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Dheevara is a grouping of fishing castes from the Kerala state of South India.

The word Dheevara is of Sanskrit origin, and has been used to describe fishermen in Gautama Dharmasutra and Mahabharata.[1] The Dheevara community was formed by Arayan, Valan and other castes to lobby for the fishers' rights, and to seek caste-based reservations in government jobs.[2] The members of the community formed the Dheevara Mahasabha ("Dheevara Great Assembly"), which is a politically powerful organization. Guru VedaVyasa was born into the Koli -sakya gotra of suryawanshi kshatriya known as Aryans or arayar at present time.[3]

Listed castes[edit | edit source]

The following castes are categorized as "Dheevara" in the Government's list of Other Backward Classes:[4][5]

  • Arayan or Araya
  • Bovi or Bovis Mogayar
  • Arayavathi
  • Mogaveera
  • Mukaya, Mokaya or Mukayar
  • Mukkuvan
  • Nulayan
  • Koli
  • Paniakkal
  • Valan
  • Valinijiar, Valinjiar or Valinchiar

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Singh 2003, p. 292.
  2. ↑ Sathyapalan 2015, p. 90.
  3. ↑ Sathyapalan 2015, p. 95.
  4. ↑ "Central List of OBCs for the state of Kerala" (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "List of Other Eligible Classes in Kerala State". Kerala Public Service Commission. Retrieved 18 May 2016.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]