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The word '''Ahir''' or '''Aheer''' is derived from the Sanskrit Abhir which means cowherd. | |||
'''Ahir''' or '''Aheer''' is a community in India, some members of which identify as being of the Indian ] community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous.<ref name="Garg1992">{{cite book|editor-first=Gaṅga Ram |editor-last=Garg|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&pg=PA113|volume=1|year=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-374-0|pages=113–114}}</ref> The Ahirs are variously described as a ], a ], a ], a ] and a ]. | |||
Ahirs have their own tradition that once a Brahmin married a prostitute and their offspring was declared as '''Ummat Sangiah (caste out)''' then a daughter of Ummat Sangiah married a Brahmin and her offspring were called Abhir or Gwali or shepherd and later the word became bad and becam Ahir.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126">{{cite book |title=Krishna — Cult In Indian Art |first=Sunil Kumar |last=Bhattacharya |publisher=M.D. Publications |year=1996 |isbn=9788175330016 |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyyNIL7Ug2kC |accessdate=2012-12-03}}</ref> Ahir is found especially in north Indian states. They cameb to Delhi during the Mughal period and settled there. There are various speculations regarding the origin, their lineage is similar to that of Qutb-Shah from whom Awan and Khokhar muslim tribes are also. Some researchers have even called him ]. <ref name="Garg1992">{{cite book|editor-first=Gaṅga Ram |editor-last=Garg|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&pg=PA113|volume=1|year=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-374-0|pages=113–114}}</ref> The Ahirs are variously described as a ], a ], a ], a ] and a ]. | |||
The traditional occupations of Ahirs are cattle-herding and agriculture. They are found throughout India but are particularly concentrated in the northern areas. They are known by numerous other names, including '''Gauli'''<ref>{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=B. H. |title=Gonds of the Central Indian Highlands |volume=II |year=1994 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |location=New Delhi |pages=568–569 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gu_cN0MhteMC&pg=PA568}}</ref> and '''Ghosi''' or '''Gop''' in the ].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf | title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town | publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science | work=PhD Thesis Social Anthropology |year=2002 |first=Lucia |last=Michelutti | pages=94-95}}</ref> Some in the ] region of ] are known as '''Dauwa'''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fghQhiowlycC&pg=PA32 |title=Between History and Legend: Status and Power in Bundelkhand |publisher=Orient Blackswan |first=Ravindra K. |last=Jain |year=2002 |page=30 |isbn=978-8-12502-194-0}}</ref> | The traditional occupations of Ahirs are cattle-herding and agriculture. They are found throughout India but are particularly concentrated in the northern areas. They are known by numerous other names, including '''Gauli'''<ref>{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=B. H. |title=Gonds of the Central Indian Highlands |volume=II |year=1994 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |location=New Delhi |pages=568–569 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gu_cN0MhteMC&pg=PA568}}</ref> and '''Ghosi''' or '''Gop''' in the ].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf | title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town | publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science | work=PhD Thesis Social Anthropology |year=2002 |first=Lucia |last=Michelutti | pages=94-95}}</ref> Some in the ] region of ] are known as '''Dauwa'''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fghQhiowlycC&pg=PA32 |title=Between History and Legend: Status and Power in Bundelkhand |publisher=Orient Blackswan |first=Ravindra K. |last=Jain |year=2002 |page=30 |isbn=978-8-12502-194-0}}</ref> |
Revision as of 13:59, 27 May 2020
Ahir/Aheer | |
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Religions | Hinduism |
Populated states | India and Nepal |
Subdivisions | Yaduvanshi, Nandvanshi, and Gwalvanshi Ahir |
The word Ahir or Aheer is derived from the Sanskrit Abhir which means cowherd. Ahirs have their own tradition that once a Brahmin married a prostitute and their offspring was declared as Ummat Sangiah (caste out) then a daughter of Ummat Sangiah married a Brahmin and her offspring were called Abhir or Gwali or shepherd and later the word became bad and becam Ahir. Ahir is found especially in north Indian states. They cameb to Delhi during the Mughal period and settled there. There are various speculations regarding the origin, their lineage is similar to that of Qutb-Shah from whom Awan and Khokhar muslim tribes are also. Some researchers have even called him Huns. The Ahirs are variously described as a caste, a clan, a community, a race and a tribe.
