50-639: The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale , Bhosale , Bhosle ) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system . The earliest accepted members of the Bhonsles are Mudhoji Bhonsle and his kin Rupaji Bhonsle, who were the village headman (pāṭīl) of Hingani — this branch has been since known as Hinganikar Bhonsles. A branch seem to have split soon, who went on to claim an ancestral right to the post of district steward (deśmukhī) of Kadewalit: Suryaji Bhonsle during
100-553: A Marathi lineage, who enjoyed "reasonably high" social status as landholders and warlords, being in the service of Deccan Sultanate or Mughals. According to R. C. Dhere's interpretation of local oral history and ethnography, Bhonsles descend from the Hoysalas and Yadavas of Devagiri , who were cow-herding Gavli sovereigns. In early thirteenth century, "Baliyeppa Gopati Sirsat", a Hoysala cousin of Simhana migrated from Gadag to Satara along with his pastoral herd and kul-devta;
150-650: A Rajput ethos that is martial in spirit, with a fierce pride in lineage and tradition. However, by the 17th century, the Ujjainiya Rajput clan of Bihar was recognised as Parmar Rajputs by the Rajputs of Rajasthan and were allowed a place in the Rajasthani bardic khyat . Dirk H. A. Kolff describes soldiers of Silhadi and Medini Rai with the terminology " Rajput " or " Pseudo Rajput " migrated from Bihar , Awadh and Varanasi . These Rajputs or
200-505: A challenge to monopoly of the Brahmins. Anyone from the "village landlord" to the "newly wealthy lower caste Shudra " could employ Brahmins to retrospectively fabricate a genealogy and within a couple of generations they would gain acceptance as Hindu Rajputs. This process would get mirrored by communities in north India. Scholars refer to this as "Rajputisation" and consider it similar to Sanskritisation . This process of generation of
250-550: A challenge to monopoly of the Brahmins. According to Max Weber, ancient texts show they were not subordinate to the Brahmins in religious matters. These old Kshatriyas were undermined not only by the Brahmin priests of the time but were replaced by the rise of the new community of illiterate mercenaries in the north-west - the Rajputs. Since the Rajputs were generally illiterate unlike the Kshatriyas, their rise did not present
300-462: A historic meeting of the caste in 1936, every child this Noniya section knew about their Rajput heritage. A caste of shepherds who were formerly Shudras successfully changed their status to Rajput in the Raj era and started wearing the sacred thread. They are now known as Sagar Rajputs . (not to be confused with Sagar Rajputs of Bundelkhand which was a subclan of Bundela Rajputs and are considered to be
350-590: A large section of a Shudra caste - the Noniyas - from Madhya Pradesh , Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that had "become" Chauhan Rajputs over three generations in the Raj era. The more wealthy or advanced Noniyas started by forming the Sri Rajput Pacharni Sabha (Rajput Advancement Society) in 1898 and emulating the Rajput lifestyle. They also started the wearing of sacred thread . Rowe states that at
400-482: A mix of various different social groups and different varnas. Rajputisation (or Rajputization ) explains the process by which such diverse communities coalesced into the Rajput community. According to modern scholars, almost all Rajputs clans originated from peasant or pastoral communities. Rajputisation is the study of formation of the community over the centuries. Sivaji Koyal suggests that Rajputisation boosted Brahmanism and defines it as follows, It
450-561: A number of times when the Ahirs from the Ahirwal region had cultural traditions similar to the Rajputs such as the martial tradition, and were mixed with being of the Rajput identity. The Mughals acknowledged and distincted the Ahir clans which claimed to be Rajput by blood. The Yaduvanshi term was to describe the Kshatriyas who claimed descent from Krishna, and received a Rajput identity as Krishna
500-484: A period of several centuries, some of them were able to establish petty chiefdoms throughout the region, mostly comprising just a single village. Although not Rajputs , this relatively small elite subset of the Kolis claimed the status of the higher-ranked Rajput community, adopting their clan names, lineages, customs and intermixing with less significant Rajput families through the practice of hypergamous marriage, which
