Yadav - Revision history

Dr. Editor at 15:12, 20 April 2026

2026-04-20T15:12:52Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:42, 20 April 2026
Line 16:		Line 16:
	Using "very broad generalisations", Jayant Gadkari says that it is "almost certain" from analysis of the ''[[Puranas]]'' that [[Andhaka]], [[Vrishni]], [[Yadava#The Satvatas\|Satvata]] and [[Abhira tribe\|Abhira]] were collectively known as ''Yadavas'' and worshipped Krishna. Gadkari further notes of these ancient works that "It is beyond dispute that each of the ''Puranas'' consists of legends and myths ... but what is important is that, within that framework [a] certain value system is propounded".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Society and religion: from Rugveda to Puranas \|first=Jayant \|last=Gadkari \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zst_7qaatp8C \|pages=179, 183–184 \|publisher=Popular Prakashan \|location=Bombay \|year=1996 \|isbn=978-81-7154-743-2}}</ref>		Using "very broad generalisations", Jayant Gadkari says that it is "almost certain" from analysis of the ''[[Puranas]]'' that [[Andhaka]], [[Vrishni]], [[Yadava#The Satvatas\|Satvata]] and [[Abhira tribe\|Abhira]] were collectively known as ''Yadavas'' and worshipped Krishna. Gadkari further notes of these ancient works that "It is beyond dispute that each of the ''Puranas'' consists of legends and myths ... but what is important is that, within that framework [a] certain value system is propounded".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Society and religion: from Rugveda to Puranas \|first=Jayant \|last=Gadkari \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zst_7qaatp8C \|pages=179, 183–184 \|publisher=Popular Prakashan \|location=Bombay \|year=1996 \|isbn=978-81-7154-743-2}}</ref>

	Lucia Michelutti notes that {{quote\|At the core of the Yadav community lies a specific folk theory of descent, according to which ~~all Indian pastoral~~ castes are said to descend from the Yadu dynasty (hence the label Yadav) to which Krishna (~~a cowherder, and supposedly~~ a Kshatriya) belonged. ... [there is] a strong belief amongst them that all Yadavs belong to Krishna's line of descent, the Yadav subdivisions of today being the outcome of a fission of an original and undifferentiated group.<ref name=Michelutti2004p49>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|page=49 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>}}		Lucia Michelutti notes that {{quote\|At the core of the Yadav community lies a specific folk theory of descent, according to which Yadav castes are said to descend from the Yadu dynasty (hence the label Yadav) to which Krishna (a Kshatriya) belonged. ... [there is] a strong belief amongst them that all Yadavs belong to Krishna's line of descent, the Yadav subdivisions of today being the outcome of a fission of an original and undifferentiated group.<ref name=Michelutti2004p49>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|page=49 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>}}

	Historians such as P. M. Chandorkar have used epigraphical and similar evidence to argue that Ahirs and Gavlis are representative of the ancient Yadavas and Abhiras mentioned in [[Sanskrit]] works.<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>		Historians such as P. M. Chandorkar have used epigraphical and similar evidence to argue that Ahirs and Gavlis are representative of the ancient Yadavas and Abhiras mentioned in [[Sanskrit]] works.<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>

Dr. Editor at 15:09, 20 April 2026

2026-04-20T15:09:59Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:39, 20 April 2026
Line 51:		Line 51:

	In Bihar, the political advancement of Yadavs didn't improve their relative marginalisation in other fields. The spread of education among the community remained less as compared to more advanced [[Other Backward Caste]]s like [[Kurmi\|Awadhia Kurmi]], [[Koeri]] and [[Bania (caste)\|Bania]]. The attachment of Yadavs with the pastoral activities has been responsible behind their lower position in caste hierarchy as compared to owner cultivator castes among the [[Other Backward Class\|OBC]]s. In areas where the communal ownership of land prevailed, trespassing into the fields by Yadav cattle herders to feed the cattle remained the part of their daily struggle for survival. Since such communal lands were mostly appropriated by village landlords, the caste occupation of Yadavs brought them in conflict with latter, and such skirmishes gave a militant and aggressive edge to the community's character. This followed their portrayal as "uncultured brutes" in the elitist discourses, which largely mirrors extreme backwardness still prevalent in large section of this community. The attempt to move up in the social ladder also remained evident in the nature of community and in due course of time "thriftiness" was observed to be a phenomenon, where they tried to save and buy small plot of lands, to be classified as owner cultivators.<ref>{{cite journal\|first=Tilak D.\|last=Gupta.\|title= "Yadav Ascendancy in Bihar Politics."\|journal=Economic and Political Weekly\| volume= 27\|issue= 26\|year=1992\|pages=1304–06\|jstor=4398537}}</ref>		In Bihar, the political advancement of Yadavs didn't improve their relative marginalisation in other fields. The spread of education among the community remained less as compared to more advanced [[Other Backward Caste]]s like [[Kurmi\|Awadhia Kurmi]], [[Koeri]] and [[Bania (caste)\|Bania]]. The attachment of Yadavs with the pastoral activities has been responsible behind their lower position in caste hierarchy as compared to owner cultivator castes among the [[Other Backward Class\|OBC]]s. In areas where the communal ownership of land prevailed, trespassing into the fields by Yadav cattle herders to feed the cattle remained the part of their daily struggle for survival. Since such communal lands were mostly appropriated by village landlords, the caste occupation of Yadavs brought them in conflict with latter, and such skirmishes gave a militant and aggressive edge to the community's character. This followed their portrayal as "uncultured brutes" in the elitist discourses, which largely mirrors extreme backwardness still prevalent in large section of this community. The attempt to move up in the social ladder also remained evident in the nature of community and in due course of time "thriftiness" was observed to be a phenomenon, where they tried to save and buy small plot of lands, to be classified as owner cultivators.<ref>{{cite journal\|first=Tilak D.\|last=Gupta.\|title= "Yadav Ascendancy in Bihar Politics."\|journal=Economic and Political Weekly\| volume= 27\|issue= 26\|year=1992\|pages=1304–06\|jstor=4398537}}</ref>

	~~===Sanskritisation===~~
	~~{{Main\|Sanskritisation}}~~
	By the end of the nineteenth century, some Yadavs had become successful cattle traders and others had been awarded government contracts to care for cattle.<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p443>{{cite book \|title=Society in India \|volume=2 \|first=David Goodman \|last=Mandelbaum \|publisher=University of California Press \|location=Berkeley \|year=1970 \|isbn=978-0-520-01623-1 \|page=443 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igfd9YYCqf8C}}</ref> Jaffrelot believes that the religious connotations of their connections to the cow and Krishna were seized upon by those Yadavs seeking to further the process of Sanskritisation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> and that it was [[Rao Bahadur Balbir Singh]], a descendant of the last [[Abhira dynasty]] to be formed in India, who spearheaded this. Singh established the ''[[Ahir Yadav Kshatriya Mahasabha]]'' (AYKM) in 1910, which at once asserted that its Ahir constituents were of Kshatriya ritual rank in the varna system, descended from [[Yadu (legendary king)\|Yadu]] (as was Krishna), and really known as Yadavs. The organisation claimed support from the facts that various Raj ethnologists had earlier claimed a connection between the Ahir and the Abhira, and because their participation in recent events such as the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] had demonstrated that Ahirs were good fighters.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p189>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|page=189 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC \|access-date=2011-08-16}}</ref>

