Pradhan

2021-11-26T00:37:00Z

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'''Pradhan''' ([[Devanagari]]: प्रधान) is generally ministerial title of [[Sanskrit]] origin in cultures of [[Hindu]] tradition, mainly used in the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref>http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/38366/Ashta-Pradhan</ref><ref>http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/561019</ref> The [[Sanskrit]] ''pradhāna'' translates to "major" or "prime";<ref>{{cite web|author=Klaus Glashoff |url=http://learnsanskrit.cc/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=pradhAna+&trans=Translate&direction=AU |title=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit |publisher=learnsanskrit.cc (formerly spokensanskrit.org)|access-date=2021-08-16}}</ref> however, the more modern Hindi definitions provided by the Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary also include "chief" and "leader".<ref>Stuart, Ronald. The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Edited by Ronald Stuart McGregor. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1993.</ref> The precise interpretation can differ significantly by region. The style was abandoned by many Indian [[princely state]]s during the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] era in favor of [[Persia]]n styles such as ''[[Wasir]]'' and ''[[Diwan (title)|Diwan]]''. Mon Pradhan

==Local head==
Pradhan is elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the [[Panchayati raj|Panchayat]] (village/''gram'' government) in India. The ''Pradhan'', together with other elected members, have the power of constituencies of the gram panchayat. The ''pradhan'' is the focal point of contact between government officers and the village community. The Pradhan title in such setting is mainly used in east [[India|Indian]] states of [[West Bengal]], [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]] and [[Odisha]]. Similarly, in the [[Deoghar]] district of [[Jharkhand]], Pradhan is the head of the village who inherits this hereditary office. In some villages, they are also known as [[Ghatwals and Mulraiyats|Mulraiyat]].

==Title and surname==

In India, Pradhan is a title used as a surname most notably by the [[Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu]] of [[Maharashtra]], the [[Khandayat (caste)|Khandayat]], [[Gopal (caste)|Gopal]] of Odisha, among others.

In modern [[Nepal]], Pradhan is employed as a high-caste lineage surname by a section of the [[Kshatriya]] (क्षत्रिय) (locally pronounced ''[[Shresthas#Srēṣṭha sub-caste groups|Chatharīya]]'') caste of [[Newar|Newārs]] who trace their roots to north-Indian dynasties like the [[Karnat dynasty|Karnat]] and [[Raghuvanshi]] [[Rajputs]] before being absorbed among the [[Shresthas|Srēṣṭha]] in the 14th CE. Among the Newars, the two traditional lineages among Kathmandu and Patan's Pradhans are the Thamel and Patan Pradhans respectively. They are included in the highest tier "Thakur" (ठाकूर/ठकू/ठकुरी) lineage of the Chatharīya (छथरीय) [[Shresthas|Srēṣṭha]] caste who are the descendants of [[Malla (Nepal)]] royalty and its nobility.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Levy|first1=Robert I.|title=Mesocosm Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal|date=1990|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|page=79}}</ref> The fallout of the [[Unification of Nepal]] also prompted many of Bhaktapur's Malla descendants to change their titles as Pradhan or Pradhānānga, who have since spread all over Nepal. Other family names of Chatharīya consist of lineages Malla, [[Joshi]], [[Rajbhandari|Rājbhandārī]], [[Raghuvanshi|Rājvanshī]], [[Hada Chauhan|Hādā]], Amātya, Karmāchārya, among others, who intermarry with each other.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sharma|first1=Prayag Raj|title=Land, Lineage and State: A Study of Newar Society in Mediaeval Nepal|year=2015|publisher=Social Science Baha Books|isbn=978-9937-597-27-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/1434675|title= Status of Shrestha|access-date=2012-11-19}}</ref> Chatharīyas are distinguished by the use of their clan titles (e.g., Pradhān, Malla, Rājbhandārī) instead of the all-encompassing "Shrestha" surname. [[Newar caste system]] stratifies them under Kshatriya varna, and the pan-Nepal 1854 Muluki Ain stratification placed the Chatharīya Newars among the twice-born, sacred-thread wearing [[Tagadhari]] group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/869326 |title= David Gellner: Language, Caste, Religion and Territory. Newar Identity, Ancient and Modern|access-date=2012-10-16}}</ref> Owing to their heterogenous roots, Chathariya Pradhans are generally divided among three [[gotra|gotras]]- [[Kashyapa]], [[Mandavya]], Manav.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Michaels|first1=Alex|title=Siva in Trouble: Festivals and Rituals at the Pasupatinatha Temple of Deopatan|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-534302-1}}</ref>

