Jhinwar

Jhinwar,or Kashyap Rajput
झींवर और कश्यप राजपूत
Total population
120 million (estimated)
Languages
Religion
Related ethnic groups

The Jhinwar or Kashyap Rajput is a Hindu caste and Sikh caste found in the states of Haryana and Punjab in India. They are also known as Mehra or Mehre Community. A smaller number of Kashyap Rajput are Sikh. (Bhai Himmat Singh, one of the panj pyaare, was a Kashyap Rajput)

History

This community is associated with many labor and administrative jobs in ancient times. Examples like Royal Guards(best depicted in hindi film Eklavya: The Royal Guard). Eklavya, the tribal warrior prince from Mahabharata is considered to be part of Kashyap Rajput clan , and other jobs like Horse cart carriers (buggyeman or tangawala),army soldiers and policemen. Jaimal and Patta Singh two, brave army chieftains of Mewar resistance during Mughal wars, were Kashyap Rajputs. Administration jobs like village and town accountants and some small scale businessmen etc. A few economically poor were water carriers and palanquin bearers also but now both these occupations have also been abandoned. Some are also associated with fishing, loosely connected to Dhimar. They are found mainly in Kotli and Mirpur districts.A small number are farmers, but a greater number are working class people with less or no agriculture land.A large number of the community are now operating road side restaurants/dhabas, a trade that seems to have been monopolized by Kashyap Rajputs.

Legislation

The All-India Kashyap Rajput Mahasabha was a pressure group established in the period immediately preceding the 1941 census of British India to achieve recognition from the census authorities that the caste be recorded as Kashyap Rajput rather than by any other name. [1]

References

Bibliography

  1. http://kashyapsamaj.blogspot.in/2010/05/blog-post_25.html