	The AYKM was a self-contained unit and did not try to forge links with similar bodies among other caste groups that claimed Kshatriya descent at that time. It had some success, notably in breaking down some of the very strict traditions of [[endogamy]] within the community, and it gained some additional momentum as people from rural areas gradually migrated away from their villages to urban centres such as Delhi. Ameliorating the effects of strict endogamy was seen as being conducive to causing the community as a whole to unite, rather than existing as smaller subdivisions within it.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p189/> Rao has said that the events of this period meant that "the term Yadava refers to both an ethnic category and an ideology".<ref name=Rao1979p123>{{cite book \|title=Social movements and social transformation: a study of two backward classes movements in India \|first=M. S. A. \|last=Rao \|publisher=Macmillan \|year=1979 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWEiAQAAMAAJ \|page=123\|isbn=9780836421330 }}</ref>

	Of particular significance in the movement for Sanskritisation of the community was the role of the [[Arya Samaj]], whose representatives had been involved with the family of Singh since the late 1890s and who had been able to establish branches in various locations.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p189/> Although this movement, founded by [[Swami Dayananda Saraswati]], favoured a caste hierarchy and also endogamy, its supporters believed that caste should be determined on merit rather than on heritage. They therefore encouraged Yadavs to adopt the [[sacred thread]] as a symbolic way to defy the traditional inherited caste system, and they also supported the creation of [[Cow protection movement\|cow protection associations]] (''Goraksha Sabha'') as a means by which Yadavs and other non-Brahmans could affirm the extent of their commitment to Hinduism by observing the strictures relating to cow slaughter.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp191-193>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|pages=191–193 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC \|access-date=2011-08-16}}</ref> In Bihar, where the [[Bhumihar]]s and [[Rajput]]s were the dominant groups, the wearing of the thread by Ahirs led to occasions of violence.<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p444>{{cite book \|title=Society in India \|volume=2 \|first=David Goodman \|last=Mandelbaum \|publisher=University of California Press \|location=Berkeley \|year=1970 \|isbn=978-0-520-01623-1 \|page=444 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igfd9YYCqf8C}}</ref>

	Jaffrelot has contrasted the motivations of Yadav Sanskritisation with that of the [[Nair]]s, another Indian community. He notes that [[Gyanendra Pandey (historian)\|Gyanendra Pandey]], Rao and [[M. N. Srinivas]] all assert that Yadav Sanskritisation was not a process to imitate or raise the community to ritual parity with the higher ranks but rather to undermine the authority of those ranks. He contrasts this "subversion" theory with the Nair's motive of "emancipation", whereby Sanskritisation was "a means of reconciling low ritual status with growing socio-economic assertiveness and of taking the first steps towards an alternative, Dravidian identity". Using examples from Bihar, Jaffrelot demonstrates that there were some organised attempts among members of the Yadav community where the driving force was clearly secular and in that respect similar to the Nair's socio-economic movement. These were based on a desire to end oppression caused by, for example, having to perform ''[[Unfree labor\|begari]]'' (forced labour) for upper castes and having to sell produce at prices below those prevailing in the open market to the [[zamindar]]s, as well as by promoting education of the Yadav community. This "aggressive Sanskritisation", which caused riots in the area, was emulated by some other of the lower caste groups.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp191-193/> In support of the argument that the movements bore similarity, Jaffrelot cites [[Hetukar Jha]], who says of the Bihar situation that "The real motive behind the attempts of the Yadavas, Kurmis and Koeris at Sanskritising themselves was to get rid of this socio-economic repression".<ref>{{cite journal \|title=Lower Caste Peasants and Upper-Caste Zamindars in Bihar, 1921–1925: an analysis of sanskritisation and contradiction between the two groups \|journal=Indian Economic and Social History Review \|volume=14 \|issue=4 \|year=1977 \|page=550 \|first=Hetukar \|last=Jha \|doi=10.1177/001946467701400404\|s2cid=143558861 }}</ref>

	The process of Sanskritisation often included creating a history. The first such for the Yadavs was written in the late nineteenth century by [[Vithal Krishnaji Khedkar]], a schoolteacher who became private secretary to a Maharajah. In 1959, Khedekar's work was published by his son, [[Raghunath Vithal Khedkar]], who was a surgeon, under the title ''[[The Divine Heritage of the Yadavas]]''. There has been subsequent work to develop his ideas, notably by [[K. C. Yadav]] and [[J. N. Singh Yadav]].<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/><ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp194-196>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|pages=194–196 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC}}</ref>

	Khedekar's history made the claim that Yadavs were descendants of the Abhira tribe and that the modern Yadavs were the same community referred to as dynasties in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and ''Puranas''.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp194-196 /> Describing the work of the Khedekars as "a well-edited and well-produced volume", Mandelbaum notes that the Yadavs {{quote\|... have usually been held in considerably less glorious repute by their neighbors. While an occasional warrior of a pastoral jati did establish his own state and dynasty, cattlekeepers are ranked in many localities among the lower blocks of the Shudras ... [The book] postulates divine and noble ancestry for a good many jatis in several language regions covering hundreds and thousands of people who share little more than a traditional occupation and a conviction about their rightful prerogatives.<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/>}} In creating this history there is some support for an argument that Yadavs were looking to adopt an ethnic identity akin to the [[Dravidian people\|Dravidian]] one that was central to the Sanskritisation of the Nairs and other in south India. However, Jaffrelot believes that such an argument would be overstated because the Yadav "redrawing of history" was much more narrow, being centred on themselves rather than on any wider shared ethnic base. They did acknowledge groups such as the [[Jat]]s and [[Maratha]]s as being similarly descended from Krishna but they did not particularly accommodate them in their adopted [[Aryan]] ethnic ideology, believing themselves to be superior to these other communities. Jaffrelot considers the history thus created to be one that is "largely mythical [and] enabled Yadav intellectuals to invent a golden age".<ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp194-196 />

	Michelutti prefers the term "yadavisation" to that of "sanskritisation". She argues that the perceived common link to Krishna was used to campaign for the official recognition of the many and varied herding communities of India under the title of Yadav, rather than merely as a means to claim the rank of Kshatriya. Furthermore, that "... social leaders and politicians soon realised that their 'number' and the official proof of their demographic status were important political instruments on the basis of which they could claim a 'reasonable' share of state resources."<ref name=Michelutti2004p49/>