550-402: A variety of strategies. One of them included killing of Chandrarao More , a fellow Maratha feudatory of Bijapur, and seizing the valley of Javali , near the present-day hill station of Mahabaleshwar . The conquest of Javali allowed Shivaji to extend his raids into south and southwest Maharashtra. Other strategies included forming marital alliances, dealing directly with village Patils to bypass
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#1732765968825600-649: Is divided into five ranked tiers, the highest of which contains the five primary Maratha clans. Within a clan, ranking also depends on whether a man is progeny of proper marriage or a product of hypergamy. High ranking Maratha clans also historically held rights to hereditary estate or Watan .This included land grants, tax collection rights (revenue Patilki or policing (Police Patilki) of a village. Higher ranking clans held rights to larger estates or Jagirs . Clans with watan usually hold written genealogical records stretching back several generations. Rajputisation Modern historians agree that Rajputs consisted of
650-428: Is not an impossible distance to cover in two to three centuries." By 1670s, Shivaji had acquired extensive territory and wealth from his campaigns. But, lacking a formal crown, he had no operational legitimacy to rule his de facto domain and technically, remained subject to his Mughal (or Deccan Sultanate) overlords; in the hierarchy of power, Shivaji's position remained similar to fellow Maratha chieftains. Also, he
700-510: Is of the opinion that by the process of Rajputisation, the Huns were the first to receive proclamation as kshatriyas in India who were later on followed by Rajputana 's Scythians , Gurjaras , and Maitrakas . Rajputisation of ruling group of a tribe who had formerly disassociated with the tribe and become Rajput was followed by a process called "Secondary Rajputisation" where the former members of
750-410: Is the means whereby a tribal chief establishes the pretensions to being a kshatriya, and surrounds himself with the paraphernalia of Brahmanism for the purpose of securing prestige. Sociologists like Sarah Farris and Reinhard Bendix state that the original Kshatriyas in the northwest who existed until Mauryan times in tiny kingdoms were an extremely cultured, educated and intellectual group who were
800-590: Is usually described as "proud Rajput of Rājputāna". The Rajputs of Rajasthan have often refused to acknowledge the warriors from regions outside of the Rajputana region as Rajputs. These western Rajputs restricted their social contact with the people of variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, who claimed Rajput status by following intermarriages between themselves and preserving their "purity of blood". Hence many Rajputs of Rajasthan are nostalgic about their past and keenly conscious of their genealogy, emphasising
850-522: The Maratha caste is divided into were originally formed in the earlier centuries from the amalgamation of families from the ( Kunbi ), shepherd ( Dhangar ), pastoral ( Gavli ), blacksmith ( Lohar ), carpenter (Sutar), Bhandari and Thakar castes in Maharashtra. The 96 kul(clans) and genealogies were fabricated after they gained political prominence. These clans were flexible enough that most of
900-567: The Kunbi population got absorbed into these clans even in the 20th century. Thus, due to the mainly peasant origin, the claim of the 96 clans to the Kshatriya ritual status in the Hindu Varna hierarchy is considered spurious. Jaffrelot calls such claims "Kshatriyatisation", which he considers similar to Sanskritisation . Many Maratha clans served as Patils or Deshmukhs for
950-600: The Shudra caste; they were part of the Marathas/Kunbis, an amorphous class-group. Scholars have however disagreed about the agricultural status of Bhosles. Rosalind O'Hanlon notes that the historical evolution of castes grouped under the Maratha-Kunbis is sketchy. Ananya Vajpeyi rejects the designation of Shudra, since the category has remained in a state of flux across centuries; she instead notes them to be
1000-497: The "local raja who had recently converted to Islam". Sivaji Koyal has explained the Rajputisation of a tribal chief by dividing it in 7 successional steps. Rajputisation used to begin with an invitation by a "budding tribal Raja " to the Brahmins in order to seek their assistance in the establishment of a court for him, for which the Brahmins would receive "land and gifts". Later, the Brahmins would "somehow" discover that
