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{{Short description|Subcaste of Koli caste}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox tribe|name=Chunvalia Koli
|local name=ચુંવાલિયા કોલી
|type=Subcaste of Koli caste
|image=File:Koli popular in 1931.jpg
|caption=Koli population in 1931 including Chunvalia Kolis of [[Bombay Presidency]]
|ethnicity=
|location={{ubl|[[Gujarat]] |[[Daman and Diu]]}}
|descended_label = Parent caste
|descended = [[Koli people]]
|population=8,185 In [[Baroda State]]{{relevant inline|date=January 2024}} in the census of 1931{{update inline|date=January 2024}}
|language={{ubli|[[Wadiyara Koli language]], other Koli languages |[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] |[[Hindi]] |[[English language|English]]}}
|religion={{ubl|[[Hinduism]] (majority)| [[Islam]] (minority)}}
|surnames= (or '''titles'''): {{ubl|[[Thakor]] |[[Pagi (title)|Pagi]] |[[Kotwal]] |Darbar}}
|demonym={{ubl|Chunvalia Koli (also rendered:{{hlist|
|Chunvaliya
|Chunwalia
|Chunwaliya
|Chuvalia
|Chuvaliya
|Chuwalia
|Chuwaliya)}} }}
}}
The '''Chunvalia''',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Desai |first=Ishwarlal Pragji |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5nXPAAAAIAAJ |title=Some Aspects of Family in Mahuva: A Sociological Study of Jointness in a Small Town |date=1965 |publisher=Asia Publishing House |location=[[New Delhi]] |page=233 |quote=Thus, the Kolis of the coastal areas in Gujarat have mainly come to be known as [[Agaria]]. Today the Agarias have become a separate caste. They marry their daughters with other Kolis except the Chunvalia Koli |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192509/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=5nXPAAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> or '''Chuvalia''',<ref>{{Cite news |title=An assembly seat in Gujarat where the Koli society decides to win, not the political party |date=21 July 2020 |url=https://allgujaratnews.in/en/an-assembly-seat-in-gujarat-where-the-koli-society-decides-to-win-not-the-political-party/ |access-date=2022-03-28 |work=All Gujarat News |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621074841/https://allgujaratnews.in/en/an-assembly-seat-in-gujarat-where-the-koli-society-decides-to-win-not-the-political-party/ |url-status=live }}</ref> '''Chunwalia'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shah |first=Ghanshyam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHHaAAAAMAAJ&q=Chunwalia |title=Caste Association and Political Process in Gujarat: A Study of Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha |date=1975 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |location=New Delhi |page=13 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192510/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=zHHaAAAAMAAJ&dq=Chunwalia+Koli&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Chunwalia |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Caste system in India|is a subcaste]] of the [[Koli people|Koli caste]], found in the [[States and union territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gaurang Jani |first1= |date=7 September 2007 |title=A community called Koli - |work=Indian Express |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/a-community-called-koli------------------------/214908/ |url-status=live |access-date=2022-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227043815/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/a-community-called-koli------------------------/214908/ |archive-date=2019-12-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Numbers on their side, Kolis call for a better deal |last1=Dave |first1=Hiral |location=Rajkot |date=6 November 2012 |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/numbers-on-their-side-kolis-call-for-a-better-deal/1027453/ |access-date=2022-03-28 |work=The Indian Express |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192512/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/numbers-on-their-side-kolis-call-for-a-better-deal/1027453/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Chunvalia Kolis were the first Indian caste to adopt the game of [[cricket]] in India.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Drew |first=John |date=2021-12-06 |title=The Christmas the Kolis took to cricket |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/views/in-focus/news/the-christmas-the-kolis-took-cricket-2910376 |access-date=2022-03-28 |work=The Daily Star |language=en |archive-date=2022-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318153805/https://www.thedailystar.net/views/in-focus/news/the-christmas-the-kolis-took-cricket-2910376 |url-status=live }}</ref> Chunvalia Kolis were classified as a [[Denotified Tribes|Criminal Tribe]] under [[Criminal Tribes Act]] by the [[British Raj]] because of their purported [[anti-social behaviour]] and activities, such as alleged [[dacoity]] in Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shah |first=Popatlal Govindlal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fmlXAAAAMAAJ |title=Vimukta Jatis: Denotified Communities in Western India |date=1967 |publisher=Gujarat Research Society |location=[[New Delhi]] |page=20 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192511/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=fmlXAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[First World War]], Chunwalia Kolis were enlisted as soldiers in [[British Indian Army]] by the [[Bombay Presidency|Bombay government]] of [[British India]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Duk2AQAAMAAJ |title=A Short Record of Bombay Recruiting During the Great War |date=1919 |publisher=Printed at the Government Central Press |location=New Delhi |page=17 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192511/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Duk2AQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Origin ==