	===All-India Yadav Mahasabha===		===All-India Yadav Mahasabha===

Dr. Editor at 15:08, 20 April 2026

2026-04-20T15:08:00Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:38, 20 April 2026
Line 40:		Line 40:
	The Yadavs mostly live in [[Northern India]], and particularly in [[Haryana]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p196/><ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/> Traditionally, they were a elite<ref name="Luce2008">{{cite book\|last=Luce\|first=Edward\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oMYeyhrgd_wC&pg=PT133\|title=In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India\|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.\|year=2008\|isbn=978-1-4000-7977-3\|page=133\|author-link=Edward Luce}} Quote: "The Yadavs are one of India's largest 'Other Backward Classes,' a government term that covers most of India's [[Shudra\|Sudra]] castes. Yadavs are the traditional cowherd caste of North India and are relatively low down on the traditional pecking order, but not as low as the untouchable Mahars or Chamars."</ref><ref name="michelutti-2004">{{Citation\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|title='We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians': Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology\|year=2004\|volume=38\|issue=1–2\|pages=43–71\|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057}} Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states like Bihar) in the last thirty years."</ref> pastoral caste. Their traditional occupations changed over time and for many years Yadavs have been primarily involved in cultivation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> although Michelutti has noted a "recurrent pattern" since the 1950s whereby economic advancement has progressed through involvement in cattle-related business to transportation and thence to construction. Employment with the army and the police have been other traditional occupations in northern India, and more recently government employment in that region has also become significant. She believes that [[positive discrimination]] measures and gains as a consequence of [[land reform]] legislation have been important factors in at least some areas.<ref>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|pages=52–53 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>		The Yadavs mostly live in [[Northern India]], and particularly in [[Haryana]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p196/><ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/> Traditionally, they were a elite<ref name="Luce2008">{{cite book\|last=Luce\|first=Edward\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oMYeyhrgd_wC&pg=PT133\|title=In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India\|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.\|year=2008\|isbn=978-1-4000-7977-3\|page=133\|author-link=Edward Luce}} Quote: "The Yadavs are one of India's largest 'Other Backward Classes,' a government term that covers most of India's [[Shudra\|Sudra]] castes. Yadavs are the traditional cowherd caste of North India and are relatively low down on the traditional pecking order, but not as low as the untouchable Mahars or Chamars."</ref><ref name="michelutti-2004">{{Citation\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|title='We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians': Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology\|year=2004\|volume=38\|issue=1–2\|pages=43–71\|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057}} Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states like Bihar) in the last thirty years."</ref> pastoral caste. Their traditional occupations changed over time and for many years Yadavs have been primarily involved in cultivation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> although Michelutti has noted a "recurrent pattern" since the 1950s whereby economic advancement has progressed through involvement in cattle-related business to transportation and thence to construction. Employment with the army and the police have been other traditional occupations in northern India, and more recently government employment in that region has also become significant. She believes that [[positive discrimination]] measures and gains as a consequence of [[land reform]] legislation have been important factors in at least some areas.<ref>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|pages=52–53 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>

	Lucia Michelutti notes that {{quote\|Colonial ethnographers left a legacy of hundreds of pages of ethnographic and ethnological details which portray the Ahir/Yadavs as "Kshatriyas", "martial" and "wealthy"~~, or as "Shudras", "cowherders", "milk sellers" and low in status terms. In short there has been no consensus on the nature of the Ahir caste/tribe~~.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf\|title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|year=2002\|access-date=13 September 2019\|page=83}}</ref>}}		Lucia Michelutti notes that

			{{quote\|Colonial ethnographers left a legacy of hundreds of pages of ethnographic and ethnological details which portray the Ahir/Yadavs as "Kshatriyas", "martial" and "wealthy".<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf\|title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|year=2002\|access-date=13 September 2019\|page=83}}</ref>}}

	J. S. Alter notes that in North India the majority of the wrestlers are of the Yadav caste. He explains this as being due to their involvement in the milk business and dairy farms, which thus provides easy access to the milk and [[ghee]] deemed to be essential to a good diet.<ref>{{cite book \|chapter=Wrestling with (Body) Politics: Understanding 'Goonda' Political Styles in North India \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti \|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v8bfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 \|page=55 \|title= Power and Influence in India: Bosses, Lords and Captains: Exploring the Political in South Asia \|editor1-first=Pamela \|editor1-last=Price \|editor2-first=Arild Engelsen \|editor2-last=Ruud \|publisher=Routledge \|year=2012 \|isbn=978-1-13619-799-4}}</ref>		J. S. Alter notes that in North India the majority of the wrestlers are of the Yadav caste. He explains this as being due to their involvement in the milk business and dairy farms, which thus provides easy access to the milk and [[ghee]] deemed to be essential to a good diet.<ref>{{cite book \|chapter=Wrestling with (Body) Politics: Understanding 'Goonda' Political Styles in North India \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti \|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v8bfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 \|page=55 \|title= Power and Influence in India: Bosses, Lords and Captains: Exploring the Political in South Asia \|editor1-first=Pamela \|editor1-last=Price \|editor2-first=Arild Engelsen \|editor2-last=Ruud \|publisher=Routledge \|year=2012 \|isbn=978-1-13619-799-4}}</ref>

Dr. Editor at 15:06, 20 April 2026

2026-04-20T15:06:56Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:36, 20 April 2026
Line 38:		Line 38:
	===Occupational background, location and social status===		===Occupational background, location and social status===