The traditional occupations of Ahirs are cattle-herding and agriculture. They are found throughout India but are particularly concentrated in the northern areas. They are known by numerous other names, including Gauli and Ghosi or Gop in the north. Some in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh are known as Dauwa.
Etymology
Gaṅga Ram Garg considers the Ahir to be a tribe descended from the ancient Abhira community, whose precise location in India is the subject of various theories based mostly on interpretations of old texts such as the Mahabharata and the writings of Ptolemy. He believes the word Ahir to be the Prakrit form of a Sanskrit word, Abhira, and he notes that the present term in the Bengali and Marathi languages is Abhir.
Garg distinguishes a Brahmin community who use the Abhira name and are found in the present-day states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. That usage, he says, is because that division of Brahmins were priests to the ancient Abhira tribe.
History
Early history
Theories regarding the origins of the ancient Abhira – the putative ancestors of the Ahirs – are varied for the same reasons as are the theories regarding their location; that is, there is a reliance on interpretation of linguistic and factual analysis of old texts that are known to be unreliable and ambiguous. S. D. S. Yadava describes how this situation impacts on theories of origin for the modern Ahir community because
Their origin is shrouded in mystery and is immersed in controversy, with many theories, most of which link the Ahirs to a people known to the ancients as the Abhiras.
Some, such as A. P. Karmakar, consider the Abhira to be a Proto-Dravidian tribe who migrated to India and point to the Puranas as evidence. Others, such as Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya, say that the Abhira are recorded as being in India in the 1st-century CE work, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Bhattacharya considers the Abhira of old to be a race rather than a tribe. The sociologist M. S. A. Rao and historians such as P. M. Chandorkar and T. Padmaja say that epigraphical and historical evidence exists for equating the Ahirs with the ancient Yadava tribe.
Whether they were a race or a tribe, nomadic in tendency or displaced or part of a conquering wave, with origins in Indo-Scythia or Central Asia, Aryan or Dravidian – there is no academic consensus, and much in the differences of opinion relate to fundamental aspects of historiography, such as controversies regarding dating the writing of the Mahabharata and acceptance or otherwise of the Aryan invasion theory. Similarly, there is no certainty regarding the occupational status of the Abhira, with ancient texts sometimes referring to them as pastoral and cowherders but at other times as robber tribes.
Kingdoms
Ahir kingdoms included:
- Balaramvanshi, king of Rewari
- Veersen of Nasik
- Ahir dynasty in pre-12th century areas in present-day Nepal
- Ahir kingdom of Jalesar and Karauli
Military involvements
The British rulers of India classified the Ahirs of Punjab as an "agricultural tribe" in the 1920s, which was at that time synonymous with being a "martial race". They had been recruited into the army from 1898. In that year, the British raised four Ahir companies, two of which were in the 95th Russell's Infantry. In post-independence India, some Ahir units have been involved in celebrated military actions, such as at Rezang La in the 1962 Sino-Indian War and in the 1965 India-Pakistan War.
Militant Hinduism
The Ahirs have been one of the more militant Hindu groups, including in the modern era. It was from the 1920s that some Ahirs began to adopt the name of Yadav and various mahasabhas were founded by ideologues such as Rajit Singh. Several caste histories and periodicals to trace a Kshatriya origin were written at the time, notably by Mannanlal Abhimanyu. These were part of the jostling among various castes for socio-economic status and ritual under the Raj and they invoked support for a zealous, martial Hindu ethos.
Subdivisions
Ahirs are divided into subdivisions such as Yaduvanshi, Nandvanshi and Gwalvanshi. They have more than 20 sub-castes.
Distribution
North India
They are have a significant population in the region around Behror, Alwar, Rewari, Narnaul, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon and Jhajjar which is therefore known as Ahirwal or the abode of Ahirs.
Culture
Diet
In 1992, Noor Mohammad noted that most Ahirs in Uttar Pradesh were vegetarian, with some exceptions who were engaged in fishing and raising poultry.
Folklore
The oral epic of Veer Lorik, a mythical Ahir hero, has been sung by folk singers in North India for generations. Mulla Daud, a Sufi Muslim, retold the romantic story in writing in the 14th century. Other Ahir folk traditions include those related to Kajri and Biraha.