1050-615: The Bahmani sultanate, and its successors, the Deccan sultanates and the Mughals from 14th century onwards under the watandari system. Influential families from this era include, Sawant of Sawantwadi , Ghorpade of Mudhol , Nimbalkar of Phaltan , Mane, Shirke , Mahadik and Mohite . Shivaji's own Bhosale family came to prominence later then these families. In his quest for swarajya , he had to fight, or subdue these families using
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#17327659688251100-571: The Bhati Rajputs of Jaisalmer. Similarly the Jats of Bharatpur and Dholpur also tried to Rajputise their origin. Bharatpur reportedly lost its Rajput status when their ancestor Balchand was unable to have children with his Rajput wife and had sons with a Jat woman. The British-era ethnographer Denzil Ibbetson wrote that the terms like “Rajput” or "Jat" in the Punjab region of what is now Pakistan,
1150-466: The Deshmukhs, or subduing them by force. In Maratha society, membership of a Kul or clan is acquired in a patrilineal manner. People belonging to a clan usually have a common surname, a common clan deity , and a common clan totem ( Devak ). Various lists have been compiled, purporting to list the 96 "true Maratha" clans, but these lists vary greatly and are disputed. The list of ninety-six clans
1200-506: The Hinduisation and Rajputisation processes. The Gond people and their chiefs started doing the "caste–Hindu practices" and frequently claimed the "Rajput, and thus kshatriya status". The British empire used to support these claims as they viewed the adivasi society to be less civilized than the caste society and believed that adivasi peoples' association with the castes would make the adivasis "more civilized and sober" and "easier for
1250-451: The Hinduisation of tribal areas". Researchers give examples of the Rajputs of both division of present-day Uttarakhand – Garhwal and Kumaon and show how they were formally Shudra but had successfully converted to Rajput at different times. These Rajput groups (khasa) of Kumaon, Uttarakhand today were formally classified Shudra but had successfully converted to Rajput status during the rule of Chand Rajas (that ended in 1790). Similarly,
1300-577: The Kali Yuga, having been all destroyed by Parashurama but also Shivaji's grandfather was a tiller-headman, Shivaji did not wear the sacred thread, and his marriage was not in accordance with the Kshatriya customs. Thus, the Brahmins had him categorised as a shudra . Compelled to postpone his coronation, Shivaji had his secretary Balaji Avji Chitnis sent to the Sisodiyas of Mewar for inspection of
1350-528: The Rajput community resulted in hypergamy as well as female infanticide that was common in Hindu Rajput clans. German historian Hermann Kulke has coined the term "Secondary Rajputisation" for describing the process of members of a tribe trying to re-associate themselves with their former tribal chiefs who had already transformed themselves into Rajputs via Rajputisation and thus claim to be Rajputs themselves. Stewart N. Gordon states that during
1400-602: The Rajput surnames Singh and Kanwar/Kaur was an attempt by the Sikhs to Rajputise their identity, this form of Rajputisation was more specifically done for the Jat Sikhs who were considered to be of low origin amongst the Sikhs. The Phulkian Jats, who originally gained power by helping the Mughal Emperor Babur enter India, continued to Rajputise their identity till the 20th century by remotely claiming descent from
1450-517: The Rajputs of Gharwal were originally of low ritual status and did not wear the sacred thread until the 20th century. The Darogas formed a community and started calling themselves Ravana Rajputs in order to Rajputize. They are a group who are believed to be the progeny of Rajput kings with their concubines and were most often called as Daroga . Lindsey Harlan gives an example of how children born from Rajput men and Gujjar women would not become Rajputs and would become Darogas. The Sikh adoption of
1500-779: The Sambhu Mahadev was thus installed at a hill-top in Singhnapur. Historical records indicate that this shrine received extensive patronage from Maloji onwards. Further, there exists a branch of the Bhosles named "Sirsat Bhosles" and Bhosle (or "Bhosale") is linguistically similar to "Hoysala". M. K. Dhavalikar found the work to convincingly explain the foundation of the Bhosle clan (as well as Sambhu Mahadev cult). Vajpeyi too advocates that Dhere's theory be probed in greater detail — "[f]rom pastoralist big men to warlords on horseback,
