Twashta Kasar (also known as Tambat or Kasar) is a Hindu artisan caste of coppersmiths (tamrakar and tamta), predominantly residing in the Indian state of Maharashtra. In Goa, they call themselves Twashta Kasar Brahmin. According to Herbert Hope Risley, they are a branch of the Suvarna Banik, who became degraded because they took to working in metal. [1] [2]
They are included in the Other Backward Class category by the Government of Maharashtra. [3] [4]
The primary religion of Twashta Kasar is Hindu. The community worships Kalika as a guardian deity (Palak Devta). They have established "Twashta Kasar Samaj Samstha Kalika Mandir" in every city wherever they have a sizable population. The Samaj Samstha is a community center where they organize events. In Pune, the community has been celebrating Ganeshotsav since 1893. [5] [6]
Although Kokani is their mother tongue, most of them converse in marathi.They are trditionally non-vegetarian.
The Maratha caste is composed of 96 clans, originally formed in the earlier centuries from the amalgamation of families from the peasant (Kunbi), shepherd (Dhangar), blacksmith (Lohar), carpenter (Sutar), Bhandari, Thakar and Koli castes in Maharashtra. Many of them took to military service in the 16th century for the Deccan sultanates or the Mughals. Later in the 17th and 18th centuries, they served in the armies of the Maratha Kingdom, founded by Shivaji, a Maratha Kunbi by caste. Many Marathas were granted hereditary fiefs by the Sultanates, and Mughals for their service.
Saraswat Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins, who are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir and Punjab in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara and Kerala in South India. The word Saraswat is derived from the Rigvedic Sarasvati River.
The Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes that are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with general castes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs). The OBCs were found to comprise 52% of the country's population by the Mandal Commission report of 1980 and were determined to be 41% in 2006 when the National Sample Survey Organisation took place. There is substantial debate over the exact number of OBCs in India; it is generally estimated to be sizable, but many believe that it is higher than the figures quoted by either the Mandal Commission or the National Sample Survey.
Kunbi is a generic term applied to several castes of traditional farmers in Western India. These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Masaram, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa, Lonare and Tirole communities of Vidarbha. The communities are largely found in the state of Maharashtra but also exist in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa. Kunbis are included among the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Maharashtra.
Tāmrakār is a caste of coppersmiths and other metal casters found in Nepal and India. In Nepal, the Tamrakars are found among the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley.
The Dhangars are a herding caste of people found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. They are referred to as Gavli in southern Maharashtra, Goa and northern Karnataka, Golla in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and Ahir in northern Maharashtra. Some Gavlis live in forested hill tracts of India's Western Ghats. Gavli, also known as Dange or Mhaske, and Ahir are a sub-caste of Dhangar. However, there are many distinct Gavli castes in Maharashtra and Dhangar Gavli is one of them.
Karhade Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
The Konkani people are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Konkan region of the Indian subcontinent who speak various dialects of the Konkani language. Konkani is the state language of Goa and also spoken by populations in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Damaon and Kerala. Other Konkani speakers are found in Gujarat state. A large percentage of Konkani people are bilingual.
Kalika Devi Temple is a Hindu temple in Belgaum, Karnataka dedicated to Shaktism.
The Marathi people or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a Marathi-speaking state of India on May 1, 1960, as part of a nationwide linguistic reorganisation of the Indian states. The term "Maratha" is generally used by historians to refer to all Marathi-speaking peoples, irrespective of their caste; However, it may refer to a Maharashtrian caste known as the Maratha.
The caste system in Goa consists of various Jātis or sub-castes found among Hindus belonging to the four varnas, as well as those outside of them. A variation of the traditional Hindu caste system was also retained by the Goan Catholic community.
Forward caste is a term used in India to denote castes which are not listed in SC, ST or OBC reservation lists. They are on average considered ahead of other castes economically and educationally. They account for about 30.8% of the population based on Schedule 10 of available data from the National Sample Survey Organisation 55th (1999–2000) and National Sample Survey Organisation 61st Rounds (2004–05) Round Survey.
The Daivadnya,, is a community from Goa and Karnataka, who claim to have descended from Vishwakarma. Although they claim themselves to be Brahmin, but these claims are not accepted by others including local Brahmin castes. They are native to the Konkan and are mainly found in the states of Goa and Damaon, Canara, coastal Maharashtra, and Kerala. Daivadnyas in the state of Maharashtra and Karnataka are classified by National Commission for Backward Classes as an Other Backward Class.
The Bhandari community is a caste that inhabits the western coast of India. Their traditional occupation was "toddy tapping". They form the largest caste group in the state of Goa, reportedly being over 30% of that state's Hindu population, and play a major role in deciding the future of any political party there. Bhandaris are included in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Goa and Maharashtra.
Maharashtra is the third largest state of India in terms of land area and second largest in terms of population in India. It has a long history of Marathi saints of Varakari religious movement, such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath and Tukaram which forms the one of bases of the culture of Maharashtra or Marathi culture. Maharashtrian culture had large influence over neighbouring regions under the Maratha Empire.
Gomantak Maratha Samaj is a Hindu community found in the Indian state of Goa. They are known as Nutan Maratha Samaj in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra and Naik Maratha Samaj in Maharashtra, Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, also Telangana respectively.
Nai, also known as Sain is a generic term for occupational castes of barbers. The name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit word nāpita (नापित). In modern times Nai in northern India refer to themselves as "Sain" instead of Nai.
Marathi Brahmins are communities native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. They are classified into mainly three sub-divisions based on their places of origin, "Desh", "Karad" and "Konkan". The Brahmin subcastes that come under Maharashtra Brahmins include Deshastha, Chitpavan (Konkanastha), Saraswat, Karhade, and Devrukhe.
Chari/Achari/acharyulu/Acharya is a Hindu surname of vishwakarma caste that encompasses various communities across India, with regional modifications as consistent with the local languages.
Manoj Raosaheb Jarange also known as Manoj Jarange Patil is an Indian Maratha quota activist based in the state of Maharashtra, India.
Risley (1891) refers to them as an offshoot of the Subarnabanik, who became degraded because they took to working in Kansa or bell -metal. They are also known as Kangabanik in West Bengal. They are known as Kansara in Gujarat and Twasta Kasar or Tambat in Maharashtra. They are known as Tamrakar in Madhya Pradesh. In Goa they call themselves Twashta Kasar Brahmin. In Bihar they are also known as Kanskar. Traditional occupation of Kansari is working on bell-metal.
They enjoy civic amenities and derive benefits from other developmental programmes. In Goa, the Kasar call themselves Twashta Kasar Brahman. They are also referred to as Kasar or Tambat (coppersmith) by the local people. Konkani is their mother tongue, but most of them converse in Marathi. They use the Devanagari script. The Kasar are non-vegetarian...
They also include `Aryakshatriya' and `Sarige' as synonyms of Somavamsha Arya Kshatriya and `Hindu Sadaru' castes/communities of Karnataka, Twashta Kasar, Kansar as synonym of `Tambat', `Kurmi' as synonym of Kunbi and `Yellam/Yelam' castes in Maharashtra