	The Yadavs mostly live in [[Northern India]], and particularly in [[Haryana]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p196/><ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/> Traditionally, they were a ~~non-~~elite<ref name="Luce2008">{{cite book\|last=Luce\|first=Edward\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oMYeyhrgd_wC&pg=PT133\|title=In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India\|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.\|year=2008\|isbn=978-1-4000-7977-3\|page=133\|author-link=Edward Luce}} Quote: "The Yadavs are one of India's largest 'Other Backward Classes,' a government term that covers most of India's [[Shudra\|Sudra]] castes. Yadavs are the traditional cowherd caste of North India and are relatively low down on the traditional pecking order, but not as low as the untouchable Mahars or Chamars."</ref><ref name="michelutti-2004">{{Citation\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|title='We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians': Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology\|year=2004\|volume=38\|issue=1–2\|pages=43–71\|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057}} Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states like Bihar) in the last thirty years."</ref> pastoral caste. Their traditional occupations changed over time and for many years Yadavs have been primarily involved in cultivation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> although Michelutti has noted a "recurrent pattern" since the 1950s whereby economic advancement has progressed through involvement in cattle-related business to transportation and thence to construction. Employment with the army and the police have been other traditional occupations in northern India, and more recently government employment in that region has also become significant. She believes that [[positive discrimination]] measures and gains as a consequence of [[land reform]] legislation have been important factors in at least some areas.<ref>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|pages=52–53 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>		The Yadavs mostly live in [[Northern India]], and particularly in [[Haryana]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p196/><ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/> Traditionally, they were a elite<ref name="Luce2008">{{cite book\|last=Luce\|first=Edward\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oMYeyhrgd_wC&pg=PT133\|title=In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India\|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.\|year=2008\|isbn=978-1-4000-7977-3\|page=133\|author-link=Edward Luce}} Quote: "The Yadavs are one of India's largest 'Other Backward Classes,' a government term that covers most of India's [[Shudra\|Sudra]] castes. Yadavs are the traditional cowherd caste of North India and are relatively low down on the traditional pecking order, but not as low as the untouchable Mahars or Chamars."</ref><ref name="michelutti-2004">{{Citation\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|title='We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians': Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology\|year=2004\|volume=38\|issue=1–2\|pages=43–71\|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057}} Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states like Bihar) in the last thirty years."</ref> pastoral caste. Their traditional occupations changed over time and for many years Yadavs have been primarily involved in cultivation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> although Michelutti has noted a "recurrent pattern" since the 1950s whereby economic advancement has progressed through involvement in cattle-related business to transportation and thence to construction. Employment with the army and the police have been other traditional occupations in northern India, and more recently government employment in that region has also become significant. She believes that [[positive discrimination]] measures and gains as a consequence of [[land reform]] legislation have been important factors in at least some areas.<ref>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|pages=52–53 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>

	Lucia Michelutti notes that {{quote\|Colonial ethnographers left a legacy of hundreds of pages of ethnographic and ethnological details which portray the Ahir/Yadavs as "Kshatriyas", "martial" and "wealthy", or as "Shudras", "cowherders", "milk sellers" and low in status terms. In short there has been no consensus on the nature of the Ahir caste/tribe.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf\|title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|year=2002\|access-date=13 September 2019\|page=83}}</ref>}}		Lucia Michelutti notes that {{quote\|Colonial ethnographers left a legacy of hundreds of pages of ethnographic and ethnological details which portray the Ahir/Yadavs as "Kshatriyas", "martial" and "wealthy", or as "Shudras", "cowherders", "milk sellers" and low in status terms. In short there has been no consensus on the nature of the Ahir caste/tribe.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf\|title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|year=2002\|access-date=13 September 2019\|page=83}}</ref>}}

Dr. Editor at 15:05, 20 April 2026

2026-04-20T15:05:49Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:35, 20 April 2026
Line 23:		Line 23:
	[[File:Ahirs.jpeg\|thumb\|300x300px\|A rare, princely-era photograph of Raja Rao Balbir Singh Bahadur of Rewari—founder of the Ahir Yadav Kshatriya Mahasabha, and adorned with the titles "Hindu Dharma Rakshak" (Protector of the Hindu Faith) and "Chirag-e-Yaduvansh" (Beacon of the Yaduvansh)..]]		[[File:Ahirs.jpeg\|thumb\|300x300px\|A rare, princely-era photograph of Raja Rao Balbir Singh Bahadur of Rewari—founder of the Ahir Yadav Kshatriya Mahasabha, and adorned with the titles "Hindu Dharma Rakshak" (Protector of the Hindu Faith) and "Chirag-e-Yaduvansh" (Beacon of the Yaduvansh)..]]
	There are several communities that coalesce to form the Yadavs. [[Christophe Jaffrelot]] has remarked that		There are several communities that coalesce to form the Yadavs. [[Christophe Jaffrelot]] has remarked that
	{{quote\|The term 'Yadav' covers many castes which initially had different names: [[Ahir]] in the Hindi belt, Punjab and Gujarat, [[Gavli]] in Maharashtra, [[Golla (caste)\|Golla]] in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka etc~~. Their traditional common function, all over India, was that of herdsmen, cowherds and milksellers~~.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p187/>}}
			{{quote\|The term 'Yadav' covers many castes which initially had different names: [[Ahir]] in the Hindi belt, Punjab and Gujarat, [[Gavli]] in Maharashtra, [[Golla (caste)\|Golla]] in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka etc.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p187/>}}

	However, Jaffrelot has also said that most of the modern Yadavs are cultivators, mainly engaged in tilling the land, and less than one third of the population are occupied in raising cattle or the milk business.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|page=188 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot\|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC}}</ref>		However, Jaffrelot has also said that most of the modern Yadavs are cultivators, mainly engaged in tilling the land, and less than one third of the population are occupied in raising cattle or the milk business.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|page=188 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot\|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC}}</ref>

	[[M. S. A. Rao]] had earlier expressed the same opinion as Jaffrelot, and noted that the traditional association with cattle, together with the belief in descent from Yadu, defines the community.<ref name=Rao1979p124/> According to [[David G. Mandelbaum\|David Mandelbaum]], the association of the Yadav (and their constituent castes, [[Ahir]] and [[Gwala (community)\|Gwala]]) with cattle has impacted on their commonly viewed ritual status (varna) as [[Shudra]], although the community's members often claim the higher status of Kshatriya. The Shudra status is explained by the nomadic nature of herdsmen, which constrained the ability of other groups in the varna system to validate the adherence to practices of ritual purity; by their involvement in castration of the animals, which was considered to be a ritually polluting act; and because the sale of milk, as opposed to personal use thereof, was thought to represent economic gain from a sacrosanct product.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Society in India \|volume=2 \|first=David Goodman \|last=Mandelbaum \|author-link=David Goodman Mandelbaum \|publisher=University of California Press \|location=Berkeley \|year=1970 \|isbn=978-0-520-01623-1 \|pages=442–443 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igfd9YYCqf8C}}</ref>		[[M. S. A. Rao]] had earlier expressed the same opinion as Jaffrelot, and noted that the traditional association with cattle, together with the belief in descent from Yadu, defines the community.<ref name=Rao1979p124/> According to [[David G. Mandelbaum\|David Mandelbaum]], the association of the Yadav (and their constituent castes, [[Ahir]] and [[Gwala (community)\|Gwala]]) with cattle has impacted on their commonly viewed ritual status (varna) as [[Shudra]], although the community's members often claim the higher status of Kshatriya. The Shudra status is explained by the nomadic nature of herdsmen, which constrained the ability of other groups in the varna system to validate the adherence to practices of ritual purity; by their involvement in castration of the animals, which was considered to be a ritually polluting act; and because the sale of milk, as opposed to personal use thereof, was thought to represent economic gain from a sacrosanct product.