1550-639: The colonial state to control". Bhukya also points out that central India's "Raj Gond families" had already adopted the religious and social traditions of the Rajputs before the British Raj in India, and there were "matrimonial relations" between a number of Gond and Rajput Rajas. However, the British empire's policies of offering " zamindari rights, village headships and patelships " fueled the process. According to Patit Paban Mishra, "the 'kshatriyaisation' of tribal rulers and their surroundings, resulted in
Bhonsle (clan) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-409: The eastern Rajputs often accompanied the Rajputs of Rajasthan in their battles with the hordes of their supporters. They led the band of warriors called Purbiyas in order to assist their western counterparts. In general, the process of Rajputisation was done not just by a tribal chief but by "castes all over north India ranging from peasants and lower-caste Sudras ", as well as warriors and even
1650-483: The era of the Mughal empire, "Hypergamous marriage" with the combination of service in the state army was another way a tribal family could convert to Rajput. This process required a change in tradition, dressing, ending widow remarriage, etc. Such marriage of a tribal family with an acknowledged but possibly poor Rajput family would ultimately enable the non-Rajput family to become Rajput. This marriage pattern also supports
1700-463: The fabrication. G. S. Sardesai notes that the descent is "not authentically proved". Stewart N. Gordon does not pass any judgement but notes Bhatt to be a "creative Brahmin". André Wink deems that the Sisodia genealogical claim is destined to remain disputed forever. Satara State , Kolhapur State , Thanjavur State , Nagpur State , Akkalkot State , Sawantwadi State and Barshi were amongst
1750-474: The fact that Rajput was an "open caste category" available to those who served in the state army and could translate this service into grants and power at the local level. Scholars also give some examples of entire communities of Shudra origin "becoming" Rajput even as late as the 20th century. William Rowe , in his "The new Chauhans : A caste mobility movement in North India", discusses an example of
1800-482: The first phase had Shivaji penance for having lived as a Maratha despite being a Kshatriya. Then came the sacred thread ceremony ('maunjibandhanam') followed by remarriage according to Kshatriya customs ('mantra-vivah') and a sequence of Vedic rituals before the eventual coronation ('abhisheka') — a public spectacle of enormous expense that heralded the rebirth of Shivaji as a Kshatriya king. Panegyrics composed by court-poets during these spans (and afterward) reinforced onto
1850-519: The highest among all central India Rajputs). The terminology "Rajput" as of now doesn't represent a hereditary status but it is a term commonly applied to all those people who fought on the horseback and were associated with paid military service. The Rajputs claim to be Kshatriyas or descendants of Kshatriyas, but their actual status varies greatly, ranging from princely lineages to common cultivators The Rajputs of Rajasthan are known to hold distinctive identity as opposed to other regions. This identity
1900-403: The lineage was to guarantee Shivaji's consecration as a Kshatriya, in a tactic that had clear parallels to Rajputisation . Jadunath Sarkar deemed that the genealogy was cleverly fabricated by Balaji Awji and after some reluctance accepted by Gaga Bhatt, who in turn was "rewarded with a huge fee". V. K. Rajwade , Dhere, Allison Busch , John Keay and Audrey Truschke also agree with Sarkar about
1950-473: The next step, after amassing political and economic power, the Raja would establish "marriage alliances" with other Rajputs to infuse "Rajput blood into his family". This was followed by the springing up of sub–chiefs who used to follow suit of the "behavioral pattern of their king–master". The final step involved the inter–marriage between the nobles and the "lesser sons and daughters" of the Raja. Sivaji Koyal
2000-508: The prominent states ruled by the Bhonsles. Maratha clan system The Maratha Clan System (also referred to as Shahannava Kuli Marathas , 96 Kuli Marathas ) refers to the 96 Maratha clans. The clans together form the Maratha caste of India . These Marathas primarily reside in the Indian state of Maharashtra , with smaller regional populations in other states. The 96 clans that
