85-676: The Koli is an Indian caste that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Nepal . Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they also work as fishermen along with agriculture. In the beginning of 20th century, the Koli caste was recognised as a denotified tribe under Criminal Tribes Act by the Indian Government because of their anti-social activities during World War I . The Koli caste forms
170-434: A 1000 years earlier. In an early Upanishad, Shudra is referred to as Pūşan or nourisher, suggesting that Shudras were the tillers of the soil. But soon afterwards, Shudras are not counted among the tax-payers and they are said to be given away along with the land when it is gifted. The majority of the artisans were also reduced to the position of Shudras, but there is no contempt indicated for their work. The Brahmins and
255-518: A clear story": Approximately a third of groups in India experienced population bottlenecks as strong or stronger than the ones found to have occurred among similarly isolated groups in human history, such as the Ashkenazi Jews or the Finns , a phenomenon "exceedingly old" in most cases in India. The ostensibly undisputed overall conclusion from DNA research among castes is that, rather than being
340-472: A colour-based system, through a character named Bhrigu, "Brahmins varna was white, Kshatriyas was red, Vaishyas was yellow, and the Shudras' black". This description is questioned by Bharadvaja who says that colors are seen among all the varnas , that desire, anger, fear, greed, grief, anxiety, hunger and toil prevails over all human beings, that bile and blood flow from all human bodies, so what distinguishes
425-616: A degree of differentiation that is at least three times greater than that among European groups separated by similar geographic distances. Lacking genetic grounds to attribute this to differences in Ancestral North Indians ' ancestry among groups, in the Indian region from which the population came, or in social status, they examined the evidence for "bottlenecks" in the history of Indian groups They found identical, long stretches of sequence between pairs of individuals within
510-429: A fifth element, those deemed to be entirely outside its scope, such as tribal people and the untouchables (Dalits) . In ancient texts, Jati , meaning birth , is mentioned less often and clearly distinguished from varna . There are four varnas but thousands of jatis . The jatis are complex social groups that lack universally applicable definitions or characteristics and have been more flexible and diverse than
595-466: A fixed hierarchy, caste functioned as one of several possible forms of social organization and identity. People could maintain multiple community affiliations, with caste sometimes taking precedence and other times being secondary to different social bonds. This flexibility allowed caste to serve as one way of creating social cohesion while leaving room for other types of community ties to flourish. Sociologist Anne Waldrop observes that while outsiders view
680-707: A framework for grouping people into classes, first used in Vedic Indian society . It is referred to frequently in the ancient Indian texts. There are four classes: the Brahmins (priestly class), the Kshatriyas (rulers, administrators and warriors; also called Rajanyas), the Vaishyas (artisans, merchants, tradesmen and farmers), and the Shudras (labouring classes). The varna categorisation implicitly includes
765-610: A growing secular identity born partly out of folklore but more out of common resentment against the well-to-do castes". The Kolis of Gujarat remained educationally and occupationally disadvantaged compared to communities such as the Brahmins and Patidars. Their many Jātis include the Bareeya , Khant and Thakor , and they also use Koli as a suffix, giving rise to groups such as the Gulam Koli and Matia Koli. Some do not refer to themselves as Koli at all. The Shial , or Shiyal
850-530: A number of crafts. The chariot-maker ( rathakara ) and metal worker ( karmara ) enjoyed positions of importance and no stigma was attached to them. Similar observations hold for carpenters, tanners, weavers and others. Towards the end of the Atharvaveda period, new class distinctions emerged. The erstwhile dasas are renamed Shudras, probably to distinguish them from the new meaning of dasa as slave. The aryas are renamed vis or Vaishya (meaning
935-718: A professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions and credited with modern translations of Vedic literature, Dharma-sutras and Dharma-sastras , states that ancient and medieval Indian texts do not support the ritual pollution, purity-impurity premise implicit in the Dumont theory. According to Olivelle, purity-impurity is discussed in the Dharma-sastra texts, but only in the context of the individual's moral, ritual and biological pollution (eating certain kinds of food such as meat, going to bathroom). Olivelle writes in his review of post-Vedic Sutra and Shastra texts, "we see no instance when
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#17327649805571020-403: A real general definition of caste. It appears to me that any attempt at definition is bound to fail because of the complexity of the phenomenon. On the other hand, much literature on the subject is marred by lack of precision about the use of the term. Ghurye offered what he thought was a definition that could be applied across India, although he acknowledged that there were regional variations on
