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{{Infobox caste |
{{Infobox caste |
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|caste_name= Kurmi <br/><br/> कुर्मी |
|caste_name= Kurmi <br/><br/> कुर्मी |
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|classification= [[ |
|classification= [[Kshatriya]] |
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|subdivisions=Kurmi, [[Singraur]], [[Umrao]], [[Awadhiya]], [[Kochyasa]], [[Gangwar]], [[Kanbi]], [[Kapu]], [[Katiyar]], [[Kulambi]], [[Jaiswar]], [[Kulwadi]], [[Kutumbi]], [[Patel]], [[Singhror]], [[Chaudhary|Choduary]], [[Sachan]], [[Verma]], [[artarvavanshi]],(Niranjan) |
|subdivisions=Kurmi, [[Singraur]], [[Umrao]], [[Awadhiya]], [[Kochyasa]], [[Gangwar]], [[Kanbi]], [[Kapu]], [[Katiyar]], [[Kulambi]], [[Jaiswar]], [[Kulwadi]], [[Kutumbi]], [[Patel]], [[Singhror]], [[Chaudhary|Choduary]], [[Sachan]], [[Verma]], [[artarvavanshi]],(Niranjan) |
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|populated_states=[[Northern India]], [[Western India]], [[Central India]], [[South India]] |
|populated_states=[[Northern India]], [[Western India]], [[Central India]], [[South India]] |
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The '''Kurmi''' ({{lang-hi|कुर्मी}}) are |
The '''Kurmi''' ({{lang-hi|कुर्मी}}) Kurmis are the direct descendants of the famous [[Suryavanshi]] [[Kshatriya]] dynasties of [[Lord Rama]] and one of the sects of [[Hindus]] in India.<ref name="Tyagi2009">{{cite book|author=Vidya Prakash Tyagi|title=Martial races of undivided India | | |url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=vRwS6FmS2g0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false|publisher=Gyan Publishing House–}}</ref> The group is often associated with the [[Kunbi]], though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous.<ref name="Various census of India">{{cite book|title=Various census of India|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2v8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA36|accessdate=13 May 2011|year=1867|pages=36–}}</ref><ref name="Bhattacharya1896">{{cite book|author=Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya|title=Hindu castes and sects: an exposition of the origin of the Hindu caste system and the bearing of the sects towards each other and towards other religious systems / Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=xlpLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA270|accessdate=13 May 2011|year=1896|publisher=Thacker, Spink|pages=270–}}</ref> |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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{{cquote|''a brown, tawny-coloured people, of average height, well-proportioned, rather lightly framed, and with a fair amount of good looks. They show well-shaped heads and high features, less refined than Brahmans, less martial than Rajputs, of humbler mien even than the Goalas; but, except when they have obviously intermixed with aborigines, they are unquestionably Aryan in looks. Grey eyes and brownish hair are sometimes met with amongst them. The women have usually small and well-formed hands and feet'' <ref>Dalton's ''Ethnology of Bengal'' - pg 320, cited in: {{cite book|author=Sir Herbert Hope Risley|title=The tribes and castes of Bengal: Ethnographic glossary|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5yk-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA529|accessdate=26 April 2011|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the Bengal secretariat press|pages=529–}}</ref> }} |
{{cquote|''a brown, tawny-coloured people, of average height, well-proportioned, rather lightly framed, and with a fair amount of good looks. They show well-shaped heads and high features, less refined than Brahmans, less martial than Rajputs, of humbler mien even than the Goalas; but, except when they have obviously intermixed with aborigines, they are unquestionably Aryan in looks. Grey eyes and brownish hair are sometimes met with amongst them. The women have usually small and well-formed hands and feet'' <ref>Dalton's ''Ethnology of Bengal'' - pg 320, cited in: {{cite book|author=Sir Herbert Hope Risley|title=The tribes and castes of Bengal: Ethnographic glossary|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5yk-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA529|accessdate=26 April 2011|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the Bengal secretariat press|pages=529–}}</ref> }} |
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===Varna status debate=== |
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Though designated as Shudra in historical sources, the late-20th century historian [[William Pinch (academic)|William Pinch]] noted that the Kurmi "thought of themselves not as cosmically created servants (shudra) devoid of any history, but as the descendants of divine warrior clans (kshatriya) firmly rooted in the Indian past."<ref name="Jaffrelot2003">{{cite book|author=Christophe Jaffrelot|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qJZp5tDuY-gC&pg=PA196|accessdate=13 April 2011|year=2003|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231127868|pages=196–}}</ref> |
