Hence as we go down the hierarchy we encounter more and more debates regarding the claims of particular lineages to being Rajput so much so that we lose sight of any boundary and the Rajput division merges imperceptibly into some other division. No analytical gains are therefore likely to occur by calling them by any other name. The understanding of changes in caste is not likely to be advanced by clubbing such diverse groups together under the rubric of ethnic group. They then spread to towns in the homeland and among all castes. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"uGhRfiuY26l2oZgRlfZRFSp4BWPIIt7Gh61sQC1XrRU-3600-0"}; A first-order division could be further divided into two or more second-order divisions. In contrast, there were horizontal units, the internal hierarchy and hypergamy of which were restricted to some extent by the formation of small endogamous units and which had discernible boundaries at the lowest level. A great deal of discussion of the role of the king in the caste system, based mainly on Indological literature, does not take these facts into account and therefore tends to be unrealistic. If the marriage took place within the Vania fold but outside the tad or ekda, as the case may be, the punishment varied according to the social distance between the tads or ekdas of the bride and the groom. The two considered themselves different and separateof course, within the Kanbi foldwhere they happened to live together in the villages in the merger zone between north and central Gujarat and in towns. While certain first-order divisions were found mainly in towns, the population of certain other first-order divisions was dispersed in villages as well as in towns, the population of the rural and the urban sections differing from one division to another. I have done field work in two contiguous parts of Gujarat: central Gujarat (Kheda district and parts of Ahmedabad and Baroda districts) and eastern Gujarat (Panchmahals district). The point is that the Rajput hierarchy, with the princely families at the top, merged at the lower level imperceptibly into the vast sea of tribal and semi-tribal people like Bhils and Kolis. Another major factor in the growth of urban centres in Gujarat was political. A large proportion, if not the whole, of the population of many of such divisions lived in towns. In most parts of Gujarat it merged into the various second-order divisions of the Koli division and possible also into the widespread tribe of Bhils. A new view of the whole, comprising the rural and the urban and the various orders of caste divisions, should be evolved. After the commercial revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, Gujarat had a large number of tradition towns on its long sea-coast. He stated: hereditary specialization together with hierarchical organization sinks into the background in East Africa (293). We will now analyze the internal structure of a few first-order divisions, each of which was split into divisions going down to the fourth order. This list may not reflect recent changes. An important idea behind the activities of caste associations is: service to ones caste is service to the nation. There is enormous literature on these caste divisions from about the middle of the 19th century which includes census reports, gazetteers, [] Division and hierarchy have always been stressed as the two basic principles of the caste system. In other words, it did not involve a big jump from one place to another distant place. <> There were similar problems about the status of a number of other divisions. James Campbell (1901: xii), the compiler of gazetteers for the former Bombay presidency comprising several linguistic regions, wrote about Gujarat: In no part of India are the subdivisions so minute, one of them, the Rayakval Vanias, numbering only 47 persons in 1891. When the rural population began to be drawn towards the new opportunities, the first to take advantage of them were the rural sections of the rural-cum-urban castes. The boundaries of caste division were fairly clear in the village community. In recent years, however, there has been a tendency to emphasize hierarchy as the primary principle encompassing the principle of division. Frequently, the urban population of such a division performed more specialized functions than did the rural one. The Khadayatas were divided into about 30 ekdas. %PDF-1.7 Thus, finding any boundary between Rajputs and Kolis in the horizontal context was impossible, although there were sharp boundaries between the two in the narrow local context. Since the beginning of the modern reform movement to encourage inter-caste marriages-most of which are in fact inter-tad or inter-ekda marriagesthe old process of fission into ekdas and tads has come to a halt, and it is, therefore, difficult to understand this process without making a systematic historical enquiry. The three trading castes of Vania, Lohana and Bhatia were mainly urban. It is not easy to find out if the tads became ekdas in course of time and if the process of formation of ekdas was the same as that of the formation of tads. 4 GUJARAT 4273 SHODA . In addition, they carried on overland trade with many towns in central and north India. endobj The urban centres in both the areas, it is hardly necessary to mention, are nucleated settlements populated by numerous caste and religious groups. I do not propose to review the literature on caste here; my aim is to point out the direction towards which a few facts from Gujarat lead us. It is a coalescence of Kolis and Rajputs on the modern political plane based on the foundation of the traditional social and cultural symbiosis under the rubric of Kshatriya. Each unit was ranked in relation to others, and many members of the lower units married their daughters into the higher units, so that almost every unit became loose in the course of time. This tendency reaches its culmination in the world of Dumont. They worked not only as high priests but also as bureaucrats. The two together formed a single complex of continental dimension. Srinivas has called the