In the Indian states of [[Sikkim]] and sections of [[West Bengal]], [[Assam]] and [[Bhutan]], Pradhan is a title assumed by all the Newar descendants who had immigrated from [[Kathmandu Valley]] to these places primarily since the mid 18th century.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gellner and Quigley|title=Contested Hierarchies A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal|publisher=Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology|location=Clarendon Press|isbn=978-0-19-827960-0|year=1995|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/contestedhierarc0000unse}}</ref> Descendants of the various immigrant upper and lower Newar castes all adopted the singular title of 'Pradhān' as their singular caste-denoting name, whereas Pradhan in Nepal is only used by descendants of the noble Chatharīya lineages of [[Kathmandu]] and [[Patan, Nepal|Patan]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shrestha|first1=Bal Gopal|title=Castes Among Newars Status of Shrestha|url=https://www.academia.edu/1434675|website=Academia.edu|publisher=European Bulletin of Himalayan Research}}</ref> The ''Pradhans of Sikkim'' form an influential ethnic group of a homogenous, non-caste and non-[[Endogamy|endogamous]] Newar community, which is in sharp contrast to that of the Newars of Nepal which still retains its highly complex, heterogenous and caste-based society. Due to this reason of [[hypergamy|hypergamous]] and doubtful origins of their lineage status, the Pradhans of Nepal view the caste-status of these Pradhans from Sikkim and Darjeeling with doubt and avoid matrimonial ties with them.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pickett|first1=Mary|title=Caste and Kinship in a Modern Hindu Society: The Newar City of Lalitpur, Nepal|date=30 Dec 2013|publisher=Orchid Press|location=Bangkok|isbn=978-9745241367}}</ref> Notable Pradhans of Sikkim include trader Chandravir Pradhan (Kayastha), literary icon Paras Mani Pradhan (Shakya), first Chief Justice of Nepal [[Chief Justice of Nepal#List of Chief Justices|Hari Prasad Pradhan]], [[Bollywood]] cinematographer [[Binod Pradhan]], footballer [[Sanju Pradhan]], [[1974 AD]] lead singer [[Adrian Pradhan]], actors [[Resham Filili|Menuka Pradhan]], Poojana Pradhan, [[Darpan Chaya|Uttam Pradhan]], etc. In terms of India's [[Affirmative action]] policy, they are a [[Forward caste]]/General in all of India except in Sikkim where, like the entirety of its native Nepali-origin population, Pradhans/Newars are given protective status; Newars, along with [[Bahun]] and [[Chhetri]] of Sikkim, have been categorised as [[Other Backward Class]], while the rest of Nepali-speaking Sikkim populace are categorised under [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=zzxxShrestha|first1=Bal Gopal|title=Newars of Sikkim|publisher=Vajra Books |date=2015-02-01 }}</ref>

==Usages==
* ''Pradhan'': was the title of a [[Minister (government)|Minister]] who sat on the Council of 8 (''[[Ashta Pradhan]]'') in the early [[Maratha Empire]] prior to [[Peshwa]] (designation as ''Pantpradhan'') administration.

==Sources==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Titles in India]]
[[Category:Executive ministers]]
[[Category:Heads of government]]
[[Category:Newar]]

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Pradhan