1.
Social stratification
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Social stratification is a societys categorization of people into socioeconomic strata, based upon their occupation and income, wealth and social status, or derived power. As such, stratification is the social position of persons within a social group, category, geographic region. The upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and the lower stratum, moreover, a social stratum can be formed upon the bases of kinship or caste, or both. Determining the structures of social stratification arises from inequalities of status among persons, therefore, generally, the greater the social complexity of a society, the more social strata exist, by way of social differentiation. Social stratification is a used in the social sciences to describe the relative social position of persons in a given social group, category. In modern Western societies, stratification is often classified into three major divisions of social class, upper class, middle class, and lower class. Each of these classes can be subdivided into smaller classes. Social strata may also be delineated on the basis of kinship ties or caste relations, the concept of social stratification is often used and interpreted differently within specific theories. So-called conflict theories, such as Marxism, point to the inaccessibility of resources, talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, asserted that stability and social order are regulated, in part, by universal values. Such values are not identical with consensus but can as well be an impetus for ardent social conflict as it has multiple times through history. Parsons never claimed that universal values, in and by themselves, indeed, the constitution of society is a much more complicated codification of emerging historical factors. Theorists such as Ralf Dahrendorf alternately note the tendency toward an enlarged middle-class in modern Western societies due to the necessity of a workforce in technological economies. Various social and political perspectives concerning globalization, such as dependency theory, four principles are posited to underlie social stratification. First, social stratification is socially defined as a property of a society rather than individuals in that society, second, social stratification is reproduced from generation to generation. Third, social stratification is universal but variable, fourth, social stratification involves not just quantitative inequality but qualitative beliefs and attitudes about social status. Although stratification is not limited to complex societies, all complex societies exhibit features of stratification, the term stratification system is sometimes used to refer to the complex social relationships and social structure that generate these observed inequalities. Social mobility is the movement of individuals, social groups or categories of people between the layers or strata in a stratification system and this movement can be intragenerational or intergenerational. Such mobility is used to classify different systems of social stratification
2.
Nepal
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Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked central Himalayan country in South Asia. Nepal is divided into 7 provinces and 75 districts and 744 local units including 4 metropolises,13 sub-metropolises,246 municipal councils and 481 village and it has a population of 26.4 million and is the 93rd largest country by area. Bordering China in the north and India in the south, east, Nepal does not border Bangladesh, which is located within only 27 km of its southeastern tip. It neither borders Bhutan due to the Indian state of Sikkim being located in between, Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the worlds ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. It is a nation with Nepali as the official language. The territory of Nepal has a history since the Neolithic age. The name Nepal is first recorded in texts from the Vedic Age, the era which founded Hinduism, in the middle of the first millennium BCE, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet, the Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal became known as Nepal proper because of its complex urban civilization. It was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala, the Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valleys traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture, by the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, the country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and Colonial India. In the 20th century, Nepal ended its isolation and forged ties with regional powers. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951, but was suspended by Nepalese monarchs in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War resulted in the proclamation of a republic in 2008, modern Nepal is a federal secular parliamentary republic. Nepal is a nation, ranking 144th on the Human Development Index in 2016. The country struggles with the transition from a monarchy to a republic and it also suffers from high levels of hunger and poverty. Despite these challenges, Nepal is making progress, with the government declaring its commitment to elevate the nation from least developed country status by 2022
3.
Caste
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Its paradigmatic ethnographic example is the division of Indian society into rigid social groups, with roots in Indias ancient history and persisting until today. However, the significance of the caste system in India has been declining as a result of urbanization. The term is applied to non-human populations like ants and bees. The English word caste derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta, when the Spanish colonized the New World, they used the word to mean a clan or lineage. The use of the caste, with this latter meaning, is first attested to in English in 1613. Modern Indias caste system is based on the social groupings called jāti, the system of varnas appears in Hindu texts dating back to 1000 BCE and envisages the society divided into four classes, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The texts do not mention any separate, untouchable category in varna classification, scholars believe that the system of varnas was a theoretical classification envisioned by the Brahmins, but never truly operational in the society. The practical division of the society had always been in terms of jātis, which are not based on any specific principle, but could vary from ethnic origins to occupations. The jātis have been endogamous groups without any fixed hierarchy but subject to vague notions of rank articulated over time based on lifestyle, starting with the British colonial Census of 1901 led by Herbert Hope Risley, all the jātis were grouped under the theoretical varnas categories. The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than the varnas, as it provided a convenient shorthand, upon independence from Britain, the Indian Constitution listed 1,108 castes across the country as Scheduled Castes in 1950, for positive discrimination. The Untouchable communities are sometimes called Scheduled Castes, Dalit or Harijan in contemporary literature, in 2001, Dalits were 16. 2% of Indias population. Most of the 15 million bonded child workers are from the lowest castes, independent India has witnessed caste-related violence. Indias National Crime Records Bureau records crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes – the most disadvantaged groups - in a separate category, the socio-economic limitations of the caste system are reduced due to urbanization and affirmative action. Nevertheless, the system still exists in endogamy and patrimony, and thrives in the politics of democracy. The globalization and economic opportunities from foreign businesses has influenced the growth of Indias middle-class population, some members of the Chhattisgarh Potter Caste Community are middle-class urban professionals and no longer potters unlike the remaining majority of traditional rural potter members. The co-existence of the middle-class and traditional members in the CPCC has created intersectionality between caste and class, there is persistence of caste in Indian politics. Caste associations have evolved into caste-based political parties, political parties and the state perceive caste as an important factor for mobilization of people and policy development. It is not politics that gets caste-ridden, it is caste that gets politicized, the Nepalese caste system resembles that of the Indian jāti system with numerous jāti divisions with a varna system superimposed for a rough equivalence
4.
Brahmin
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Brahmin is a varna in Hinduism specialising as priests of sacred learning across generations. However, Indian texts suggest that Brahmins were often agriculturalists in medieval India, the Gautama Dharmasutra states in verse 10.3 that it is obligatory on a Brahmin to learn and teach the Vedas. The text forbids a Brahmin from engaging in the trade of animals for slaughter, meat, medicines, the Apastamba Dharmasutra asserts in verse 1.20.10 that trade is generally not sanctioned for Brahmins, but in the times of adversity he may do so. The chapter 1.20 of Apastamba, states Olivelle, forbids the trade of the following under any circumstances, human beings, meat, skins, weapons, barren cows, sesame seeds, pepper, and merits. The 1st millennium CE Dharmasastras, that followed the Dharmasutras contain similar recommendations on occupations for a Brahmin, both in prosperous or normal times, and in the times of adversity. The widely studied Manusmriti, for example, states, Except during a time of adversity and he should gather wealth just sufficient for his subsistence through irreproachable activities that are specific to him, without fatiguing his body. –4. 2–4.3 He must never follow a worldly occupation for the sake of livelihood, one who seeks happiness should become supremely content and self controlled, for happiness is rooted in contentment and its opposite is the root of unhappiness. –4. 11–4.12 The Manusmriti recommends that a Brahmins occupation must never involve forbidden activities such as producing or trading poison, weapons, meat, trapping birds and others. It also lists six occupations that it deems proper for a Brahmin, teaching, studying, offering yajna, officiating at yajna, giving gifts, of these, states Manusmriti, three which provide a Brahmin with a livelihood are teaching, officiating at yajna, and accepting gifts. The text states that teaching is best, and ranks the accepting of gifts as the lowest of the six, in the times of adversity, Manusmriti recommends that a Brahmin may live by engaging in the occupations of the warrior class, or agriculture or cattle herding or trade. Of these, Manusmriti in verses 10. 83–10, the term Brahmin in Indian texts has signified someone who is good and virtuous, not just someone of priestly class. Both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, states Patrick Olivelle, repeatedly define Brahmin not in terms of family of birth and these virtues and characteristics mirror the values cherished in Hinduism during the Sannyasa stage of life, or the life of renunciation for spiritual pursuits. Brahmins, states Olivelle, were the class from which most ascetics came. The earliest inferred reference to Brahmin as a social class is in the Rigveda, occurs once. Ancient texts describing community-oriented Vedic yajna rituals mention four to five priests, the hotar, the adhvaryu, the udgatar, the functions associated with the priests were, The Hotri recites invocations and litanies drawn from the Rigveda. The Adhvaryu is the assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual like measuring the ground. The Udgatri is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music drawn from the Samaveda, the udgatar, like the hotar, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns. The Brahmin recites from the Atharvaveda, the Ritvij is the chief operating priest
5.
