View source for Ahir

{{Short description|Social community of India}}
{{for|the village in Turkey|Ahır, İpsala}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox caste	
| caste_name       = Ahir/Aheer
| subdivisions     = Yaduvanshi Ahir<br/>Nandvanshi Ahir<br/> Gwalvanshi Ahir
| populated_states = India and Nepal
| religions        = [[Hinduism]]{{cn|date=July 2025}}
| languages        = Varies depending on region{{cn|date=July 2025}}
}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

'''Ahir''' or '''Aheer''' (derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word: [[Abhira people|abhira]])<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shashi |first=Shyam Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=duIjAQAAIAAJ&q=Ahir |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Tribes: The tribal world in transition |date=1994 |publisher=Anmol Publications |isbn=978-81-7041-836-8 |language=en}}</ref> is a [[community]] of traditionally elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the [[Yadav]] surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vkkK6SZOo_gC&pg=PA1551 |title=People of India: Uttar Pradesh |date=2005 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |isbn=978-81-7304-114-3 |pages=1551 |language=en |quote=These Ahir of past, now identify themselves as Yadav or Yadubansi and to support this claim use the surname, Yadav, and thus try to distinguish themselves from other constituent groups forming the large Ahir caste.}}</ref> The Ahirs are variously described as a [[Caste system in India|caste]], a [[clan]], a [[Race (human classification)|race]], and/or a [[tribe]]. 

The traditional occupations of Ahirs are cattle-herding and agriculture. Since late 19th century to early 20th century, Ahirs have adopted ''Yadav'' word for their community and have claimed descent from the mythological king [[Yadu]]. This is a part of a movement of social and political resurgence ([[sanskritisation]]) under the influence of [[Arya Samaj]].<ref name="AhirSanskritisation">  Sanskritisation of Ahir:

* {{cite book|last=Jaffrelot|first=Christophe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAkW94DtUMAC|title=India's silent revolution: the rise of the lower castes in North India|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|year=2003|isbn=978-1-85065-670-8|location=London|page=189|language=en|quote=Ahirs willingly subjected themselves to Sanskritisation because of their special relation to sacred cow but alas because the Arya Samaj exerted significant Sanskritising influence over the Yadav movement. As early as 1895, the ruler of Rewari, Rao Yudhishter Singh ( the father of Rao Bahadur Balbir Singh), invited Swami Dayananda to his state. Branches of the Arya Samaj flourished soon after and Rewari provided a base from which Arya Samaj ''updeshaks'' (itinerant preachers) operated in neighbouring areas.|access-date=2011-08-16}}
* {{cite book|last1=Jassal|first1=Smita Tewari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jA0tAQAAIAAJ|title=Contributions to Indian sociology|author2=École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales|author3=University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology|publisher=Mouton|year=2001|pages=319–351|chapter=Caste in the Colonial State: Mallahs in the census}} Quote: "The movement, which had a wide interregional spread, attempted to submerge regional names such as Goala, Ahir, Ahar, Gopa, etc., in favour of the generic term Yadava (Rao 1979). Hence a number of pastoralist castes were subsumed under Yadava, in accordance with decisions taken by the regional and national level caste sabhas.  The Yadavas became the first among the shudras to gain the right to wear the janeu, a case of successful sanskritisation which continues till date.  As a prominent agriculturist caste in the region, despite belonging to the shudra varna, the Yadavas claimed Kshatriya status tracing descent from the Yadu dynasty.  The caste's efforts matched those of census officials, for whom standardisation of overlapping names was a matter of policy.  The success of the Yadava movement also lies in the fact that, among the jaati sabhas, the Yadava sabha was probably the strongest, its journal, ''Ahir Samachar'', having an all-India spread. These factors strengthened local efforts, such as in Bhojpur, where the Yadavas, locally known as Ahirs, refused to do ''[[begar]]'', or forced labour, for the landlords and simultaneously prohibited liquor consumption, child marriages, and so on."
* {{Cite book|last1=Berti|first1=Daniela|title=''Cultural Entrenchment of Hindutva'' Local Mediations and Forms of Convergence|last2=Kanungo|first2=Pralay|last3=Jaoul|first3=Nicolas|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2011|isbn=978-1-138-65995-7|edition=1st|page=246|language=English|quote=Marginalised groups, often considered as Shudras, like the Ahirs (Yadavs), Kurmis and the Gujars, began to redefine their emerging political and economic role in society by fighting on the same 'religious' grounds. In so doing, they refashioned their status as warriors and kings who had played a special role in history as guardians of Hinduism (Gooptu 2001 : 195; see also Pinch 1996 : 118–38). Gyanendra Pandey (1990: 66–108) describes how, since the end of the 19th century, such processes of Sanskritisation (adoption of 'higher' forms of Hinduism) among lower castes have joined up with Hindu nationalist movements, such as the cow protection movement, and how these interrelations have been central to the formation of a Hindu and a Muslim community in northern India.}}
* {{Cite book|last=Adcock|first=C. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2UMfAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|title=Limits of Tolerance: Indian Secularism and the Politics of Religious Freedom|date=2014|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-999544-8|page=46|language=en|quote=In U.P., the Ahir/Yadav castes, whom elites deemed Shudras, also used shästrärth debates to defend their claims to elevated, Kshatriya status from at least the 1890s. In the eastern districts of U.P., monks of the Vaishnava Ramanandi order defended the Ahirs' claims in public debate; in western U.P., their champions in debate were often members of the Arya Samaj.}}</ref>