Traditionally, Chunvalia Kolis are said to be from the forty-four villages ({{lang|und|Chunvalis}}) of Chunval [[Pradesh]] of [[Gujarat]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chahel |first=Paramjot Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEjnCgAAQBAJ&dq=Chunvalia+Koli&pg=PT45 |title=Undisclosed Facts of Tribal Life |date=2015-10-30 |publisher=[[Partridge Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4828-3834-3 |location=[[New Delhi]] |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192511/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=JEjnCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT45&dq=Chunvalia+Koli&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwia7MWinej2AhXbyzgGHUWLDv4Q6AF6BAgMEAM#v=onepage&q=Chunvalia%20Koli&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> which was ruled by [[Makwana (clan)|Makwana]] Koli [[landlord]]s. Their name is believed to have arisen from this possible origin.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Raymond Brady |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rs5JDwAAQBAJ&dq=Chunvalia+Koli&pg=PT92 |title=Swaminarayan Hinduism: Tradition, Adaptation, and Identity |last2=Trivedi |first2=Yogi |date=2016-05-12 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-908959-8 |location=[[New Delhi]] |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192511/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=rs5JDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT92&dq=Chunvalia+Koli&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwia7MWinej2AhXbyzgGHUWLDv4Q6AF6BAgEEAM#v=onepage&q=Chunvalia%20Koli&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Chunvalia Kolis are mostly found in the [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] region of Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jain |first1=Jyotindra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuPWAAAAMAAJ |title=Folk Art and Culture of Gujarat: Guide to the Collection of the Shreyas Folk Museum of Gujarat |date=1980 |publisher=Shreyas Prakashan; Shreyas Folk Museum of Gujarat |location=[[New Delhi]] |page=133|quote= [I]n [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]], there are five branches of Koli caste: Khant, Talpada, Valakia, Chunvalia and Gedia |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320070353/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=nuPWAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== History ==
===Raiding===
During the reign of [[Gujarat Sultanate]], the Chunvalia Kolis, under their chief or petty ruler, were viewed as "the most turbulent caste" and plundered the villages inhabited by [[Muslims]]. They killed the [[Viceroy]] of the [[Sultanate]], so Sahib Khan was appointed as viceroy. Azam Khan displaced him because the [[Raid (military)|depredations]] of Kolis had become frequent during the weak rule of the viceroy Sahib Khan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajyagor |first=S. B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-0pAAAAAMAAJ |title=History of Gujarat |date=1982 |publisher=S. Chand |location=[[New Delhi]] |page=20 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213081905/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=-0pAAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> At this time [[Shaista Khan]] marched against and defeated the Chunwalia Kolis, who, since Azam Khan's time, had been ravaging the villages round [[Ahmedabad district|Ahmadabad]] as well as those of [[Dholka Taluka|Dholka]], [[Kadi, India|Kadi]] and [[Viramgam Taluka|Viramgam]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=John Whaley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OQwAQAAMAAJ&dq=Chunwalia+Kolis&pg=PA75 |title=History of Gujarat, Musalman Period, A.D. 1297-1760 |date=1876 |publisher=Government Central Press |location=[[Gujarat]], [[British India]] |page=75 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192513/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=6OQwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA75&dq=Chunwalia+Kolis&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwicvMeQw-j2AhUs4nMBHTFzC0EQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=Chunwalia%20Kolis&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Unrest under the Raj===