Kshatriya
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Kshatriya is one of the four varna of the Hindu society. The Sanskrit term kshatriya is used in the context of Vedic society wherein members organised themselves into four classes, brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, traditionally, the kshatriya constituted the ruling and military elite. Their role was to protect society by fighting in wartime and governing in peacetime, the Prakrit derivative of Kshatriya is Khatri. The administrative machinery in the Rig Vedic period functioned with a chief called Rajan whose position was not hereditary. The king was elected in an assembly, which included women. The Rajan protected the tribe and cattle, was assisted by a priest, the concept of fourfold varna system was non-existent. The hymn Purusha Sukta to the Rigveda describes the history of the four varna. Since not all dark-skinned Indians was fully regulated under the varna in the vedic society, the term rajanya unlike the word kshatriya essentially denoted the status within a lineage. Whereas kshatra, means ruling, one of the ruling order, jaiswal points out the term Brahman rarely occurs in the Rig-veda with the exception of the Purusha Sukta and may not have been used for the priestly class. Based on the authority of Panini, Patanjali, Katyayana and the Mahabharata, Jayaswal believes that Rajanya was the name of a people and that the Rajanyas were, therefore. Some examples were the Andhaka and Vrsni Rajanyas who followed the system of elected rulers and this later gave rise to the idea of kingship. In the period of the Brahmanas there was ambiguity in the position of the varna, in the Panchavimsha Brahmana, the Rajanya are placed first, followed by Brahmana then Vaishya. In Shatapatha Brahmana 13.8.3.11, the Kshatriya are placed second, in Shatapatha Brahmana 1.1.4.12 the order is—Brahmana, Vaishya, Rajanya, Shudra. The order of the brahmanical tradition—Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra—became fixed from the time of dharmasutras, the kshatriya were often considered pre-eminent in Buddhist circles. Even among Hindu societies they were sometimes at rivalry with the Brahmins, the kshatriya caste constituted an aristocracy but were not always necessarily wealthy. Kings usually belonged to this caste and it was considered their duty to acquire a knowledge of weapons in addition to cultivating their aptitude for command, the science of weaponry was one of the 13 branches of learning which every educated kshatriya male was expected to study. Both the kings suite and the army were recruited from among this caste. Many kshatriya were authorised to take up a craft or trade rather than gaining their living as professional warriors and these families still retained the privileges accorded to their caste however, which included special forms of marriage which were their prerogative
6.
Vaishya
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Vaishya is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order. Hindu religious texts assigned Vaishyas to traditional roles in agriculture and cattle-rearing, the Vaishyas, along with members of the Brahmin and Kshatriya varnas, claim dvija status after sacrament of initiation as in Hindu theology. Indian traders were widely credited for the spread of Indian culture to regions as far as southeast Asia, historically, Vaishyas have been involved in roles other than their traditional pastoralism, trade and commerce. According to historian Ram Sharan Sharma, the Gupta Empire was a Vaishya dynasty that may have appeared as a reaction against oppressive rulers, media related to Vaishya at Wikimedia Commons Introduction to caste system of India All India Vaish Federation
7.
Newar people
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The Newar or Newah are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilization. Newars form a linguistic and cultural community of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities following Hinduism and Buddhism with Nepal Bhasa as their common language, Newars have developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilization not seen elsewhere in the Himalayan foothills. Newars have continued their traditions and practices, and pride themselves as the true custodians of the religion, culture. The valley and surrounding territories constituted the former Newar kingdom of the Nepal Mandala, Indo-Aryan immigrants like the Licchavis and Mallas that arrived at different periods eventually merged with the local population by adopting their language and customs. Newar rule in Nepal Mandala ended with its conquest by the Gorkha Kingdom in 1768, Newars are known for their contributions to culture, art and literature, trade, agriculture and cuisine. Today, Newars consistently rank as the most economically, politically and socially advanced community of Nepal, nepals 2011 census ranks Newars as the nations sixth-largest ethnicity/community, with 1,321,933 Newars throughout the country. The terms Nepāl, Newār, Newāl and Nepār are phonetically different forms of the same word, Nepal is the learned form and Newar is the colloquial form. The term Newar referring to inhabitant of Nepal appeared for the first time in an inscription dated 1654 in Kathmandu, italian Jesuit priest Ippolito Desideri who traveled to Nepal in 1721 has written that the natives of Nepal are called Newars. It has been suggested that Nepal may be a sanskritization of Newar, according to another explanation, the words Newar and Newari are vulgarisms arising from the mutation of P to V, and L to R. As a result of the process of dropping the last consonant and lengthening the vowel, Newā for Newār or Newāl. For about a thousand years, the Newar civilization in Central Nepal preserved a microcosm of classical North Indian culture in which Brahmanic, snellgrove and Richardson speak of the direct heritage of pre-Islamic India. The different divisions of Newars had different historical developments, the common identity of Newar was formed in the Kathmandu Valley. Until the conquest of the valley by the Gorkha Kingdom in 1769, so, the history of Newar correlates to the history of the Kathmandu Valley prior to the establishment of the modern state of Nepal. The earliest known history of Newar and the Kathmandu Valley blends with mythology recorded in historical chronicles, one such text, which recounts the creation of the valley, is the Swayambhu Purana. According to this Buddhist scripture, the Kathmandu Valley was a giant lake until the Bodhisattva Manjusri, with the aid of a sword, cut a gap in the surrounding hills. This apocryphal legend is supported by evidence of an ancient lakebed. According to the Swayambhu Purana, Manjusri then established a city called Manjupattan, now called Manjipā, a shrine dedicated to Manjusri is still present in Majipā. No historical documents have been found after this era till the advent of the Gopal era, a genealogy of kings is recorded in a chronicle called Gopalarajavamsavali
8.