Ahirs are found throughout India but are particularly concentrated in the northern area. Apart from India, Ahirs have significant population in [[Nepal]], [[Mauritius]], [[Fiji]], [[South Africa]] and the [[Caribbean]] especially [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and [[Suriname]]. In Mauritius and Caribbean they are mostly the descendants of [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]] who arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries from the former pre-partitioned sub-continent of India during the British Raj.<ref>*{{Cite journal|doi = 10.4000/samaj.3886|title = The 'Land of the Vaish'? Caste Structure and Ideology in Mauritius|year = 2015|last1 = Claveyrolas|first1 = Mathieu|journal = South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal|doi-access = free| s2cid=143034648 |issn = 1960-6060}}
*{{Cite journal|jstor = 177986|title = The Retention of Caste Notions among the Indian Immigrants in British Guiana during the Nineteenth Century|last1 = Moore|first1 = Brian L.|journal = Comparative Studies in Society and History|year = 1977|volume = 19|issue = 1|pages = 96–107|doi = 10.1017/S0010417500008513|s2cid = 143278239}}
*{{Cite journal|jstor = 23050197|title = Indian Heritage in Trinidad, West Indies|last1 = Jha|first1 = J. C.|journal = Caribbean Quarterly|year = 1973|volume = 19|issue = 2|pages = 28–50|doi = 10.1080/00086495.1973.11829152}}
*{{cite journal |url=https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/3290/wp4.pdf?sequence=1 |title=Ethnic and Caste Diversity: Implications for Development |id=NRM Working Paper No. 4 |date=June 2005 |first1=Rajendra |last1=Pradhan |first2=Ava |last2=Shrestha |journal=Think Asia |publisher=[[Asian Development Bank]] |hdl=11540/3290 |archive-date=11 November 2022 |access-date=7 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111182352/https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/3290/wp4.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=dead }}
*{{Cite web|url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/indian-labour-british-guiana|title=Indian Labour in British Guiana &#124; History Today}}
*{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/international/2017/09/02/the-legacy-of-indian-migration-to-european-colonies|title=The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies|newspaper=The Economist|date=2 September 2017}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
Ahir is believed to be a derivation of the [[Sanskrit]] word, "abhira", and the present term in the [[Bengali (language)|Bengali]] and [[Marathi language|Marathi]] languages is ''abhir''.<ref name="Garg1992">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&pg=PA113 |title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1992 |isbn=978-81-7022-374-0 |editor-last=Garg |editor-first=Gaṅga Ram |volume=1 |pages=113–114}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=People of Maharashtra |url=https://www.gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/land_and_people/L%20%26%20P%20pdf/Chapter%20II/2%20Major%20Castes%20and%20Tribes.pdf?}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Early history ===
Theories regarding the origins of the ancient [[Abhira tribe|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.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126" />

