Bhandari (caste)

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.[1][2]

For other uses, see Bhandari (disambiguation).

History

Although the word "Bhandari" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Mandharale", which means "distiller", Bhandaris prefer derivation from Bhandar, which means treasury, because they used to be treasury guards in the past.

Traditionally their occupation was drawing toddy from palm plants. Historical evidence suggests that they were foot soldiers in the Maratha Empire and British Indian Army. The famous "Hetkaris" in the army of Shivaji were Bhandaris. Bhandaris are divided into various sub-castes such as Kitte, Hetkari, Thale, Gavad, sheshvanshi, morey. During British Raj, Bhandaris lacked unity among various sub-castes and the differences within these sub-jatis hindered the community progress. The leaders of these sub-castes established their independent caste associations.[3]

Bhandari (Devanagari:भंडारी) caste is among the sea-faring warrior castes (Rajput) of ancient and medieval India. They migrated southward from Rajputana in early 1100 and subsequently spread over different parts of India. Along with Himachal Pradesh (Shimla), Maharashtra, Goa, parts of Karnataka like Karwar; they can be found in significant numbers in Nepal, Rajasthan, parts of Central India, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, Kumaon and Garhwal of Uttarakhand, India

Varna status

Bhandaris claim that they were originally Kshatriya traders from Rajputana who converted to Jainism. They also cite the practice of Sati and Jauhar amongst Konkan and Goa Bhandaris as representative of original Kshatriyas.[3] Tukaram Padaval, who belonged to Bhandari caste and a close associate of Jyotiba Phule, said that the claim to Kshatriya status was common among many upper and lower castes but there was no certainty at all as to who among them are the original Kshatriyas.[4]

Bhandaris are included in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Goa. This provides them with certain rights under India's scheme of affirmative action, such as reservation of positions in government employment and admission to professional colleges.[5] They are also classified as OBCs in Maharashtra.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Treasurers of yore, now key to political fortune". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  2. Scott C. Martin (16 December 2014). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives. SAGE Publications. pp. 1384–. ISBN 978-1-4833-3108-9.
  3. Seshan, Radhika; Kumbhojkar, Shraddha (2018). Re-searching Transitions in Indian History. Taylor & Francis. pp. 154–157.
  4. O'Hanlon, Rosalind (2002). Caste, Conflict and Ideology: Mahatma Jotirao Phule and Low Caste Protest in Nineteenth-Century Western India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-52152-308-0.
  5. "Goa govt increases quota for OBCs in jobs to 27%". TNN. No. Jan 16, 2014, 03.23AM IST. TOI. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  6. "List of Castes in Other Backward Class of Maharashtra". Maharashtra State OBC Finance and Development Corporation. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.

Further reading
  • Rege, Sharmila (2006). Writing Caste, Writing Gender: Reading Dalit Women's Testimonies. Zubaan. ISBN 978-8-18901-301-1.
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