Nepali language
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Nepali, originally known as Khas Kura, Parbate Bhasa or Gorkhali, is an Indo-Aryan language. It is the language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal. It is also spoken in parts of India, particularly by Indian Gorkha. In India, Nepali language is listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India having a status in the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepali developed in proximity to a number of Indo-Aryan languages, most notably the Pahari languages and Magahi, however, owing to Nepals geographical area, it has also been influenced by Tibeto-Burman languages. Nepali is mainly differentiated from Central Pahari, both in grammar and vocabulary, by Tibeto-Burman idioms owing to close contact with the language group. Nepali language shares 40% lexical similarity with the Bengali language, in the nineteenth century, the British resident at Kathmandu Brian Houghton Hodgson observed that it was, in eight-tenths of its vocabulary, substantially Hindi. Historically, the language was first called the Khas language, then Gorkhali or Gurkhali before the term Nepali was adopted, in 1920, during Rana regime in Nepal, the term Nepal which resembled the Nepal Mandala was taken from its people. Soon after that, Nepal Bhasa was renamed into Newari and Parbate/Khas language took over as Nepali language, other names include Parbatiya and Dzongkha Lhotshammikha. It is also known as the Khey language or Partya language among the Newar people and Pahari language among Madhesi, however, due to protests for identity, Newars have restored their languages name as Nepal Bhasa and voices have been raise to re-instate Parbate language in its original name. Nepali developed a significant literature within a period of a hundred years in the 19th century. This literary explosion was fueled by Adhyatma Ramayana, Sundarananda Bara, Birsikka, a collection of folk tales. The contribution of trio-laureates Lekhnath Paudyal, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, the contribution of expatriate writers outside Nepal, especially in Darjeeling and Varanasi in India, is also notable. In the past decade, there have been many contributions to Nepali literature from the Nepali diaspora in Asia, Europe, America, according to the 2011 national census,44.6 percent of the population of Nepal speaks Nepali as a first language. The Ethnologue website reports 12,300,000 speakers within Nepal, Nepali is traditionally spoken in the Hill Region of Nepal, especially in the western part of the country. Although the Newar language dominated the Kathmandu valley, Nepali is currently the most dominant, Nepali is used in government and as the everyday language of a growing portion of the local population. Nevertheless, the use of Nepali in the courts and government of Nepal is being challenged. Recognition of other languages in Nepal was one of the objectives of the Communist Party of Nepals long war
9.
Chhetri
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Chhetri, synonymous with Kshetri and Khatri are a caste among Nepali speaking peoples, which are a part of Khas people, along with some Brahmins, and Thakuris. According to 1854 Legal Code of Nepal, Chhetris are the group among the sacred thread bearers. Chhetris claim to be of the Kshatriya varna and they make up 16. 6% of Nepals population according to the census of 2011, making them the most populous caste or ethnic community in Nepal. The majority of Chhetris speak Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language as mother tongue Chhetris are primarily Hindu and those Chhetri who follow Hinduism may also follow Buddhism. The ancient religion of the Chhetri is Masto which uses nature worship and can still be seen in western Nepals Karnali district, in Nepals hill districts the Chhetri population rises to 41% compared to 31% Brahmin and 27% other castes. This greatly exceeds the Kshatriya portion in most regions with predominantly Hindu populations and they are thought to be connected to the Khasas mentioned in the ancient Indian literature and the medieval Khasa kingdom. The Chhetris first settled in Sinja Valley of Karnali in Nepal, the ancient name of this Himalayan region was Khas-des. There are several recognized ways to enter the Chhetri caste apart from Jharra Chettri, Having nothing, the child of a Chhetri father and a woman from lower but clean castes is still Chhetri. An arbitrary community can start following Chhetri caste rules, hiring Brahmin to conduct certain rituals, over generations these claims of Chhetri affinity become plausible to broader audiences. In the early history of Nepal, Chhetris played a key role in the unification of the country. During the monarchy, Chhetris continued to dominate the ranks of the Nepalese Army, police, Nepalese government administration and that marginalized the monarchy, and the Chhetri presence in the armed forces, police, and Government of Nepal. In traditional and administrative professions, Chhetris were given favorable treatment by the royal government, Chhetri had dominated high military positions and monopolized the military force at the times of Chhetri autocratic administrators like PM Bhimsen Thapa and PM Jung Bahadur Rana. Rana dynasty of Chhetri ruler Jung Bahadur Rana have marital ties with Maratha royal Gaekwad dynasty, asha Laxmi, the granddaughter of Chandra Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana was married to royals of Baroda. Also, the Scindia Dynasty was maritally linked to Rana dynasty of Nepal by Usha Raje Scindia, Madhavrao Scindia royal of Gwalior was also linked to Ranas by his mother Vijaya Raje Scindia. Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindias mother was daughter of General Yuvaraj SJB Rana, similarly, Dr. Karan Singh was married to Yasho Rajya Laxmi, daughter of General Sharada Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana. Gautama SJB Ranas son, Varun Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana was married to Padmaja Jadeja of Gujarat Jamnagar Royalty, as per 2011 census, almost all Chhetris are Hindu. Chhetri religion began with shamanism and nature worship, Thapa Politics in Nepal, With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839, New Delhi, Concept Publishing Company, p.278, ISBN9788180698132 Debra Skinner et. al. Selves in time and place, Identities, Experience and History in Nepal. Roman & Littlefield Publishers, Nepalese Language, Folklore and Practices for Foreigners
10.
Dashnami Hereditary Surnames
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These all dashnam Sanyasi are associated with four Math in four corners of India, established by Adi Shankaracharya. Initially all the disciples were Sanyasins who embraced sanyas either after marriage or without getting married, single-staff renunciates are distinct in their practices from Shaiva trishuldhari or trident-wielding renunciates and Vaishnava traditions of Tridandi sannyāsis. In the 8th century a section of the were organized by Adi Shankara into four maṭhas, however, the association of the Dasanāmis with the Shankara maṭhas remained nominal. Any Hindu, irrespective of class, caste, age or gender can seek sannyāsa as an Ēkadaṇḍi renunciate in the Dasanāmi tradition. During this period, power was centralized, along with a growth of long distance trade, standardization of procedures. Mahayana Buddhism flourished, but orthodox Shrauta Hinduism was rejuvenated by the patronage of the Gupta dynasty, the position of the Brahmans was reinforced and the first Hindu temples emerged during the late Gupta age. The Mahābhārata, which reached its final form by the early Gupta period. The Ēkadaṇḍis existed in the Tamil country during the south-Indian Pandyan Dynasty, being wandering monastics, they were not settled in the brahmadeyas or settlement areas for Brahmins. There existed tax free bhiksha-bogams for feeding the Ēkadaṇḍi ascetics in the ancient Tamil country, Ēkadaṇḍis and Tridandis were also active in Eastern India, and appear to have existed there during the North-Indian Gupta Empire. According to R. Tirumalai, There appears to have been no sectarian segregation of the Shaiva and Srivaishnava, at the beginning of what is referred to as Late classical Hinduism, which lasted from 650 till 1100 CE, Shankara established the Dasanami Sampradaya. See also Late-Classical Age and Hinduism Middle Ages After the end of the Gupta Empire, the kingdoms were ruled via a feudal system. Smaller kingdoms were dependent on the protection of the larger kingdoms, the great king was remote, was exalted and deified, as reflected in the Tantric Mandala, which could also depict the king as the centre of the mandala. The disintegration of central power also lead to regionalization of religiosity, local cults and languages were enhanced, and the influence of Brahmanic ritualistic Hinduism was diminished. Rural and devotional movements arose, along with Shaivism, Vaisnavism, Bhakti and Tantra, religious movements had to compete for recognition by the local lords. Buddhism lost its position, and began to disappear in India, Shankara, himself considered to be an incarnation of Shiva, established the Dashanami Sampradaya, organizing a section of the Ēkadaṇḍi monastics under an umbrella grouping of ten names. Several other Hindu monastic and Ēkadaṇḍi traditions remained outside the organization of the Dasanāmis, each maṭha was headed by one of his four main disciples, who each continued the Vedanta Sampradaya. Monastics of these ten orders differ in part in their beliefs and practices, the association of the Dasanāmis with the Smartha tradition or Advaita Vedānta is not all-embracing. One example is the Kriyā Yoga tradition that considers itself eclectic, with ancient unchangeable beliefs, nevertheless, contemporary Shankaracaryas have more influence among Saiva communities than among Vaisnava communities
11.
