Besides the myths, the members of a second-order division, belonging to all ekdas, shared certain customs and institutions, including worship of a tutelary deity. A recent tendency in sociological literature is to consider jatis as castes. The urban community included a large number of caste groups as well as social groups of other kinds which tended to be like communities with a great deal of internal cohesion. Although some of them set up shops in villages they rarely became full-fledged members of the village community. After the commercial revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, Gujarat had a large number of tradition towns on its long sea-coast. Sindhollu, Chindollu. Content Guidelines 2. In the second-order divisions of the Vanias the small endogamous units functioned more effectively and lasted longer: although the hypergamous tendency did exist particularly between the rural and the urban sections in a unit, it had restricted play. Further, the castes there are unable to take cognizance of each other in terms of hierarchy or of occupation, and it is in this situation that they can be said to exist by virtue of their differences (296) it is the systematic recognition of difference which is most apparent. The pattern of inter-divisional marriages shows how the idea of free marriage, which guides most of the inter-caste marriages, is restricted, modified, and graded according to the traditional structure of caste divisions. Most associations continue to retain their non-political character. The village was a small community divided into a relatively small number of castes; the population of each caste was also small, sometimes only one or two households, with little possibility of existence of subdivisions; and there were intensive relationships of various kinds between the castes. The change from emphasis on hierarchy to emphasis on division is becoming increasingly significant in view of the growth of urban population both in absolute number and in relation to the total population. Jun 12, 2022. The decline was further accelerated by the industrial revolution. Sometimes a division corresponding to a division among Brahmans and Vanias was found in a third first-order division also. It is not easy to find out if the tads became ekdas in course of time and if the process of formation of ekdas was the same as that of the formation of tads. The Rajput links entailed the spread of Rajput culture in each Koli division and provided a certain cultural homogeneity to all the divisions. //]]>. The castes pervaded by hierarchy and hypergamy had large populations spread evenly from village to village and frequently also from village to town over a large area. As could be expected, there were marriages between fairly close kin, resulting in many overlapping relationships, in such an endogamous unit. Reference to weaving and spinning materials is found in the Vedic Literature. The arrival of the East India Company, however sounded the death knell for the Indian textile industry. A fundamental difficulty with these paradigms of change, as indicated by the above analysis, is that they are based on a partial conception of the systematic or structural whole in the past partially because it does not cover the urban situation and the complexity of horizontal units. Once the claim was accepted at either level, hypergamous marriage was possible. At the other end were castes in which the principle of division had free play and the role of the principle of hierarchy was limited. 3.8K subscribers in the gujarat community. Thus, at one end, there were first-order divisions, each of which was sub-divided up to the fourth-order, and at the other end there were first-order divisions which were not further divided at all. TOS 7. But there were also others who did not wield any power. In effect, the Vania population in a large town like Ahmedabad could have a considerable number of small endogamous units of the third or the fourth order, each with its entire population living and marrying within the town itself. Early industrial labour was also drawn mainly from the urban artisan and servant castes. According to the Rajputs I know in central Gujarat, the highest stratum among them consisted of the royal families of large and powerful kingdoms in Gujarat and neighbouring Rajasthan, such as those of Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Kachchh, Porbandar, Bikaner, Idar, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and so on. Within each of these divisions, small endogamous units (ekdas, gols, bandhos) were organized from time to time to get relief from the difficulties inherent in hypergamy. Usually, the affairs of the caste were discussed in large congregations of some fifty to hundred or even more villages from time to time. In recent years, however, there has been a tendency to emphasize hierarchy as the primary principle encompassing the principle of division. Hindu society is usually described as divided into a number of castes the boundaries of which are maintained by the rule of caste endogamy. There are thus a few excellent studies of castes as horizontal units. While certain first-order divisions were found mainly in towns, the population of certain other first-order divisions was dispersed in villages as well as in towns, the population of the rural and the urban sections differing from one division to another. They also continued to have marital relations with their own folk. Created Date: Any one small caste may look insignificant in itself but all small castes put together become a large social block and a significant social phenomenon. Secondly, it is necessary to study intensively the pattern of inter-caste relations in urban centres as something differentat least