>CLCStudent: Reverted edits by 2405:204:3323:AD8C:B197:A54C:455C:C824 (talk) to last version by SemiHypercube

2020-06-30T13:45:41Z

Reverted edits by 2405:204:3323:AD8C:B197:A54C:455C:C824 (talk) to last version by SemiHypercube

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2019}}
The '''Habura''' are a [[Hindu]] [[Caste system in India|caste]] found in the state of [[Uttar Pradesh]], India.<ref name="poi">People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part Two edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 582 to 587 Manohar Publications</ref>

==Origin==
According to some traditions, the word ''habura'' has its roots in the "hawwa", which means an evil spirit. Their own traditions make reference to the fact that community are descended from [[Rajput]] soldiers. They were attempts to forcibly convert them to [[Islam]], and as a result took refuge into the forests. The Habura then took up a nomadic existence, often also engaging in vagrancy. As a result, the [[British Raj|British colonial]] authorities placed them in the category of a [[Criminal Tribes Act|criminal tribe]].<ref name="poi"/> After independence of India in 1947, they were [[Denotified tribes of India|denotified]] in 1952, when the Criminal Tribes Act was replaced with the [[Habitual_Offender_Laws#India|Habitual Offenders Act]], but the community continues to carry considerable social stigma.{{cn|date=February 2017}}

==Present circumstances==

The Habura are found mainly in the central [[Doab]] region of Uttar Pradesh. Most are found in the districts of [[Moradabad District|Moradabad]], [[Bareilly District|Bareilly]], [[Pilibhit District|Pilibhit]], [[Shahjahanpur District|Shahjahanpur]], [[Aligarh District|Aligarh]], [[Etah District|Etah]], [[Jhansi District|Jhansi]] and [[Mathura District|Mathura]]. Although most Habura now speak [[Hindi language|Hindi]], they have a particular dialect of their own known as Habura Bhasha. They are strictly [[endogamy|endogamous]], and practice clan [[exogamy]]. Their main clans are the Dabhi, Makol, Parmar and Solanki.<ref name="poi"/>

Historically, the Habura were a nomadic community. Most now live in multi-caste villages, often working for [[Jat]] or [[Brahmin]] patrons. After their denotification as a criminal tribe, they were settled by the government in colonies, and given agricultural land. But these land holdings are extremely marginal, forcing many Haburas to become bonded labourers. This is known locally as ''batai'', where the sharecropper is forced hand over 50 percent of their produce. They are an extremely marginalised community, suffering from [[Extreme poverty|severe poverty]].<ref name="poi"/>

The [[2011 Census of India]] for Uttar Pradesh showed the Habura population as 6015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/SC_ST/PCA-A10/SC-0900-PCA-A-10-ddw.xlsx |title= A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh |publisher=Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |accessdate=2017-02-04}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Habura (Caste)}}
[[Category:Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh]]

Habura (caste) - Revision history

>CLCStudent: Reverted edits by 2405:204:3323:AD8C:B197:A54C:455C:C824 (talk) to last version by SemiHypercube