 | Draft article not currently submitted for review.
This is a draft Articles for creation (AfC) submission. It is not currently pending review. There are no deadlines as long as you are actively improving the submission. Drafts not being improved may be deleted after six months. Note: The submission-received box will appear at the bottom of the page at first. If it's there, your draft has been submitted correctly.
This draft has not been edited in over six months and qualifies to be deleted per CSD G13.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Bharatpedia:Featured articles and Bharatpedia:Good articles to find examples of Bharatpedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Last edited by Seaworld (talk | contribs) 4 years ago. (Update) |
The Charans (IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Urdu: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) are a South Asian community natively residing in the Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan. Historically, Charans were poets & literateurs, as well as warriors and jagirdars. They specialised in diverse occupations as historians, literateurs, soldiers, agriculturalists, traders, and merchants.
Historical Occupations Traders & Merchants Exercising their privilege to transport goods between various states with impunity and utilising the large wealth of cattle as pack animals, Charans were able to establish a “virtual monopoly of trade in North-Western India”. Many Charans are said to have become wealthy merchants and money-lenders. Their caravans were considered to be insured against bandits. In Rajasthan, the Kachela Charans excelled as merchants. [9][10][11]
Utilizing their favourable position since they had “exemption from perpetual and harassing imposts...they gradually became chief carriers and traders”.In Mallani, Charans were described as “large traders" possessing great privileges as a sacred race being exempted from local dues throughout Marwar.[12]
Charan traders took large caravans of bullocks north to Marwar and Hindustan, and east to Malwa through Gujarat. They traded in various commodities including ivory, coconuts, alum, and dry dates which they take from Kutch while bringing back corn and tobacco from Marwar & Hindustan. Ivory, brought from Africa to Mandvi in Gujarat, was bought by Charan traders in return for grain and coarse cloth. Then the Charan traders transported the ivory back to Marwar and sold it there.[13]
The Salt-Trade in Marwar involved thousands of people & pack animals like oxen & camels. Charans along with Pushkarna Brahmins and Bhils were engaged in salt-trade and exempted from the payment of custom duties. Kachela Charans from Sindhari used to collect salt from Talwara & sell in other parts of Marwar.[12]