hypotheticallyfrom the pattern in villages. The highest stratum among the Leva Kanbi tried to maintain its position by practising polygyny and female infanticide, among other customs and institutions, as did the highest stratum among the Rajput. I have bits and pieces of information about relations between a considerable numbers of other lower-order divisions in their respective higher-order divisions. Division and Hierarchy: An Overview of Caste in Gujarat! It is not claimed that separation, or even repulsion, may not be present somewhere as an independent factor (1972: 346,n.55b). The marital alliances of the royal families forming part of the Maratha confederacy, and of the royal families of Mysore in south India and of Kashmir and Nepal in the north with the royal families of Gujarat and Rajasthan show, among other things, how there was room for flexibility and how the rule of caste endogamy could be violated in an acceptable manner at the highest level. %PDF-1.7 Most inter-divisional marriages take place between boys and girls belonging to the lowest order in the structure of divisions. While we can find historical information about the formation of ekdas and tads there are only myths about the formation of the numerous second-order divisions. In no other nation has something as basic as one's clothing or an act as simple as spinning cotton become so intertwined with a national movement. As soon as there is any change in . Here, usually, what mattered was the first-order division, as for example Brahman, Vania, Rajput, Kanbi, carpenter, barber, leather-worker, and so on. A large proportion, if not the whole, of the population of many of such divisions lived in towns. Copyright 10. This reflects the high degree of divisiveness in castes in Gujarat. The above brief analysis of change in caste in modern Gujarat has, I hope, indicated that an overall view of changes in caste in modern India should include a careful study of changes in rural as well as in urban areas in relation to their past. Frequently, the urban population of such a division performed more specialized functions than did the rural one. Although they claimed to be Brahman they were closely associated with agriculture. These divisions have, however, been kept out of the present analysis for reasons which have become well known to students of Hindu society since the 1950s. I do not propose to review the literature on caste here; my aim is to point out the direction towards which a few facts from Gujarat lead us. While fission did occur, fusion could also occur. This was about 22% of all the recorded Mehta's in USA. Vankar is described as a caste as well as a community. Pages in category "Social groups of Gujarat" The following 157 pages are in this category, out of 157 total. For example, among Vanias in a large town like Ahmedabad many of the thirty or forty second-order divisions (such as Khadayata, Modh, Porwad, Shrimali, and so on) were represented. Although I have not, during my limited field work, come across hypergamous marriages between Rajputs and Bhils, ethnographic reports and other literature frequently refer to such marriages (see, for example, Naik 1956: 18f; Nath I960. If the Varna divisions are taken into account, then this would add one more order to the four orders of caste divisions considered above. Unfortunately, such figures are not available for the last fifty years or so. Moreover, a single division belonging to any one of the orders may have more than one association, and an association may be uni-purpose or multi-purpose. The following 157 pages are in this category, out of 157 total. A block printed and resist-dyed fabric, whose origin is from Gujarat was found in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt. Whatever the internal organization of a second-order division, the relationship between most of the Brahman second-order divisions was marked by great emphasis on being different and separate than on being higher and lower. For example, just as there were Modh Vanias, there were Modh Brahmans, and similarly Khadayata Vanias and Khadayata Brahmans, Shrimali Vanias and Shrimali Brahmans, Nagar Vanias and Nagar Brahmans, and so on. While some of the divisions of a lower order might be the result of fission, some others might be a result of fusion. Since the beginning of the modern reform movement to encourage inter-caste marriages-most of which are in fact inter-tad or inter-ekda marriagesthe old process of fission into ekdas and tads has come to a halt, and it is, therefore, difficult to understand this process without making a systematic historical enquiry. That the sociological study of urban areas in India has not received as much attention as that of rural areas is well known, and the studies made so far have paid little attention to caste in urban areas. : 11-15, 57-75). For example, all Vania divisions were divided into a number of ekdas or gols. A first-order division could be further divided into two or more second-order divisions. He does not give importance to this possibility probably because, as he goes on to state, what is sought here is a universal formula, a rule without exceptions (ibid.). Broach, Cambay and Surat were the largest, but there were also a number of smaller ones. The patterns of change in marriage and in caste associations are two of the many indications of the growing significance of the principle of division (or separation or difference) in caste in urban areas in Gujarat. x[? -E$nvU 4V6_}\]}/yOu__}ww7oz[_z~?=|nNT=|qq{\//]/Ft>_tV}gjjn#TfOus_?~>/GbKc.