unity of the village manifested in these interrelations the vertical unity of the village (1952: 31f. To illustrate, among the Khadayata or Modh Vanias, an increasing number of marriages take place between two or more tads within an ekda. Many second-order divisions were further divided into two or three status categories. The ekdas have not yet lost their identities. to which the divisions of the marrying couple belong. Typically, a village consists of the sections of various castes, ranging from those with just one household to those with over u hundred. The census reports provide such figures until 1931, but it is well known that these pose many problems for sociological analysis, most of which arise out of the nature of castes as horizontal units. Bougies repulsion) rather than on hierarchy was a feature of caste in certain contexts and situations in traditional India, and increasing emphasis on division in urban Indian in modern times is an accentuation of what existed in the past. Within each of these divisions, small endogamous units (ekdas, gols, bandhos) were organized from time to time to get relief from the difficulties inherent in hypergamy. The point is that there was nothing like the endogamous unit but there were only several units of various orders with defined roles in endogamy. The Kolis in such an area may not even be concerned about a second-order divisional name and may be known simply as Kolis. Many of them became the norm-setting elite for Gujaratis in the homeland. The name, Talapada, meaning mdigenous, commonly used in the 19th century, is most clear, since it is clearly distinguished from the other division called Pardeshi, meaning foreign, who during the last one or two centuries immigrated here from the area around Patan in north Gujarat and were, therefore, also called Patan- wadias. There was also a third category called Pancha, derived from the word punch (meaning 5) and denoting extremely low Vania. There was apparently a close relation between a castes internal organization and the size and spatial distribution of its population. The earliest caste associations were formed in Bombay in the middle of the 19th century among migrants belonging to the primarily urban and upper castes from Gujarat, such as Vanias, Bhatias and Lohanas (see Dobbin 1972: 74-76, 121-30, 227f, 259-61). The main thrust of Pococks paper is that greater emphasis on difference rather than on hierarchy is a feature of caste among overseas Indians and in modern urban India. As could be expected, there were marriages between fairly close kin, resulting in many overlapping relationships, in such an endogamous unit. Frequently, the shift from emphasis on co-operation and hierarchy in the caste system to emphasis on division (or difference or separation) is described as shift from whole to parts, from system to elements, from structure to substance. A block printed and resist-dyed fabric, whose origin is from Gujarat was found in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt. Village studies, as far as caste is a part of them, have been, there fore, concerned with the interrelations between sections of various castes in the local context. It has already been mentioned that every first-order division was not divided into second-order divisions, and that every second-order division was not divided into third-order divisions, and so on. The institutions of both bride and bridegroom price (the latter also called dowry) were rampant in castes with continuous internal hierarchydowry mainly at the upper levels, bride price mainly at the lower levels, and both dowry and bride price among status-seeking middle level families. . While almost all the social structures and institutions which existed in villagesreligion, caste, family, and so onalso existed in towns, we should not assume that their character was the same. A fundamental difficulty with these paradigms of change, as indicated by the above analysis, is that they are based on a partial conception of the systematic or structural whole in the past partially because it does not cover the urban situation and the complexity of horizontal units. And even when a Brahman name corresponded with a Vania name, the former did not necessarily work as priests of the latter.The total number of second-divisions in a first-order division differed from one first-order division to another. The marital alliances of the royal families forming part of the Maratha confederacy, and of the royal families of Mysore in south India and of Kashmir and Nepal in the north with the royal families of Gujarat and Rajasthan show, among other things, how there was room for flexibility and how the rule of caste endogamy could be violated in an acceptable manner at the highest level. One of the clearly visible changes in caste in Gujarat is the increasing number of inter-divisional or so-called inter-caste marriages, particularly in urban areas, in contravention of the rule of caste endogamy. Britain's Industrial Revolution was built on the de-industrialisation of India - the destruction of Indian textiles and their replacement by manufacturing in England, using Indian raw materials and exporting the finished products back to India and even the rest of the world. 