Lakhera

The Lakhera is a Hindu caste found in North India. They are a community traditionally associated with bangle making.^[2]

Origin

The Lakhera get their name from the Sanskrit laksha kuru meaning a worker in lac. According to their mythologies, the community was created by the dirt washed from the body of the goddess Parvati.Other traditions make them out to be Yaduvanshi Rajputs. They are said to have originated in Bulandshahr District in Uttar Pradesh, and then spread to Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab. The community in Uttar Pradesh speak Hindi, while in Haryana they speak Haryanvi.^[3]

Present circumstances

The Lakhera community consists of a number of clans, the main ones being the Chauhan, Bhati, Nainvaya, Bagri, Nagoriya, Parihar, Solanki, Hatadiya and Atariya etc. They are an endogamous community, and each clan is exogamous. The majority of the Lakhera are still involved in the manufacture and sellng of bangles. Some members of the community are now shopkeepers. The Lakhera are Hindu, and have customs similar to other North Indian Hindus. They live in multi-caste villages, occupying their own distinct quuarters.^[4]

In Uttar Pradesh, the community is found mainly in the south and east of the state. They are found mainly in Jalaun, Hamirpur, Lalitpur and Jhansi.^[5]

Lakhera is an occupational based caste residing in Rajasthan,Haryana, Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh,Punjab, and Bihar. People of Lakhera community are professional artist of Lakh(substance use to make bangles) which is an inherent heritage of Lakhera community. Prime objective of Lakhera group is to enhance the knowledge about Lakhera community through the process of sharing, getting together and then working to achieve the objectives. To makes efforts, to integrate Lakhera community, achieve maximum cooperation and mutual understanding by all the ways of formal and informal discussions, academic relations and personal interactions.

References