurmi and Koeri communities formed the [[Samta Party]], leading to the isolation of Koeri-Kurmi community from Yadavs and Laloo Prasad.<ref name="Ashwini"/><ref name="Thakur">{{cite book|title=City, Society, and Planning: Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odCJoIaDqZ0C&q=koeri+bihar+politics&pg=PA400|first=Baleshwar|last=Thakur|location =University of Akron. Department of Geography & Planning, Association of American Geographers|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|pages=393–400|year=2007|
isbn=978-8180694608|access-date=2020-06-16}} While Samta with its leader Nitish is considered to be the party of Koeri-Kurmi, Bihar people's party led by Anand Mohan is perceived to be a party having sympathy and support of Rajputs.</ref>

Thus, the decades following independence witnessed a complete shift of power from upper castes to the "upper backward castes": a term coined to describe castes like the Koeri, Yadav, Kurmi and [[Bania (caste)|Bania]] in Bihar. The transfer of power was also witnessed at the local level of governance. The upper caste were first to acquire education and they benefitted from it initially but with the expansion in electoral franchise and growth of "party system", they lost the ground to upper backward communities. Nepotism and patronage for fellow caste members in government, which had previously been an upper-caste phenomenon, was now available to the upper backward communities. This phenomenon continued with [[Karpoori Thakur]] in the 1970s, who had provided 12% reservation to lower backward castes and 8% to upper backwards in which Koeri were included. The peak of this patronage was reached during the tenure of Laloo Yadav.<ref name="Thakur"/>

From 1990 onwards the solidarity of backward castes was severely weakened due to division among the Koeri-Kurmi community and Yadavs. The former's voting pattern was in quite contrast to that of the latter. When Samta Party allied with the [[Bhartiya Janata Party]], Koeris voted for this alliance and thus in 1996 Lok Sabha elections BJP fared well, primarily with the support of Koeri and Kurmis. The division among backwards also costed their representation in the assemblies. It was seen that profile of Bihar legislative assembly was changing rapidly since 1967 and till 1995-96 the representation of upper caste was reduced to as lower as 17%. But, the division among backwards served as a hope to the upper castes to at least increase their representation. The success of BJP-Samta coalition however also consolidated the Koeris and the Kurmis, who now emerged as political force in 1996 elections.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste and Democratic Politics in India|first=Ghanshyam|last=Shah|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=2004|isbn=8178240955|pages=346, 350–354
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aou17T8KaEEC&q=caste+and+bihar+politics&pg=PA346|access-date=2020-06-18}}</ref>

Since 1996 the Koeris voted en masse for the JD (U) and BJP coalition. The caste based polarisation in states like Bihar drifted the dominant backward castes away from the [[Rashtriya Janata Dal]] and distributed their votes to various political parties. The Koeris who constituted one of the most populous caste group were shifted first towards [[Janata Dal (United)|JD (U)]]-[[Bhartiya Janata Party|BJP]] coalition. Later after the expulsion of [[Upendra Kushwaha]] from the JD (U) and formation of [[Rashtriya Lok Samata Party]], their votes were distributed amongst the JD (U) on the one hand and the new social coalition made by BJP with [[Lok Janshakti Party]] and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party on the other hand.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ONcNDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT158|title=Electoral Politics in India: The Resurgence of the Bharatiya Janata Party|chapter=7. The eastern gift, BJP's 2014 victory in Bihar|author1=Suhas Palshikar|author2=Sanjay Kumar|author3=Sanjay Lodha|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn =978-1351996914|access-date=2020-10-03}}</ref>
In 2015 [[Bihar Legislative Assembly]] elections the [[Janata Dal (United)]] allied with its rival [[Rashtriya Janata Dal]] due to differences with [[Bhartiya Janata Party]]. The social composition of these parties and the core voter base are such that this coalition drew immense support from the [[Yadav]], [[Kurmi]] and Kushwaha caste who hardly voted together after the 1990s. Consequently, the coalition emerged with massive victory with the number of legislators from these agrarian castes reaching higher as compared to previous elections.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/bihar-caste-politics-data-analysis-nitish-kumar-advantage-nda-bjp-jdu-mahagathbandhan-rjd-return-as-cm#read-more|title=Which Caste Holds Key to Nitish’s Return as CM? Here’s the Data|website=[[The Quint]]|access-date=2020-11-24}}</ref> Later the coalition was ripped apart and in 2020 Assembly elections the disunity among the three castes and split of votes led to huge decline in number of Kushwaha legislators.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/bihar/one-in-every-four-members-in-new-bihar-assembly-will-be-from-upper-caste/articleshow/79214031.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129214537/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/bihar/one-in-every-four-members-in-new-bihar-assembly-will-be-from-upper-caste/articleshow/79214031.cms?from=mdr |title=One in every four new Bihar assembly members is from upper castes|website=[[Times of India]]|access-date=2020-11-24|archive-date=29 January 2021}}</ref>