	According to Lucia Michelutti:		According to Lucia Michelutti:

Dr. Editor at 14:40, 20 April 2026

2026-04-20T14:40:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:10, 20 April 2026
Line 108:		Line 108:
	* [[Banke District\|Banke]] (4.7%)		* [[Banke District\|Banke]] (4.7%)
	* [[Sunsari District\|Sunsari]] (4.3%)		* [[Sunsari District\|Sunsari]] (4.3%)

			==Notable people==
			{{Main\|List of Yadavs}}

	==See also==		==See also==
	{{commons category\|Yadav people}}		{{commons category\|Yadav people}}
	* [[List of Yadavs]]
	* [[Ahir clans]]		* [[Ahir clans]]

Dr. Editor at 14:52, 18 April 2026

2026-04-18T14:52:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:22, 18 April 2026
Line 3:		Line 3:
	{{Infobox caste		{{Infobox caste
	\| languages = [[Hindi]], [[Urdu]], [[Haryanvi language\|Haryanvi]], [[Punjabi language\|Punjabi]], [[Telugu language\|Telugu]], [[Tamil language\|Tamil]], [[Gujarati language\|Gujarati]], [[Rajasthani language\|Rajasthani]], [[Bhojpuri language\|Bhojpuri]], [[Marwari language\|Marwari]], [[Kannada language\|Kannada]], [[Odia language\|Odia]], [[Bengali language\|Bengali]]		\| languages = [[Hindi]], [[Urdu]], [[Haryanvi language\|Haryanvi]], [[Punjabi language\|Punjabi]], [[Telugu language\|Telugu]], [[Tamil language\|Tamil]], [[Gujarati language\|Gujarati]], [[Rajasthani language\|Rajasthani]], [[Bhojpuri language\|Bhojpuri]], [[Marwari language\|Marwari]], [[Kannada language\|Kannada]], [[Odia language\|Odia]], [[Bengali language\|Bengali]]
	\|populated_states=[[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Punjab]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Gujarat]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Haryana]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Telangana]], [[West Bengal]], [[Assam]], [[Odisha]] [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Delhi]], [[Karnataka]], [[Kerala]], [[Madhya Pradesh]]\|caste_name=Yadav\|caste_name_in_local=[[Ahir]]}}		\|populated_states=[[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Punjab]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Gujarat]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Haryana]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Telangana]], [[West Bengal]], [[Assam]], [[Odisha]] [[Bihar]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Delhi]], [[Karnataka]], [[Kerala]], [[Madhya Pradesh]]\|caste_name=Yadav\|caste_name_in_local=[[Ahir]]\|kula_daivat=[[Lord Krishna]]\|kula_devi=Maa Vidyavashini\|lineage=[[Yaduvanshi Ahir]]}}

Dr. Editor at 13:52, 17 April 2026

2026-04-17T13:52:17Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:22, 17 April 2026
Line 51:		Line 51:
	===Sanskritisation===		===Sanskritisation===
	{{Main\|Sanskritisation}}		{{Main\|Sanskritisation}}
	~~[[File:GauwliesCowherdsBerar1874.jpg\|right\|thumb\|Two cowherds from the Gauwli caste (now a part of the Yadav group) in [[Amravati Division\|Berar]] (now in [[Maharashtra]]) 1874]]~~
	~~[[File:GauliMysoreBuffaloHerderLingayat1875.jpg\|right\|thumb\|A buffalo herder from the [[Lingayat]] Gauli caste (now a part of the Yadav group) in Mysore state (now [[Karnataka]], 1875]]~~
	By the end of the nineteenth century, some Yadavs had become successful cattle traders and others had been awarded government contracts to care for cattle.<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p443>{{cite book \|title=Society in India \|volume=2 \|first=David Goodman \|last=Mandelbaum \|publisher=University of California Press \|location=Berkeley \|year=1970 \|isbn=978-0-520-01623-1 \|page=443 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igfd9YYCqf8C}}</ref> Jaffrelot believes that the religious connotations of their connections to the cow and Krishna were seized upon by those Yadavs seeking to further the process of Sanskritisation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> and that it was [[Rao Bahadur Balbir Singh]], a descendant of the last [[Abhira dynasty]] to be formed in India, who spearheaded this. Singh established the ''[[Ahir Yadav Kshatriya Mahasabha]]'' (AYKM) in 1910, which at once asserted that its Ahir constituents were of Kshatriya ritual rank in the varna system, descended from [[Yadu (legendary king)\|Yadu]] (as was Krishna), and really known as Yadavs. The organisation claimed support from the facts that various Raj ethnologists had earlier claimed a connection between the Ahir and the Abhira, and because their participation in recent events such as the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] had demonstrated that Ahirs were good fighters.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p189>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|page=189 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC \|access-date=2011-08-16}}</ref>		By the end of the nineteenth century, some Yadavs had become successful cattle traders and others had been awarded government contracts to care for cattle.<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p443>{{cite book \|title=Society in India \|volume=2 \|first=David Goodman \|last=Mandelbaum \|publisher=University of California Press \|location=Berkeley \|year=1970 \|isbn=978-0-520-01623-1 \|page=443 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igfd9YYCqf8C}}</ref> Jaffrelot believes that the religious connotations of their connections to the cow and Krishna were seized upon by those Yadavs seeking to further the process of Sanskritisation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> and that it was [[Rao Bahadur Balbir Singh]], a descendant of the last [[Abhira dynasty]] to be formed in India, who spearheaded this. Singh established the ''[[Ahir Yadav Kshatriya Mahasabha]]'' (AYKM) in 1910, which at once asserted that its Ahir constituents were of Kshatriya ritual rank in the varna system, descended from [[Yadu (legendary king)\|Yadu]] (as was Krishna), and really known as Yadavs. The organisation claimed support from the facts that various Raj ethnologists had earlier claimed a connection between the Ahir and the Abhira, and because their participation in recent events such as the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] had demonstrated that Ahirs were good fighters.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p189>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|page=189 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC \|access-date=2011-08-16}}</ref>

Dr. Editor at 13:51, 17 April 2026

2026-04-17T13:51:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:21, 17 April 2026
Line 21:		Line 21:

	===In practice===		===In practice===
	[[File:~~Gujarati Ahir~~.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|300x300px\|~~This is a picture clicked during an~~ Ahir ~~caste meeting in Gujarat~~.]]		[[File:Ahirs.jpeg\|thumb\|300x300px\|A rare, princely-era photograph of Raja Rao Balbir Singh Bahadur of Rewari—founder of the Ahir Yadav Kshatriya Mahasabha, and adorned with the titles "Hindu Dharma Rakshak" (Protector of the Hindu Faith) and "Chirag-e-Yaduvansh" (Beacon of the Yaduvansh)..]]
	There are several communities that coalesce to form the Yadavs. [[Christophe Jaffrelot]] has remarked that		There are several communities that coalesce to form the Yadavs. [[Christophe Jaffrelot]] has remarked that
	{{quote\|The term 'Yadav' covers many castes which initially had different names: [[Ahir]] in the Hindi belt, Punjab and Gujarat, [[Gavli]] in Maharashtra, [[Golla (caste)\|Golla]] in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka etc. Their traditional common function, all over India, was that of herdsmen, cowherds and milksellers.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p187/>}}		{{quote\|The term 'Yadav' covers many castes which initially had different names: [[Ahir]] in the Hindi belt, Punjab and Gujarat, [[Gavli]] in Maharashtra, [[Golla (caste)\|Golla]] in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka etc. Their traditional common function, all over India, was that of herdsmen, cowherds and milksellers.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p187/>}}