Some, such as A. P. Karmakar, consider the Abhira to be a [[Proto-Dravidian]] tribe who migrated to India and point to the ''[[Purana]]s'' 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.<ref name="Bhattacharya1996p126">{{cite book |title=Krishna – Cult in Indian Art |first=Sunil Kumar |last=Bhattacharya |publisher=M.D. Publications |year=1996 |isbn=978-81-7533-001-6 |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyyNIL7Ug2kC}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|first = Sumit | last = Guha |title=Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GSa5blriOYcC&pg=PA47|year = 2006| publisher = University of Cambridge|page=47|isbn=978-0-521-02870-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| first = M. S. A. | last=Rao |title=Social Movements in India |volume=1| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=SODZAAAAMAAJ&q=124|year=1978 | publisher =Manohar|pages=124, 197, 210}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = Padmaja|last= T. |title=Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: History, Art, and Traditions in Tamilnāḍu|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=pzgaS1wRnl8C&pg=RA1-PA35|year = 2001 | publisher = Archaeology Dept., University of Mysore|pages=25, 34|isbn=978-8-170-17398-4}}</ref>

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 peoples|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 [[Indo-Aryan migration]] (which is universally accepted in mainstream scholarship).{{refn|name="OIT no support"|Out of India aka Indigenous Aryans has no support:
* Romila Thapar (2006): "there is no scholar at this time seriously arguing for the indigenous origin of Aryans".<ref>{{cite book |last=Thapar |first=Romila |date=2006 |title=India: Historical Beginnings and the Concept of the Aryan |publisher=National Book Trust |isbn=978-81-237-4779-8 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sDBuAAAAMAAJ&q=indigenous+aryans}}</ref>
* Wendy Doniger (2017): "The opposing argument, that speakers of Indo-European languages were indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, is not supported by any reliable scholarship. It is now championed primarily by Hindu nationalists, whose religious sentiments have led them to regard the theory of Aryan migration with some asperity."<ref>Wendy Doniger (2017), [https://inference-review.com/article/another-great-story "Another Great Story"]", review of Asko Parpola's ''The Roots of Hinduism''; in: ''Inference, International Review of Science'', Volume 3, Issue 2</ref>
* Girish Shahane (September 14, 2019), in response to Narasimhan et al. (2019): "Hindutva activists, however, have kept the Aryan Invasion Theory alive, because it offers them the perfect strawman, 'an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument'&nbsp;... The Out of India hypothesis is a desperate attempt to reconcile linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence with Hindutva sentiment and nationalistic pride, but it cannot reverse time's arrow&nbsp;... The evidence keeps crushing Hindutva ideas of history."<ref>Girish Shahane (September 14, 2019), [https://scroll.in/article/937043/why-hindutva-supporters-love-to-hate-the-discredited-aryan-invasion-theory ''Why Hindutva supporters love to hate the discredited Aryan Invasion Theory''], Scroll.in</ref>
* Koenraad Elst (May 10, 2016): "Of course it is a fringe theory, at least internationally, where the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) is still the official paradigm. In India, though, it has the support of most archaeologists, who fail to find a trace of this Aryan influx and instead find cultural continuity."<ref name="Elst_2016">Koenraad Elst (May 10, 2016), Koenraad Elst: "I am not aware of any governmental interest in correcting distorted history", ''Swarajya Magazine''</ref>}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |first=Aditya |last=Malik |chapter=The Puskara Mahatmya: A Short Report |page=200 |title=The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature |editor-first=Hans |editor-last=Bakker |location=Leiden |year=1990 |isbn=978-90-04-09318-8 |publisher=BRILL and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPgBdyxD5MkC&pg=PA200}}</ref>

=== Kingdoms ===
{{Expand section|date=November 2024}}
*Ahir dynasty in pre-12th century areas in present-day [[Nepal]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Punam |last=Yadav|title=Social Transformation in Post-conflict Nepal: A Gender Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QQRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT57|year=2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-35389-8|page=57}}</ref>
*Ahir-Rajas of [[Sagar, Madhya Pradesh|Sagar]]<ref>{{cite book |first= A N |last= Sharma | page    =13  |title= The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YX1siOYKthgC&dq=ahir+Rajas+sagar&pg=PA13|isbn=81-7625-714-1|year= 2006|publisher= Sarup & Sons }}</ref>
*Ahir Rajas of Gawror fort, [[Patna district|Patna]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAO2AAAAIAAJ&q=ahir++rajas |title=Historical Researches Series |date=1963 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Military involvements ===
[[File:'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry.jpg|thumb|'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry, Quetta, 1918<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indian officers and non-commissioned officers from 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, The 5th Light Infantry, Quetta, 1918 {{!}} Online Collection {{!}} National Army Museum, London |url=https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?q=searchType=simple&resultsDisplay=list&simpleText=Ahirs&pos=2&total=10&page=1&acc=1960-12-120-4-95 |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=collection.nam.ac.uk}}</ref>]]