1105-464: A secular social phenomenon driven by the necessities of economics, politics, and at times geography. Jeaneane Fowler says that although some people consider jati to be occupational segregation, in reality, the jati framework does not preclude or prevent a member of one caste from working in another occupation. A feature of jatis has been endogamy , in Susan Bayly 's words, that "both in
1190-537: A shift to endogamy took place during the first half of the first millennium CE, at least in northern India," due to the growing influence of Brahmanism. This shift is attested in the Manusmriti (1st to 3rd century CE), which "explicitly forbade intermarriage across castes." The Mahabharata , estimated to have been completed by the end of the fourth century CE, discusses the varna system in section 12.181, presenting two models. The first model describes varna as
1275-544: A single village. Although not Rajputs , this relatively small subset of the Kolis claimed the status of the higher-ranked Rajput community, adopting their customs and intermixing with less significant Rajput families through the practice of hypergamous marriage, which 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
1360-622: A source of advantage in an era of pre-Independence poverty, lack of institutional human rights, volatile political environment, and economic insecurity. According to social anthropologist Dipankar Gupta, guilds developed during the Mauryan period and crystallised into jatis in post-Mauryan times with the emergence of feudalism in India, which finally crystallised during the 7th–12th centuries. However, other scholars dispute when and how jatis developed in Indian history. Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf, both professors of History, write, "One of
1445-493: A term of pure/impure is used with reference to a group of individuals or a varna or caste". The only mention of impurity in the Shastra texts from the 1st millennium is about people who commit grievous sins and thereby fall out of their varna . These, writes Olivelle, are called "fallen people" and considered impure in the medieval Indian texts. The texts declare that these sinful, fallen people be ostracised. Olivelle adds that
1530-519: A tribe became "notified" as criminal, all its members were required to register with the local magistrate, failing which they would be charged with a crime under the Indian Penal Code . The Criminal Tribes Act was repealed in 1949 and thus 'de-notified' the tribal communities. This Act, however, was replaced by a series of Habitual Offenders Acts , that asked police to investigate a suspect's "criminal tendencies" and whether their occupation
1615-528: Is "conducive to settled way of life." The denotified tribes were reclassified as "habitual offenders" in 1959. The name "Criminal Tribes" is itself a misnomer as no definition of tribe denotes occupation, but they were identified as tribes "performing" their primary occupation. The first census was in 1871 and at that time there was no consensus nor any definition of what constitutes a "tribe". The terms " tribe " and " caste " were used interchangeably for these tribes. The UN's anti-discrimination body Committee on
1700-513: Is a clan of Koli caste found in the Indian state of Gujarat . They were noted pirates of Gujarat. The Shial Kolis got their name from the Shial island situated at south coast of Kathiawar . Shial Kolis defeated and captured the Shial island from Portuguese India and made it their stronghold along with Chanch, Gujarat but later they were defeated by Nawab of Janjira and Jafrabad . during
1785-547: Is no clear linear order among them. The term caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta , meaning "race, lineage, breed" and, originally, "'pure or unmixed (stock or breed)". Originally not an Indian word, it is now widely used in English and in Indian languages , closely translated to varna and jati . The sociologist G. S. Ghurye wrote in 1932 that, despite much study by many people, we do not possess
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#17327649805571870-504: Is not an accurate representation of jati in English. Better terms would be ethnicity, ethnic identity and ethnic group. Research on caste systems across the Indian subcontinent during the latter 1900s revealed that caste was far more complex and dynamic than previously thought. While British colonial authorities had portrayed it as a uniform, rigid system fundamental to Indian society, studies showed that caste's significance and structure varied considerably between regions. Rather than being
1955-746: Is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes . It has its origins in ancient India , and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval , early-modern, and modern India, especially in the aftermath of the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the establishment of the British Raj . It is today the basis of affirmative action programmes in India as enforced through its constitution . The caste system consists of two different concepts, varna and jati , which may be regarded as different levels of analysis of this system. The caste system as it exists today
2040-663: Is thought to be the result of developments during the collapse of the Mughal era and the rise of the British colonial government in India. The British Raj furthered this development, making rigid caste organisation a central mechanism of administration. Between 1860 and 1920, the British incorporated the Indian caste system into their system of governance, granting administrative jobs and senior appointments only to Christians and people belonging to certain castes. Social unrest during