Maithili language
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Maithili is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Mithila region which is today mainly situated in northern Bihar of India and a few districts of the Nepal Terai. It is one of the largest languages in India and the second largest language in Nepal, less commonly, it was written with a Maithili variant of Kaithi, a script used to transcribe other neighboring languages such as Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Awadhi. In 2002, Maithili was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which allows it to be used in education, government and it is recognized as one of the largest languages in India and is the second most widely used language in Nepal. In 2007, Maithili was included in the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063, Part 1, in the past, Maithili was written primarily in Mithilakshar, but today it is written in the Devanagari script. Native speakers are referred to as Maithils, Madhubani and Darbhanga constitute cultural and linguistic centers. Native speakers also reside in Delhi, Kolkata, Ranchi and Mumbai, in Nepal, Maithili is spoken mainly in the Outer Terai districts including Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusa, Sunsari, Siraha and Saptari Districts. Janakpur is an important linguistic centre of Maithili, in the 19th century, linguistic scholars considered Maithili as a dialect of Eastern Hindi languages and grouped it with other languages spoken in Bihar. Hoernlé compared it with Gaudian languages and recognised that it shows similarities with Bengali languages than with Hindi. Grierson recognized it as a language and published the first grammar in 1881. Chatterji grouped Maithili with Magadhi Prakrit, the standard form of Maithili is spoken in Darbhanga and Madhubani districts in Bihar, India. Several geographic variations of Maithili dialects are spoken in India and Nepal, including Dehati, Some dialects such as Bantar, Barmeli, Musar and Tati are spoken only in Nepal, while the Kortha, Jolaha and Thetiya dialects are spoken in India. All the dialects are intelligible to native Maithili speakers, other dialects include, Thēthi is spoken between the western part of the Mahottari and the eastern part of the Sarlahi districts of Nepal, and in adjacent areas in Bihar. The Madhubani dialect spoken in north India is generally considered to be the standard form, central Maithili is also considered as the standard form. The Kulhaiya dialect is spoken in most of north-eastern Bihar, Maithili dates back to the 14th century. The Varna Ratnākara is the earliest known text, preserved from 1507. The name Maithili is derived from the word Mithila, an ancient kingdom of which King Janaka was the ruler, Maithili is also one of the names of Sita, the wife of King Rama and daughter of King Janaka. Scholars in Mithila used Sanskrit for their work and Maithili was the language of the common folk. In 1324, Ghyasuddin Tughluq, the emperor of Delhi invaded Mithila, defeated Harasimhadeva, entrusted Mithila to his family priest Kameshvar Jha, a Maithil Brahmin of the Oinwar dynasty
12.
Bhojpuri language
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Bhojpuri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand region of North India and in Terai region of Nepal. It is chiefly spoken in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, in the part of Bihar state. Bhojpuri is one of the national languages of Nepal and has official status in Fiji as Fiji Hindi. It is also a language in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname. Bhojpuri is also spoken in Pakistan, Jamaica, Belize, other parts of the Caribbean, more Indians in Suriname know Bhojpuri. In Mauritius a dialect of Bhojpuri remains in use, and it is locally called Bojpury, the day-to-day usage of the language in Mauritius is dropping and today, it is spoken by less than 5% of the population, according to latest census. Bhojpuri was historically written in Kaithi scripts, but since 1894, Government gazetteers report that Kaithi was used in a few districts of Bihar through the 1960s. By 1894, official texts in Bihar were written in Kaithi, at present almost all Bhojpuri texts are written in Devanagari even in the overseas islands where Bhojpuri is spoken. For example, in Mauritius, both Kaithi and Devanagari scripts have been in use since the arrival of Bhojpuri people from India, the Kathi script was considered informal in Mauritius, with the structure of Kaithi similar to Devanagari. In modern Mauritius, Bhojpuri script is Devanagari, Bhojpuri is, sociolinguistically, one of the seven Hindi languages. Of these seven, Bhojpuri has the most allophonic variations in vowels, robert Trammell has published the phonology of Bhojpuri. Bhojpuri has six vowel phonemes, and ten vocoids, the higher vowels are relatively tense, while lower vowels are relatively lax. The language has 31 consonant phonemes and 34 contoids, according to Trammell, the syllable system is peak type, every syllable has the vowel phoneme as the highest point of sonority. Codas may consist of one, two or three consonants, vowels occur as simple peaks or as peak nuclei in diphthongs. The intonation system involves four pitch levels and three terminal contours, the United Nations has published the universal declaration of human rights in Bhojpuri and Sarnámi, one of 154 languages of the world. Ohi djanne ke lage sab ke samadj-boedj aur hierdaai hai aur doesare se sab soemmat sè, article 1, All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood, Bhojpuri syntax and vocabulary reflect a three-tier system of politeness. Any verb can be conjugated as per these tiers, for example, the verb to come in Bhojpuri is aana and the verb to speak is bolna
13.