Dr. Editor: removed Category:Herding castes using HotCat

2026-04-16T15:27:20Z

removed Category:Herding castes using HotCat

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:57, 16 April 2026
Line 130:		Line 130:
	[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]		[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]
	[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]		[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
	~~[[Category:Herding castes]]~~
	[[Category:Indian surnames]]		[[Category:Indian surnames]]
	[[Category:Lunar dynasty]]		[[Category:Lunar dynasty]]
	[[Category:Ethnic groups in Nepal]]		[[Category:Ethnic groups in Nepal]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:42, 20 April 2026
Line 16:		Line 16:
	Using "very broad generalisations", Jayant Gadkari says that it is "almost certain" from analysis of the ''[[Puranas]]'' that [[Andhaka]], [[Vrishni]], [[Yadava#The Satvatas\|Satvata]] and [[Abhira tribe\|Abhira]] were collectively known as ''Yadavas'' and worshipped Krishna. Gadkari further notes of these ancient works that "It is beyond dispute that each of the ''Puranas'' consists of legends and myths ... but what is important is that, within that framework [a] certain value system is propounded".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Society and religion: from Rugveda to Puranas \|first=Jayant \|last=Gadkari \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zst_7qaatp8C \|pages=179, 183–184 \|publisher=Popular Prakashan \|location=Bombay \|year=1996 \|isbn=978-81-7154-743-2}}</ref>		Using "very broad generalisations", Jayant Gadkari says that it is "almost certain" from analysis of the ''[[Puranas]]'' that [[Andhaka]], [[Vrishni]], [[Yadava#The Satvatas\|Satvata]] and [[Abhira tribe\|Abhira]] were collectively known as ''Yadavas'' and worshipped Krishna. Gadkari further notes of these ancient works that "It is beyond dispute that each of the ''Puranas'' consists of legends and myths ... but what is important is that, within that framework [a] certain value system is propounded".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Society and religion: from Rugveda to Puranas \|first=Jayant \|last=Gadkari \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zst_7qaatp8C \|pages=179, 183–184 \|publisher=Popular Prakashan \|location=Bombay \|year=1996 \|isbn=978-81-7154-743-2}}</ref>

	Lucia Michelutti notes that {{quote\|At the core of the Yadav community lies a specific folk theory of descent, according to which ~~all Indian pastoral~~ castes are said to descend from the Yadu dynasty (hence the label Yadav) to which Krishna (~~a cowherder, and supposedly~~ a Kshatriya) belonged. ... [there is] a strong belief amongst them that all Yadavs belong to Krishna's line of descent, the Yadav subdivisions of today being the outcome of a fission of an original and undifferentiated group.<ref name=Michelutti2004p49>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|page=49 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>}}		Lucia Michelutti notes that {{quote\|At the core of the Yadav community lies a specific folk theory of descent, according to which Yadav castes are said to descend from the Yadu dynasty (hence the label Yadav) to which Krishna (a Kshatriya) belonged. ... [there is] a strong belief amongst them that all Yadavs belong to Krishna's line of descent, the Yadav subdivisions of today being the outcome of a fission of an original and undifferentiated group.<ref name=Michelutti2004p49>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|page=49 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>}}

	Historians such as P. M. Chandorkar have used epigraphical and similar evidence to argue that Ahirs and Gavlis are representative of the ancient Yadavas and Abhiras mentioned in [[Sanskrit]] works.<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>		Historians such as P. M. Chandorkar have used epigraphical and similar evidence to argue that Ahirs and Gavlis are representative of the ancient Yadavas and Abhiras mentioned in [[Sanskrit]] works.<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>

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:39, 20 April 2026
Line 51:		Line 51:

	In Bihar, the political advancement of Yadavs didn't improve their relative marginalisation in other fields. The spread of education among the community remained less as compared to more advanced [[Other Backward Caste]]s like [[Kurmi\|Awadhia Kurmi]], [[Koeri]] and [[Bania (caste)\|Bania]]. The attachment of Yadavs with the pastoral activities has been responsible behind their lower position in caste hierarchy as compared to owner cultivator castes among the [[Other Backward Class\|OBC]]s. In areas where the communal ownership of land prevailed, trespassing into the fields by Yadav cattle herders to feed the cattle remained the part of their daily struggle for survival. Since such communal lands were mostly appropriated by village landlords, the caste occupation of Yadavs brought them in conflict with latter, and such skirmishes gave a militant and aggressive edge to the community's character. This followed their portrayal as "uncultured brutes" in the elitist discourses, which largely mirrors extreme backwardness still prevalent in large section of this community. The attempt to move up in the social ladder also remained evident in the nature of community and in due course of time "thriftiness" was observed to be a phenomenon, where they tried to save and buy small plot of lands, to be classified as owner cultivators.<ref>{{cite journal\|first=Tilak D.\|last=Gupta.\|title= "Yadav Ascendancy in Bihar Politics."\|journal=Economic and Political Weekly\| volume= 27\|issue= 26\|year=1992\|pages=1304–06\|jstor=4398537}}</ref>		In Bihar, the political advancement of Yadavs didn't improve their relative marginalisation in other fields. The spread of education among the community remained less as compared to more advanced [[Other Backward Caste]]s like [[Kurmi\|Awadhia Kurmi]], [[Koeri]] and [[Bania (caste)\|Bania]]. The attachment of Yadavs with the pastoral activities has been responsible behind their lower position in caste hierarchy as compared to owner cultivator castes among the [[Other Backward Class\|OBC]]s. In areas where the communal ownership of land prevailed, trespassing into the fields by Yadav cattle herders to feed the cattle remained the part of their daily struggle for survival. Since such communal lands were mostly appropriated by village landlords, the caste occupation of Yadavs brought them in conflict with latter, and such skirmishes gave a militant and aggressive edge to the community's character. This followed their portrayal as "uncultured brutes" in the elitist discourses, which largely mirrors extreme backwardness still prevalent in large section of this community. The attempt to move up in the social ladder also remained evident in the nature of community and in due course of time "thriftiness" was observed to be a phenomenon, where they tried to save and buy small plot of lands, to be classified as owner cultivators.<ref>{{cite journal\|first=Tilak D.\|last=Gupta.\|title= "Yadav Ascendancy in Bihar Politics."\|journal=Economic and Political Weekly\| volume= 27\|issue= 26\|year=1992\|pages=1304–06\|jstor=4398537}}</ref>

