Ahir (Sanskrit: Abhira)[1] is a caste found in the Indian subcontinent, mainly modern-day India, Nepal and Pakistan.[2][3][4][5] The Ahir clans are spread almost all over country.[6]
Etymology
The word "ahir" is derived from the Sanskrit word "abhira."[7][1]
Clans
Nandvanshi Ahirs
The Nandvanshi Ahirs are a section of Ahirs.[8] Kamarias [9] are also a sub-clan of Nandvanshi Ahirs[10][11][12] in Uttar Pradesh.
Gwalvanshi Ahirs
Gwalvanshi Ahirs have migrated to other parts of Uttar Pradesh from Mathura and they claim descent from gopis and gopas of Krishna's time.[13]
Ghosi
The Ghosi are a division of Ahir community found mainly in North India. They were the zamidars and small rulers of various parts of country.[14]
Phatak
The Phatak Ahirs claim to be descended from Digpal, the Ahirs of Mahaban.[14]
Dauwa
The Dauwas claim to be the descendants of Shree Balaram, elder brother of Krishna.[15][16] Dauwas were rulers of Bundelkhand in past. It is said that Dauwas had established their power in Bundelkhand but not before Bundela Rajputs.[16][17]
Dhadhor
Dhadhor is a subcaste of Ahirs.[18]
Krishnaut
Krishnaut or Kishnaut are Ahirs that inhabits the state of Bihar.[19][20]
Majhraut
They inhabit the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand.[21][22][23][24] They claim to have descended from king Madhu.
Sorathia
Sorathia is a Ahir clan found in the state of Gujarat in India. According to B.S Suryavanshi, they are the descendents of chief Rao Navaghana of Junagadh.[25]
Yaduvanshi Ahirs
The Yaduvanshi Ahirs[26] claim descent from the Rigvedic Yadu tribe of Krishna.[27]
References
- ^ a b Shashi, Shyam Singh (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: The tribal world in transition. Anmol Publications. ISBN 978-81-7041-836-8.
- ^ Shashi, Shyam Singh (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: The tribal world in transition. Anmol Publications. p. 76. ISBN 978-81-7041-836-8.
- ^ Heath, Anthony F.; Jeffery, Roger (2010). Diversity and Change in Modern India: Economic, Social and Political Approaches. OUP/British Academy. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-19-726451-5.
- ^ Gurung, Harka B. (1996). Faces of Nepal. Himal Books. p. 80. ISBN 978-99933-43-50-9.
- ^ Biographical Encyclopedia of Pakistan: Millennium 2000. Research Institute of Historiography, Biography and Philosophy. 2001.
- ^ Fox, Richard Gabriel (1971). Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-01807-5.
- ^ "People of Maharashtra" (PDF).
- ^ Gupta, Dipankar (2021). Caste in Question. SAGE Publication. p. 58. ISBN 9788132103455.
Their original caste title was Ahir. The idea of a unique Krishnavanshi kinship category which fuses traditional subdivisions Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi and Goallavanshi into a single endogamous unit
- ^ Mutatkar, Ramchandra Keshav (1978). Caste Dimensions in a Village. Shubhada-Saraswat.
- ^ Dass, Arvind (2002). Caste System: Caste commentaries and documentation. Dominant Publishers and Distributors. ISBN 978-81-7888-029-7.
- ^ Mutatkar, Ramchandra Keshav (1978). Caste Dimensions in a Village. Shubhada-Saraswat.
- ^ Gupta, Dipankar (8 December 2004). Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy?. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-7619-3324-3.
- ^ Michelutti, Lucia (29 November 2020). The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste and Religion in India. Taylor & Francis. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-000-08400-9.
- ^ a b Lucia Michelutti, Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town (2002) London School of Economics and Political Science University of London, p.90-98
- ^ Russell, Robert Vane (1916). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India. Macmillan and Company, limited.
- ^ a b Singh, Mahendra Pratap (2001). Shivaji, Bhakha Sources and Nationalism. Books India International.
- ^ "Bundela | Rajputs, Marathas, Bundelkhand | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ India Today. Aroon Purie for Living Media India Limited. 1994.
- ^ Bihar (India); Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1957). Bihar District Gazetteers: Bhagalpur. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar.
- ^ The National Geographical Journal of India. National Geographical Society of India. 1975.
- ^ Bihar (India); Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1957). Bihar District Gazetteers: Bhagalpur. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar.
- ^ Singh, Rana P. B. (1977). Clan Settlements in the Saran Plain (Middle Ganga Valley): A Study in Cultural Geography. National Geographical Society of India, Banaras Hindu University.
- ^ Bihar (India); Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1962). Bihar District Gazetteers: Hazaribagh. Superintendent, Secretariat Press, Bihar.
- ^ Siddiqui, M. K. A. (1993). Inter-caste and Inter-community Relationship: Developing Patterns. Commonwealth Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7169-260-6.
- ^ SurvaVanshi, Bhagwansingh (1962). Abhiras their history and culture. p. 84.
- ^ Singh, Bhrigupati (2015). Poverty and the quest for life: spiritual and material striving in rural India. Chicago: University of Chicago press. pp. 21, 146. ISBN 978-0-226-19440-0.
- ^ Gupta, Dipankar, ed. (2004). Caste in question: identity or hierarchy?. Contributions to Indian sociology. New Delhi Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications. p. 58. ISBN 978-81-321-0345-5.