[[File:Indian officers, 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, 5th Light Infantry.jpg|thumb|Indian officers, 'B' Company (Ahir), 1st Battalion, 5th Light Infantry, Quetta 1918.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Collection {{!}} National Army Museum, London |url=https://collection.nam.ac.uk/results.php?searchType=simple&resultsDisplay=list&simpleText=Ahirs |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=collection.nam.ac.uk}}</ref>
[[File:Brave_Ahir.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Brave Ahir]]
[[File:Veer_ahir.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Veer Ahir]]
[[File:Veer_ahir_ajit_hai_abhit_hai.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Ahir soldiers at Rezang La (1962)]]

]]
[[File:Ahir_Dham.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Ahir Dham]]
[[File:Rezang_La_Memorial.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Rezang La Memorial]]

The [[British Raj|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]]".<ref>{{cite book|first=Rajit K. |last=Mazumder|title=The Indian army and the making of Punjab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8G8COTxOUkgC&pg=PA105|year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-059-6|page=105}}</ref> This was a designation created by administrators that classified each ethnic group as either "martial" or "non-martial": a "martial race" was typically considered brave and well built for fighting,<ref name="rand">{{Cite journal |last=Rand |first=Gavin |title=Martial Races and Imperial Subjects: Violence and Governance in Colonial India 1857–1914 |journal=European Review of History |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |date=March 2006 |url= |doi=10.1080/13507480600586726|s2cid=144987021 }}</ref> whilst the remainder were those whom the British believed to be unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles.<ref name="Street">{{cite book |title=Martial Races: The military, race and masculinity in British Imperial Culture, 1857–1914 |last=Streets |first=Heather |year=2004 |publisher=Manchester University Press |location= |isbn=978-0-7190-6962-8 |page=241 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BscnZT_1po8C |access-date=20 October 2010}}</ref> However, the martial races were also considered politically subservient, intellectually inferior, lacking the initiative or leadership qualities to command large military formations. The British had a policy of recruiting the martial Indians from those who has less access to education as they were easier to control.<ref name="Khalidi2003">{{cite book|author=Omar Khalidi|title=Khaki and the Ethnic Violence in India: Army, Police, and Paramilitary Forces During Communal Riots|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-NtAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Three Essays Collective|quote= Apart from their physique, the martial races were regarded as politically subservient or docile to authority|page=5|isbn=978-81-88789-09-2}}</ref><ref name="Levine2003">{{cite book|author=Philippa Levine|title=Prostitution, Race, and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=It1lPzFCG9EC|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-94447-2|pages=284–285|quote=The Saturday review had made much the same argument a few years earlier in relation to the armies raised by Indian rulers in princely states. They lacked competent leadership and were uneven in quality. Commander in chief Roberts, one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the martial race theory, though poorly of the native troops as a body. Many regarded such troops as childish and simple. The British, claims, David Omissi, believe martial Indians to be stupid. Certainly, the policy of recruiting among those without access to much education gave the British more semblance of control over their recruits.}}</ref> According to modern historian Jeffrey Greenhunt on military history, "The Martial Race theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward". According to Amiya Samanta, the marital race was chosen from people of mercenary spirit (a soldier who fights for any group or country that will pay him/her), as these groups lacked nationalism as a trait.<ref name="Samanta2000">{{cite book|author=Amiya K. Samanta|title=Gorkhaland Movement: A Study in Ethnic Separatism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4GqdfG0EU8C&pg=PA26|year=2000|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7648-166-3|pages=26–|quote=Dr . Jeffrey Greenhunt has observed that " The Martial Race Theory had an elegant symmetry. Indians who were intelligent and educated were defined as cowards, while those defined as brave were uneducated and backward. Besides their mercenary spirit was primarily due to their lack of nationalism.}}</ref> Ahirs had been recruited into the army from 1898.<ref>{{cite book |title=Peasants and monks in British India |first=William R. |last=Pinch |publisher=University of California Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-520-20061-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/peasantsmonksinb0000pinc |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/peasantsmonksinb0000pinc/page/90 90]}}</ref> In that year, the British raised four Ahir companies, two of which were in the [[95th Russell's Infantry]].<ref>{{cite book|first=M. S. A. |last=Rao |title=Social movements and social transformation: a study of two backward classes movements in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZAiAAAAMAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-90255-4 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}} 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]] that saw the last stand of Charlie company, consisting of 114 Ahirs of 13 Kumaon, and in the [[1965 India-Pakistan War]].<ref name="Remembering Rezang La heroes">
{{cite news |author=Press Information Bureau, Government of India | title=Remembering Rezang La heroes |date=7 January 2007 |newspaper=Sainik samachar |url=http://sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2007/oct01-07/h4.htm}}
</ref><ref name="Heroes of Rezang La">
{{cite news |author= Col Dilbag Dabas (Retd) | title=Heroes of Rezang La 1962 |date=15 December 2018 |newspaper=The Tribune |url= https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/haryanatribune/heroes-of-1962-rezang-la-battle-698535}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Mohan |last=Guruswamy |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/dont-forget-the-heroes-of-rezang-la/article4112584.ece |title=Don't forget the heroes of Rezang La |work=The Hindu |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4SBWc27AVmwC&pg=PA212| title=Combat Diary: An illustrated history of operations conducted by 4th Kumaon| publisher=Lancer Books |year=2010 |first=Jasbir |last=Singh |page=212| isbn=978-1-935501-18-3}}</ref>