2125-518: The Indologist , agrees that there has been no universally accepted definition of "caste". For example, for some early European documenters it was thought to correspond with the endogamous varnas referred to in ancient Indian scripts, and its meaning corresponds in the sense of estates . To later Europeans of the Raj era it was endogamous jatis , rather than varnas , that represented caste , such as
2210-465: The Kunbis . At some stage, Koli became accepted as a caste and thus superior to the tribal Bhils. 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 a period of several centuries, some of them were able to establish petty chiefdoms throughout the region, mostly comprising just
2295-453: The Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality". In contrast to the lack of details about varna system in the Rigveda , the Manusmriti includes an extensive and highly schematic commentary on the varna system, but it too provides "models rather than descriptions". Susan Bayly summarises that Manusmriti and other scriptures helped elevate Brahmins in
2380-643: The Rigveda was composed (1500-1200 BC), there were only two varnas in the Vedic society: arya varna and dasa varna . The distinction originally arose from tribal divisions. The Vedic people were Indo-European-speaking tribes who migrated over a period of several centuries into northern South Asia from the Bactria-Margiana , and mixed with the "indigenous Dravidic-speaking populations," but regarded themselves as superior. The Vedic tribes regarded themselves as arya (the noble ones) and
2465-617: The World War I , they were enlisted as soldiers in British Indian Army by British Indian government . The Koli community classified as Other Backward Class by Government of India in the Indian States of Gujarat , Karnataka , Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh , but Tokre Koli, Malhar Koli and Mahadev Kolis are listed as Scheduled Tribe by State Government of Maharashtra. The Government of India classified
2550-476: The varna verse in the Rigveda , noting that the varna therein is mentioned only once. The Purusha Sukta verse is now generally considered to have been inserted at a later date into the Rigveda , probably as a charter myth . Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, professors of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in
2635-458: The varnas , he asks. The Mahabharata then declares, "There is no distinction of varnas . This whole universe is Brahman . It was created formerly by Brahma , came to be classified by acts." The epic then recites a behavioural model for varna , that those who were inclined to anger, pleasures and boldness attained the Kshatriya varna ; those who were inclined to cattle rearing and living off
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2720-462: The varnas . He concludes that "If caste is defined as a system of group within the class, which are normally endogamous, commensal and craft-exclusive, we have no real evidence of its existence until comparatively late times." The Vedic texts neither mention the concept of untouchable people nor any practice of untouchability. The rituals in the Vedas ask the noble or king to eat with the commoner from
2805-416: The 1920s led to a change in this policy. Caste was no longer used by the colonial authority to functionally organize civil society. This reflected changes in administrative practices, understandings of expertise, and the rise of new European scholarly institutions. After the 1920s, the colonial administration began a policy of positive discrimination by reserving a certain percentage of government jobs for
2890-411: The 2,378 jatis that colonial administrators classified by occupation in the early 20th century. Arvind Sharma , a professor of comparative religion , notes that caste has been used synonymously to refer to both varna and jati but that "serious Indologists now observe considerable caution in this respect" because, while related, the concepts are considered to be distinct. In this he agrees with
2975-531: The 3,000 or more castes of modern India had evolved from the four primitive classes, and the term 'caste' was applied indiscriminately to both varna or class, and jati or caste proper. This is a false terminology; castes rise and fall in the social scale, and old castes die out and new ones are formed, but the four great classes are stable. There are never more or less than four and for over 2,000 years their order of precedence has not altered." The sociologist André Beteille notes that, while varna mainly played
3060-543: The Brahmin took food from anyone, suggesting that strictures of commensality were as yet unknown. The Nikaya texts also imply that endogamy was not mandated. The contestations of the period are also evident from the texts describing dialogues of Buddha with the Brahmins. The Brahmins maintain their divinely ordained superiority and assert their right to draw service from the lower orders. Buddha responds by pointing out
3145-870: The Criminal Tribes Act was repealed temporarily and replaced with Habitual Offenders Act with slight modifications. In India, Kolis are mostly found in the Indian states of Gujarat , Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra . Kolis are 24% of the total state population in Gujarat and 30% in Himachal Pradesh. Pakistan , The Kolis are found in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Most of them are in relationship with Kolis of Gujarat. Nepal , Kolis of Nepal ruled over Ramgram, Devdaha and Panditpur. Caste system in India The caste system in India
