Bhandari (caste): Difference between revisions

*[[Goa]]

*[[Karnataka]]

| langs            = [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and various dialects of [[Konkani]]

| related          = [[Konkani people]]

The '''Bhandari''' community is a caste that  inhabits the western coast of India. Their traditional occupation was "toddy tapping". They form the largest caste group in the state of [[Goa]], reportedly being over 30% of that state's Hindu population, and play a major role in deciding the future of any political party there.<ref>{{cite news|title=Treasurers of yore, now key to political fortune|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-12/goa/31052122_1_mgp-shripad-naik-bhandari-leader|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411042708/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-12/goa/31052122_1_mgp-shripad-naik-bhandari-leader|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2013|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=17 March 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Martin2014">{{cite book|author=Scott C. Martin|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANm5BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1384|date=16 December 2014|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4833-3108-9|pages=1384–}}</ref>

Although the word "Bhandari" is derived from the Sanskrit word "''Mandharale''", which means "distiller", Bhandaris prefer derivation from Bhandar, which means treasury, because they used to be treasury guards in the past.<ref name="Seshan"/>

During Shivaji's time, [[Maynak Bhandari]] was a chief Admiral.<ref>{{cite book| title = Studies in Shivaji and His Times| publisher=Shivaji University|year=1982 | editor=B. R. Kamble|quote=but he selected one Maynaik Bhandari to be one of the Chief Admirals in the Navy . But this does not mean that Shivaji had elevated the Bhandari caste|page=211}}</ref>

Traditionally their occupation was drawing toddy from [[Arecaceae|palm plants]]. Historical evidence suggests that they were foot soldiers in the [[Maratha Empire]] and [[British Indian Army]]. The famous "Hetkaris" in the army of [[Shivaji]] were Bhandaris. Bhandaris are divided into various sub-castes such as Kitte, Hetkari, Thale and Gavad. During [[British Raj]], Bhandaris lacked unity among various sub-castes and the differences within these sub-jatis hindered the community progress. The leaders of these sub-castes established their independent caste associations. A Bhandari author from the British era says that they were traditionally active in teaching and learning, and were involved in setting up schools for all castes either in temples or outside someone's house. He says that the community should not blame brahmins for lack of their education as they did not avail educational opportunities in the British era.<ref name="Seshan">{{Cite book|last=Seshan|first=Radhika|title=Re-searching Transitions in Indian History|last2=Kumbhojkar|first2=Shraddha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RyZhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT154|pages=154-157|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2018}}</ref>

 

 

Bhandaris are included in the list of [[Other Backward Classes]] (OBCs) in Goa. This provides them with certain rights under India's scheme of [[reservation in India|affirmative action]], such as reservation of positions in government employment and admission to professional colleges.<ref>{{cite news|title=Goa govt increases quota for OBCs in jobs to 27%|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Goa-govt-increases-quota-for-OBCs-in-jobs-to-27/articleshow/28859873.cms|access-date=13 September 2014|work=TNN|issue=Jan 16, 2014, 03.23AM IST|publisher=TOI|ref=goa}}</ref> They are also classified as OBCs in Maharashtra.<ref>{{cite web|title=List of Castes in Other Backward Class of Maharashtra|url=http://www.msobcfdc.gov.in/htmldocs/Caste.htm|work=Maharashtra State OBC Finance and Development Corporation|access-date=1 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922053222/http://www.msobcfdc.gov.in/htmldocs/Caste.htm|archive-date=22 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

M.R.Bodas, a Brahmin pleader,<ref name="McLane2015">{{cite book | author = John R. McLane | date = 8 March 2015 | title = Indian Nationalism and the Early Congress | publisher = Princeton University Press | pages = 266– | isbn = 978-1-4008-7023-3 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=efp9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA266}}</ref> published an article in ''Chitramay jagat''(1922) where he opined that Bhandari caste was of Shudra origin. This received strong response in another article where the author claimed that the community existed from the era of [[Mahabharata]] and that the Bhandaris were originally from [[Rajputana]] and were [[Kshatriya]] converts to Jainism whose occupation was trading. The author mentioned [[Sati (practice)|Sati]] and [[Jauhar]] as proof for their heritage. The article by Bodas piqued the Bhandari community and the community members met in 1922 to address the issue.<ref name="Seshan"/> Tukaram Padaval, who belonged to Bhandari caste and a close associate of [[Jyotiba Phule]], said that the claim to Kshatriya status was common among many upper and lower castes but there was no certainty at all as to who among them are the original Kshatriyas.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rosalind |last=O'Hanlon|title=Caste, Conflict and Ideology: Mahatma Jotirao Phule and Low Caste Protest in Nineteenth-Century Western India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kMrsTj1NeYC&pg=PA17|year=2002|location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-52152-308-0|page=43}}</ref>