	~~===Sanskritisation===~~
	~~{{Main\|Sanskritisation}}~~
	By the end of the nineteenth century, some Yadavs had become successful cattle traders and others had been awarded government contracts to care for cattle.<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p443>{{cite book \|title=Society in India \|volume=2 \|first=David Goodman \|last=Mandelbaum \|publisher=University of California Press \|location=Berkeley \|year=1970 \|isbn=978-0-520-01623-1 \|page=443 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igfd9YYCqf8C}}</ref> Jaffrelot believes that the religious connotations of their connections to the cow and Krishna were seized upon by those Yadavs seeking to further the process of Sanskritisation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> and that it was [[Rao Bahadur Balbir Singh]], a descendant of the last [[Abhira dynasty]] to be formed in India, who spearheaded this. Singh established the ''[[Ahir Yadav Kshatriya Mahasabha]]'' (AYKM) in 1910, which at once asserted that its Ahir constituents were of Kshatriya ritual rank in the varna system, descended from [[Yadu (legendary king)\|Yadu]] (as was Krishna), and really known as Yadavs. The organisation claimed support from the facts that various Raj ethnologists had earlier claimed a connection between the Ahir and the Abhira, and because their participation in recent events such as the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] had demonstrated that Ahirs were good fighters.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p189>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|page=189 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC \|access-date=2011-08-16}}</ref>

	The AYKM was a self-contained unit and did not try to forge links with similar bodies among other caste groups that claimed Kshatriya descent at that time. It had some success, notably in breaking down some of the very strict traditions of [[endogamy]] within the community, and it gained some additional momentum as people from rural areas gradually migrated away from their villages to urban centres such as Delhi. Ameliorating the effects of strict endogamy was seen as being conducive to causing the community as a whole to unite, rather than existing as smaller subdivisions within it.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p189/> Rao has said that the events of this period meant that "the term Yadava refers to both an ethnic category and an ideology".<ref name=Rao1979p123>{{cite book \|title=Social movements and social transformation: a study of two backward classes movements in India \|first=M. S. A. \|last=Rao \|publisher=Macmillan \|year=1979 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWEiAQAAMAAJ \|page=123\|isbn=9780836421330 }}</ref>

	Of particular significance in the movement for Sanskritisation of the community was the role of the [[Arya Samaj]], whose representatives had been involved with the family of Singh since the late 1890s and who had been able to establish branches in various locations.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p189/> Although this movement, founded by [[Swami Dayananda Saraswati]], favoured a caste hierarchy and also endogamy, its supporters believed that caste should be determined on merit rather than on heritage. They therefore encouraged Yadavs to adopt the [[sacred thread]] as a symbolic way to defy the traditional inherited caste system, and they also supported the creation of [[Cow protection movement\|cow protection associations]] (''Goraksha Sabha'') as a means by which Yadavs and other non-Brahmans could affirm the extent of their commitment to Hinduism by observing the strictures relating to cow slaughter.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp191-193>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|pages=191–193 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC \|access-date=2011-08-16}}</ref> In Bihar, where the [[Bhumihar]]s and [[Rajput]]s were the dominant groups, the wearing of the thread by Ahirs led to occasions of violence.<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p444>{{cite book \|title=Society in India \|volume=2 \|first=David Goodman \|last=Mandelbaum \|publisher=University of California Press \|location=Berkeley \|year=1970 \|isbn=978-0-520-01623-1 \|page=444 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igfd9YYCqf8C}}</ref>

	Jaffrelot has contrasted the motivations of Yadav Sanskritisation with that of the [[Nair]]s, another Indian community. He notes that [[Gyanendra Pandey (historian)\|Gyanendra Pandey]], Rao and [[M. N. Srinivas]] all assert that Yadav Sanskritisation was not a process to imitate or raise the community to ritual parity with the higher ranks but rather to undermine the authority of those ranks. He contrasts this "subversion" theory with the Nair's motive of "emancipation", whereby Sanskritisation was "a means of reconciling low ritual status with growing socio-economic assertiveness and of taking the first steps towards an alternative, Dravidian identity". Using examples from Bihar, Jaffrelot demonstrates that there were some organised attempts among members of the Yadav community where the driving force was clearly secular and in that respect similar to the Nair's socio-economic movement. These were based on a desire to end oppression caused by, for example, having to perform ''[[Unfree labor\|begari]]'' (forced labour) for upper castes and having to sell produce at prices below those prevailing in the open market to the [[zamindar]]s, as well as by promoting education of the Yadav community. This "aggressive Sanskritisation", which caused riots in the area, was emulated by some other of the lower caste groups.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp191-193/> In support of the argument that the movements bore similarity, Jaffrelot cites [[Hetukar Jha]], who says of the Bihar situation that "The real motive behind the attempts of the Yadavas, Kurmis and Koeris at Sanskritising themselves was to get rid of this socio-economic repression".<ref>{{cite journal \|title=Lower Caste Peasants and Upper-Caste Zamindars in Bihar, 1921–1925: an analysis of sanskritisation and contradiction between the two groups \|journal=Indian Economic and Social History Review \|volume=14 \|issue=4 \|year=1977 \|page=550 \|first=Hetukar \|last=Jha \|doi=10.1177/001946467701400404\|s2cid=143558861 }}</ref>

	The process of Sanskritisation often included creating a history. The first such for the Yadavs was written in the late nineteenth century by [[Vithal Krishnaji Khedkar]], a schoolteacher who became private secretary to a Maharajah. In 1959, Khedekar's work was published by his son, [[Raghunath Vithal Khedkar]], who was a surgeon, under the title ''[[The Divine Heritage of the Yadavas]]''. There has been subsequent work to develop his ideas, notably by [[K. C. Yadav]] and [[J. N. Singh Yadav]].<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/><ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp194-196>{{cite book \|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India \|pages=194–196 \|first=Christophe \|last=Jaffrelot \|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. \|location=London \|year=2003 \|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC}}</ref>

