Ghanchi

Telighanchi (Delvadia, Modh, Sahu, Sahoo, Ganiga) falls under the category of Other Backward Class, and is found in the states of Gujarat, Jammu, Odisha and various parts of India. Ghanchi also refers to a well-known family based in India Gujarat in the regions of Kolak.^[1][2] The Modh Ghanchi caste is of (OBC).^[3] The Sahu, Teli, Ganiga, Vaniya Chettiar and other OBC, are related castes found in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh.^[4] and Tamil Nadu.

Origin

The name is of Indian origin, and means a businessman (producer and seller of oils) (Teli). The surname is commonly found in Lunavada, Surat, Navsari, Ahmedabad, Jammu Valsad, Bilimora as well as Ghanchi, Modh Ghanchi (Originally from Modhera, Gujarat), Saurashtra, Amreli, Bagasra, Bilkha, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Kalol, Kadi, Mumbai^[1], Ganiger and Ganiga Shetty in Karnataka. Those of the Gandla cast who extract oil from oil seed are known as the Gandla community.

Nowadays major number of this community is moving all around Gujarat including Kutch District, Gujarat

Notable people

• Narendra Modi, the 15th Prime Minister of India.^[5] Modi belongs to the OBC (Other Backward Class) Modh Ghanchi community,^[6] which is a Gujarati caste equivalent of Teli in Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, UP and Bihar.^[7][8][9] Modh refers to the town Modehra, from where his caste originated.^[10]

Lalit Modi is another top businessman from the same community

See also

• Teli
• Shah
• Sahu
• Ganiga

References