==Culture and beliefs==
[[File:The women of Kushwaha caste celebrating Chhath Mahaparva in Bihar.jpg|thumb|Kushwaha women offering ''[[Prasad]]'' to Sun on ''[[Chhath]]''. ]]
In the central [[Bihar]] backward castes like Koeri are numerically and politically powerful and hence they reject the traditional ''[[Jajmani|Jajmani system]]'' which relies upon Brahmanical notion of purity and pollution.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pviHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PR18|title=Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy?|author=Dipankar Gupta|publisher=SAGE Publications India|year=2004|isbn=8132103459|access-date=2020-10-09}}</ref> The backward caste groups in this region thus do not avail the services of [[Brahmin]] priests to perform their rituals. In most of the cases, Koeri households employ a Koeri priest to perform their rituals and their services are also availed by other backward castes like Yadav. These priest who belong to Koeri caste are different from the Brahmin priests in their approval of widow remarriage. They also promote non-vegetarianism and do not grow ''tuft'' like the Brahmins. The ''tika'' (liquid form of sandalwood on the head) which is made by the Brahmin priests on their forehead is also disapproved by them.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IHWKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97|title=Understanding Social Dynamics in South Asia: Essays in Memory of Ramkrishna Mukherjee|author1=Partha Nath Mukherji|author2= N. Jayaram|author3=Bhola Nath Ghosh|publisher=Springer|year=2019|page=97|isbn=978-9811303876|access-date=2020-10-07}}</ref>

== Classification ==

===Disputed varna status===
The Kushwaha were traditionally a peasant community and considered to be of the [[Shudra]] [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=81}}</ref> Pinch describes them as "skilled agriculturalists".<ref name=Pinch1996p92>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=92}}</ref> The traditional perception of Shudra status was increasingly challenged during the later decades of [[British Raj]] rule, although various castes had made claims of a higher status well before the British administration instituted its first census.{{efn|William Pinch records that, "... a popular concern with status predated the rise of an imperial census apparatus and the colonial obsession with caste. ... [C]laims to personal and community dignity appeared to be part of a longer discourse that did not require European political and administrative structures."<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=88}}</ref>}} The [[Kurmi]] community of cultivators, described by [[Christophe Jaffrelot]] as "middle caste peasants", led this charge in search of greater respectability.<ref name="Jaffrelot197"/> Pinch describes that "The concern with personal dignity, community identity, and caste status reached a peak among Kurmi, Yadav, and Kushvaha peasants in the first four decades of the twentieth century."<ref name=Pinch1996p83>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |pages=83–84}}</ref>

===Identification as Kushwaha Kshatriya===
From around 1910, the Kachhis and the Koeris, both of whom for much of the preceding century had close links with the British as a consequence of their favoured role in the cultivation of the [[opium poppy]], began to identify themselves as Kushwaha [[Kshatriya]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=90}}</ref> An organisation claiming to represent those two groups and the Muraos petitioned for official recognition as being of the Kshatriya varna in 1928.<ref name="Jaffrelot199" />

This action by the All India Kushwaha Kshatriya Mahasabha (AIKKM) reflected the general trend for social upliftment by communities that had traditionally been classified as being Shudra. The process, which [[M. N. Srinivas]] called [[sanskritisation]],<ref>{{cite journal|last=Charsley |first=S. |s2cid=143948468 |year=1998 |title=Sanskritization: The Career of an Anthropological Theory |journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology |volume=32 |issue=2 |page=527 |doi=10.1177/006996679803200216 }}</ref> was a feature of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century caste politics.<ref name="Jaffrelot199">{{cite book |title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |edition=Reprinted |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC |page=199}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=History of anthropological thought |first1=Vijay S. |last1=Upadhyay |first2=Gaya |last2=Pandey |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1993 |isbn=978-81-7022-492-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNw5zVN1V0oC |page=436}}</ref>