	Khedekar's history made the claim that Yadavs were descendants of the Abhira tribe and that the modern Yadavs were the same community referred to as dynasties in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and ''Puranas''.<ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp194-196 /> Describing the work of the Khedekars as "a well-edited and well-produced volume", Mandelbaum notes that the Yadavs {{quote\|... have usually been held in considerably less glorious repute by their neighbors. While an occasional warrior of a pastoral jati did establish his own state and dynasty, cattlekeepers are ranked in many localities among the lower blocks of the Shudras ... [The book] postulates divine and noble ancestry for a good many jatis in several language regions covering hundreds and thousands of people who share little more than a traditional occupation and a conviction about their rightful prerogatives.<ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/>}} In creating this history there is some support for an argument that Yadavs were looking to adopt an ethnic identity akin to the [[Dravidian people\|Dravidian]] one that was central to the Sanskritisation of the Nairs and other in south India. However, Jaffrelot believes that such an argument would be overstated because the Yadav "redrawing of history" was much more narrow, being centred on themselves rather than on any wider shared ethnic base. They did acknowledge groups such as the [[Jat]]s and [[Maratha]]s as being similarly descended from Krishna but they did not particularly accommodate them in their adopted [[Aryan]] ethnic ideology, believing themselves to be superior to these other communities. Jaffrelot considers the history thus created to be one that is "largely mythical [and] enabled Yadav intellectuals to invent a golden age".<ref name=Jaffrelot2003pp194-196 />

	Michelutti prefers the term "yadavisation" to that of "sanskritisation". She argues that the perceived common link to Krishna was used to campaign for the official recognition of the many and varied herding communities of India under the title of Yadav, rather than merely as a means to claim the rank of Kshatriya. Furthermore, that "... social leaders and politicians soon realised that their 'number' and the official proof of their demographic status were important political instruments on the basis of which they could claim a 'reasonable' share of state resources."<ref name=Michelutti2004p49/>

	===All-India Yadav Mahasabha===		===All-India Yadav Mahasabha===

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:38, 20 April 2026
Line 40:		Line 40:
	The Yadavs mostly live in [[Northern India]], and particularly in [[Haryana]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p196/><ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/> Traditionally, they were a elite<ref name="Luce2008">{{cite book\|last=Luce\|first=Edward\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oMYeyhrgd_wC&pg=PT133\|title=In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India\|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.\|year=2008\|isbn=978-1-4000-7977-3\|page=133\|author-link=Edward Luce}} Quote: "The Yadavs are one of India's largest 'Other Backward Classes,' a government term that covers most of India's [[Shudra\|Sudra]] castes. Yadavs are the traditional cowherd caste of North India and are relatively low down on the traditional pecking order, but not as low as the untouchable Mahars or Chamars."</ref><ref name="michelutti-2004">{{Citation\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|title='We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians': Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology\|year=2004\|volume=38\|issue=1–2\|pages=43–71\|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057}} Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states like Bihar) in the last thirty years."</ref> pastoral caste. Their traditional occupations changed over time and for many years Yadavs have been primarily involved in cultivation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> although Michelutti has noted a "recurrent pattern" since the 1950s whereby economic advancement has progressed through involvement in cattle-related business to transportation and thence to construction. Employment with the army and the police have been other traditional occupations in northern India, and more recently government employment in that region has also become significant. She believes that [[positive discrimination]] measures and gains as a consequence of [[land reform]] legislation have been important factors in at least some areas.<ref>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|pages=52–53 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>		The Yadavs mostly live in [[Northern India]], and particularly in [[Haryana]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p196/><ref name=Mandelbaum1970p442/> Traditionally, they were a elite<ref name="Luce2008">{{cite book\|last=Luce\|first=Edward\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oMYeyhrgd_wC&pg=PT133\|title=In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India\|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.\|year=2008\|isbn=978-1-4000-7977-3\|page=133\|author-link=Edward Luce}} Quote: "The Yadavs are one of India's largest 'Other Backward Classes,' a government term that covers most of India's [[Shudra\|Sudra]] castes. Yadavs are the traditional cowherd caste of North India and are relatively low down on the traditional pecking order, but not as low as the untouchable Mahars or Chamars."</ref><ref name="michelutti-2004">{{Citation\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|title='We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians': Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology\|year=2004\|volume=38\|issue=1–2\|pages=43–71\|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057}} Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states like Bihar) in the last thirty years."</ref> pastoral caste. Their traditional occupations changed over time and for many years Yadavs have been primarily involved in cultivation,<ref name=Jaffrelot2003p188/> although Michelutti has noted a "recurrent pattern" since the 1950s whereby economic advancement has progressed through involvement in cattle-related business to transportation and thence to construction. Employment with the army and the police have been other traditional occupations in northern India, and more recently government employment in that region has also become significant. She believes that [[positive discrimination]] measures and gains as a consequence of [[land reform]] legislation have been important factors in at least some areas.<ref>{{cite journal \|title="We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians": Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti\|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology \|date=February 2004 \|volume=38 \|issue=1–2 \|pages=52–53 \|doi=10.1177/006996670403800103\|s2cid=144951057 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>

	Lucia Michelutti notes that {{quote\|Colonial ethnographers left a legacy of hundreds of pages of ethnographic and ethnological details which portray the Ahir/Yadavs as "Kshatriyas", "martial" and "wealthy"~~, or as "Shudras", "cowherders", "milk sellers" and low in status terms. In short there has been no consensus on the nature of the Ahir caste/tribe~~.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf\|title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|year=2002\|access-date=13 September 2019\|page=83}}</ref>}}		Lucia Michelutti notes that

			{{quote\|Colonial ethnographers left a legacy of hundreds of pages of ethnographic and ethnological details which portray the Ahir/Yadavs as "Kshatriyas", "martial" and "wealthy".<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf\|title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town\|last=Michelutti\|first=Lucia\|year=2002\|access-date=13 September 2019\|page=83}}</ref>}}

	J. S. Alter notes that in North India the majority of the wrestlers are of the Yadav caste. He explains this as being due to their involvement in the milk business and dairy farms, which thus provides easy access to the milk and [[ghee]] deemed to be essential to a good diet.<ref>{{cite book \|chapter=Wrestling with (Body) Politics: Understanding 'Goonda' Political Styles in North India \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti \|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v8bfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 \|page=55 \|title= Power and Influence in India: Bosses, Lords and Captains: Exploring the Political in South Asia \|editor1-first=Pamela \|editor1-last=Price \|editor2-first=Arild Engelsen \|editor2-last=Ruud \|publisher=Routledge \|year=2012 \|isbn=978-1-13619-799-4}}</ref>		J. S. Alter notes that in North India the majority of the wrestlers are of the Yadav caste. He explains this as being due to their involvement in the milk business and dairy farms, which thus provides easy access to the milk and [[ghee]] deemed to be essential to a good diet.<ref>{{cite book \|chapter=Wrestling with (Body) Politics: Understanding 'Goonda' Political Styles in North India \|first=Lucia \|last=Michelutti \|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v8bfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 \|page=55 \|title= Power and Influence in India: Bosses, Lords and Captains: Exploring the Political in South Asia \|editor1-first=Pamela \|editor1-last=Price \|editor2-first=Arild Engelsen \|editor2-last=Ruud \|publisher=Routledge \|year=2012 \|isbn=978-1-13619-799-4}}</ref>