Madhesh
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Madhesh is a fertile and humid region of southern Nepal in the Terai belt. The Nepali people who have cultural and demographic connection to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh of India, the eastern part of Madhesh, which along with northern part of Bihar was part of the Mithila region, has been separate from Nepal historically. It was gifted to Nepal by the British as a reward for helping to suppress the 1857 rebellion of India, there is an ongoing movement for a Free Mithila state in Nepal. The Alliance for Independent Madhesh is a led by CK Raut that aims to gain secession for the region from Nepal. Nepal Government has differentiated some Terai region into Outer Madhesh and Inner Madhesh Valleys of Nepal, the 2011 national census counted 2.3 million population lives in the inner Terai and 10.3 million population lives in the Outer Terai. Madhesh is a Nepali morphological derivative of Madhyapradesh or Majjhimapradesh and means the Middle Country signifying its location between the Himalayas and the plains, Terai is presumed to be derived from Persian, meaning “damp”, and denotes the land at the foothills of mountains, often damp and swampy. Some people also believe that madesh is named after the people from Madhya Pradesh, India, mass migrated into these areas and were called madeshi, Inner Madhesh valleys historically were agriculturally productive but endemic to malaria. Some parts were left forested by official decree during the Rana dynasty as a defensive perimeter, the British believed that plainsmen generally die if they sleep in the malaria-infested zone before November 1 or after June 1. British travelers to Kathmandu went as fast as possible from the border at Raxaul in order to reach the hills before nightfall, until 1958, Madhesh residents as well as Indians were required to stop at the border town of Birgunj to obtain passports before proceeding to Kathmandu. Passports were then checked at Chisapani Garhi on the route to Kathmandu, before 1951, ones nationality appears to have been determined primarily on linguistic basis. Nepalese subjects were the “hill folks” who spoke Nepali or hill languages such as Newari, Magar, thus, in early 1950s language was the major factor for separating as well as discriminating Madheshi as outsiders. Acquisition of land assets was linked to citizenship issues, after the fall of the Shah Dynasty and promulgation of the Interim Constitution of 2063, many Madheshi people received citizenship. Due to loose regulations, it is said that even many Indian nationals were able to get citizenship and he occupied the Tirhut region and made a bold thrust through the Terai plains into the Kathmandu Valley. His army sacked the temple of Svayambhunath and he did not annex any part of Nepal and instead returned to Bengal with an immense booty. After Tirhut kingdom was destroyed, the King and people of Tirhut Kingdom escaped to Kathmandu Valley and they have been living in the Terai for millennia, and reputedly have innate resistance to malaria. Tharu people are scattered over most of the Terai, with several subgroups in the far-western and western Terai, a large Tharu populations resides in the central Terai. Kochila Tharus live foremost in the eastern Terai, maithils inhabit eastern Madhesh, Bhojpuris are found in the centre and Awadhis inhabit the western part. The Eastern part of Madhesh was part of the Mithila region and has always been home to Maithili speaking people which is why some are proposing to rejoin Mithila in India
14.
Rajput
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Rajput is a member of the patrilineal clans of the Indian subcontinent. They rose to prominence from the late 6th century AD and had a significant role in regions of central. The Rajput population and the former Rajput states are found spread across India where they are spread in north, west, in Pakistan they are found on the eastern parts of the country. These areas include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, the origin of the Rajputs is the subject of debate. Writers such as M. S. Naravane and V. P, one theory espouses that with the collapse of the Gupta empire from the late 6th century, the invading Hephthalites were probably integrated within Indian society. At the same time, some tribes were ranked as Rajput, examples of which are the Bhatis, Bundelas, Chandelas. Actually vary greatly in status, from princely lineages, such as the Guhilot and Kachwaha, aydogdy Kurbanov says that the assimilation was specifically between the Hephthalites, Gurjars, and people from northwestern India, forming the Rajput community. Pradeep Barua also believes that Rajputs have foreign origins, he says their practice of asserting Kshatriya status was followed by other Indian groups thereby establishing themselves as Rajputs. Thereafter, in the late 12th century Muhammad of Ghor attempted to invade Gujarat but was defeated by the Chaulukya dynasty of Rajputs. The Rajput kingdoms were disparate, loyalty to a clan was more important than allegiance to the wider Rajput social grouping, meaning that one clan would fight another. This and the jostling for position that took place when a clan leader died meant that Rajput politics were fluid. Even after the Muslim conquest of the regions in Punjab and the Ganges River valley, the Rajputs maintained their independence in Rajasthan and the forests of central India. Later, Sultan Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate took the two Rajput forts of Chittor and Ranthambhor in eastern Rajasthan in the 14th century but could not hold them for long. In the 15th century, the Muslim sultans of Malwa Sultanate, accordingly, Rana Sanga came to be the most distinguished indigenous contender for supremacy but was defeated by the Mughal invader Babur at Battle of Khanwa in 1527. From as early as the 16th century, Purbiya Rajput soldiers from the regions of Bihar and Awadh, were recruited as mercenaries for Rajputs in the west. After the mid-16th century, many Rajput rulers formed close relationships with the Mughal emperors and it was due to the support of the Rajputs that Akbar was able to lay the foundations of the Mughal empire in India. Some Rajput nobles gave away their daughters in marriage to Mughal emperors, for example, Akbar accomplished 40 marriages for him, his sons and grandsons, out of which 17 were Rajput-Mughal alliances. Akbars successors as Mogul emperors, his son Jahangir and grandson Shah Jahan had Rajput mothers, the ruling Sisodia Rajput family of Mewar made it a point of honour not to engage in matrimonial relationships with mughals and thus claimed to stand apart from those Rajput clans who did so
15.
Kayastha
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Kayastha is a caste or community of Hindus originating in India. Kayasthas are considered to be members of the caste, and have traditionally acted as keepers of public records and accounts, writers. In modern times, Kayasthas have attained success in politics, as well as in the arts, Kayasthas have therefore also been mentioned as a mixed caste, combining Brahman-Shudra and sometimes Kshatriya as well. Originally the professions of Kayastha and Vaidya were not restricted and could be followed by people of different varnas including the brahmanas. So there is every probability that a number of families were mixed up with members of other varnas in forming the present Kayastha. Brahmanical religious texts refer to Kayasthas as a responsible for writing secular documents. According to the chronicle known as the Rajatarangini, written by Kalhana in the 12th century AD, Kayasthas served as prime ministers. Prior to the 13th century AD, during the rule of Hindu kings and they may also have been described as Karanas, since the two groups performed similar functions. According to Abu al-Fazl, Emperor Akbars prime minister, Kayasthas were rulers of the Pala Empire, after the Muslim conquest of India, Kayasthas mastered Persian, which became the official language of the Mughal courts. Some converted to Islam and formed the Muslim Kayasth community in northern India and he also translated the Bhagavata Purana from Sanskrit into Persian. In Bengal, Kayasthas had been the dominant landholding caste prior to the Muslim conquest, indeed, Muslim rulers had from a very early time confirmed the Kayasthas in their ancient role as landholders and political intermediaries. Bengali Kayasthas served as governors, prime ministers and treasury officials under Mughal rule, as a result of their exalted status amongst Muslim sultans, many Bengali Kayasthas became zamindars and jagirdars. According to Abu al-Fazl, most of the Hindu zamindars in Bengal were Kayasthas, maharaja Pratapaditya, the King of Jessore who declared independence from Mughal rule in the early 17th century, was a Kayastha. During the British Raj, Kayasthas continued to proliferate in public administration, qualifying for the highest executive, Bengali Kayasthas took on the role occupied by merchant castes in other parts of India and profited from business contacts with the British. In 1911, for example, Kayasthas and Brahmins owned 40% of all the Indian-owned mills, the Kayastha are found mostly in central, eastern and northern India, and particularly in Bengal. Today, there are an estimated 800,000 Kayasthas in India, Kayasthas that have risen to prominence since independence include the countrys first president, Rajendra Prasad, and its second prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri. Kayastha presently feel isolated in aligning themselves with different political parties to political and economical advantages and are now demanding 33 percent reservation in Government jobs. The exact varna status of Kayasthas has been a subject of debate, according to multiple accounts, they are a literate and educated class of Kshatriyas, and have been referred to as a twice-born caste
16.