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In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Kurmis, along with other castes such as the [[Yadav]], began to assert the claim that they had previously been Kshatriya and had been "reduced" to peasant status by circumstance.<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of social and economic studies, Volume 11|url=http://books.google.com/books?ei=WknMTbXeG-3ciAL-ptSHBQ&ct=result&id=c6XrAAAAMAAJ&dq=kurmi+kshatriya&q=kurmis |
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|accessdate=12 May 2011|year=1994|publisher=A.N.S. Institute of Social Studies|isbn=9788124100677 |
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|pages=146}}</ref> The Kurmi embarked on a program of publications, public mobilisation, and temple-building to establish their [[Vaishnava]] credential and buttress their claims to Kshatriya status.<ref name="Pinch1996">{{cite book|author=William R. Pinch|title=Peasants and monks in British India|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=uEP-ceGYsnYC&pg=PA98|accessdate=13 May 2011|year=1996|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520200616|pages=98–}}</ref> There claims have not been proven, though some scholars allow that such an argument can be made.<ref name="The Caste System of Northern India">{{cite book|title=The Caste System of Northern India|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mABr0B_Ah2QC&pg=PA211|accessdate=13 May 2011|publisher=Gyan Publishing House|isbn=9788182054950|pages=211–}}</ref> The Kurmis obtained some support from their claims from Brahmin scholars, who were eager to accommodate a caste group which had become politically powerful.<ref name="LalPathak2003">{{cite book|author1=A. K. Lal|author2=Bindeshwar Pathak|title=Social exclusion: essays in honour of Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=o38ZT8UVw8UC&pg=PA157|accessdate=13 May 2011|year=2003|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788180690532|pages=157–}}</ref> Satadal Dasgupta has noted that it is common for Indian lower castes to claim a higher ''varna'', citing the Kurmi Kshatriya as an example.<ref name="Dasgupta1993">{{cite book|author=Satadal Dasgupta|title=Caste, Kinship and Community: Social System of a Bengal Caste|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=JAUdW9_iziAC&pg=PA32|accessdate=13 May 2011|date=12 July 1993|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=9780863112799|pages=32–}}</ref> |
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==Politics == |
==Politics == |
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The ''Sardar Kurmi Kshatryia Sabha'' was organised in 1894 in [[Lucknow]], the capital of Uttar Pradesh (some sources say 1884<ref name="Shah2004">{{cite book|author=Ghanshyam Shah|title=Caste and democratic politics in India|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zByW5kHB3vIC&pg=PA15|accessdate=10 May 2011|year=2004|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=9781843310853|pages=15–}}</ref>) to protest a government decision barring Kurmi recruitment into the police force. However, the influence of this organisation diminished at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="Verma1979">{{cite book|author=Krishna Kumar Verma|title=Changing role of caste associations|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ozMiAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=10 May 2011|year=1979|publisher=National|page=13-16}}</ref><!-- CAN ONLY GET GBOOKS SNIPPET VIEW, SO CAN'T SEE THE WHOLE SERIES OF THEORIES WHY IT DECLINED --> A similar Sabha was formed in [[Awadh]], which sought to unite as "Kurmi" other castes such at the [[Patidar]], [[Kapu (caste)|Kapu]], [[Vokkaliga]], [[Reddy]], [[Naidu]], and [[Maratha]]. |
The ''Sardar Kurmi Kshatryia Sabha'' was organised in 1894 in [[Lucknow]], the capital of Uttar Pradesh (some sources say 1884<ref name="Shah2004">{{cite book|author=Ghanshyam Shah|title=Caste and democratic politics in India|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zByW5kHB3vIC&pg=PA15|accessdate=10 May 2011|year=2004|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=9781843310853|pages=15–}}</ref>) to protest a government decision barring Kurmi recruitment into the police force. However, the influence of this organisation diminished at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="Verma1979">{{cite book|author=Krishna Kumar Verma|title=Changing role of caste associations|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ozMiAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=10 May 2011|year=1979|publisher=National|page=13-16}}</ref><!-- CAN ONLY GET GBOOKS SNIPPET VIEW, SO CAN'T SEE THE WHOLE SERIES OF THEORIES WHY IT DECLINED --> A similar Sabha was formed in [[Awadh]], which sought to unite as "Kurmi" other castes such at the [[Patidar]], [[Kapu (caste)|Kapu]], [[Vokkaliga]], [[Reddy]], [[Naidu]], and [[Maratha]]. |
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⚫ | In its 5th conference in 1909, the Sabha{{Which?|date=May 2011}} changed its name to ''All India Kurmi Kshatriya Association'',{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} and the ''All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha'' (Association) was first registered at [[Patna]] in 1910. <ref name="Verma1979">{{cite book|author=Krishna Kumar Verma|title=Changing role of caste associations|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ozMiAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=10 May 2011|year=1979|publisher=National|page=17}}</ref> This organisation promoted both secular and religious interests, supporting [[Sanskritisation]] and canvassing for the right to wear the [[sacred thread]], but also pushing for preferential quotas as a [[backward class]]. |