The Chunvalia Kolis were [[agriculturist]]s. In the 19th century, as their land holdings and access to livelihoods decreased, they troubled the British Raj; it viewed their activities as antisocial. The Chunvalia Kolis were labeled an outlaw caste of Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Brenda E. F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jmKu3t-sYi4C&q=Chunvalia+Koli |title=Folktales of India |last2=Claus |first2=Peter J. |last3=Goswami |first3=Praphulladatta |last4=Handoo |first4=Jawaharlal |date=1999-04-15 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-04083-7 |location=[[New Delhi]] |page=315 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192512/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=jmKu3t-sYi4C&dq=Chunvalia+Koli&source=gbs_navlinks_s |url-status=live }}</ref> The government of the [[Bombay Presidency]] sent [[British Indian Army]] troops to suppress the Chunvalia Kolis; the Chunvalia Kolis resisted these troops.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ghurye |first=Govind Sadashiv |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5UAdAAAAMAAJ |title=The Mahadev Kolis |date=1957 |publisher=Popular Book Depot |location=[[New Delhi]] |page=1 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2021-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026204040/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=5UAdAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1814, there was general unrest in [[Gogha]] between the superior and inferior landowners owing to an unequal value of land revenue assessment and the arrogant attitude of land proprietors. As a result, an unceasing struggle was going on between them. So Chuvalia Koli chiefs attacked and plundered the villages and created a disturbance in territories under the control of the [[British Raj]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nand |first=Brahma |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6T-6AAAAIAAJ |title=Fields and Farmers in Western India, 1850-1950 |date=2003 |publisher=Bibliomatrix |isbn=978-81-901964-0-6 |location=[[New Delhi]] |page=748 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621191847/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=6T-6AAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> They again revolted in the northeast of [[Ahmedabad district]] in 1819, 1824 and 1825. The British colonial authorities sent troops to suppress the Koli revolt, and the Koli [[jagir]]dars were forced to give securities to villagers.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mishra |first1=Jai Prakash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hARuAAAAMAAJ |title=Aspects of Indian History: Professor Ram Mohan Sinha Commemoration Volume |last2=Sinha |first2=Ram Mohan |date=1991 |publisher=Agam Kala Prakashan |location=New Delhi |page=93 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621191846/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=hARuAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Chuvalia Kolis also made disorder in the [[Daskroi Taluka]], [[Viramgam Taluka|Viramgam]] and [[Prantij]] before they were once again suppressed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Patel |first=Govindlal Dalsukhbhai |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i443AQAAIAAJ |title=The Land Revenue Settlements and the British Rule in India |date=1969 |publisher=[[Gujarat University]] |location=New Delhi |page=29 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2021-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821094856/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=i443AQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the early 20th century, in [[Baroda State]], Chunvalia Kolis were primarily found in the [[Kadi, India|Kadi]] district. Fifty years earlier, they were looked upon as "the terror of [[North Gujarat]]", according to colonial-era ethnographers. These accounts relate how, led by their chiefs, [[Thakor|Thakarda]]s or [[Girasia]]s, they lived in villages protected by impassable thorn fences from where they levied contributions from the surrounding districts.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M-IwAQAAMAAJ |title=A Glossary of Castes, Tribes, and Races in the Baroda State |date=1912 |publisher=[[Baroda State|Baroda]] [[Princely states of India|State library]] |location=[[Baroda State]] |page=17 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623192517/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=M-IwAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Occupations and classification==
The Chunvalia Kolis, in common with the [[Koli people]] as a whole, were once considered a "[[criminal castes|criminal caste]]" prone to [[dacoity]], as designated by Raj authorities, for purportedly engaging in such crimes as [[Highwayman|highway and gang robberies]], theft of livestock and crops, murder and [[blackmail]]. Such designations, categorising entire social groups as the Raj authorities did, resulted from the [[scientific racism]] of the day, with its related erroneous theories of [[biological determinism]], along with political considerations of colonial rule.