Kamariya

Kamariya (Ahir)
Religions Hinduism
Languages Hindi, Bhojpuri, Brajbhasha
Populated States Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar
Subdivisions Nandvanshi Ahir

Kamariya (or Kamaria, Kamariya Ahir,[1] Kamariya Yadav, [2] Kamariya Thakur[3]) is a sub-caste of Ahir Community.

Etymology

Kamaria (literally means Kambal, Blanket), is a sub caste of Ahirs. Anthropologist Kumar Suresh Singh observed that the terms Bahenia, Kamaria, and Uprelia Ahir are synonymous in Madhya Pradesh and their common surname is Singh.[1]

Distribution

They are mainly found in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states in India. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the Gwala, Gopal, Ghosi, Mandal, Dharond, Dhuria, Gaoli, Kamaria, Ahir and Abhir castes all call themselves Yadavs.[4]

In North Western Provinces, the Parganah of Ahrorah in district Mirzapur and ancient Ahirwara, derives its name from Ahir Zamindars. The Ain Akbari also mentions Ahir Zamindars in the districts of Nagina and Sirdhana.[5]

In Madhya Pradesh, they are known as Kamaria Zamindars and are an agricultural community.[6][7]

Classification

Kamaria of Uttar Pradesh and the Kamaria Ahirs of Jabalpur are considered to belong to the Nandvanshi group. However, some sources mention that in Madhya Pradesh they profess to be the descendants of Yadava, the Krishna lineage.[1][8] The Nandvanshi and Yaduvanshi titles have fundamentally the same meaning.[9] The Kamaria are further sub divided into several gotras (clans), Idkana being one of the clans.[8] Bilhabaria, Diswar Sambharphula, Mujharanwa, Jinwariya, Barothe and Bhogita are the other clans of Kamariya Ahirs.

The Kamariyas, at present, are classified as Other Backward Class.[10]

Politics

There are two types of Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh- Kamariya Yadav and Ghosi Yadav.[2] The Ghosis who allegedly get less political advantages due to the fact that Mulayam Singh and top leaders of his party are from Kamaria sub caste, who do not favour Ghosis,[11] The other political parties often try a split among Yadavs on the issue that the Ghosi Yadavs outnumber Kamaria Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh.[12] and have traditionally been better off among Yadavs (Ahirs). In Uttar Pradesh, the Ghosi Ahirs are considered better among all the other groups of the Yadav caste.[11] The Yaduvanshi and Nandvanshi share equal social status whereas, the Kamariya are of the lower social status among other Ahir groups.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Singh, Kumar Suresh (1996). Communities, segments, synonyms, surnames and titles. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 1390. ISBN 978-0-19563-357-3.
  2. 1 2 Chandra, Kanchan (2007-02-15). "Why Ethnic Parties Succeed: Patronage and Ethnic Head Counts in India". ISBN 978-0-52189-141-7.
  3. ↑ Mutatkar, Ramchandra Keshav (1978). Caste Dimensions in a Village. Shubhada-Saraswat, Original from the University of Michigan. pp. 99, 165.
  4. ↑ Majeed, Akhtar; Hamdard, Jamia (2000). Coalition politics and power sharing. Manak Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 52. ISBN 978-8-18656-296-3.
  5. ↑ Dass, Arvind; Deulkar, Sita (2002). Caste system: a holistic view. Dominant Publishers and Distributors. p. 157. ISBN 978-8-17888-029-7.
  6. ↑ Mutatkar, Ramchandra Keshav (1978). Caste Dimensions in a Village. Shubhada-Saraswat. pp. 55, 62, 99, 110.
  7. ↑ Madhya Pradesh (India) (1977). Madhya Pradesh: District Gazetteers. Government Central Press,. p. 99.
  8. 1 2 Mutatkar, Ramchandra Keshav (1978). Caste Dimensions in a Village. Shubhada-Saraswat,. p. 26.
  9. ↑ Michelutti, Lucia (2008). "The vernacularisation of democracy: Politics, caste, and religion in India": 114, 115. ISBN 978-0-41546-732-2.
  10. ↑ Chandran, E. (1990). Reservations for O.B.Cs: Mandal Commission report. Cosmos Bookhive. pp. 137, 146, 160.
  11. 1 2 "Crumbling Yadav Bastion". OPEN Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "UP Polls: Congress trying to get caste calculus right; eyeing Kurmi and Muslim votes - Economic Times". articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Lucia Michelutti (2002). Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town (PDF). London School of Economics and Political Science University of London. p. 97. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
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