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⚫ | In its 5th conference in 1909, the Sabha{{Which?|date=May 2011}} changed its name to ''All India Kurmi Kshatriya Association'',{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} and the ''All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha'' (Association) was first registered at [[Patna]] in 1910. <ref name="Verma1979">{{cite book|author=Krishna Kumar Verma|title=Changing role of caste associations|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ozMiAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=10 May 2011|year=1979|publisher=National|page=17}}</ref> This organisation promoted both secular and religious interests, supporting [[Sanskritisation]] and canvassing for the right to wear the [[sacred thread]], but also pushing for preferential quotas as a [[backward class]]. |
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In the early 1930s, the Kurmis joined with the [[Yadav]] and [[Koeri]] agriculturalists to enter elections, and in 1934 formed the [[Triveni Sangh]] political party, which had a million dues-paying members by 1936. However, the organisation was hobbled by competition from the Congress-backed [[Backward Class Federation]] and cooption of its leaders by the Congress party. The organisation also suffered due to the Yadav's "superiority complex" which limited their cooperation with the Kurmi. Similarly, a planned caste union with the Koeris, to be called ''Raghav Samaj'', failed due to caste rivalries.<ref name="Jaffrelot2003">{{cite book|author=Christophe Jaffrelot|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qJZp5tDuY-gC&pg=PA197|accessdate=10 May 2011|year=2003|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231127868|pages=197–}}</ref> |
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<!-- NOT FINDING GOOD REFERENCES PROVING HE WAS KURMI -- ASSISTANCE??? In the era of independence, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel led the Kurmi and is arguably regarded as the greatest leader of the Kurmi. --> |
<!-- NOT FINDING GOOD REFERENCES PROVING HE WAS KURMI -- ASSISTANCE??? In the era of independence, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel led the Kurmi and is arguably regarded as the greatest leader of the Kurmi. --> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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*Hukam Singh Bhati (1990), ''Maheca Rathaurom ka mula itihasa: Ravala Mallinatha ke vamsaja - Maheca, Baramera, Pokarana, Kotariya aura Khavariya Rathaurom ka sodhapurna itihasa.'' Publisher: Ratan Prakashan, Jodhpur. |
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*Mahendra Singh Nagar (2004), ''The genealogical survey: Royal house of Marwar and other states.'' Publisher: Maharaja Man Singh Pustak Prakashan, Jodhpur. |
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*Bruyne, J.L. DE. (Rudra Kavi). The Great Poem of the Dynasty of Rastraudha. Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1968. |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2011}} |
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2011}} |
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*{{cite book|author= Vidya Prakash Tyagi|title=Martial races of undivided India |url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=vRwS6FmS2g0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false}}* |
*{{cite book|author= Vidya Prakash Tyagi|title=Martial races of undivided India |url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=vRwS6FmS2g0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false}}* |
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==External links== |
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*[http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/galleries-panchala.html Coins of Panchala janapada] |
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*[http://tdil.mit.gov.in/CoilNet/IGNCA/panchal.htm Panchal Details from IGNCA] |
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[[Category:Ancient peoples]] |
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[[Category:Indo-Aryan peoples]] |
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[[Category:Iron Age]] |
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[[Category:Mahajanapadas]] |
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[[Category:People from Uttar Pradesh]] |
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[[Category:Social groups of India]] |
[[Category:Social groups of India]] |
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[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]] |
[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]] |
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Revision as of 09:06, 12 June 2011
Kurmi कुर्मी | |
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Classification | Kshatriya |