Bania (caste)
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The Bania is an occupational community of merchants, bankers, money-lenders, dealers in grains or in spices, and in modern times numerous commercial enterprises. The term is used in a sense in Bengal than it is elsewhere in India. Bania is derived from the Sanskrit word vaṇij or baṇij, which means merchant, in western India the caste is called Vani or Vania. Although in Bengal the term is applied to all people who are involved in moneylending and similar activities, elsewhere in India it is used in the more limited sense of referring to specific castes
17.
Yadava
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The Yadavas were an ancient Indian people who believed themselves to be descended from Yadu, a mythical king. The community was formed of four clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Satvatas. They are listed in ancient Indian literature as the segments of the lineage of Yadu, the Mahabharata and the Puranas mention that the Yadus or Yadavas, a confederacy comprising numerous clans were the rulers of the Mathura region. These five clans are Vitihotra, Sharyata, Bhoja, Avanti, the five Haihaya clans called themselves the Talajanghas According to the Puranas, Haihaya was the grandson of Sahasrajit, son of Yadu. Kautilya in his Arthaśāstra mentioned about the Haihayas, in the Puranas, Arjuna Kartavirya was mentioned as the most significant Haihaya king. He was called a Samrat and Chakravartin and his name is found in the Rig Veda. He conquered Mahishmati from Karkotaka Naga and made it his capital, later, the Haihayas were also known by the name of the most dominant clan amongst them — the Vitihotras. According to the Puranas, Vitihotra was the great-grandson of Arjuna Kartavirya, ripunjaya, the last Vitihotra ruler of Ujjayini was overthrown by his amatya Pulika, who placed his son, Pradyota on the throne. The Mahagovindasuttanta of the Dighanikaya mentions about an Avanti king Vessabhu, probably he was a Vitihotra ruler. In the Balakanda of the Ramayana, the Shashabindus are mentioned along with the Haihayas, the Shashabindus or Shashabindavas are believed as the descendants of Shashabindu, a Chakravartin and son of Chitraratha, great-great-grandson of Kroshtu. The Chedis or Chaidyas were an ancient Yadava clan, whose territory was conquered by a Kuru king Vasu, According to the Puranas, the Chedis were descendants of Chidi, son of Kaishika, grandson of Vidarbha, a descendant of Kroshta. The Rigveda mentions a king named Kashu Chaidya, According to the Puranas, the Vidarbhas or Vaidarbhas were descendants of Vidarbha, son of Jyamagha, a descendant of Kroshtu. Most well known Vidarbha king was Bhishmaka, father of Rukmin, in the Matsya Purana and the Vayu Purana, the Vaidarbhas are described as the inhabitants of Deccan. According to the Aitareya Brahmana, the Satvatas were a southern people held in subjection by the Bhojas, the Satapatha Brahmana mentions that Bharata seized the sacrificial horse of the Satvatas. According to a tradition, found in the Harivamsa, Satvata was a descendant of the Yadava king Madhu, Bhima recovered the city of Mathura from the Ikshvakus after the death of Rama and his brothers. Andhaka, son of Bhima Satvata was contemporary with Kusha, son of Rama and he succeeded his father to the throne of Mathura. The Andhakas, the Vrishnis, the Kukuras, the Bhojas and the Shainyas are believed to have descended from Satvata and these clans were also known as the Satvata clans. According to the Ashtadhyayi of Panini, the Andhakas were of the Kshatriya gotra, having a form of government In the Drona Parva of the Mahabharata
18.
Kurmi
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The Kurmi are a Hindu agricultural caste in India and Nepal. There are several theories regarding the etymology of the term Kurmi and it may be derived from an Indian tribal language, or may be a Sanskrit compound term krishi karmi, agriculturalist. Another theory holds that it was derived from kṛṣmi, meaning ploughman, many new rulers of the 18th century came from such nomadic backgrounds. The effect of this interaction on Indias social organization lasted well into the colonial period, the Kurmi were famed as cultivators and market gardeners. In western and northern Awadh, for example, for much of the eighteenth century, once the land had been brought stably under the plough, however, the land rent was usually raised to 30 to 80 per cent above the going rate. A network of ganjs and Kurmi or Kacchi settlements could transform a local economy within a year or two, Hindu tillers worshipped at Muslim shrines in the small towns founded by their Muslim overlords. The Hindu Kurmis of Chunar and Jaunpur, for instance, took up the Muslim custom of marrying first cousins, and bemoaned the loss of agricultural revenue in part due to, this unfavourable mutation amongst the cultivators. In the first half of the century, economic pressures on the large landowning classes increased noticeably. The prices of agricultural lands fell at the time that the East India Company, after acquiring the Ceded and Conquered Provinces in 1805. The annexation of Awadh in 1856 created more fear and discontent among the landed elite, economic pressures also opened marginal areas to intensive agriculture and turned the fortunes of the non-elite peasants, such as the Kurmi, who worked them. According to historical anthropologist Susan Bayly, In some instances these were attempts to stave off decline by reinvigorating or intensifying existing froms of customary service. Elsewhere these were wholly novel demands, many being imposed on clean tillers and cattle-keepers like the Ram- and Krishna-loving Koeris, Kurmis, in either case, these calls were buttressed with appeals to Sanskritic varna theory and Brahmanical caste convention. The elite landowning classes, such as Rajputs and Bhumihars, now sought to present themselves as flagbearers of the ancient Hindu tradition. The second half of the century also largely overlapped with the coming of age of ethnology—interpreted then as the science of race—in the study of societies the world over. Although later to be discredited, the methods of discipline were eagerly absorbed and adopted in British India. According to Susan Bayly, Those like Hunter, as well as the key figures of H. H. A. H. Blunt. Seeing caste as a force in Indian life, Risley, especially. Risley is best known for the now discounted attribution of all differences in caste to varying proportions of seven racial types which included Dravidian, Aryo-Dravidian, the Kurmi fell into two such categories
19.
