Kachhi (caste)
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The Kachhi are a Hindu caste, found in the states of Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in India.
Myths of origin
The Kachhis form a part of a wider community that claims a common descent. This community, known as the Kushwaha. nowadays generally claim descent from Kusha, a son of the mythological Rama, who is considered to be an avatar of Vishnu. This enables their claim to be of the Suryavansh - or Solar - dynasty but it is a myth of origin developed in the twentieth century. Prior to that time, the various branches that form the Kushwaha community - the Mauryas, Kachhis, Kachwahas and Koeris - favoured a connection with Shiva and Shakta.[1] Ganga Prasad Gupta claimed in the 1920s that Kushwaha families worshiped Hanuman - described by Pinch as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita" - during Kartika, a month in the Hindu lunar calendar.[2]
Present circumstances
In 1991, they were designated an Other Backward Class in the Indian system of positive discrimination.[3]
References
- ^ Pinch, William R. (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. University of California Press. pp. 12, 91–92. ISBN 978-0-520-20061-6. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
- ^ Pinch, William R. (1996). Peasants and monks in British India. University of California Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-520-20061-6. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
- ^ Agrawal, S. P.; Aggarwal, J. C. (1991). Educational and Social Uplift of Backward Classes: At what Cost and How. Concept Publishing. ISBN 9788170223399. Retrieved 2014-03-07.