Religions | Hinduism |
Languages | Kurmali, Hindi, Chhattisgarhi, Marathi, konkani, Gujarati, Oriya, Telugu, South Indian languages and dialects |
Populated states | Northern India, Western India, Central India, South India |
Subdivisions | Kurmi, Singraur, Umrao, Awadhiya, Kochyasa, Gangwar, Kanbi, Kapu, Katiyar, Kulambi, Jaiswar, Kulwadi, Kutumbi, Patel, Singhror, Choduary, Sachan, Verma, artarvavanshi,(Niranjan) |
The Kurmi (Hindi: कुर्मी) Kurmis are the direct descendants of the famous Suryavanshi Kshatriya dynasties of Lord Rama and one of the sects of Hindus in India.[1] The group is often associated with the Kunbi, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous.[2][3]
Etymology
The term Kurmi has origin from the word Kurmanchal or Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. The term Kurmi may be derived from an Indian tribal language, or may be a Sanskrit compound term krishi karmi, "agriculturalist." [3] Other theories include its being a derivative of kṛṣmi, "ploughman".[4]
History
Colonial descriptions
According to the Reverend Matthew Atmore Sherring: "The Kurmi has a strong, bony hand, natural to a man of his employment. He is frequently a tall and powerful man, outspoken and independent in manner, and is altogether free from cringing obsequiousness."[5]
Colonel Edward Tuite Dalton regards them as the descendants of some of the earliest Aryan colonists:
a brown, tawny-coloured people, of average height, well-proportioned, rather lightly framed, and with a fair amount of good looks. They show well-shaped heads and high features, less refined than Brahmans, less martial than Rajputs, of humbler mien even than the Goalas; but, except when they have obviously intermixed with aborigines, they are unquestionably Aryan in looks. Grey eyes and brownish hair are sometimes met with amongst them. The women have usually small and well-formed hands and feet [6]
Politics
The Sardar Kurmi Kshatryia Sabha was organised in 1894 in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh (some sources say 1884[7]) to protest a government decision barring Kurmi recruitment into the police force. However, the influence of this organisation diminished at the end of the 19th century.[8] A similar Sabha was formed in Awadh, which sought to unite as "Kurmi" other castes such at the Patidar, Kapu, Vokkaliga, Reddy, Naidu, and Maratha.
In its 5th conference in 1909, the Sabha[which?] changed its name to All India Kurmi Kshatriya Association,[citation needed] and the All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha (Association) was first registered at Patna in 1910. [8] This organisation promoted both secular and religious interests, supporting Sanskritisation and canvassing for the right to wear the sacred thread, but also pushing for preferential quotas as a backward class.
Language
The Kurmi of Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam use to speak Kurmali language. Kurmi of other state speak their native and regional languages. In Bihar, Kurmi people speak the Magahi and Angika, while in Uttar Pradesh the Kurmi speak Hindi.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ Vidya Prakash Tyagi. Martial races of undivided India. Gyan Publishing House–.
{{cite book}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=
and|2=
(help) - ^ Various census of India. 1867. pp. 36–. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ a b Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya (1896). Hindu castes and sects: an exposition of the origin of the Hindu caste system and the bearing of the sects towards each other and towards other religious systems / Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya. Thacker, Spink. pp. 270–. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ Gustav Salomon Oppert (February 1978). On the original inhabitants of Bharatavarṣa or India. Arno Press. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ Matthew Atmore Sherring (1974). Hindu tribes and castes as represented in Benares. Cosmo Publications. p. 258. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ Dalton's Ethnology of Bengal - pg 320, cited in: Sir Herbert Hope Risley (1892). The tribes and castes of Bengal: Ethnographic glossary. Printed at the Bengal secretariat press. pp. 529–. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
- ^ Ghanshyam Shah (2004). Caste and democratic politics in India. Anthem Press. pp. 15–. ISBN 9781843310853. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ a b Krishna Kumar Verma (1979). Changing role of caste associations. National. p. 13-16. Retrieved 10 May 2011. Cite error: The named reference "Verma1979" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- Hukam Singh Bhati (1990), Maheca Rathaurom ka mula itihasa: Ravala Mallinatha ke vamsaja - Maheca, Baramera, Pokarana, Kotariya aura Khavariya Rathaurom ka sodhapurna itihasa. Publisher: Ratan Prakashan, Jodhpur.
- Mahendra Singh Nagar (2004), The genealogical survey: Royal house of Marwar and other states. Publisher: Maharaja Man Singh Pustak Prakashan, Jodhpur.
- Bruyne, J.L. DE. (Rudra Kavi). The Great Poem of the Dynasty of Rastraudha. Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1968.
Further reading
- Vidya Prakash Tyagi. Martial races of undivided India.*