Created by Heba Aisha
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{{Short description|Hindu caste}}
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==Myths of origin==
==Myths of origin==
The Kachhi caste form a part of a wider community that claims a common descent. This community, known as the [[Kushwaha]]. nowadays generally claim descent from [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]], a son of the mythological [[Rama]], who is considered to be an [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]]. This enables their claim to be of the [[Suryavansh]]&nbsp;- or Solar -&nbsp;dynasty but it is a myth of origin developed in the twentieth century. Prior to that time, the various branches that form the Kushwaha community -&nbsp;the Mauryas, Kachhis, [[Kachwahas]] and [[Koeri]]s&nbsp;- favoured a connection with [[Shiva]] and [[Shakta]].<ref name=Pinch1996pp91-92>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |pages=12, 91–92 |accessdate=2012-02-22}}</ref> Ganga Prasad Gupta claimed in the 1920s that Kushwaha families worshiped [[Hanuman]]&nbsp;- described by Pinch as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita"&nbsp;- during [[Kartika (month)|Kartika]], a month in the [[Hindu calendar|Hindu lunar calendar]].<ref name=Pinch1996p98>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=98 |accessdate=2012-02-22}}</ref>
The Kachhi caste forms part of a wider community that claims a common descent. This community, known as the [[Kushwaha]], nowadays generally claim descent from [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]], a son of the mythological [[Rama]], who is considered{{By whom|date=September 2025}} to be an [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]]. This enables their claim to be of the [[Suryavansh]]&nbsp;- or Solar -&nbsp;dynasty but it is a myth of origin developed in the twentieth century. Prior to that time, the various branches that form the Kushwaha community -&nbsp;the Mauraos, Kachhis and [[Koeri]]s&nbsp;- favoured a connection with [[Shiva]] and [[Shakta]].<ref name=Pinch1996pp91-92>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |pages=12, 91–92 |accessdate=2012-02-22}}</ref> Ganga Prasad Gupta claimed in the 1920s that Kushwaha families worshiped [[Hanuman]]&nbsp;- described by Pinch as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita"&nbsp;- during [[Kartika (month)|Kartika]], a month in the [[Hindu calendar|Hindu lunar calendar]].<ref name=Pinch1996p98>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC |page=98 |accessdate=2012-02-22}}</ref>


==Present circumstances==
==Present circumstances==

Revision as of 08:19, 18 November 2025


The Kachhi are a Hindu caste of vegetable cultivators found in the regions of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in India.

Myths of origin

The Kachhi caste forms part of a wider community that claims a common descent. This community, known as the Kushwaha, nowadays generally claim descent from Kusha, a son of the mythological Rama, who is considered[by whom?] to be an avatar of Vishnu. This enables their claim to be of the Suryavansh - or Solar - dynasty but it is a myth of origin developed in the twentieth century. Prior to that time, the various branches that form the Kushwaha community - the Mauraos, Kachhis and Koeris - favoured a connection with Shiva and Shakta.[1] Ganga Prasad Gupta claimed in the 1920s that Kushwaha families worshiped Hanuman - described by Pinch as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita" - during Kartika, a month in the Hindu lunar calendar.[2]

Present circumstances

In Uttar Pradesh, the vegetable-cultivators Kachhis traditionally cultivate on their comparatively smaller landholdings without aid of the animals.[3]

In 1991, they were designated an Other Backward Class in the Indian system of positive discrimination. This applied to the populations in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.[4]

References

  1. Pinch, William R. (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. University of California Press. pp. 12, 91–92. ISBN 978-0-520-20061-6. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. Pinch, William R. (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. University of California Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-520-20061-6. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  3. Singh, Charan (1964). India's Poverty and Its Solution. Asia Publishing House. p. 88. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  4. Agrawal, S. P.; Aggarwal, J. C. (1991). Educational and Social Uplift of Backward Classes: At what Cost and How. Concept Publishing. ISBN 9788170223399. Retrieved 7 March 2014.

Further reading