Gadaria

The Gadaria or Gadariya (also known as Baghela, Pal,[1] Gadri,[2][3] Gayri,[2] or Gayari[3]) is an ethnic group that was traditionally involved professionally in livestock breeding, especially sheep.[4] The Gurjars also have herds along with cattle and it is believed that over time the Gurjars who remained shepherds became a different caste named Gadaria.[5] In Bihar they are called Gangajali, Bhedihar and Gaderi. They speak Hindi or local dialects. They are primarily found in Uttar Pradesh and in some parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.[6]

Etymology

The word Gadaria is derived from the old Hindi word Gadar, which means sheep.[7]

Recent History

In the early 1910s, an educated class of Gadarias formed All India Pal Kshatriya Mahasabha. There were debates within the community whether to add Kshatriya suffix to the community name. In the 1930s, they started referring to themselves as "Pali Rajput", a synonym of Pal kshatriya.[8] They started caste magazines like "Pal kshatriya Samachar" and "Shepherd Times". Later the community went through the process of de-sanskritization and dropped the suffix Kshatriya. Among the reasons cited for de-sanskritization were losing autonomy of their caste identity and avoiding being submerged into the identity of high castes.[9]

Sub-castes

There are two major subdivisions amongst Gadarias, namely Dhangar and Nikhar. They share the same gotras. Chauhan, Parihar, Sisodiya, Chandel, Bhadoriya, Solanki, etc. are some of the gotras amongst them.[10]

In Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi they are classified as Other Backward Class in the Indian System of Reservation.[11][12][13][14][15]

Religion

They practice Hinduism, worship family deities and various other deities including Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Hanuman, Kali, Chandi and Lakshmi. Some of them wear sacred thread. Majority of them are vegetarians, though some of them eat meat and drink alcohol.[16]

References
  1. "Who are the Gadaria?". People Groups of India. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  2. Census of India, 1921: Rajputana and Ajmer-Merwara, Part III Administrative Volume. 1921. p. Appendix L, pg xxi.
  3. Mehta, S. C.; Vij, P. K.; Nivsarkar, A. E.; Sahai, R. (1995). "Sheep husbandry practices in Sonadi and Malpura breeding tract". Indian Journal of Small Ruminants. 1: 1–7.
  4. Sharma, V.P.; Köhler-Rollefson, I (2003). Pastoralism in India: A scoping study. Ahmedabad: Centre for Management in Agriculture, IIM (Indian Institute of Management). S2CID 67805358.
  5. editors, B. K. Sharma, Seema Kulshreshtha, Asad R. Rahmani (2011). Faunal heritage of Rajasthan, India general background and ecology of vertebrates. Springer. p. 218. ISBN 9781461408000. Retrieved 7 August 2016.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  6. Shashi (2011), p. 29-30.
  7. Ghurye, G.S. (2008). Caste and race in India (5th ed.). Bombay: Popular Prakashan. p. 32. ISBN 9788171542055. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  8. Singh (2020), p. Caste organizations in the pre-Independence period/Sanskritization phase (Roughly the 1920s-1950s).
  9. Singh (2020), p. Phase II (1956 onwards): De-sanskritization towards an alternative culture.
  10. Shashi (2011), p. 29.
  11. Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Madhya Pradesh (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  12. Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Chattisgarh (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  13. Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Uttar Pradesh (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  14. Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Uttarakhand (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  15. Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Delhi (Report). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  16. Shashi (2011), p. 32.

Bibliography
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