1 0 obj All of this information supports the point emerging from the above analysis, that frequently there was relatively little concern for ritual status between the second-order divisions within a first- order division than there was between the first-order divisions. As a consequence, the continuities of social institutions and the potentiality of endogenous elements for bringing about change are overlooked (for a discussion of some other difficulties with these paradigms, see Lynch 1977). In all there were thirty to forty such divisions. Usually, these divisions were distinguished from one another by prohibition of what people called roti vyavahar (bread, i.e., food transactions) as well as beti vyavahar (daughter, i.e., marital transactions). The existence of flexibility at both the levels was made possible by the flexibility of the category Rajput. Although some of them set up shops in villages they rarely became full-fledged members of the village community. As Ghurye pointed out long ago, slow consolidation of the smaller castes into larger ones would lead to three or four large groups being solidly organized for pushing the interests of each even at the cost of the others. The Rajput links entailed the spread of Rajput culture in each Koli division and provided a certain cultural homogeneity to all the divisions. This was unlike the situation among the Rajputs who did not make any attempt to form small endogamous units. In the past the dispersal over a wide area of population of an ekda or tad was uncommon; only modern communications have made residential dispersal as well as functional integration possible. While the Rajputs, Leva Patidars, Anavils and Khedawals have been notorious for high dowries, and the Kolis have been looked down upon for their practice of bride price, the Vanias have been paying neither. I have bits and pieces of information about relations between a considerable numbers of other lower-order divisions in their respective higher-order divisions. Although they claimed to be Brahman they were closely associated with agriculture. Weavers became beggars, manufacturing collapsed and the last 2000 years of Indian textile industry was knocked down. Such a description not only overlooks the diversity and complexity of caste divisions and the rural-urban Link- ages in them but also leads to placing them in the same category as Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Jains, Buddhists, and so on. endobj Nor do I claim to know the whole of Gujarat. So instead of a great exporter of finished products, India became an importer of British, while its share of world export fell from 27% to two percent. Unfortunately, such figures are not available for the last fifty years or so. There are other sub-castes like Satpanthis, who are mainly centered in Kutch district and have some social customs akin to Muslims . Caste associations in Gujarat were formed mainly among upper castes to provide welfare (including recreation), to promote modern education, and to bring about reforms in caste customs. But the hypergamous tendency was so powerful that each such endogamous unit could not be perfectly endogamous even at the height of its integration. Usually, it was a small population. Finally, while an increasing number of marriages are taking place even across the boundaries of first-order divisions, as for example, between Brahmans and Vanias, and between Vanias and Patidars, such marriages even now form an extremely small proportion of the total number of marriages. While we do get evidence of fission of caste divisions of a higher order into two or more divisions of a lower order, the mere existence of divisions of a lower order should not be taken as evidence of fission in a division of a higher order. I am not suggesting that the principle of hierarchy was insignificant in the inter- or intra-caste relations in urban centres. The pattern of inter-divisional marriages shows how the idea of free marriage, which guides most of the inter-caste marriages, is restricted, modified, and graded according to the traditional structure of caste divisions. The indigenous Kolis in the highland area of Pal in eastern Gujarat were called Palia, but there was another smaller population of KoUs, who were locally called Baria but were actually Talapada immigrants from central Gujarat. Although the ekda or tad was the most effective unit for endogamy, each unit of the higher order was also significant for endogamy. The humble Charkha (spinning wheel) and khadi became a dominant symbol of self-reliance, self-determination and nationalist pride. There was not only no pyramid type of arrangement among the many ekdas in a second-order Vania divisionthe type of arrangement found in the Rajput, Leva Kanbi, Anavil and Khedawal divisions-but frequently there was no significant sign of hierarchical relation, except boastful talk, between two neighbouring ekdas. I have, therefore, considered them a first-order division and not a second-order one among Brahmans (for a fuller discussion of the status of Anavils, see Joshi, 1966; Van der Veen 1972; Shah, 1979). Nevertheless, a breakdown of the population of Gujarat into major religious, caste and tribal groups according to the census of 1931 is presented in the following table to give a rough idea of the size of at least some castes. On the other hand, there was an almost simultaneous spurt in village studies. The handloom weavers of Gujarat, Maharastra and Bengal produced and exported some of the world's most desirable fabrics. The main point is that we do not completely lose sight of the lowest boundary among these three hypergamous divisions as we do among the Rajputs. In an area of the first kind there are no immigrant Kolis from elsewhere, and therefore, there is no question of their having second-order divisions. I shall first provide an analysis of caste in the past roughly during the middle of the 19th century, and then deal with changes in the modern times. In these divisions an increasing number of marriages are taking place against the grain of traditional hierarchy, i.e., girls of traditionally higher strata marry boys of traditionally lower strata. The Hindu population of Gujarat was divided first of all into what I have called caste divisions of the first order. Real Estate Software Dubai > blog > manvar surname caste in gujarat. The castes pervaded by hierarchy and hypergamy had large populations spread evenly from village to village and frequently also from village to town over a large area. [CDATA[ The very low Brahmans such as Kayatias and Tapodhans were invited but made to eat separately from the rest of the Brahmans. The incidence of exchange marriages and of bachelors in the lowest stratum among the Anavils also was high. hu)_EYUT?:fX:vOR,4g4ce{\(wcUO %OW-Knj|qV]_)1?