Khandayat

Last updated

The Khandayat (also known as Khandait) is a cultivating caste [1] of Odisha in India. Numerically they are the largest caste of Odisha. [2]

Contents

Etymology

Khandayat means master of the sword: Khanda is a type of sword and ayata means control. [3] [4]

Classification

Khandayats are classified under Socially Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) list of Odisha [5] , but not included in Other Backward Classes list. There were demands in 2007 that the community in Odisha be included as an Other Backward Class in India's system of Affirmative Action. [6]

Status

Academics suggest that the connection with the Kshatriya varna may be a claim originating within the Khandayat community, some of whom used their martial history to promote a tradition similar to the Jats of North India. [7] [8] Those whom identified as Khandayat were often comparatively rich cultivator peasants who sought to raise their social status and legitimise the control they exercised over other people, while some were revenue collectors, village headmen and holders of hereditary jagirs that had been granted to their families for past military service. [9] [10] [11] The political scientist Subrata Mitra believes that the Khandayats' aspirations regarding influence and upward social mobility—to become similar to Odishan Brahmins and Karanas—were still being pursued in the early 2000s through the process of Sanskritisation. [12]

Related Research Articles

Odisha State in eastern India

Odisha, formerly Orissa, is an Indian state located in eastern India. It neighbors the states of West Bengal and Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and Andhra Pradesh to the south. Odisha has a coastline of 485 kilometres (301 mi) along the Bay of Bengal. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Scheduled Tribes in India.

Rajput Social community of South Asia

Rajput is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Rajput covers various patrilineal clans historically associated with warriorhood: several clans claim Rajput status, although not all claims are universally accepted. According to modern scholars, almost all Rajputs clans originated from peasant or pastoral origin.

Kapu (caste) A Hindu agrarian caste

Kapu refers to a social grouping of agriculturists found primarily in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kapus are primarily an agrarian community, forming a heterogeneous peasant caste.

The Mukkulathor people, who are also collectively known as Thevar, are native to the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India. They comprise the Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar social groups that share a common myth of origin and claim to have once been members of various ancient South Indian dynasties.

The Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ), also spelled Oriya, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the Indian state of Odisha and have the Odia language as their mother tongue. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state of Odisha, with significant minority populations in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Vanniyar south indian Rajput

The Vanniyar, or Vanniya Kula Kshatriya formerly known as the Palli, are a community or jāti found in northern Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh and in southern Karnataka.

Kendujhar district District of Odisha in India

Kendujhar District, also known as Keonjhar District is an administrative district of Odisha. The district is one of the fifth Scheduled Areas of Odisha. The town of Kendujhar is the district headquarters. The district has 3 Sub-Divisions, Anandapur, Champua, and Keonjhar.

The Karan or Karana are a writer caste(scribes) found in Odisha, India. They play the same role in Odisha as that of the Kayasthas of West Bengal and Bihar and are considered the next prominent rank after Brahmins in Odisha.Traditionally they were the official record-keepers in the royal courts of the Odia princely states(Orissa Tributary States).

Nabakrushna Choudhuri Indian politician

Nabakrushna Choudhuri was an Indian politician and activist. He served as Chief Minister of the Indian state of Odisha. He was a freedom fighter who participated in the Non-cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience movement and Peasants movement.

Sahu. is a surname found in India.

Yadav Social community of India

Yadav refers to a grouping of traditionally mainly non-elite, peasant-pastoral communities or castes in India that since the 19th and 20th centuries have claimed descent from the mythological king Yadu as a part of a movement of social and political resurgence.

Agharia is a Hindu caste from India.

Paika akhada is an Odia term which roughly translates as "warrior gymnasium" or "warrior school". In former times they served as the training schools of the peasant-militias in Odisha, eastern India. Today's paika akhada are used for practicing the traditional physical exercises in addition to the paika dance, a performance art with rhythmic movements and weapons being hit in time to the drum. It incorporates acrobatic maneuvres and use of the khanda, patta (guantlet-sword), sticks, and other weapons.

Hindol State

Hindol State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. Its former territory is now part of Dhenkanal district. The state's former capital was the town of Hindol, Odisha. Until 1947, it was not part of British India but was subject to the suzerainty of the British crown, under the Orissa States Agency.

Purbiya was a common term used in medieval India for Rajput led mercenaries and soldiers from the eastern Gangetic Plain - areas corresponding to present-day western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Purbiyas played a significant role in the militaries of various principalities in Western India including the Marwar army.

Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi Indian Odia writer and politician

Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi was an Indian Odia writer and politician. He was a founder and also the first secretary of Communist Party of Odisha. He wrote around a dozen short stories before his mysterious death in 1943.

Afzal-ul Amin Indian politician and social worker (1915-1983)

Mohammed Afzal-ul Amin popularly known as M.A Amin was an Indian statesman, politician and social worker from Cuttack, Odisha. He served as the general secretary of Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee during Biren Mitra's chief ministership. Afzal-ul was the Vice Chairman of Cuttack Municipality and also the President of Odisha Mohammadan Association. He played a major role in preserving Urdu language in Cuttack by establishing several lower primary and upper primary Urdu schools in the city. He is also credited for organising various nationalist meetings and mobilizing the common masses in Cuttack during the Quit India movement of 1942.

Gopal or Gauda is an Indian caste which is a synonym of the Ahir (Yadav) caste from Odisha State in India. Their traditional occupation is cattle-herding and cultivation. They are the third largest caste in Odisha.

The Paik or Paika or Paiko (Odia:ପାଇକ) is a Militia community found in Odisha state of India.

The Kamar or Kamara is an Indian caste found in the Odisha states of India. They are subcaste of Karmakar caste of Bengal.Historically, they were blacksmiths by profession, commonly forging agricultural equipment like sickles, axes, spades, crowbars etc.

References

  1. ↑ Bailey, Frederick George (1970). Politics and Social Change. University of California Press. p. 132. ...the large Chasa and Khandayat cultivating castes of the Orissa plains
  2. ↑ Punjab Journal of Politics. Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak Dev University. 1986.
  3. ↑ Mohapatra, Dr. Hemanta Kumar (December 2014). "Martial Art Tradition of Odisha" (PDF). OdishaReview. Govt. of Odisha. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Indian Association of Kickboxing Organisations (9 February 2013). "Paika Akhada". Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "www.stscodisha.gov.in" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "Demand to be on OBC list". The Telegraph. 19 April 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Rob Jenkins (2004). Regional Reflections: Comparing Politics Across India's States. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-566808-7.
  8. ↑ "Religion, caste don't count in Odisha polls". Deccan Herald. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Pati, Biswamoy (2001). Situating Social History: Orissa, 1800–1997. Orient Blackswan. p. 35. ISBN   978-8-12502-007-3.
  10. ↑ Pati, Biswamoy (2007). "The Order of Legitimacy: Princely Orissa". In Ernst, Waltraud; Pati, Biswamoy (eds.). India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism. Routledge. pp. 87, 89. ISBN   978-1-134-11988-2.
  11. ↑ Mahapatra, L. K. (1978). "Gods, Kings, and the Caste System in India". In Misra, Bhabagrahi; Preston, James (eds.). Community, Self and Identity. Walter de Gruyter. p. 22. ISBN   978-3-11-080265-8.
  12. ↑ Mitra, Subrata K. (2002). Power, Protest and Participation: Local Elites and Development in India. Routledge. pp. 66–68. ISBN   978-1-134-89883-1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.