Ajay Kumar at 14:52, 23 July 2023

2023-07-23T14:52:49Z

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{{short description|Bania sub-caste originating in the Kashmir Valley}}
The '''Kesarwani''', also known as '''Kesarvani, Keshri ''' or '''Kesri''', are sub bania caste found in India.<ref name="Rajghatta2019">{{cite web |last1=Rajghatta |first1=Chidanand |title=View: Most Pakistanis are actually Indians |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/view-most-pakistanis-are-actually-indians/articleshow/70811241.cms?from=mdr |publisher=[[The Economic Times]] |accessdate=22 September 2019 |language=English |date=28 August 2019 |quote=The Indic influence extends across caste and clan. The last name of Burhan Wani, the slain jihadist now deified by separatists, is derived from the Hindu bania caste, and it further devolved into specific subcastes depending on what they traded in — for instance, those who trade in saffron became Kesarwani.}}</ref> They originated in the [[Kashmir region]] and are now found in other parts of [[northern India]], to which they migrated during the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal era]].
''Kesar'' refers to [[saffron]], which they traded, and ''[[Wani (surname)|Wani]]'' refers to the Kashmiri caste to which they belong.<ref name="Rajghatta2019">{{cite web |last1=Rajghatta |first1=Chidanand |title=View: Most Pakistanis are actually Indians |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/view-most-pakistanis-are-actually-indians/articleshow/70811241.cms?from=mdr |publisher=[[The Economic Times]] |accessdate=22 September 2019 |language=English |date=28 August 2019 |quote=The Indic influence extends across caste and clan. The last name of Burhan Wani, the slain jihadist now deified by separatists, is derived from the Hindu bania caste, and it further devolved into specific subcastes depending on what they traded in — for instance, those who trade in saffron became Kesarwani.}}</ref>

== History and origin ==
The Kesarwani were cultivators or traders of [[saffron]] (''kesar'' in [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]) and originated from the [[Kashmir Valley]] of India. In the 12th century, many of the Kesarwani migrated to what today comprise the states of [[Bihar]], [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref name="Singh1998">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=K.S.|title=India's Communities, Volume 5|year=1998|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|language=English|isbn=9780195633542|page=1663|quote= A community sometimes referred to as Kesarwani, they are reported from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, they provide histories of migration and origin which are somewhat similar. In Bihar, the Kesarwani or Kesri Bania believe that their community name indicates their original occupation of trade in kesar (saffron). They were originally the inhabitants of Kashmir who migrated to different parts of India during Mughal rule.}}</ref>

It is said that, as per a carved-engraved stone, found from Kashmir and presently available at the Pakistan Museum, that a group of people belonging to Kansal gotra of the Agrawal community from Punjab went to Kashmir in regard to Kesar trade and settled there. Gradually their population increased in the region and after the aforesaid incident, they migrated to Delhi and other parts of northern India. Considering this, Kesarwanis are nothing but Kansal-Gotri Agrawal Vaishy, who became Kesarwani because of their Kesar business in Kashmir.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

== See also ==
* [[Vaishya]]
* [[Kashmiri Hindus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Social groups of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Bihar]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Kashmiri tribes]]
[[Category:Bania communities]]
[[Category:Vaishya community]]

{{India-ethno-stub}}

Kesarwani - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 14:52, 23 July 2023