>^\eu{[GE_>'x?M5i16|B;=}-)$G&w5uvb~o:3r3v GL3or}|Y~?3s_hO?qWWpn|1>9WS3^:wTU3bN{tz;T_}so/R95iLc_6Oo_'W7y; Caste divisions of the first-order can be classified broadly into three categories. Many primarily rural castes, such as Kolisthe largest castehave remained predominantly rural even today. The significant point, however, is that there were small endogamous units which were not, like ekdas and tads, part of any higher-order division. We shall return to this issue later. While the Rajputs, Leva Patidars, Anavils and Khedawals have been notorious for high dowries, and the Kolis have been looked down upon for their practice of bride price, the Vanias have been paying neither. hu)_EYUT?:fX:vOR,4g4ce{\(wcUO %OW-Knj|qV]_)1?@{^ $:0ZY\fpg7J~Q~pHaMVSP5bLC}6+zwgv;f f^v4[|vug+vO0h t7QNP}EYm+X[x~;O|z5tq ]-39aa{g-u5n:a56&`3y.f-a@a"0v-a@$%`Z]]Iqb56aR0g 30V9EM%K"#|6uN? =O|8alCcs):~AC<5 q|om57/|Sgc}2c#)U~WL}%T]s> z. They adopted Rajput customs and traditions, claimed Rajput status, and gave daughters in marriage to Rajputs in the lower rungs of Rajput hierarchy. They then spread to towns in the homeland and among all castes. To give just one example, one large street in Baroda, of immigrant Kanbis from the Ahmedabad area, named Ahmedabadi Pol, was divided into two small parallel streets. The earliest caste associations were formed in Bombay in the middle of the 19th century among migrants belonging to the primarily urban and upper castes from Gujarat, such as Vanias, Bhatias and Lohanas (see Dobbin 1972: 74-76, 121-30, 227f, 259-61). In contrast, there were horizontal units, the internal hierarchy and hypergamy of which were restricted to some extent by the formation of small endogamous units and which had discernible boundaries at the lowest level. Our analysis of the internal organization of caste divisions has shown considerable variation in the relative role of the principles of division and hierarchy. No sooner had the village studies begun that their limitations and the need for studying caste in its horizontal dimension were realized. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"uGhRfiuY26l2oZgRlfZRFSp4BWPIIt7Gh61sQC1XrRU-3600-0"}; To illustrate, among the Khadayata or Modh Vanias, an increasing number of marriages take place between two or more tads within an ekda. The handloom weavers of Gujarat, Maharastra and Bengal produced and exported some of the world's most desirable fabrics. The error is further compounded whenalthough this is less commonthe partial, rural model of traditional caste is compared with the present urban situation, and conclusions are drawn about overall change. Indeed, a major achievement of Indian sociology during the last thirty years or so has been deeper understanding of caste in the village context in particular and of its hierarchical dimension in general. Pocock goes on to observe that diminution of emphasis upon hierarchy and increasing emphasis upon difference are features of caste in modern, particularly urban, India: there is a shift from the caste system to individual castes and this reflects the change that is taking place in India today (290). Among the Kanbis, while there was hypergamy within the Leva division and possibly, similar hypergamy within the Kadva division, there was no hierarchy or hypergamy between the two second-order divisions. In a paper on Caste among Gujaratis in East Africa, Pocock (1957b) raised pointedly the issue of the relative importance of the principles of division (he called it difference) and hierarchy. They co-existed in the highlands with tribes such as the Bhils, so much so that today frequently many high caste Gujaratis confuse them with Bhils, as did the earlier ethnographers. The two former ekdas continued to exist with diminished strength. In addition, they carried on overland trade with many towns in central and north India. Caste associations in Gujarat were formed mainly among upper castes to provide welfare (including recreation), to promote modern education, and to bring about reforms in caste customs. Dowry not only continues to be a symbol of status in the new hierarchy but is gradually replacing bride price wherever it existed, and dowry amounts are now reaching astronomical heights. All Brahman divisions did not, however, have a corresponding Vania division. Thus, finding any boundary between Rajputs and Kolis in the horizontal context was impossible, although there were sharp boundaries between the two in the narrow local context. The emphasis on being different and separate rather than on being higher and lower was even more marked in the relationship among the forty or so second-order divisions. The Brahmans were divided into such divisions as Audich, Bhargav, Disawal, Khadayata, Khedawal, Mewada, Modh, Nagar, Shrigaud, Shrimali, Valam, Vayada, and Zarola. Britain's response was to cut off the thumbs of weavers, break their looms and impose duties on tariffs on Indian cloth, while flooding India and the world with cheaper fabric from the new steam mills of Britain. Co-residence of people, belonging to two or more divisions of a lower order within a higher order was, however, a prominent feature of towns and cities rather than of villages. The primarily urban castes linked one town with another; the primarily rural linked one village with another; and the rural-cum-urban linked towns with villages in addition to linking both among themselves. The two together formed a single complex of continental dimension. They worked not only as high priests but also as bureaucrats. Tirgaar, Tirbanda. Frequently, the shift from emphasis on co-operation and hierarchy in the caste system to emphasis on division (or difference or separation) is described as shift from whole to parts, from system to elements, from structure to substance. This account of the divisions is based on various sources, but mainly on Bombay Gazetteer (1901). There were also a number of first-order divisions, mainly of artisans, craftsmen and specialized