3230-674: The Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) asked India to repeal the Habitual Offenders Act (1952) and effectively rehabilitate the denotified and nomadic tribes on 9 March 2007. In 2008, the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNSNT) of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment recommended equal reservations , as available to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes , for around 110 million people belonging to
3315-470: The Indian scheme for positive discrimination . Kshatriyas would not usually wish to be associated with such a category and indeed it runs counter to the theory of Sanskritisation, but in this instance, it suited the socio-economic and political desires. By the 1950s, the KKGKS had established schools, loan systems and other mechanisms of communal self-help and it was demanding reforms to laws relating to land. It
3400-550: The Indologist Arthur Basham , who noted that the Portuguese colonists of India used casta to describe ... tribes, clans or families. The name stuck and became the usual word for the Hindu social group. In attempting to account for the remarkable proliferation of castes in 18th- and 19th-century India, authorities credulously accepted the traditional view that by a process of intermarriage and subdivision
3485-555: The Koli community as Scheduled Caste in the 2001 census for the states of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Koli caste of Maharashtra and Gujarat was classified as a Criminal Tribes under Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 by the Government of India because of their anti-social activities such as robberies , murder, blackmailing , and crop and animal theft . In 1914, Kolis of Maharashtra revolted against British rule and attacked government officials, and to control them,
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3570-554: The Kolis became classified as a criminal tribe due to their failure to meet the revenue demands and their tendency to raid Kanbi villages to survive. The Kanbi land takeovers also reduced the Kolis to being the tenants and agricultural labourers of Kanbis rather than landowners, thus increasing the economic inequality between the communities. The difference was further exacerbated by the Kanbis' providing better tenancy arrangements for members of their own community than for Kolis. During
3655-705: The Kshatriyas are given a special position in the rituals, distinguishing them from both the Vaishyas and the Shudras. The Vaishya is said to be "oppressed at will" and the Shudra "beaten at will." Knowledge of this period is supplemented by Pali Buddhist texts. Whereas the Brahmanical texts speak of the four-fold varna system, the Buddhist texts present an alternative picture of the society, stratified along
3740-463: The Rajputs, and Jaffrelot believes that it was around this time that a Koli intelligentsia emerged. Ghanshyam Shah, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, describes the organisation today as covering a broad group of communities, from disadvantaged Rajputs of high prestige to the semi-tribal Bhils , with the Kolis in the middle. He notes that its composition reflects "a common economic interest and
3825-579: The South Indian Tamil literature from the Sangam period (3rd BCE-3rd c.CE). This theory discards the Indo-Aryan varna model as the basis of caste, and is centred on the ritual power of the king, who was "supported by a group of ritual and magical specialists of low social status," with their ritual occupations being considered 'polluted'. According to Hart, it may be this model that provided
3910-538: The addition of the Shudras is probably a Brahmanical invention from northern India. The varna system is propounded in revered Hindu religious texts, and understood as idealised human callings. The Purusha Sukta of the Rigveda and Manusmriti ' s comment on it, being the oft-cited texts. Counter to these textual classifications, many revered Hindu texts and doctrines question and disagree with this system of social classification. Scholars have questioned
3995-464: The basic facts of biological birth common to all men and asserts that the ability to draw service is obtained economically, not by divine right. Using the example of the northwest of the subcontinent, Buddha points out that aryas could become dasas and vice versa. This form of social mobility was endorsed by Buddha. According to Moorjani et al. (2013), endogamy set in after 100 CE. According to Basu et al. (2016), admixture between populations
4080-465: The caste system is also practiced in Bali . After achieving independence in 1947, India enacted many affirmative action policies for the upliftment of historically marginalized groups as enforced through its constitution. These policies included reserving a quota of places for these groups in higher education and government employment. Varna , meaning type, order, colour, or class are
4165-418: The colonial construction of caste led to the livening up, divisions and lobbying to the British officials for favourable caste classification in India for economic opportunities, and this had added new complexities to the concept of caste. Graham Chapman and others have reiterated the complexity, and they note that there are differences between theoretical constructs and the practical reality. Ronald Inden ,
