Kalita (caste)

The Kalita (Assamese: কলিতা) is a caste or a community of Hindus belonging to the state of Assam in North East India. The Kalitas are considered by historians like Dalton to be of "pure Aryan descent who came to Assam before the rise of the existing professional castes". They commonly claim to belong to the Kshatriya caste.[1] Among different opinions, apart from Kshatriya descent and pre-Vedic Aryan descent theories, one account suggests that the Kalitas "were originally Kayasthas, but as they took to agriculture they assumed a new name and formed a separate caste".[2] There is evidence of Kalita kingdom in very early times as well as during the 15th-16th century.[3]

Origin


The origin of the Kalitas is a subject matter of debate in the absence of adequate and authentic information.[4] According to "Purana Tradition", the Kalitas are considered as pure Aryans.[5] Though the Aryan descent theories endorse the arrival of the Kalitas "before the rise of the existing professional castes", the Kalitas generally claim to belong to the Kshatriya caste, and call themselves kulalupta,[1] kula meaning caste and lupta meaning gone ("degraded caste") in the context of the legend that the Kalitas "were Ksatriyas who fled from the wrath of Parasurama who was determined to exterminate the Ksatriyas. But this seems to be a bit of false etymology."[6]

The Kalitas along with the Kayasthas in Assam are considered next only to the Brahmins in the caste-hierarchy.[7][8] According to the legends, they are "the non-Vedic Aryans" who are responsible for bringing Aryan culture to Assam. Having mingled with local population, they still preserve certain elements of Aryan culture even after localizing their culture to some extent.[8]

P. C. Choudhury (1966) summarized the different views of different authors regarding the Kalitas, and wrote

Dalton thinks that they are the earliest Aryan colonists of Assam, and were not Koch as held by Hodgson. Waddell thinks that they were of mixed descendants of the Indian Kayasthas. Robinson makes them spiritual guides of the Koch, whose position is believed to have been degraded by the advent of the Brahmans; he supports Waddell's theory of the Kayastha origin of the Kalitas ... The common belief is that the Kalitas or their ancestors entered India from the west, settled in upper India and ultimately entered Assam, and that they were Kshatriyas. In the opinion of Medhi, they were not Kshatriyas, but entered Assam before the Vedic Aryans, and were non-Vedic Aryans.[2]


Dr. B.S. Guha has found similarities between some surnames of "Alpine Nagar Brahmins" of Gujarat with those of North East India, as referred in the Nidhanpur land grants of Kamarupa King Bhaskaravarman (6th century A.D.) such as "Datta, Dhara, Deva, Nandi, Sena, and Vasu, etc. and connects them with the Kalitas of Assam".[9] Again, historian Kanaklal Barua mentions these surnames while referring to the Nidhanpur inscription and says that these surnames "now belong almost exclusively to the Bengali Kayasthas".[10]

In contradiction to this view, the Indian Anthropologist Bhuban Mohan Das, in his book "The Peoples of Assam", treats the theory of Alpine origin of Kalitas, to be improper on the grounds of Anthropometry.[2]

Historic Kalita kingdom

The existence of a Kalita kingdom in North eastern India is mentioned in a number of credible literary sources. A report by Mr. Moffal Mills and Maniram Dewan written during the British occupation of India records, “It appears that there was an Aryan settlement at a distance of 15 days march through hilly roads from the Ahom territory, beyond the regions occupied by the Abors and the Miris. The people bore Hindu names like Vasudeva, Harideva, Sankarsan etc,. There was also a Hindu king in the land. The name of the kingdom was Kolita.”[11] John Bryan Neufville, appointed as Political Agent, Upper Assam and Junior Commissioner at Rangpur in 1828, also subscribed to this idea. He wrote:

The country to the eastward of Bhot (Bhutan) and northward of Sadiya (Upper Assam), extending on the plain beyond the mountains, is said to be possessed by a powerful nation called Kolitas, who are described as having attained a high degree of advancement and civilization, equal to any of the nations in the East.[12]

Rowlette also confirms the feasibility of this kingdom. During Ahom rule, tribes from Arunachal Pradesh, like the Daflas and Mishmis owed allegiance to the Ahom State and the Kolita rulers were a branch of the paramount power itself. Therefore the frontiers of Assam extended beyond present day Arunachal Pradesh with its northern borders extending to the edge of Monpa country (present day Arunachal Pradesh). Lieutenant R. Wilcox of the 46th Regiment, Native Infantry of the Indian Army provided details of the route to Kolita kingdom and concluded:

From Sadiya to Kolita is a journey of 42 days and 6 hrs, in the idle of the way the route lies through hills, where dense jungles make it difficult to approach.[13]

Neufville claims that the Kalita kingdom was washed away by the great flood in the mid 18th century.[14]

Social life

Mirroring the history of Assam, the Kalitas were peasants, though during the rule of the Ahom dynasty they also proved their might and capabilities as soldiers, generals, administrators, envoys, and judges.