servants, with small populations. For example, there was considerable ambiguity about the status of Anavils. The main thrust of Pococks paper is that greater emphasis on difference rather than on hierarchy is a feature of caste among overseas Indians and in modern urban India. The Hindu and Muslim kingdoms in Gujarat during the medieval period had, of course, their capital towns, at first Patan and then Ahmedabad. Toori. Ideally, castes as horizontal units should he discussed with the help of population figures. During Mughal Empire India was manufacturing 27% of world's textile and Gujarati weavers dominated along with Bengali weavers in Indian textile trade industry overseas. But the hypergamous tendency was so powerful that each such endogamous unit could not be perfectly endogamous even at the height of its integration. So instead of a great exporter of finished products, India became an importer of British, while its share of world export fell from 27% to two percent. The Kanbis (now called Patidars) had five divisions: Leva, Kadya, Anjana, Bhakta, and Matia. Data need to be collected over large areas by methods other than those used in village studies, castes need to be compared in the regional setting, and a new general approach, analytical framework, and conceptual apparatus need to be developed. The advance made in recent years is limited and much more needs to be done. The small ekda or tad with its entire population residing in a single town was, of course, not a widespread phenomenon. Our analysis of caste in towns has shown how it differed significantly from that in villages. Similarly, the Vanias were divided into such divisions as Disawal, Kapol, Khadayata, Lad, Modh, Nagar, Nima, Porwad, Shirmali, Vayada, and Zarola. I have discussed above caste divisions in Gujarat mainly in the past, roughly in the middle of the 19th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Social_groups_of_Gujarat&oldid=1080951156, Social groups of India by state or union territory, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 April 2022, at 12:36. First, since the tads were formed relatively recently, it is easier to get information about their formation than about the formation of ekdas. It will readily be agreed that the sociological study of Indian towns and cities has not made as much progress as has the study of Indian villages. In all there were thirty to forty such divisions. <> The degree of contravention is highest if the couple belong to two different first-order divisions. The Mehta family name was found in the USA, and the UK between 1891 and 1920. The main aim of this paper is to discuss, on the basis of data derived mainly from Gujarat, these and other problems connected with the horizontal dimension of caste. It used to have a panch (council of leaders) and sometimes also a headman (patel). These coastal towns were involved in trade among themselves, with other towns on the rest of the Indian sea coast, and with many foreign lands. All the small towns sections in each of the ekdas resented that, while the large town section accepted brides from small towns, they did not reciprocate. In the past the dispersal over a wide area of population of an ekda or tad was uncommon; only modern communications have made residential dispersal as well as functional integration possible. The primarily rural and lower castes were the last to form associations and that too mainly after independence (1947). The number of tads in an ekda or go I might be two or more, and each of them might be an endogamous units. There are other sub-castes like Satpanthis, who are mainly centered in Kutch district and have some social customs akin to Muslims . The Hindu population of Gujarat was divided first of all into what I have called caste divisions of the first order. Advances in manufacturing technologies flooded markets in India and abroad with cheap, mass-produced fabrics that Indian handlooms could no longer compete with. We shall return to the Rajput-Koli relationship when we consider the Kolis in detail. History. Far too many studies of changes in caste in modern India start with a general model of caste in traditional India which is in fact a model of caste in traditional rural India. In spite of them, however, sociologists and social anthropologists have not filled adequately the void left by the disappearance of caste from the census and the gazetteer. State Id State Name Castecode Caste Subcaste 4 GUJARAT 4001 AHIR SORATHA 4 GUJARAT 4002 AHIR 4 GUJARAT 4003 ANSARI 4 GUJARAT 4004 ANVIL BRAHMIN 4 GUJARAT 4005 ATIT BAYAJI BAKSHI PANCH 4 GUJARAT 4006 BAJANIYA 4 GUJARAT 4007 BAJIR . To obtain a clear understanding of the second-order divisions with the Koli division, it is necessary first of all to find a way through the maze of their divisional names. There was also another kind of feast, called bhandaro, where Brahmans belonging to a lesser number of divisions (say, all the few in a small town) were invited. Srinivas has called the unity of the village manifested in these interrelations the vertical unity of the village (1952: 31f. The hierarchy, however, was very gradual and lacked sharpness. Jun 12, 2022 . Frequently, marriages were arranged in contravention of a particular rule after obtaining the permission of the council of leaders and paying a penalty in advance. (Frequently, such models are constructed a priori rather than based on historical evidence, but that is another story). A new view of the whole, comprising the rural and the urban and the various orders of caste divisions, should be evolved. There was also another important correlation. Castes which did not sit together at public feasts, let alone at meals in homes, only 15 or 20 years ago, now freely sit together even at meals in homes.