Kumhar
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Kumhar is a caste or community in India and Pakistan. Kumhar literally means potter in Indian languages and it is also known by the names Kumbhara, Kubhara, Kumar, Kumor, Kubar and Khubar. The Kumhar community is found throughout India, in both Hindu and Muslim religions, depending upon the subgroup or region they are classified as both Other Backward Class and the Scheduled Caste. The Kumhars derive their name from the Sanskrit word Kumbhakar meaning earthen-pot maker, dravidian languages conform to the same meaning of the term Kumbhakar. The term Bhande, used to designate the Kumhar caste, also means pot, the potters of Amritsar are called Kulal or Kalal, the term used in Yajurveda to denote the potter class. A section of Hindu Kumhars honorifically call themselves Prajapati after Vedic Prajapati, the Lord, who created the universe. According to a legend prevalent among Kumhars Once Brahma divided sugarcane among his sons and each of them ate his share, the piece which he had kept near his clay lump struck root and soon grew into a sugarcane plant. A few days later, when Brahma asked his sons for sugarcane, none of them could give it to him, Brahma was pleased by the devotion of the potter to his work and awarded him the title Prajapati. There is an opinion that this is because of their creative skills of pottery. The Potters are classified into Hindu and Muslim cultural groups, among Hindus, inclusion of Artisan castes in Shudra Varna is indisputable. The potters belong to the Shudra group of artisans of Hindu society and they are further divided into two groups-clean caste and unclean caste. Among the Kumhars are groups such as the Gujrati Kumhar, Rana Kumhar, Lad and they all, bear these names after different cultural linguistic zones or caste groups but are termed as one caste cluster. The Kumhars of Chamba are expert in making pitchers, Surahis, vessels, grain jars, toys for entertainment, some of these pots bear paintings and designs also. Kumhars are found in Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Sholapur and they speak in Marathi among themselves but in Marathi as well as Hindi with outsiders. They use Devnagari script for communication, there are Kumbhars who do not belong to Maratha clan lives in Maharashtra and have occupation of making idols and pots. They are aware of the Hindu Varna hierarchy and consider themselves to be the Shudra, hathretie and Chakretie Kumhars are found in Madhya Pradesh. Hathretie Kumhars are called so because they moved the chak by hands. In Rajasthan, Kumhars have six sub-groups namely Mathera, Kumavat, Kheteri, Marwara, in the social hierarchy of Rajasthan, they are placed in the middle of the higher castes and the Harijans
20.
Mali caste
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The Mali are an occupational caste found among the Hindus who traditionally worked as gardeners and florists. They also call themselves Phul Mali, who derived their names from their occupation of growing flowers, the Mali are found throughout North India, East India as well as the Terai region of Nepal and Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, Malis have agriculture as their occupation and are categorized under OBC for reservation purposes There are many endogamous groups within Malis. The Mali community of Rajasthan and other north Indian states adopted the surname Saini during the 1930s when India was under British colonial rule
21.
Dhobi
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Dhobi is a caste group of India and a tribe in Pakistan. Their traditional occupation was washing clothes, the word dhobi is derived from the Hindi word dhona, which means to wash. They are found throughout North India, Gujarat, Maharashtra as well as the Punjab province of Pakistan, most Dhobis follow the customs and traditions of the region they live, so for example those in North India speak Hindi, while those in Maharashtra speak Marathi. The Dhobi rank themselves highest among the Scheduled Castes, the Census of 2001 returned Dhobis representing six per cent of the total Scheduled Caste population. In Andhra Pradesh, the Rajakas form 12% of the total population, the Dhobi Community in Bihar is about 6% of total population. Dhobi have maximum concentration in Purnia and East Champaran districts respectively, the Dhobi community in bihar is in Scheduled Caste Status. Among the numerically larger castes of SC, Dhobi have registered the highest over all literacy rate, the Dhobi of Haryana are said to have originated from Punjab and Rajasthan. They are scattered throughout the state, like other Hindu communities, they are divided into clans called gotras. Some of the major gotras are the hathwal~ Chauhan, Shukravar, Rajoria, Tonwar, Panwar, Badera, Satmase, Akhasriya, Mahavar and these clan names are also used as surnames. Their main occupation remains washing of and drying of clothes. A small number of Dhobi are marginal farmers. They are classified as OBCs, in Karnataka, there are Muslim Dhobis, they are also called as Agasa, Dhobi, Pakzade & Parit. Their population is spread over Karnataka, mainly in Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bijapur, Dharwar, Haveri, Davangere & Gadag Kumta, Sirsi, Ankola, Karwar, Mysore Banglore Gulbarga Ramnagar Districts. And their secondary language is Kannada & Urdu, there are also Hindu dhobis, called Madivala and their population is concentrated mainly in Davanagere, Chitradurga, Raichur and Shimoga districts. In Maharashtra, the Dhobi are found throughout the state, and are known as Parit. They claim to have belonged to the Rajput community. The Dhobi have been listed as Other Backward Class and they speak Marathi among themselves, and Hindi with outsiders. The community are endogamous, and practice clan exogamy, marriage within the clan is prohibited. The Dhobi of Mumbai wash their linen in the Mahalaxmi area known as Dhobi Ghat and this area is strangely popular with foreign tourists looking for a piece of quintessential Indian-ness. Another region in South Mumbai, Dhobitalao, used to be a lake where British soldiers used to have their uniforms washed about 120 years ago
22.
Chamar
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Chamar is one of the untouchable communities, or dalits, who are now classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern Indias system of positive discrimination. As untouchables, they were considered outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. They are found mainly in the states of India and in Pakistan. Ramnarayan Rawat posits that the association of the Chamar community with an occupation of tanning was constructed. The term chamar has also used as a pejorative word for anyone whom the describer considers to be of low standing. According to the 2001 census of India, the Chamars comprise around 14 per cent of the population in the state of Uttar Pradesh and 12 percent of that in Punjab. The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh combined the Chamar, Dhusia, Jhusia, Jatava Scheduled Caste communities and they believe that leatherwork is degrading when compared to weaving. The 1st Chamar Regiment was a regiment formed by the British during World War II. Officially, it was created on 1 March 1943, as the 27th Battalion 2nd Punjab Regiment was converted, the Chamar Regiment which was involved in the Pacific War Japanese front and was awarded the Battle Honor of Kohima for theirs distinguished role in the Battle of Kohima. The Regiment was disbanded in 1946, recently, several politicians have demanded that The Chamar Regiment be revived. Kanshi Ram, founder of Bahujan Samaj Party and mentor of Mayawati Kumari Hindu Mochi Muslim Mochi Briggs, the Religious Life of India — The Chamars. Rawat, Ramnarayan S. Reconsidering Untouchability, Chamars and Dalit History in North India, a Bibliographic Essay on Hindu and Christian Dalit Religiosity
23.
Nepal Mandala
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Nepal Mandala is an ancient confederation marked by cultural, religious and political boundaries which lies in present-day central Nepal. It consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas, the rule of the indigenous Newars in Nepal Mandala ended with its conquest by the Gorkha Kingdom and the rise of the Shah dynasty in 1768. ref>Outline History of Nepal. Bhaktapur was the capital of Nepal Mandala until the 15th century when three capitals, including Kathmandu and Lalitpur, were established, the extent of Nepal Mandala has been traditionally defined by the locations of 64 Hindu and 24 Buddhist pilgrimage sites. The Hindu shrines consist of 64 Shiva lingas scattered from Brahmeswar in Nuwakot district in the west to Bhimeswar in Dolakha District in the east, the 24 Buddhist pilgrimage sites are spread from the Trishuli River in the west to Dolalghat in the east. When seen as a pattern, they form the picture of the mandala of Chakrasamvara. Nepal Mandala was conceived on the basis of the Chakrasamvara Mandala, the term mandala also means a country, and it has been used to represent traditional political formations such as federation of kingdoms. The area comprising Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Dolakha during the Malla period is known as Nepal Mandala. According to the Outline History of Nepal, Nepal Mandala was situated between the Khas and Simraungarh kingdoms, the Khas kingdom extended from Garhwal in the west to the Trishuli River in the east, and from Lake Mansarovar in the north to the Terai in the south. Karnatak, also called Simraungarh, was situated in the Terai, in 1661, Jesuit Fathers Johann Grueber and Albert dOrville travelled from Tibet to India through Nepal. They mentioned in their report that they passed through Cuthi, the first town in the kingdom of Necbal, and arrived in Cadmendu, from Cadmendu, a journey of five days brings one to Hedouda, a market town in the kingdom of Maranga. The town of Hedouda is known as Hetauda today, the oldest inhabitants of Nepal Mandala are Kirat, Newars who are of multiple racial strains that combined over millennia. Newar civilization is a blend of different cultures that came together in Nepal Mandala, according to sociologists, the people of Nepal gradually became known as Newar. The Buddhist text Manjushrimula Kalpa has mentioned Manadeva as being the king of Nepal Mandala, the term Nepal Mandala also appears in the popular Buddhist text Swayambhu Purana. It occurs in an inscription at Gyaneswar, Kathmandu dating from the eighth century during the reign of Licchavi king Jayadeva II. The term Nepal Mandala has been used through the centuries in stone and copper inscriptions and it is also referred to during important Buddhist ceremonies. Nepal Mandala, A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley, Princeton University Press 1982, Kathmandu Valley - The Preservation of Physical Environment and Cultural Heritage - A Protective Inventory, Vol.2, Wien 1975
24.
