The Dhangar (Sanskrit/Devanāgarī: धनगर, or Dhangad, Dhanpal.[1] ) caste is primarily located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Dhangars of the Northern and Southern India are reasonably considered to belong to the same race.[2]Dhangar are the descendants of Kshatriya who took to herding sheep and cows in the forest in times of hardship.[3] Their original home is said to be Gokul Vrindavan near Mathura. From Gokul they are said to be moved to Mewar and from Mewar to have spread into Gujarat and Maharashtra.[4][5]
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The word Dhangar may be associated with a term for "cattle wealth", or be derived from the hills in which they lived (Sanskrit dhang).[6] Ul Hassan noted that some of his time believed the term to come from the Sanskrit dhenugar (cattle herder) but dismissed that etymology as "fictitious".[2]
The term Hatkar is popularly believed to be derived from the Marathis hat (obstinacy) and kar (doer), thus "obstinate". Ul Hassan, however, terms this etymology "fictitious" and states that it "throws no light upon the origin of the caste."[7]ghndu
Captain Fitzgerald had observed that "the general idea is that originally there were Twelve Tribes of Bargi-Dhangars, who came from Hindustan, and the country about Hingoli was called Bara Hatti (Hatkar)." The term Bara-Hatti could thus mean a country of the Dhangars of twelve hattis. The term Hatkar is derived from hatti. According to the Dravidian Etymological Dictionary, h(p)atti has the following meanings: pen (Kannada), hamlet (Malayalam), cowstall, sheepfold (Tamil). A hatti would therefore mean a sheep pen or a camp or a settlement of sheep-keepers. In the old Kannada lexicon hattikara occurs as a synonym of govali, or cowherds. These etymological linkages indicate a connection between the sheep and cattle keepers. The term means a camp of sheep-cattle keepers. Bara-hatti means a village consisting of twelve vadis. The vadi constitutes 20-23 Dhangar families.[8][9][10][11]
They were described by British colonial researchers as industrious, honest and sincere, and it was noted that "truthful as a Dhangar" was a proverb among Indians.[12]
The armies of Shivaji, founder of the Maratha empire, were composed of recruits mainly drawn from this caste who were the most trusted by Shivaji. The bravest Maratha leaders, among whom the Holkars are the most distinguished, are of this tribe.[2][13] The Dhangars furnished a valuable contingent to Sivaji's guerilla soldiery.[14]
The Dhangar have originated several ruling dynasties, most recently the Holkars of Indore. Prominent Dhangars have been Hakkaraya and Bukkaraya, founders of the Vijayanagara Empire. At the time of his coronation, Shivaji showed that he belonged to the Gahlot clan, and was a Hattikara-Dhangar.[15] Dhangars have founded the, Holkar, Maurya, Pallava dynasties. In addition the poets Kalidasa and Kanakadasa were also Dhangars.[3] [16] The Meenakshi temple was built by Pallavas who were Dhangars.[3] There is a tradition that Deoghur or Daulatabad was built in 1203 AD by a Dhangar or herdsman who, acquiring by some unusual good fortune and vast wealth was named by his brother shepherds Rajah Ram and soon after assumed the rank of a Raja.[17] This warrior community, in the districts of Nanded, Parbhani and Berar, across the Painganga River, were in open rebellion from 1798 A. D. till 1820 A. D. under the leadership of Novsaji Naik and had taken possession of a number of strongholds.[18]
Traditionally being warriors, shepherds, cowherds, buffalo keepers, blanket and wool weavers, butchers and farmers, Dhangars were late to take up modern day education. Though it has a notable population not only in Maharashtra but also in India, had a rich history, today it is still politically highly disorganized community and is socially, educationally, economically and politically backward. They lived a socially isolated life due to their occupation, wandering mainly in forests, hills and mountains.[19]
Some believe the Dhangar to be of the Kshatriya varna,[20] a status reaffirmed, confirmed and declared in 1933 in the conference of Hindu Mahasabha which was held at Ajmer. The Dhangar, as a Kshatriya caste, originally were unified with and dined and intermarried with the Rajputs and Marathas.[3] However Ethoven notes that the Jativiveka (Examination of Castes) asserts that they are descended from a Shudra father and Mahisya women. For the affirmative action or the Reservation in India they are distributed into Advanced Class, Other Backward Class, Nomadic Tribe, Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste throughout India. In Maharashtra though they were classified as extremely backward since Independence in 1947, the Dhangar achieved reservation in 1990 after peaceful and non-violent agitation in 1989. The then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi told the State Government to immediately implement their Scheduled Tribe status but the Sharad Pawar led State government deprived the ST status and included them as Nomadic Tribe in 1990. The Creamy layer is excluded from reservations. In 2004, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a rally at Pandharpur declared that if BJP lead NDA comes to power they would immediately confer the ST status. The All India Dhangar Association is still fighting to get the ST status.
