Khandayat or Khandait is a Martial caste from Odisha, East india.[1][2][3][4][5] They were feudal chiefs, military generals, zamindars, large land holders and agriculturalists.[6][7][8][9] Numerically they are the largest caste of the state.[10]
Etymology
The name Khandayat is originated from the word "Khanda" which means Sword and khandayat means sword wielding.[11][12]
History
Traditionally, they are quasi-martial caste who claim themselves to be of Kshatriya status, but they were considered by the Brahmins and others to be in the Shudra varna category[13]Template:Full due to the majority of Khandayats being peasants. Pradhan also attributes this to Brahmin patronage of Rajputs, who also claimed to be of Kshatriya status.[14]Template:Clarify Communities such as Adivasis, Bhuyans, Chasas, and Agharias started identifying as Khandayats in order to gain status, distance themselves from their original castes/communities, and exploit Zamindar land rights.[15]
References
- ↑ Orissa State Gazetteer{{#if:Behuria|, Behuria}. Gazetteers Unit, Department of Revenue, Government of Orissa(1990)
- ↑ Family Welfare in India: A Cross-cultural Study{{#if:Behura|, Behura}. Discovery Publishing House(2005). ISBN 978-81-7141-920-3
- ↑ Economic History of Orissa{{#if:Patnaik|, Patnaik}. Indus Publishing(1997). ISBN 978-81-7387-075-0
- ↑ Family Planning{{#if:Pati|, Pati}. APH Publishing(2008). ISBN 978-81-313-0352-8
- ↑ Regional Development Dialogue{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. United Nations Centre for Regional Development.(2009)
- ↑ British Economic Policy in Orissa{{#if:Bhola|, Bhola}. Discovery Publishing House(1990). ISBN 978-81-7141-075-0
- ↑ Economic History of Orissa, 1866-1912{{#if:Samal|, Samal}. Mittal Publications(1990). ISBN 978-81-7099-218-9
- ↑ India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism{{#if:Ernst|, Ernst}. Routledge(2007-10-18). ISBN 978-1-134-11988-2
- ↑ Politics and Social Change{{#if:Bailey|, Bailey}. University of California Press(1970)
- ↑ Punjab Journal of Politics{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak Dev University(1986)
- ↑ Legends of Origin of the Castes and Tribes of Eastern India{{#if:Ghosh|, Ghosh}. Firma KLM(2000). ISBN 978-81-7102-046-1
- ↑ Identity, Hegemony, Resistance: Towards a Social History of Conversions in Orissa, 1800-2000{{#if:Pati|, Pati}. Three Essays Collective(2003). ISBN 978-81-88789-04-7
- ↑ Proceedings{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Indian History Congress(1997)
- ↑ Story of the Peasant Militias or the Khandayats or Orissa: A Socio-Historical Approach. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress({Template:Date).
- ↑ India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(2007). ISBN 9781134119882
Further reading
- India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Routledge(2007). ISBN 978-1-13411-988-2
- Situating Social History: Orissa, 1800-1997{{#if:Pati|, Pati}. Orient Blackswan(2001). ISBN 978-8-12502-007-3
- Six Acres and a Third: The Classic Nineteenth-century Novel about Colonial India{{#if:Senapati|, Senapati}. University of California Press(2005). ISBN 978-0-52022-883-2
- Khandayats moving into political gear in Orissa(2004).