The position of the AIKKM was based on the concept of [[Vaishnavism]], which promoted the worship and claims of descent from Rama or Krishna as a means to assume the trappings of Kshatriya symbolism and thus permit the wearing of the [[sacred thread]] even though the physical labour inherent in their cultivator occupations intrinsically defined them as Shudra. The movement caused them to abandon their claims to be descended from Shiva in favour of the alternate myth that claimed descent from Rama.<ref>{{cite book |title=Daughters of the earth: women and land in Uttar Pradesh |first=Smita Tewari |last=Jassal |publisher=Technical Publications |year=2001 |isbn=978-81-7304-375-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gnJmoLRZQC |pages=51–53}}</ref> In 1921, Ganga Prasad Gupta, a proponent of Kushwaha Sanskritization, had published a book offering proof of the Kshatriya status of the Koeri, Kachhi, Murao and Kachwaha.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /><ref>{{cite book |title=Fascinating Hindutva: saffron politics and Dalit mobilisation |first=Badri |last=Narayan |publisher=SAGE |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-7829-906-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bJ_rhfu6yUC |page=25}}</ref> His reconstructed history argued that the Kushwaha were Hindu descendants of Kush and that in the twelfth century they had served Raja [[Jayachandra|Jaichand]] in a military capacity during the period of Muslim consolidation of the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. Subsequent persecution by the victorious Muslims caused the Kushwaha to disperse and disguise their identity, foregoing the sacred thread and thereby becoming degraded and taking on various localised community names.<ref name=Pinch1996p92 /> Gupta's attempt to prove Kshatriya status, in common with similar attempts by others to establish histories of various castes, was spread via the caste associations, which [[Dipankar Gupta]] describes as providing a link between the "urban, politically literate elite" members of a caste and the "less literate villagers".<ref>{{cite book |title=Caste in question: identity or hierarchy? |first=Dipankar |last=Gupta |publisher=SAGE |year=2004 |page=199 |isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC}}</ref> Some communities also constructed temples in support of these claims as, for example, did the Muraos in [[Ayodhya]].<ref name=Pinch1996p98 />
[[File:An elderly couple belonging to Koeri caste.jpg|thumb|An elderly couple belonging to ''Kushwaha'' caste from ''[[Bihar]]''.]]
Some Kushwaha reformers also argued, in a similar vein to Kurmi reformer Devi Prasad Sinha Chaudhari, that since [[Rajput]]s, [[Bhumihar]]s and [[Brahmins]] worked the fields in some areas, there was no rational basis for assertions that such labour marked a community as being of the Shudra varna.<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=110}}</ref>

William Pinch describes the growth of militancy among agricultural castes in the wake of their claims to Kshatriya status. Castes like Koeris, Kurmis and Yadavs asserted their Kshatriya status not merely by words but they joined the [[British Indian Army]] as soldiers in large number. The growing militancy among them turned rural Bihar into an arena of conflict in which numerous caste-based militias surfaced and atrocities against the Dalits became the new norm. The militias founded during this period were named after folk figures or popular personalities who were revered by the whole community.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rebels From the Mud Houses: Dalits and the Making of the Maoist Revolution...
|page=209,210 |first=George |last=kunnath|publisher=Taylor and Francis group |location=New york |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-138-09955-5|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JkcrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA209|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref>

===Classification as Backward Caste===
{{See also|Other Backward Class}}

Kushwahas are classified as a Most Backward Caste (MBC) in some of the states of India.<ref>{{Cite web|title=17 Most Backward Castes May Play Kingmaker as Purvanchal Gears Up to Vote in Final Phase|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|access-date=2020-09-01|website=News18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/lok-sabha-elections-2014/news/Upper-castes-rule-Cabinet-backwards-MoS/articleshow/35624877.cms |title=Upper castes rule Cabinet, backwards MoS |work=The Times of India |date=27 May 2014 |access-date=2020-06-15}}</ref> In 2013, the Haryana government added the Kushwaha, Koeri and Maurya castes to the list of backward classes.<ref name="ht">{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/three-castes-included-in-backward-classes-list/article1-1147408.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415174249/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/three-castes-included-in-backward-classes-list/article1-1147408.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 April 2014 |work=Hindustan Times |title=Three castes included in backward classes list |date=5 November 2013 |access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref> In Bihar they are categorized as [[Other Backward Class]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scbc.bih.nic.in/ObcList.htm|title=Central list of backward castes (Bihar)|website=scbc.bih.nic|access-date=2020-08-12}}</ref> The various subcastes of Kushwaha community viz Kachhi, [[Shakya]] and Koeri are categorized as OBC in [[Uttar Pradesh]] also.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncbc.nic.in/user_panel/GazetteResolution.aspx?Value=mPICjsL1aLvxbegUDuc3MN4eB5E3Ecc1drRPAf1qXQ%2bl0IqIfhjN1xHrf4i2h5g0|title=Central list of OBC (Uttar Pradesh)|website=ncbc.nic.in|access-date=2020-08-12}}</ref>

== References ==
'''Notes'''
{{notelist}}

'''Citations'''
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1qXDQAAQBAJ&q=rabri+devi+government+had+10+koeri+minister|title= Social Movements and the State in India: Deepening Democracy?|first=Kenneth Bo Nielsen|last= Alf Gunvald Nilsen|date= 23 November 2016|publisher=Springer|pages=2016|isbn= 978-1137591333|access-date=2020-07-19}}
*{{cite book|title=From popular movement to rebellion:The Naxalite dacade|page= 317,318|first=Ranbir|last=Samaddar|publisher=Routledge|location =New york|year=2019|isbn= 978-0-367-13466-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjZ7DwAAQBAJ&q=jagdish+prasad+mahto+naxal&pg=PT317|access-date=2020-05-30}}

[[Category:Agricultural castes]]
[[Category:Shaktism]]
[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Suryavansha]]
[[Category:Vaishnavism]]