Dhangar community in Maharashtra has been agitating for the implementation of Scheduled Tribe status. According to them Dhangar and Dhangad is one and the same and Dhangar community is included in the state's list of Scheduled Tribes at Sr. no 36 Oraon, Dhangad. State of Maharashtra had twice recommended the Government of India to include the Dhangar community in the list of Scheduled Tribe. Even in 1989, the CAG report recommended the inclusion of Dhangar community in the list of Scheduled Tribe. However, the State of Maharashtra has not implemented the Scheduled Tribe status as according to them Dhangar and Dhangad are two distinct communities of Maharashtra.
The Dhangar produce a type of poetry known as ovi, often inspired by the forests and pastures where they graze their flocks. The ovi are formed of couplets, and can include legendary tales such as those of their god Biruba. Also in honour of Biruba, they perform the Dhangari Gaja dance.[21]
Dhangars worship various forms of god including Shiva, Vishnu, Parvati and Mahalaxmi as their kuldaivat. These forms include Khandoba, Beeralingeswara (Biroba), Mhasoba, Dhuloba (Dhuleshwar), Vithoba, Janai-Malai, Tulai, Yamai, Padubai, and Ambabai. They generally worship the temple of these gods that is nearest to their residence which becomes their kuladev and kuladevi. The god of Jejuri, a temple in Mahrashtra, is Khandoba (Shiva), the husband of Banai (from the Dhangar caste), and is popular amongst the Dhangars as it is their Kuladaivat.[22] Khandoba (literally "swordsman's father") is the god of shepherd community and guardian deity of Deccan.[23]
Initially there were twelve tribes of Dhangar and they had a division of labour amongst brothers of one family. This later formed three sub-divisions and one half division. These three being HatkarGadari or GAYARI (shepherds), Ahir (cowherds) or Mhaskar (Gujar buffalo keepers), and Khutekar (wool and blanket weavers)/Sangar. The half division is called Khateek or Khatik (butchers). All sub-castes fall in either of these divisions. All sub-divisions emerge from one stock and all sub-divisions claim to be a single group of Dhangars. Studies have revealed that they are genetically the closest.[24][25] The number three and a half is not a random selection but has a religious and cosmological significance.[26] Subsets of Dhangar, also shepherds, are known as Bharwad in Gujrat and Goa. Dhangars are also called as Kuruba in Karnataka.
All Dhangars of Western Maharashtra and Konkan / Marhatta country, like Holkars, can be termed Marathas, but all Marathas are not Dhangars.[27][28][29]
They are found mainly in southern part of country. Karnataka, Andhara Pradesh, Kerela, Tamil Nadu,
but subsequent rulers from different dynasties are from different castes
General Satyawant Mallannah Shrinagesh.(1903–1977) was the second Indian to become Chief of Army Staff.
They are found mainly in northern part of the country. U.P., M.P., Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand They are also referred to as Royal Dhangars. Rambabu Gadderia Dayaram Gadderia
they are found mainly in rajasthan,madhya pradesh, gujrat
they are found mainly in jammu & kashmir, himachal, punjab
they are found mainly in uttar pradesh, madhya pradesh, rajasthan, haryana,jhanjhari, uttarakhand
they are found mainly in uttar pradesh
they are found mainly in uttar pradesh, madhya pradesh, rajasthan, haryana, uttarakhand
they are found mainly in jammu & kashmir, himachal, punjab, uttarakhand, Haryana, Bihar
they are found mainly in bihar, bengal, sikkim, manipur, jharkhand
Reginald Edward Enthoven listed 22 endogamous groups (sub-castes) and 108 exogamous groups (clans) of Dhangars,[13] though other scholars state that this is not exhaustive.[30]
The widespread Palaeolithic mtDNA haplogroups and analysis of Y-DNA haplogroup in Dhangar clans highlight their Proto-Asian genetic ancestries. Dhangar heterogeneity is ascribable to predominantly South-Asian males and West-Eurasian females. Dhangar have a significant Pleistocene gene pool, corroborating their "Proto-Asian" origin.[31] As per J. H. Hutton they are Proto-Australoid. Kashyap (2006) [32] designates 23 out of 54 Indian populations studied as Australoid, of which one speaks an Indo-European language (Dhangar of Maharashtra).
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