Jhinwar
| 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
- Enloe, Cynthia H. (1981), Ellinwood, DeWitt C.; Enloe, Cynthia H., eds., Ethnicity and the Military in Asia, Transaction Publishers, ISBN 9780878553877
- Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004), A History of Pakistan and Its Origins (Reprinted ed.), Anthem Press, ISBN 9781843311492
- Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (2007) [1968], "Caste Regions of the North Indian Plain", in Singer, Milton B.; Cohn, Bernard S., Structure and Change in Indian Society (Reprinted ed.), Transaction Publishers, ISBN 9780202361383
- Shah, Pankaj (6 April 2013), "Political parties eye Lok Sabha polls, bank on boatmen to claim pole position", The Times of India, retrieved 14 April 2014
- Srivastava, Piyush (25 February 2014), "BJP castes a wider UP net, uses Modi's background to attract OBC votes while seeking blessings by feeding Brahmins", India Today, retrieved 14 April 2014