4250-476: The concerns with "pollution" of the members of low status groups. The Hart model for caste origin, writes Samuel, envisions "the ancient Indian society consisting of a majority without internal caste divisions and a minority consisting of a number of small occupationally polluted groups". The varnas originated in late Vedic society (c. 1000–500 BCE). The first three groups, Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishya, have parallels with other Indo-European societies, while
4335-462: The establishment of endogamous marriage groups. Through the colonial British Raj period and into the 20th century, some Kolis remained significant landholders and tenants, although most had never been more than minor landowners and labourers. By this time, however, most Kolis had lost their once-equal standing with the Patidar community due to the land reforms of the Raj period. The Kolis preferred
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#17327649805574420-483: The existence and nature of varna and jati in documents and inscriptions of medieval India. Supporting evidence has been elusive, and contradictory evidence has emerged. Criminal Tribes Denotified Tribes are the tribes in India that were listed originally under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, as Criminal Tribes and "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences." Once
4505-424: The general theme. His model definition for caste included the following six characteristics: The above Ghurye's model of caste thereafter attracted scholarly criticism for relying on the census reports produced by the colonial government, the "superior, inferior" racist theories of H. H. Risley , and for fitting his definition to then prevalent orientalist perspectives on caste. Ghurye added, in 1932, that
4590-551: The government again declared the Kolis as a criminal tribe under the Bombay Criminal Tribes Act. Around 7000 Kolis were required to attend the call each day. Kolis often attacked the Marwari Banias , Sahukars and Moneylenders . Kolis were often reported to burn houses and account books and looted the available valuables of moneylenders if they were unable to pay the debt given by moneylenders. This
4675-408: The historical circumstances. The latter has criticised the former for its caste origin theory, claiming that it has dehistoricized and decontextualised Indian society. According to Samuel, referencing George L. Hart , central aspects of the later Indian caste system may originate from the ritual kingship system prior to the arrival of Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism in India. The system is seen in
4760-514: The invention of colonialism , "as Dirks [and others] suggested," long-term endogamy , as embodied in modern Indian society in the institution of caste, has been "overwhelmingly important for millennia." A 2016 study based on the DNA analysis of unrelated Indians determined that endogamous jatis originated during the Gupta Empire . During the early Vedic period in northern India, when
4845-576: The land. The gahapatis were the primary taxpayers of the state. This class was apparently not defined by birth, but by individual economic growth. While there was an alignment between kulas and occupations at least at the high and low ends, there was no strict linkage between class/caste and occupation, especially among those in the middle range. Many occupations listed such as accounting and writing were not linked to jatis . Peter Masefield, in his review of caste in India, states that anyone could in principle perform any profession. The texts state that
4930-518: The landlord-based tenure system, which was not so mutually beneficial. They were subject to interference from the British revenue collectors, who intervened to ensure that the stipulated revenue was remitted to the government before any surplus went to the landlord. Being less inclined to take an active role in agriculture personally and thus maximise revenues from their landholdings, the Koli possessions were often left uncultivated or underused. These lands were gradually taken over by Kanbi cultivators, while
5015-406: The largest caste - cluster in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh , comprising 24% and 30% of the total population in those states respectively. There has historically been some difficulty in identifying people as Koli or as Bhil people in what is now the state of Gujarat. The two communities co-existed in the hills of that area and even today there is confusion regarding their identity, not helped, in
5100-587: The later period of the Raj, the Gujarati Kolis became involved in the process of what has subsequently been termed sanskritisation . At that time, in the 1930s, they represented around 20 percent of the region's population and members of the local Rajput community were seeking to extend their own influence by co-opting other significant groups as claimants to the ritual title of Kshatriya . The Rajputs were politically, economically and socially marginalised because their own numbers – around 4–5 per cent of
5185-473: The lines of jati , kula and occupation. It is likely that the varna system, while being a part of the Brahmanical ideology, was not practically operative in the society. In the Buddhist texts, Brahmin and Kshatriya are described as jatis rather than varnas . They were in fact the jatis of high rank. The jatis of low rank were mentioned as chandala and occupational classes like bamboo weavers, hunters, chariot-makers and sweepers. The concept of kulas