== Distribution ==
Ahirs in India are known by numerous other names, including Gauli<ref>{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=B. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gu_cN0MhteMC&pg=PA568 |title=Gonds of the Central Indian Highlands |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=1994 |volume=II |location=New Delhi |pages=568–569}}</ref> and Ghosi or Gop in [[North India]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |year=2002 |title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town |url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf |work=PhD Thesis Social Anthropology |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science |pages=94–95}}</ref> In [[Gujarat]] and [[South India]] as Ayar, Golla and Konar.<ref>* {{cite book |last=Singh |first=Rajbir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn3aAAAAMAAJ |title=India's Unequal Citizens: A Study of Other Backward Classes |publisher=Manohar, 1994 |year=1994 |isbn=978-81-7304-069-6 |pages=34, 356, 390}}
* {{cite book |last=Sharma |first=Shish Ram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T3PaAAAAMAAJ |title=Protective Discrimination: Other Backward Classes in India |publisher=Raj Publications, 2002 |year=2002 |isbn=978-81-86208-23-6 |pages=153, 312, 410}}</ref> Some in the [[Bundelkhand]] region of [[Uttar Pradesh]] are known as Dauwa Thakur. <ref>{{cite book |last=Jain |first=Ravindra K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fghQhiowlycC&pg=PA32 |title=Between History and Legend: Status and Power in Bundelkhand |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2002 |isbn=978-8-12502-194-0 |page=30}}</ref> The Ahirs have more than 20 sub-castes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Patel |first=Mahendra Lal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC&pg=PA33 |title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects |publisher=M. D. Publications Pvt. Ltd |year=1997 |isbn=978-8-17533-029-0 |page=33}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2022}}

=== North India ===
They  have a significant population in the region around [[Behror]], [[Alwar]], [[Rewari]], [[Narnaul]], [[Mahendragarh]], [[Gurgaon]]<ref name="nannak$">{{cite book|last1=Guru Nanak Dev University|first1=Sociology Dept|title=Guru Nanak Journal of Sociology|publisher=Sociology Department, Guru Nanak Dev University|pages=5, 6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=03_ZAAAAMAAJ&q=ahir|date=2003|language=en}}</ref> and [[Jhajjar]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Dip Chand |last=Verma|title=Haryana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JY5AQAAIAAJ|year=1975|publisher=National Book Trust, India}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2020}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Suresh K. |last=Sharma|title=Haryana: Past and Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VE71IqAC0YYC&pg=PA40|year=2006|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-8324-046-8|page=40}}</ref> – the region is therefore known as [[Ahirwal]] or the abode of Ahirs.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OIUAQAAIAAJ&q=ahirwal |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |last=Michuletti|first=Lucia|publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |pages=41, 42 |isbn=978-0-415-46732-2}}</ref>