<ref>{{multiref2|1={{cite journal |last1=Nigam |first1=Sanjay |title=Disciplining and policing the 'criminals by birth', Part 1: The making of a colonial stereotype— The criminal tribes and castes of North India |journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review |date=June 1990 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=131–164 |doi=10.1177/001946469002700201|s2cid=144018398 }}|2={{cite journal |last1=Nigam |first1=Sanjay |title=Disciplining and policing the 'criminals by birth', Part 2: The development of a disciplinary system, 1871-1900 |journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review |date=September 1990 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=257–287 |doi=10.1177/001946469002700302|s2cid=145441031 }}|3={{cite book |last=Cole |first=Simon A. |title=Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification |date=2009 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-02968-2 |pages=60–96 |chapter=Native Prints}}{{rp|p. 67}} }}</ref> Since the turn of the twentieth century, Chunvalia Kolis have mainly been engaged in cultivation<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gall |first1=Timothy L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QbhZAAAAYAAJ |title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life |last2=Hobby |first2=Jeneen |date=2009 |publisher=Gale Publications |isbn=978-1-4144-4891-6 |location=New Delhi |page=505 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2021-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821102626/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=QbhZAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> and other agrarian activities. They were traditionally considered skilled salt makers, a craft in which the whole family would be employed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bharwada |first1=Charul |last2=Mahajan |first2=Vinay |title=Yet To Be Freed: Agariyas' Lives and Struggle for Survival in the Little Rann of Kutch |date=April 2008 |publisher=Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute, SANDARBH Studies |location=Ahmedabad |page=6 |url=https://archive.org/details/yet-to-be-freed |series=National Consultation on Salt Workers, India}} ([https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2023/10/19100102/Yet-to-be-Freed.pdf Link to ''Yet to be Free''] report PDF file, via [[Mongabay]].)</ref>

The [[Government of Gujarat]] classified the caste of the Chunvalia Kolis as [[Other Backward Class]] (OBC). They are traditionally [[non-vegetarian]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Big picture: Who's eating meat in Gujarat, and why ban non-veg food stalls from public roads in Ahmedabad, Vadodara |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/big-picture-why-ahmedabad-banned-non-veg-food-stalls-from-public-roads-7730021.html |access-date=2022-03-28 |work=Moneycontrol |first1=Amrita |last1=Shah |date=17 November 2021 |archive-date=2022-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405232100/https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/big-picture-why-ahmedabad-banned-non-veg-food-stalls-from-public-roads-7730021.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Titles ==
A number of titles are used by Chunvalia Kolis of Gujarat. These include:
* [[Thakor]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tambs-Lyche |first=Harald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ntuAAAAMAAJ |title=Power, Profit, and Poetry: Traditional Society in Kathiawar, Western India |date=1996-12-31 |publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-81-7304-176-1 |location=[[New Delhi]] |page=130 |quote= [[Thakur (title)|Thakarda]] or [[Thakor]] is the title assumed by the higher families, rich or royal families among the Chunvalia Kolis of [[Viramgam]], who are said to be the common Kolis of [[Kutch district|Cutch]] and to be found in [[Palanpur]] and in the [[Mahi Kantha]] |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2022-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511195828/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=5ntuAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> used by Chunvalia Kolis who ruled over any principalities or were chiefs of villages or rich and high Koli families.
* [[Pagi (title)|Pagi]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Silverberg |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugBSAAAAMAAJ |title=Peasant Behavior and Its Caste-relevancy: The Kolis of Kasandra |date=1962 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] |location=[[New Delhi]] |pages=31–32 |language=en |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-date=2021-10-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001120639/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=ugBSAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> used by Chunvalia Kolis who served as a detectives for rulers or any chief.
* [[Girasia]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Enthoven |first=Reginald Edward |title=The Folklore of Bombay |date=1924 |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |location=Oxford; New Delhi; Madras |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22214/page/n175/mode/2up |page=175|quote=Shakta (or [[Shakti]]). This is a Girasia goddess attended upon by a Chunvalia Koli. On the [[Navaratra]] days, as well as on the following day, Girasias worship this goddess, and if necessary observe vows in her name. |access-date=5 February 2024 |id=[1990 reprint by Asian Educational Service]}}</ref> used by Chunvalia Kolis, amongst others, who ruled or controlled a land grant or [[jagir]], granted to them by a ruler or chief.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koli, Chunvalia}}

[[Category:Koli subcastes]]

Chunvalia Koli - Revision history

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