The Chain, is a Kshatriya caste and this caste mainly of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. They have traditionally been associated with cultivation and fishery occupations.[1]

History

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The old identity of this community is Chandravanshi Kshatriya Rajput now known as Chain.

King ManSingh and Chain Community :- There were three regional powers during the Mughal period. Akbar, the Mughal emperor of Delhi, was the head of the three regional powers of Bengal, Hyderabad and Ayodhya. Akbar's reign lasted from 1556 to 1604.

Akbar appointed the Rajput king ManSingh as Subedar of Bihar in 1588, then he was given the post of commander in the Mughal court. During this Mughal period, Bengal's revenue or taxes transported millions of rupees from Dhaka, Rajshahi, Murshidabad and Rajmahal across the Ganges to the Mughal court in Delhi. Akbar suspected that the tax money would be looted from the river. He realized there was a robbery going on.

And Akbar assigned king ManSingh to stop the looting. To stop the looting, king Man Singh brought a very brave and fighting warrior community from UttarPradesh and Rajasthan to Bengal. That community is the Chandravanshi Kshatriya Rajput or Chain community.

These Chandravanshi Kshatriya Rajputs started living on the banks of the Ganges in pieces like stone Chai, seeing that the people of Bengal started calling them Chain, later these Chandravanshi Kshatriya Rajputs started identifying themselves as Chain community.

People of this Chain community are very brave and strong and their body structure is quite tall.

Distribution

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West Bengal

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In West Bengal, although the Chain community is widely dispersed through the state, the Government granted Scheduled Castes (SC) status only to Chain members in four districts: Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia and Dakshin Dinajpur.[2] Accordingly, the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 specifically reported the Chain only in these locations.[3] The total Chain population in West Bengal is more than thirty-five lakhs (35,000,00). And the Chain population in India is estimated to be around one crores (1,00,00,000). The National Commission for Scheduled Castes was reported in 2015 to be initiating a process to extend SC status to the community throughout West Bengal.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Mitra, A.; Census Operations and Joint Development Commissioner, Indian Civil Service Superintendent (1953). Land and Land Revenue Department (ed.). The Tribes and Castes of West Bengal (PDF). Census 1951: WEST BENGAL. Alipore, West Bengal: West Bengal Government Press. p. 77. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Indo-Asian News Service, (IANS) (10 March 2015). "Panel wants SC status for Chain community across Bengal". Business Standard India. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  3. ^ Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment Plan Division (2018). Handbook on social welfare statistics (PDF). New Delhi: Government of India. p. 101. Retrieved 19 September 2021.