=== Maharashtra ===
[[Ahirani]] dialect continues to be spoken today in the region and is widespread across [[Jalgaon]], [[Dhule]] and [[Nashik]]. It is an admixture of [[Marathi Language|Marathi]], [[Gujarati Language|Gujarati]], [[Hindi]], ancient [[Magadhi]], [[Saurashtra language|Saurashtri]], [[Sauraseni]], Lati, [[Maharashtri]], [[Prakrit]] and [[Paishachi]].<ref>{{cite periodical |url=https://gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/land_and_people/L%20&%20P%20pdf/Chapter%20III/3%20Distinctive%20Features%20of%20Sub-regional%20Culture%20of%20Maharashtra.pdf| title = Maharashtra: Land and its people |last=Pathak|first=A. S.|publisher=Government of Maharashtra |year=2009|periodical= Maharashtra State Gazetteer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first = Sumit |last=Guha|title=Environment and Ethnicity in India, 1200–1991| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GSa5blriOYcC&pg=PA47|year=2006| publisher = University of Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-02870-7|page=47}}</ref>

== Culture ==
Ahir culture is rooted in pastoralism and closely associated to the worship of Krishna and Shiva.<ref>.{{cite book |last=danielou |first=Alain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua6yuxBPQdQC&q=ahir |title=The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59477-048-7 |page=56}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kirshna |first=Nanditha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pIFFEJXx7L8C&q=ahirs |title=Book of Vishnu |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2009 |isbn=978-81-8475-865-8 |page=56}}</ref>  the Ahirs are use the modern-day ‘Yadav’ surname and consider themselves to the [[Yadava|Yadu tribe]] by claiming descent from Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi, and Goallavanshi.{{efn|Through Sanskritization,<ref name="AhirSanskritisation"/> the Ahirs restructured its identity into three broad caste divisions for upliftment:  
*Nandavanshi : Claim descent from Nanda, Krishna foster father, linking to Vrindavan pastoral traditions.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>  
*Yaduvanshi: Trace lineage to King Yadu, the legendary founder of the Yadava dynasty.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>  
*Goallavanshi: Originating from the Goala (cowherd) community, they associate with the Gopas and Gopis of Krishna childhood.<ref name="Michelutti2002"/>}}<ref name="Michelutti2002">{{Cite thesis |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |title=Sons of Krishna: The Politics of Yadav Community Formation in a North Indian Town |url=https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/ |website=London School of Economics and Political Science |date=2002 |page=89 |quote=In Elliot’s description, ‘clan,’ ‘subcaste,’ ‘caste,’ ‘tribe,’ and ‘race’ are used interchangeably, indicating difficulty in isolating the social nature and functions of the different Ahir subdivisions. Following locality, Elliot categorizes the Ahir agricultural-pastoral ‘tribe’ into three main subdivisions ..... These subdivisions are based on mythological-ancestral claims and locality (see Chapter 3). The Yaduvanshi-Ahirs are said to descend from Yadu, one of Krishna’s ancestors; the Nandavanshi-Ahirs are descendants of Nanda, Krishna’s foster father; and the Goallavanshi-Ahirs descend from the Gopi and Gopas amongst whom Krishna spent his childhood on the banks of the Yamuna near Mathura. Elliot further lists the major clans (got) of the Nandavanshi in Central Doab and the Ahirwal region.}}</ref><ref name="AhirDivision:">Ahirs division through Sanskritization :  
*{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Dipankar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pviHAwAAQBAJ |title=Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy? |date=2004-11-08 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-81-321-0345-5 |pages=58 |language=en |quote=Contemporary Ahir/Yadavs define themselves as "Krishnavanshi-Yadavs." Younger generations are often unaware that their original caste title was Ahir. The concept of a unique Krishnavanshi kinship category, which merges traditional subdivisions (Yaduvanshi, Nandavanshi, and Goallavanshi) into a single endogamous unit, is rapidly gaining acceptance. Intermarriage between these previously distinct endogamous units is increasingly popular.}}  
*{{cite book |last=Michelutti |first=Lucia |title=The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste, and Religion in India |url=https://archive.org/details/vernacularisatio0000mich |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415467322 |page=11 |quote=More specifically, it shows how Krishna has progressively become the main god as well as the main ancestor of the local Yadavs and how his cult is substituting the cults of local lineage deities. Such a process is accompanied by the adoption of conservative forms of Hinduism which has transformed the different Ahir/Yadav subdivisions (Nandavanshi, Goallavanshi, and Yaduvanshi) into superior 'Krishnavanshi' Yadavs.}} 
*{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Bhrigupati |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhnRBgAAQBAJ&dq=ahirs+yaduvanshi&pg=PA21 |title=Poverty and the Quest for Life: Spiritual and Material Striving in Rural India |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-226-19468-4 |page=146 |quote=Perhaps the most famous love affair in classical Hinduism is between Krishna and Radha. In songs, Radha is often identified as the Gujari (pastoralist) from the village of Barsana, while Krishna belongs to the Yaduvanshi-Ahir caste. Their love affair is not only cross-caste but also pre- or extramarital (though it is never explicitly described as such), as Krishna is married to Rukmini. In temples across India, Krishna is often depicted standing beside Radha, who is described as his divine consort. Such divine affairs may offer human beings some moral respite.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kashyap |first=Anirban |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ni9uAAAAMAAJ&q=ahirs+adopted+yadav+surname |title=The Scheduled Castes in India |date=1996 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |isbn=978-81-212-0511-5 |language=en |quote=For example, appealed to the Census Commissioner that their caste names of Golla, Gowli, Gollawar and Ahir be changed to Yadava.}}</ref>