2050-675: The public memory that Shivaji (and the Bhonsles) indeed belonged from the Sisodiyas. However, the Kshatriyization was not unanimous; a section of Brahmins continued to deny the Kshatriya status. Brahmins of the Peshwa period rejected Bhatt's acceptance of Shivaji's claims and blamed the non-dharmic coronation for all ills that plagued Shivaji and his heirs—in tune with the general Brahminical sentiment to categorize all Marathas as Shudras, carte-blanche; there have been even claims that Bhatt
Bhonsle (clan) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-510: The reign of Ahmad Nizam Shah I (early 1490s), and his son Sharafji Bhonsle during the conquest of the region by Daniyal Mirza (1599). This branch has been since known as Kadewalit Bhonsles. The next significant Bhonsle was probably Maloji Bhosale from the Hinganikar branch. He was the great-grandson of one Kheloji (c. 1490). In the opinion of Jadunath Sarkar and other scholars, Bhonsles were predominantly Deccani tiller-plainsmen from
2150-549: The royal genealogies; Avji returned with a favorable finding — Shahji turned out to be a descendant of Chacho Sisodiya, a half-Rajput uncle of Mokal Singh . Gaga Bhatt, a famed Brahmin of Banaras , was then hired to ratify Chitnis' find, and the Bhonsles were now permitted to stake a claim to Kshatriya caste. The coronation would be re-executed in June 1674 but only after going through a long list of preludes. Led by Bhatt, who employed traditional Hindu imagery in an unprecedented scale,
2200-408: The tribal head is a Rajput and "his lineage was traced back to some important kshatriya dynasty of the past". After his proclamation as a Rajput, he would distance himself from the members of his tribe as they were supposedly of different bloodlines. Following that, he would raise his stature by hiring Brahmins as priests who used to appeal for the construction of temples in the honor of their gods. In
2250-477: The tribe would try to re-associate with their former chief and this claim to be Rajputs themselves. Rajputisation is said to have no parallel in traditional Indian society for "inventiveness in ideologies of legitimation". Bhangya Bhukya notes that during the final years of the British Raj , while education introduced Westernisation in the hilly areas of central India, the regions also parallelly underwent
2300-455: Was commonly used to enhance or secure social status. There were significant differences in status throughout the Koli community, however, and little cohesion either geographically or in terms of communal norms, such as the establishment of endogamous marriage groups. The Kolis also employed Barots to fabricate a genealogy which would state the Kolis were of partial Rajput origin. According to
2350-413: Was excommunicated by Maratha Brahmins for his role in the coronation of Shivaji! Interestingly, all claims to Rajput ancestry had largely vanished from the family's subsequent projections of identity. Vajpeyi notes the "veridical status" of Chitnis' finds to be not determinable to "historical certainty" — the links were tenuous at best and inventive at worst. Shivaji was not a Rajput and the sole purpose of
2400-469: Was often opposed by the orthodox Brahmin community of Maharashtra. A coronation sanctioned by the Brahmins was thus planned, in a bid to proclaim sovereignty and legitimize his rule. On proposing the Brahmins of his court to have him proclaimed as the rightful king, a controversy erupted: the regnal status was reserved for those belonging to the kshatriya varna . Not only was there a fundamental dispute among scholars on whether any true Kshatriya survived in
2450-474: Was seen as the "cowherder-Rajput god". By the 19th century, the Rewari Ahir clans began to make marital relations with Rajput dynasties such as Bikaner , and the marriages legitimized their being of "aristocratic" and "Rajput". Records of Koli people exist from at least the 15th century, when rulers in the present-day Gujarat region called their chieftains marauding robbers, dacoits , and pirates. Over
2500-538: Was used as a title rather than as a “ethnological fact". The tribes after rising to royal rank could become Rajput. Many groups adopted the Yadav surname for upliftment, these groups were mainly cowherders and were low in the caste order but were considered higher than the untouchables. In 1931 several communities like Ahir, Goala, Gopa, etc. started calling themselves Yadavs and made extremely doubtful claims about having Rajput origin and thus tried to Rajputise. There were
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