Newar language
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Although Nepal Bhasa literally means Nepalese language, the language is not the same as Nepali, the countrys current official language. The two languages belong to different language families, but centuries of contact have resulted in a significant body of shared vocabulary, Newar was Nepals administrative language from the 14th to the late 18th centuries. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Newar has suffered from official suppression, from 1952 to 1991, the percentage of the population in the Kathmandu Valley speaking Newar dropped from 75% to 44%, and Newar culture and language are under threat. The language has been listed as being endangered by UNESCO. The earliest occurrences of the name Nepālabhāṣā can be found in the manuscripts of a commentary to the Nāradasaṃhitā, dated 1380 AD, since then, the name has been used widely on inscriptions, manuscripts, documents and books. Conversely, the term Gorkhali in the national anthem entitled Shreeman Gambhir was changed to Nepali in 1951. On 8 September 1995, following years of lobbying to use the old name, however, the decision was not implemented, and on 13 November 1998, the Minister of Information and Communication issued another directive to use the name Nepal Bhasa instead of Newari. However, the Central Bureau of Statistics has not been doing so, Newar is spoken by over a million people in Nepal according to the 2001 census. In Nepal, Kathmandu Valley, Dolakha District, Banepa, Dhulikhel, Bandipur, Bhimphedi, Panauti, Palpa, Trishuli, Nuwakot, Bhojpur, Chitlang, Narayangarh, Chitwan. West Bengal In Tibet, Khasa With an increase in emigration, various bodies and societies of Newar-speaking people have emerged in such as the US. The exact placement of Newar within the Tibeto-Burman language family has been a source of controversies, the linguist Warren W. Glover classified Newar as a part of Bodic subdivision using Shafers terminology. Professor Van Driem classified Newar within Mahakiranti grouping but he retracted his hypothesis in 2003. Moreover, he proposed a new grouping called Maha-Newari which possibly includes Baram–Thangmi, T. R. Kansakar attributes the difficulty about the placement of Newar is due inability of scholars to connect it with the migration patterns of the Tibeto-Burman speakers. Since Newar separated from rest of the very early in history. He underscored the point that the language evolved from mixed racial/linguistic influences that do not lend easily to a neat classification. The date indicates a time when the language diverged. ɞ Van Driem labelled this branch as Parakiranti. However, he would drop this hypothesis. ʌ All languages within this branch have extensive Indo-Aryan vocabulary. It is hypothesized that either ancient IndoAryan admixture happened before Newar-Thangmi-Baram split or that Thangmi-Baram borrowed through Newari, according to the linguist Glover, Newari and the Chepang language must have diverged around 2200 BC
25.
Vajracharya
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A bajracharya or vajracharya is a Vajrayana Buddhist priest among the Newar communities of Nepal and a Revered Teacher who is highly attained in Vajrayana practices and rituals. They are also commonly called guru-ju or gu-bhaju which are Nepali terms related to the Sanskrit term guru, the bajracharya is the highest ranking of the Newar castes that are born Buddhist. The emergence of institution is ascribed to the decline of celibate Buddhist monks in about 13th century. To become a professional Guruju, a person of the bajracharya caste must go through a number of rituals, sometimes tantric Newar Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism is referred to as Vajracharya Buddhism. In so far as Shakya and Vajracharya men filled their roles in the monastery, in effect, they were married, part-time monks. Many of the modern Buddhist scholars in Nepal belong to the vajracharya tradition, jain Mahatma Newar caste system Gellner, David N. Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest, Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of Ritual. Revisiting Rituals in a Changing Tibetan World, Brill, Leiden,2012
26.
Uray (caste group)
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Urāy is a Newar Buddhist merchant caste of Kathmandu in Nepal. They are a prominent community in the business and cultural life of Kathmandu, Urays have played key roles in the development of trade, industry, art, architecture, literature and Buddhism in Nepal and the Himalayan region. The name Uray is said to have derived from the Sanskrit term upāsaka which means devout layman. The Uray follow Newar Buddhism and speak the Newar language as their mother tongue and they are believers in non-violence in personal relations and ritual practices. An early reference to the Uray is contained in a 17th-century journal kept at the Buddhist monastic courtyard of Jana Baha, dated Nepal Sambat 763, the journal entry states that King Laxmi Narsingh Malla has asked all the Urays to attend a religious service at Asan. Urays are also known for their history as traders on the Silk Road, operating out of business houses in Lhasa, Tibet and Kolkata, India, they were key players in the traditional Tibet trade for centuries. These merchants were known as the Lhasa Newar, the Uray are divided into nine subcastes who use the following surnames. Each group is associated with a traditional occupation according to the division of labor instituted in the past, tuladhar Sthapit Tamrakar Kansakar Sikhrākār Bania Sindurākār Shilākār Selālik Samyak is the greatest Newar Buddhist festival. The ceremony in Kathmandu is held once every 12 years and is spread cver three days, on the occasion, large images of Dīpankara Buddha are exhibited at Kathmandu Durbar Square and Swayambhu. Alms are distributed to priests during the ceremony which is attended by the king, during Samyak, each Uray group performs a task that has been assigned by tradition. Gunlā Bājan is Buddhist devotional music played during the month of Gunlā which is considered holy by Newar Buddhists, Gunla is the 10th month in the Nepal Era calendar and corresponds to August. All Uray groups have a Gunla Bajan band which makes a pilgrimage to Swayambhu during the sacred month. Each Uray group has its own lineage deity known as Digu Dyah, every year, members gather at the shrine, which is usually located on an open field on the outskirts of the city, and make offerings to the deity. The ritual is known as Depujā, Urays have two types of funeral societies, Sī Guthi and Sanān Guthi. The Si Guthi performs the cremation too while the Sanan Guthi only takes part in the procession. The Udaaya Museum containing miniature dioramas illustrating the traditional occupations and cultural performances of the nine subcastes has opened and it also contains historical and contemporary photographs and tools used by the artisans. The museum is located in a house at Asan, Kathmandu. Gunla Bajan music Kumha Pyakhan dance Traditional Newar clothing Newar Buddhism