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#17327649805575270-402: The lower castes are more similar to Asians. There is no evidence of restrictions regarding food and marriage during the Vedic period. According to Moorjani et al. (2013), co-authored by Reich, extensive admixture took place between 2200 BCE and 100 CE (4200 to 1900 before present), whereafter India shifted to "a region in which mixture was rare." In southern India, endogamy may have set in
5355-641: The lower castes. In 1948, negative discrimination on the basis of caste was banned by law and further enshrined in the Indian constitution in 1950; however, the system continues to be practiced in parts of India. There are 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes in India, each related to a specific occupation. Caste-based differences have also been practised in other regions and religions in the Indian subcontinent , like Nepalese Buddhism, Christianity , Islam , Judaism and Sikhism . It has been challenged by many reformist Hindu movements, Sikhism, Christianity, and present-day Neo Buddhism . With Indian influences,
5440-490: The members of the tribe) and the new elite classes of Brahmins (priests) and Kshatriyas (warriors) are designated as new varnas . The Shudras were not only the erstwhile dasas but also included the aboriginal tribes that were assimilated into the Aryan society as it expanded into Gangetic settlements. This class-distinction is still reflected in the fact that the upper castes have a higher genetic affinity to Europeans, while
5525-413: The opinion of sociologist Arvind Shah , by there being "hardly any modern, systematic, anthropological, sociological or historical study" of the Kolis. Sources from the medieval period suggest that the term Koli was applied generically to lawless people, while British colonial studies considered it to be a vague collective noun for varied communities whose sole common feature was that they were inferior to
5610-432: The overwhelming focus in matters relating to purity/impurity in the Dharma-sastra texts concerns "individuals irrespective of their varna affiliation" and all four varnas could attain purity or impurity by the content of their character, ethical intent, actions, innocence or ignorance (acts by children), stipulations, and ritualistic behaviours. Dumont, in his later publications, acknowledged that ancient varna hierarchy
5695-402: The past and for many though not all Indians in more modern times, those born into a given caste would normally expect to find marriage partner" within their jati . A 2016 study based on the DNA analysis of unrelated Indians determined that endogamous jatis originated during the Gupta Empire . Jatis have existed in India among Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and tribal people, and there
5780-630: The plough attained the Vaishya varna ; those who were fond of violence, covetousness and impurity attained the Shudra varna . The Brahmin class is modeled in the epic as the archetype default state of man dedicated to truth, austerity and pure conduct. In the Mahabharata and pre-medieval era Hindu texts, according to Hiltebeitel, "it is important to recognise, in theory, varna is nongenealogical. The four varnas are not lineages, but categories". Scholars have tried to locate historical evidence for
5865-500: The population – were inferior to the dominant Patidars, with whom the Kolis were also disenchanted. The Kolis were among those whom the Rajputs targeted because, although classified as a criminal tribe by the British administration, they were among the many communities of that period who had made genealogical claims of descent from the Kshatriya. The Rajput leaders preferred to view the Kolis as being Kshatriya by dint of military ethos rather than origin but, in whatever terminology, it
5950-528: The question of rigidity in caste and believe that there is considerable flexibility and mobility in the caste hierarchies. There are at least two perspectives for the origins of the caste system in ancient and medieval India, which focus on either ideological factors or on socio-economic factors. The first school has focused on religious anthropology and disregarded other historical evidence as secondary or derivative of this tradition. The second school has focused on sociological evidence and sought to understand
6035-427: The rival tribes were called dasa , dasyu and pani . The dasas were frequent allies of the Aryan tribes, and they were probably assimilated into the Aryan society, giving rise to a class distinction. Many dasas were, however, in a servile position, giving rise to the eventual meaning of dasa as servant or slave. The Rigvedic society was not distinguished by occupations. Many husbandmen and artisans practised
6120-430: The role of caste in classical Hindu literature, it is jati that plays that role in present times. Varna represents a closed collection of social orders whereas jati is entirely open-ended, thought of as a "natural kind whose members share a common substance." Any number of new jatis can be added depending on need, such as tribes, sects, denominations, religious or linguistic minorities and nationalities. Thus, "Caste"
6205-466: The same group, the "only explanation" for which is the pairs of individuals descended from ancestors in the last few thousands of years who carried that DNA segment. Since the average size of the DNA segments reveals how long ago in the past the shared ancestors lived, the study of a data set of more than 250 jati groups, spread throughout India, provided results that, according to the researchers, "told