The Ahom paik system surnames of Bora, Hazarika, Saikia, Kakoti, Barua, Rajkhowa, and Phukan can all be found amongst the Kalitas of Assam, which signify that they served the Ahom monarchy. Bora was the leader of 20 paiks (or foot soldiers), Saikia that of 100 paiks and Hazarika that of 1000 paiks. The Baruas led 3000 men, similar to the Rajkhowas. Phukans formed the uppermost layers of the Ahom military and judicio-administrative structure, subservient to the Ahom Borphukans and Borbaruas.[15] Phukans and Baruah are found in the Brahmins, Ahoms and Kalitas of Assam alike. Besides this, Bora, Baruah and Saikia are equally found in the Sutiya community while Hazarika, Rajkhowa are found amongst the Ahoms.Certain posts like "Boiragi" or envoys to neighbouring kingdoms such as the Jaintias (presently in Meghalaya), the Kacharis (Assam), and the Mughal Sultanate in Bengal, were given to Kalitas in preference to Ahoms.[16]

Kalitas also formed part of the revenue system under the Mughal-dominated areas in western Assam. Some of the notable Kalita surnames are Lahkar, Mahanta, Medhi, Baruah, Borah, Barman, Bordoloi, Bhuyan, Phukan, Chaliha, Chowdhury, Deka, Das, Dutta, Thakuria, Khataniar, Tahbildar, Kakoti etc. The Kalitas took an active part and supported the Ek Saraniya Naam Dharma propounded by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva after its appearance in Assam. In present day Assam, the Kalitas are ubiquitous in every subdivision of Assam and one of its foremost groups, seen in all spheres of life and making their presence felt in the socio-cultural-literary-economic scene of the state.

Notable Kalitas

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Col Ved Prakash (2007). "Encyclopaedia of North-East India, Volume 1". India, Northeastern. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 150. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bhuban Mohan Das (1987). "The People of Assam". Anthropometry. Gyan Publishing House. p. 34. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Pratap Chandra Choudhury (1988). "Assam-Bengal Relations from the Earliest Times to the Twelfth Century A.D". Assam (India). Spectrum Publications. pp. 193,275. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Bhuban Mohan Das (1987). "The Peoples of Assam". Anthropometry. Gyan Publishing House. p. 120. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  5. ↑ Manilal Bose (1998). "Social and Cultural History of Ancient India". Hindu civilization. Concept Publishing Company. p. 29. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  6. ↑ S. K. Sharma, U. Sharma, ed. (2005). Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Politics, Sociology, Science, Education and Economy. North-East India. Volume 1. Mittal Publications. p. 93. ISBN 978-81-83-24035-2.
  7. ↑ Shiri Ram Bakshi, Sita Ram Sharma, S. Gajrani, ed. (1998). Contemporary Political Leadership in India: Sharad Pawar, the Maratha legacy. APH Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-81-76480-08-6.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 G.K. Ghosh (2008). "Bamboo: The Wonderful Grass". APH Publishing. p. 184. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  9. ↑ The great Indian corridor in the east by Phani Deka
  10. ↑ S. K. Sharma, U. Sharma, ed. (2005). Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Politics, Sociology, Science, Education and Economy. North-East India. Volume 1. Mittal Publications. p. 182. ISBN 978-81-83-24035-2.
  11. ↑ Report on the province of Assam: A.J. Moffal Mills / Maniram Dewan, Apprx. JIXV
  12. ↑ Discovery of North East India, edited by Suresh Kant Sharma, Usha Sharma
  13. ↑ "Memoir of a survey of Assam and the Neighboring Countries executed in 1825-6-7-8." Asiatic Researches Vol.XVII, pp. 314 - 467., by R. WilCox
  14. ↑ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=5bzPZIw7WcwC&pg=PA112&dq=Kolita+Kingdom%27&lr=&as_brr=0#v=onepage&q=Kolita%20Kingdom'&f=false
  15. ↑ A History of Assam by Sir Edward Gait, page 248–250
  16. ↑ A History of Assam by Sir Edward Gait, page 124

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