Ramoshi

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The Ramoshi (alternately Berad) is an Indian community found largely in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka, and are historically associated with great empires,important historical conflicts and agriculture. They are also described as the Bedar or fearless, nicknamed for their braveness by the Mughals.

Terminology

The term Ramoshi or as British called it ramoossy.The earlier occupation of the Ramoshi was as a Warrior fighting battles for the Maratha kings as Infantry and leading the troops,It also denotes the leader of a group or head of a territory.[1] They recognize the varna system and belong to the kshatriya class. They are Hindu and belong to the Lingayat sect while some are Vaishanavas [2]

History

Genealogy

According to the Rajguru of the Sholapur princely state, Bedars or Boyas come from Tamil Nadu, having migrated to Karnataka during Vijaynagar rule. Names of 14 ancestors are known to him but not their locations. The last was 'Goshti Pid Nayaka', a contemporary of Shivaji Maharaj. This means that the history dates back to 800 years from Shivaji's known date of 1630 AD. Epigraphs from the 8th to 11th centuries mention 'Boya - Bedar', as they were from the Hunter - warrior community who were called as 'Nayaks'.

During Vijaynagar rule, these Nayak kings were assigned the duty of protecting the province of Tungabhadra. After the fall of Vijaynagar, the kings of Sholapur became independent and only came under Bijapur court in name. The Bijapur court was always afraid of Beda Nayak Kings. Later, during the Maratha - Moghul conflict, Nayak kings played an important role. After the fall of Sambhaji and migration of Rajaram to Gingee, the Moghul-Maratha conflict spread from Narmada to Tamil Nadu and from the east to the west coast. Moghul Emperors realized that they were fighting with a hurt identity in 1695, but it was not possible for them to turn back. During this conflict, Bedar Nayaks also played an important role, as the families of all important Maratha Sardars and their treasury was in Vagana-gera (or Wakin-kheda), the capital of these Nayak kings. Therefore, King Aurangzeb had to fight the last battle of his life against Bedar Nayaks of Vagana-gera during 1705 and 1706.[citation needed]

Today's Ramoshi in Maharashtra was earlier called the Boya, Bedar and Vedan. [3] Ramoshis of Maharashtra have come from mostly Karnataka and their surnames are the same as Bedar-Ramoshi of Karnataka. Their original language is southern and they first got settled in Karnataka, later migrating to Maharashtra. The word 'Bhuyal' in the Bedar language seems to have originated from Boya. The Nayaka kings in the karnataka were the ancestors of the modern day Berads and other subclasses which fall under the Boyar main class.[citation needed]

British era

The community was formerly classified as a criminal tribe under the Criminal Tribes Acts of the British Raj.[4]

Berad to Ramoshi

Though it is known in Maharashtra as Ramoshi-Bed, the name 'Ramoshi' is not older than 100–200 years.The separation of berad and ramoshi took place as a part of the integration into the northerly territory of the peshwa those aspiring to rise under the brahmanical regime tried to sanskritise by becoming 'Ramavamshi' while those connected with Mysore or the nizam were content to remain 'Bedar',or fearless.

In Mysore, however, their military importance of the bedars elevated their standing,and the gazetter compiled at the early 20th century recorded that they 'have attained a high position in social scale '.

Language

They speak marathi of the lower orders . Mainly the dialect spoken is the marathi sprinkled with the canarese words.[5] Ramoshis have a collection of words,many of which are of Telugu or Canarese derivation,which they use on special occasions,such as communicating some secret to their own kinsmen in the presence of outsiders.

References

  1. ↑ Enthoven ,R.E. 1922 The Tribes and castes of Bombay Cosmo Publications 1975
  2. ↑ People of India: Maharashtra, Volume 3 By Kumar Suresh Singh, B. V. Bhanu,Anthropological Survey of India 2004
  3. ↑ http://www.ambedkar.org/jamanadas/CriminalTribes.htm
  4. ↑ Bates, Crispin (1995). "Race, Caste and Tribe in Central India: the early origins of Indian anthropometry". In Robb, Peter. The Concept of Race in South Asia. Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-19-563767-0. Retrieved 2011-12-01. 
  5. ↑ Michael Kennedy (1985). The Criminal Classes in India. Mittal Publications. p. 142. 

    Further reading

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