See also
References
- ^ Bhattacharya, Sunil Kumar (1996). Krishna — Cult In Indian Art. M.D. Publications. p. 126. ISBN 9788175330016. Retrieved 3 December 2012. Cite error: The named reference "Bhattacharya1996p126" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Garg, Gaṅga Ram, ed. (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world. Vol. 1. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-81-7022-374-0.
- Mehta, B. H. (1994). Gonds of the Central Indian Highlands. Vol. II. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. pp. 568–569.
- Michelutti, Lucia (2002). "Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town" (PDF). PhD Thesis Social Anthropology. London School of Economics and Political Science. pp. 94–95.
- Jain, Ravindra K. (2002). Between History and Legend: Status and Power in Bundelkhand. Orient Blackswan. p. 30. ISBN 978-8-12502-194-0.
- ^ Yadava, S. D. S. (2006). Followers of Krishna: Yadavas of India. Lancer Publishers. p. 1. ISBN 9788170622161.
- Guha, Sumit (2006). Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991. University of Cambridge. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-521-02870-7.
- Rao, M. S. A. (1978). Social Movements in India. Vol. 1. Manohar. pp. 124, 197, 210.
- T., Padmaja (2001). Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamilnāḍu. Archaeology Dept., University of Mysore. pp. 25, 34. ISBN 978-8-170-17398-4.
- Malik, Aditya (1990). "The Puskara Mahatmya: A Short Report". In Bakker, Hans (ed.). The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature. Leiden: BRILL and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies. p. 200. ISBN 9789004093188.
- Michelutti, Lucia (2002). "Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town" (PDF). PhD Thesis Social Anthropology. London School of Economics and Political Science. p. 83.
- Jalgaon district. "JALGAON HISTORY". Jalgaon District Administration Official Website. Jalgaon district Administration. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- Yadav, Punam (2016). Social Transformation in Post-conflict Nepal: A Gender Perspective. Taylor & Francis. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-317-35389-8.
- Michelutti, Lucia (2002). "Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town" (PDF). PhD Thesis Social Anthropology. London School of Economics and Political Science. p. 47.
- Mazumder, Rajit K. (2003). The Indian army and the making of Punjab. Orient Blackswan. p. 105. ISBN 978-81-7824-059-6.
- Pinch, William R. (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. University of California Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-520-20061-6.
- Rao, M. S. A. (1979). Social movements and social transformation: a study of two backward classes movements in India. Macmillan.
- Guruswamy, Mohan (20 November 2012). "Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- Singh, Jasbir (2010). Combat Diary: An illustrated history of operations conducted by 4th Kumaon. Lancer Books. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-935501-18-3.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - Gooptu, Nandini (2001). The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India. Cambridge University Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-521-44366-1.
The Ahirs in particular who played an important role in militant Hinduism, retaliated strongly against the Tanzeem movement. In July,1930, about 200 Ahirs marched in procession to Trilochan, a sacred Hindu site and performed a religious ceremony in response to Tanzeem processions.
- Gooptu, Nandini (2001). The Politics of the Urban Poor in Early Twentieth-Century India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 205–210. ISBN 978-0-521-44366-1.
- Gupta, Dipankar (2004). Caste in question identity or hierarchy?. New Delhi: Sage Publications. pp. 49, 58. ISBN 978-8-13210-345-5.
- Patel, Mahendra Lal (1997). Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects. M. D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 33. ISBN 978-8-17533-029-0.
- Guru Nanak Dev University, Sociology Dept (2003). Guru Nanak Journal of Sociology. Sociology Department, Guru Nanak Dev University. pp. 5, 6.
- Verma, Dip Chand (1975). Haryana. National Book Trust, India.
- Sharma, Suresh K. (2006). Haryana: Past and Present. Mittal Publications. p. 40. ISBN 978-81-8324-046-8.
- The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India. Routledge. 2008. pp. 41, 42. ISBN 978-0-415-46732-2.
- Mohammad, Noor (1992). New Dimensions in Agricultural ... p. 60. ISBN 9788170224037.
- "Spectrum". The Sunday Tribune. 1 August 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- Koskoff, Ellen, ed. (2008). The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia. Routledge. p. 1026. ISBN 978-0-415-97293-2.
Clans of the Ahirs | |
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