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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[File:Waddar group photo.jpg|thumb|Group of Waddars with construction equipment, taken for Edgar Thurston's ''Castes and Tribes of Southern India'' in 1909]]<br />
'''Waddar''', sometimes called '''Vodra''', '''Odde''', or '''Bhovi''', is a community from the [[Deccan Plateau]] whose traditional occupation is construction. Their major concentration is in [[Maharashtra]], but there are also populations in northern [[Karnataka]] and [[Telangana]].<br />
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There is no certain knowledge of their origins. Colonial scholars, including Edgar Thurston, believed the name ''Vodra'' derives from ''Odra-desha'', the old name for [[Odisha]], and thus they must have come from there.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=September 1909|title=The Castes and Tribes of Southern India|journal=Nature|volume=84|issue=2134|pages=365–367|doi=10.1038/084365a0|s2cid=3947850|issn=0028-0836|doi-access=free}}</ref> However the theory is only based on a speculation of the etymology of their name. In support of this, Thurston mentioned they had another language besides [[Telugu language|Telugu]] that could be related to [[Odia language|Odia]], but no other scholars have reported it. The Waddars may also originate from Telangana due to their speaking a dialect of Telugu.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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The Waddars have traditionally been migratory. They were placed under the [[Criminal Tribes Act]] by the British. Their first caste association was formed in Chitradurga, Karnataka in 1940.{{cn|date=August 2020}} They were later classified as a Denotified Tribe in Maharashtra. They traditionally do most construction, especially stone-crushing, earth-digging and similar jobs. Nowadays they are classified as a Backward Class in Telangana and as a Scheduled Caste in Karnataka.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Ghodke|first=Digambar|date=2016|title=Language and Culture of the Waddar Community in Maharashtra|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311922163|journal=Loktantra|volume=9|pages=86–87|via=ResearchGate}}</ref> In Karnataka, their population was c. 11 lakh, spread throughout the non-coastal districts of the state.<br />
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The Waddar traditionally had no restrictions on eating and drinking and had few restrictions relating to marriage. Thurston claimed that the blessing of a woman married seven times at a wedding in the Waddar community was considered auspicious.<br />
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In 2019, when large parts of [[Karnataka]] faced [[Drought|droughts]], the community were the predominant group employed in digging wells.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-06-03|title=Bhovis rebound on back of recharge wells|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/city/bhovis-rebound-on-back-of-recharge-wells-737766.html|access-date=2020-03-04|website=Deccan Herald|language=en}}</ref><br />
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They speak the [[Waddar language]], related to Telugu. The Marathi director [[Nagraj Manjule|Nagaraj Manjule]] is from this community.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-03-01|title=The caste story is not over yet: Nagraj Manjule|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/the-caste-story-is-not-over-yet-nagraj-manjule/story-gnTDce3hY91UibJCA4s2nI.html|access-date=2020-08-09|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Castes]]<br />
[[Category:Maharashtra]]</div>->C1MM