6290-468: The same vessel. Later Vedic texts ridicule some professions, but the concept of untouchability is not found in them. The post-Vedic texts, particularly Manusmriti mentions outcastes and suggests that they be ostracised. Recent scholarship states that the discussion of outcastes in post-Vedic texts is different from the system widely discussed in colonial era Indian literature, and in Dumont's structural theory on caste system in India. Patrick Olivelle ,
6375-414: The social hierarchy and these were a factor in the making of the varna system, but the ancient texts did not in some way "create the phenomenon of caste" in India. Jeaneane Fowler, a professor of philosophy and religious studies, states that it is impossible to determine how and why the jatis came into existence. Susan Bayly, on the other hand, suggests that the jati system emerged because it offered
6460-421: The surprising arguments of fresh scholarship, based on inscriptional and other contemporaneous evidence, is that until relatively recent centuries, social organisation in much of the subcontinent was little touched by the four varnas . Nor were jati the building blocks of society." According to Basham, ancient Indian literature refers often to varnas , but hardly if ever to jatis as a system of groups within
6545-455: The term caste as a static phenomenon of stereotypical tradition-bound India, empirical facts suggest caste has been a radically changing feature. The term means different things to different Indians. In the context of politically active modern India, where job and school quotas are reserved for affirmative action based on castes, the term has become a sensitive and controversial subject. Sociologists such as M. N. Srinivas and Damle have debated
6630-435: The way castes, with very different ritual status, join hands to defend their common interests. ... The use of the word Kshatriya was largely tactical and the original caste identity was seriously diluted." The relevance of the Kshatriya label in terms of ritual was diminished by the practical actions of the KKGKS which, among other things, saw demands for the constituent communities to be classified as Backward Classes in
6715-457: Was "rapidly replaced by endogamy [...] among upper castes and Indo-European speakers predominantly[...] almost simultaneously, possibly by decree of the rulers, in upper-caste populations of all geographical regions, about 70 generations before present, probably during the reign (319–550 CE) of the ardent Hindu Gupta rulers." Johannes Bronkhorst , referring to Basu et al. (2016) and Moorjani et al. (2013) states that "it seems safe to conclude that
6800-461: Was a marriage of political expedience. In 1947, around the time that India gained independence , the Kutch, Kathiawar, Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha (KKGKS) caste association emerged as an umbrella organisation to continue the work begun during the Raj. Christophe Jaffrelot , a French political scientist, says that this body, which claimed to represent the Rajputs and Kolis, "... is a good example of
6885-560: Was also seeking alliances with political parties at the state level; initially, with the Indian National Congress and then, by the early 1960s, with the Swatantra Party . By 1967, the KKGKS was once again working with Congress because, despite being a haven for Patidars, the party leadership needed the votes of the KKGKS membership. The Kolis gained more from the actions of the KKGKS in these two decades than did
6970-586: Was broadly similar. Along with Brahmins and Kshatriyas, a class called gahapatis (literally householders, but effectively propertied classes) was also included among high kulas . The people of high kulas were engaged in occupations of high rank, viz ., agriculture, trade, cattle-keeping, computing, accounting and writing, and those of low kulas were engaged in low-ranked occupations such as basket-weaving and sweeping. The gahapatis were an economic class of land-holding agriculturists, who employed dasa-kammakaras (slaves and hired labourers) to work on
7055-598: Was especially common in Maharashtra and Gujarat. In 1925, Kolis were registered under Criminal Tribes Act. The Indian historian G. S. Ghurye writes that Kolis worked as soldiers in the Indian Army in several Regiments but again in 1940 Koli soldiers were classified as a Criminal Tribe under Criminal Tribe Act by the Bombay Government for their uncommon activities against government officials. In 1952,
7140-399: Was not based on purity-impurity ranking principle, and that the Vedic literature is devoid of the untouchability concept. In the 21st century, advances genetics research enabled biologists and geneticists to study the antiquity of castes in India. In studying the degree of differentiation of each jati with all others on the basis of differences of mutation frequencies, they identified
7225-438: Was previously often assumed. Certain scholars of caste have considered jati to have its basis in religion, assuming that the sacred elements of life in India envelop the secular aspects; for example, the anthropologist Louis Dumont described the ritual rankings that exist within the jati system as being based on the concepts of religious purity and pollution. This view has been disputed by other scholars who believe it to be
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