Panchal

This article is about the collective term for a group of castes. For the ancient Indian kingdom, see Panchala.

Panchal is a collective term for a variable range of artisanal Indian caste groups.

These groups include the Lohars and Suthars of South India. David Mandelbaum noted that the name had been assumed by the blacksmiths, carpenters, coppersmiths, goldsmiths and stonemasons of South India as a means towards achieving social upliftment, calling themselves Panchala and claiming that they are Brahmins who descend from Vishwakarma. They do not, however, believe that they are equal among themselves: they perceive distinctions between their various occupational groups.Lohar is considered to be a sub-caste among Hindus and Sikhs and a clan among Muslims in Northern India, Northern Pakistan and Nepal.[1][2] In India the Lohars are also known as Vishwakarma, Sharma or Panchals.[3][page needed] Muslim Lohar in North India are known as Saifi.

According to Ethnographers and historians like Cunningham, Todd, Ibbetson, Elliot, Ephilstone, Dahiya, Dhillon, Banerjea, etc., the agrarian and artisan communities (e.g. Jats, Gujars, Ahirs, Rajputs, Lohars, Tarkhans etc.) of the entire west are derived from the war-like Scythians;[1] who settled north-western and western South Asia in successive waves between 500 BC to 500 AD.

The Lohar are one of the most widespread communities in Uttar Pradesh. They are divided along religious lines, with the Hindu Lohar are known as Vishvakarmas, and Muslim Lohars are known as Saifis. The Lohar are further divided into a number of exogamous groupings, the main ones being the Kanaujiya, Purbia, Bahai, Moulia and Magajia. Most Lohar are still engaged in their traditional occupation of metal fabrication, but most the Lohar of western Uttar Pradesh are cultivators. The assimilated Lohar speak Hindi and its various dialects such as Awadhi.[6] But others speak Ho[7] and some speak Western Pahari.

According to the famous british colonial writer H. A. Rose and the Governor for central provinces in India Denzil Ibbetson, Lohars are descended from Rajputs and Jats. These Rajputs and Jats were actually Tarkhan tribals (Iranian warriors) who migrated to India. Most of the Lohars had their families in Peshawar in Pakistan, Lahore in Pakistan and Kermanshah in Iran. Lohars are the clans of Sassanid Persians who once ruled Iran. These warriors were the first civilisation of Zoroastrians or sun-worshipers. The belief in Ahura Mazda has not been confirmed although they differ to a great extent from the modern-day Persians. The Zoroastrianism that the Lohars followed was entirely different from the practices laid out in the Avesta, the holy books of Zoroastrianism. The clergy altered the religion to serve themselves, causing substantial religious uneasiness. Once they entered India the members of this group were classified as Kshatriyas or Brahmins or Blacksmiths (originally Kshatriyas who manufactured weapons).

The Lohars have been linked to the Scythian tribes (ancient Iranians) of central Asia. These tribes were aggressive and expansionist Iranian warriors who settled in western and north-western South Asia in successive waves between 5th century BC and 1st century AD. Their migration to Pakistan and India happened because of the Islamic Invasion of Iran (The expansion under the prophet Mohammad, 622-632, the Patriarchial Caliphate {Muslim conquest of Persia},[clarification needed] 632-661 and the expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 651-750). The Saka inscriptions found at Peshawar and Mathura state "Sarvasa Sakasthanasa puyae" which are directly linked to the Iranian Origin of Lohars.

Ethnological information collected in colonial censuses indicate that the majority of the population of the Vishwakarma clan in India including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh is of Saka (Iranian) origin.

See Also

• Viswabrahmin