Beldar

The Beldar are a historically nomadic tribe, originally from Northern India and now inhabiting many other parts of that country. They speak the Beldari language.[1]

History and origin

The community are the traditionally natives of North India, and are similar to the Odh communities, who are the navies of west India. They also claim common ancestry with Kewat community, who similarly refer to themselves as Odhs.[2]

In Maharashtra, the Beldar are found mainly in the districts of Aurangabad, Nasik, Pune, Amravati, Akola, Yawatmal, Ahmednagar, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri and the city of Mumbai. The Beldar claim to have immigrated from Rajasthan some five centuries ago. They still speak Rajasthani among themselves and Marathi with outsiders. and also use a Beldari language. The community is strictly endogamous, and consists of a number of exogamous clans. Their main clans are the Nonya, Narora, Davawar, Kharola, Jailwar, Faatara, Horwar, Chhapawar, Tuse, Pannewar, Mahore, Basniwar, Bahr, Gorala and Udainwar. They have there personal history towards shifting from one place to another. Moreover, they categories themselves like in a form of sub-section of Beldar caste. Some categorizations are Mangal, Sadhra, Nadhra and many more.[3]

Present circumstances

The Beldar are still mainly involved in their tradition of navies. They are employed by the state in the constructions of roads. Generally, whole families participate in the construction industry. Many Beldar are nomadic, shifting from place to place, looking for work at construction sites. A small number of Beldar are also involved in the selling of fruits and vegetables. The Beldar are a Hindu community, and are found throughout Uttar Pradesh, speaking a number of dialects of Hindi. Huge populations of Beldar are found in the districts of Barabanki, Lakhipur, Khari, Gonda, Basti, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Sitapur and Faizabad.[4]

The traditional occupation of the Beldar was masonry. Many are still employed in the construction industry. The community is entirely landless, and was historically nomadic. A considerable number of Beldar are also employed by the various brick kilns.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 245 to 248
  2. ↑ People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das page 268
  3. ↑ People of India Maharashtra Volume XXX Part One edited by B.V Bhanu, B.R Bhatnagar, D.K Bose, V.S Kulkarni and J Sreenath pages 192-197
  4. ↑ People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das page 247
  5. ↑ People of India Maharashtra Volume XXX Part One edited by B.V Bhanu, B.R Bhatnagar, D.K Bose, V.S Kulkarni and J Sreenath pages 192-197
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