@{^ $:0ZY\fpg7J~Q~pHaMVSP5bLC}6+zwgv;f f^v4[|vug+vO0h t7QNP}EYm+X[x~;O|z5tq ]-39aa{g-u5n:a56&`3y.f-a@a"0v-a@$%`Z]]Iqb56aR0g 30V9EM%K"#|6uN? =O|8alCcs):~AC<5 q|om57/|Sgc}2c#)U~WL}%T]s> z. I have discussed above caste divisions in Gujarat mainly in the past, roughly in the middle of the 19th century. It will readily be agreed that the sociological study of Indian towns and cities has not made as much progress as has the study of Indian villages. Gujarat- A state in India. All associations originated in large towns, are more active in towns than in villages, and are led by prominent members in towns. www.opendialoguemediations.com. Most of the second-order divisions were further divided into third-order divisions. They were involved in agriculture in one way or another. 100 Most Popular Indian Last Names Or SurnamesWhy Don't Tamil People Have Last Names?-----A . Also, the horizontal spread of a caste rarely coincided with the territorial boundaries of a political authority. The two former ekdas continued to exist with diminished strength. r/ahmedabad From Mumbai. In 1931, their total population was more than 1,700,000, nearly one-fourth of the total population of Gujarat. It was also an extreme example of a division having a highly differentiated internal hierarchy and practising hypergamy as an accepted norm. To obtain a clear understanding of the second-order divisions with the Koli division, it is necessary first of all to find a way through the maze of their divisional names. Even if we assume, for a moment, that the basic nature of a structure or institution was the same, we need to know its urban form or variant. Copyright 10. They took away offerings made to Shiva, which was considered extremely degrading. The main reason was that Anavils did not practise priesthood as a traditional occupation, nor were they involved in traditional Sanskrit learning. ADVERTISEMENTS: Division and Hierarchy: An Overview of Caste in Gujarat! There was also another important correlation. In the second-order divisions of the Leva Kanbis, the Anavils and the Khedawals, while the hypergamous tendency was strong, attempts were continually made to form small endogamous units: although the strength of the hypergamous tendency did not allow these units to function effectively, they nevertheless checked its free play to some extent. so roamed around clueless. It is not claimed that separation, or even repulsion, may not be present somewhere as an independent factor (1972: 346,n.55b). In each of these three divisions the top stratum was clear. It seems the highland Bhils (and possibly also other tribes) provided brides to lower Rajputs in Gujarat. It reflects, on the one hand, the political aspirations of Kolis guided by the importance of their numerical strength in electoral politics and on the other hand, the Rajputs attempt to regain power after the loss of their princely states and estates. The Chumvalias and Patanwadias migrated possibly from the same tract and continued to belong to the same horizontal unit after migration. In spite of them, however, sociologists and social anthropologists have not filled adequately the void left by the disappearance of caste from the census and the gazetteer. I would suggest that this feature of urban caste, along with the well known general tendency of urban culture to encourage innovation, provided the groundhowever diffuse that ground might have beenfor a favourable response to the anti-hierarchical ideas coming from the West. In central Gujarat, at least from about the middle of the 18th century, the population of the wealthy and powerful Patidar section of the Kanbis also lived in townsan extremely interesting development of rich villages into towns, which I will not describe here. The number of tads in an ekda or go I might be two or more, and each of them might be an endogamous units. Moreover, some leading Anavils did not wish to be bothered about Brahman status, saying that they were just Anavil. We have analyzed the internal structure of two first-order divisions, Rajput and Anavil, which did not have any second-order divisions, and of several second-order divisionsTalapada and Pardeshi Koli, Khedawal Brahman, and Leva Kanbiwhich did not have any third-order divisions. This list may not reflect recent changes. The main occupation of Vankars was the weaving of cloth. The population of certain first-order divisions lived mainly in villages. They wrote about the traditional Indian village, but not about the traditional Indian town. Before publishing your articles on this site, please read the following pages: 1. In particular, the implications of the co-existence of lower-order divisions within a higher- order division in the same town or city should be worked out. In the plains, therefore, every village had one or more towns in its vicinity. There were about three hundred divisions of this order in the region as a whole. How many sub-divisions existed in the various divisions of the various orders is a matter of empirical investigation. Since Vankars were involved in production and business they were known as Nana Mahajans or small merchants. Both were recognized as Brahman but as degraded ones. When Mr. H. Borradaile in A.D. 1827 collected information regarding the customs of Hindus, no less than 207 castes which did not intermarry, were found in the city of Surat alone. Content Filtrations 6. This does not, however, help describe caste divisions adequately. To have a meaningful understanding of the system of caste divisions, there is no alternative but to understand the significance of each order of division and particularly the nature of their boundaries and maintenance mechanisms. This surname is most commonly held in India, where it is held by 2,496 people, or 1 in 307,318. The Hindu and Muslim kingdoms in Gujarat during the medieval period had, of course, their capital towns, at first Patan and then Ahmedabad. According to the Rajputs I know in central Gujarat, the highest stratum among them consisted of the royal families of large and powerful kingdoms in Gujarat and neighbouring Rajasthan, such as those of Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Kachchh, Porbandar, Bikaner, Idar, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and so on.