The [[Yadav]] community of Kashi associated with Chandravanshi Gop Seva Samiti and Shree [[Krishna]] Yadav Mahasabha have been performing jalabhishek on a shivling, traditionally for 94 years, starting in 1932.<ref><nowiki>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/yadav-bandhus-perform-jalabhishek-of-lord-shiva/articleshow/92968938.cms</nowiki></ref>

In June 2020, Andhra Pradesh state government restored 'Golla Mirasi', also known as 'Golla Mandapam', the hereditary rights of the [[Golla (caste)|Golla]] community pertaining to certain rituals at Tirumala temple.<ref><nowiki>https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/yadavas-hail-restoration-of-golla-mirasi/article31816586.ece</nowiki></ref>

Ahir No Aasro" is a famous Gujarati proverb, meaning "Ahir's shelter" or "Ahir's support." This proverb reflects the kindness and bravery of the Ahir (Yadav) community, meaning that when someone finds shelter nowhere, Ahirs provide shelter.

=== 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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ln6_PodhWC0C&pg=PA60 |title=New Dimensions in Agricultural ... |first=Noor |last=Mohammad |page=60|isbn=978-81-7022-403-7 |year=1992 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company }}</ref>

=== Language and tradition ===
Ahirs of Benares speak a [[Hindi dialect]] which is different from one used normally.<ref>.{{cite book |first= Alain |last= danielou | page    =56  |title= The Beria (Rai Dancers)A Socio-demographic, Reproductive, and Child Health Care Practices Profile
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua6yuxBPQdQC&q=ahir|isbn= 978-1-59477-048-7
|year= 2005|publisher= Inner Traditions / Bear & Co }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first= Nanditha |last= Kirshna | page    =56  |title= Book of Vishnu
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pIFFEJXx7L8C&q=ahirs|isbn= 978-81-8475-865-8
|year= 2009|publisher= Penguin UK }}</ref> Ahirs usually speak the language of the region in which they live. Some languages/dialects named after Ahirs are Ahirani, also known as [[Khandeshi]], spoken in [[Khandesh]] region of Maharashtra, Ahirwati spoken in [[Ahirwal]] region of [[Haryana]] and [[Rajasthan]].

=== Folklore ===
[[File:Veer_Lorik.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|Veer Lorik]]
The oral epic of [[Veer Lorik]], a mythical Ahir hero, has been sung by folk singers in North India for generations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Magahi Folklore and Folk Tales |first=Sheela |last=Verma |publisher=Manohar |date=2008 |page=88 |isbn=9788173048043 |quote=Another story of a local hero Lorik is also very famous [in the Magahi region]. ... The whole story of Lorik and Chanaini has been put in ballad form by different bards. This ballad is sung not only in Magadh but also in entire north India in all auspicious occasions by Ahirs (milkmen) with great devotion and love.}}</ref> Mulla Daud, a [[Sufi Muslim]], retold the romantic story in writing in the 14th century.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100801/spectrum/art.htm |title=Spectrum |work=The Sunday Tribune |date=1 August 2010 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref> Other Ahir folk traditions include those related to [[Kajri]] and [[Biraha]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0415994047 |title=The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: The Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia |editor-first=Ellen |editor-last=Koskoff |isbn=978-0-415-97293-2 |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |page=1026}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ahir clans]]
* [[Ahir Regiment agitation]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ahir clans |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]