Sundhi

The 'Sundhi/Sundi' is a caste in the Indian States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal. The word Sundhi is said to be derived from the Sanskrit Shaundik, a spirit-seller.^[1]

History

The caste has various genealogies with differing degrees of respectability, which trace their origin to unions between other castes born of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas due to the public service nature of their traditional profession.

Modern day Sundhi

Many modern day Sundhi are major alcohol distillers, while others are involved in the software and service industries as well as in government roles.

This caste is also found in the northeast districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh where they are also known as Sondi and as Baniya/Sundi in Assam or Sudi in the rest of India. They also live in some parts of West Bengal and other parts of the country. In Bengal, there are more than six lakhs of Sundhi resident in Western Bengal and Bihār as well as in Orissa.

The caste is divided into the Upper Sundhi (Dakshini Sundhi) and the Lower Sundhi (also known as Gajabhatia Sundhior Kira Sundhi).this sundhi caste is often mistaken with kamma caste in andhra pradesh. Kammas are different from Sundhis. This notion exists as the both castes have a common title 'Chowdary'. Most of the Sundhis are well educated, particularly those from Andhra Pradesh and they form one of the wealthy sects of the upper coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, mostly found in the Srikakulam District (Ichapuram to Srikakulam). Some immigrants are seen in Assam and other places including Hyderabad where there are about 200 families distributed across many sectors of activity.

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References