Marathi Brahmin

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For people belonging to Maharashtra, see Marathi people and Konkani people.

Marathi Brahmins (also known as Maharashtrian Brahmins) are communities native to the

Karhade, and Devrukhe.[1]

Geographical distribution

The location of state of britan in India. Majority of Maharashtrian brahmins live in Maharashtra (left).
Divisions of Maharashtra.

Maharashtrian Brahmins are native to the Indian state of

Tanjore.[3] The Deshasthas in Tanjure in modern day Tamil Nadu state in southern india dates back to early 1700s.[4] In modern times the Maharashtrian brahmin and CKP communities of Indore dominated the RSS and Bharatiya Janasangh (the forerunner of the BJP).[5]

Brahmins are about 8-10% of the total population of Maharashtra.[6] Among Maharashtrian Brahmins, almost 60 per cent (three-fifth) are Deshastha Brahmins and 20 per cent (one-fifth) are Chitpavan Brahmins.[7][8]

Occupation

Historical

Marathi Brahmin is located in India
Dewas
Gwalior
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh
Indore
Vadodara
Varanasi
Thanjavur
Arcot
Almora
Jabalpur
class=notpageimage|
Location of places a long distance away from Maharashtra region where Maharashtrian brahmins have settled over the centuries. Most of these had Maratha rulers sometime in their history. Hover over the dot to see the placename.

In Maharashtra Brahmins have had a wider occupational basis, including as priests, vedic scholars, administrators, warriors, courtiers, business and politics.[9][10].For decades together during the era of the Deccan sultanates Deshasthas and Saraswats were significant recruits to administrative roles and as tax collectors.[11][12][13][14][15] They were also administrators during the period of the

Trimbakeshwar.[19] All these clans had expertise in particular area of Sanskrit literature.[20]
During this era, Benaras also became a base from which scholars could go to regional courts and display their learning. The Bhatta family, for example, had branches in Benaras,
Amer and Mathura.[21] A number of Maharashtrian brahmins settled in the Kumaon and Garhwal region of present day Indian state of Uttarakhand in places such as Almora.[22][23] These brahmins now form part of the Kumaoni brahmin community and the Garhwali Pandit Community.[24][25]

John Roberts has argued that from the time of the Maratha Empire and into the period when the

British East India Company was forming the administrative unit of the Bombay Presidency, they were mostly urban dwellers, along with other non-Brahmin clerical castes, and shunned trading roles.[26][clarification needed] This view appears to be distinct to that of Edmund Leech and S. N. Mukherjee, who note the Chitpavan incomers to the region as being involved also in trade and cultivation.[27]

Modern era

The British rulers of Maharashtra region during early years of colonial rule in the nineteenth century recruited for clerical and lower level administrative work mainly from castes such as brahmin and

CKP whose traditional occupations involved scholarship, teaching, and record keeping. Incidentally, these castes had considerable experience in government administration during the Peshwa rule which preceded the British rule. Brahmins and CKP were also the first to take to western education. This was their gate way to rise to positions of dominance in many fields during the nineteenth century colonial era. These included positions in professions such as teaching, law, medicine, and engineering.[28] Maharashtrian brahmins also dominated lower level jobs in the colonial government. The 19th century social reformer, Jyotirao Phule lamented the brahmin domination in education and government jobs.[29] In the early 20th century, however, different governments in the region such as the Bombay Presidency or the princely state of Kolhapur started reservation policies in government jobs at lower levels that discriminated against the brahmins.[30]

Being the first to receive western education, Maharashtrian brahmins such as

Golwalkar founded or led the Hindu nationalist organization, the RSS
.

In the last one hundred years, many brahmin families such Kirloskar, Garware, Ogale,[32] and Mhaiskar have been successful in creating large manufacturing, and construction businesses.[33]

Society and Culture

Religious customs

Ambejogai
(family deity or Kuldaivat), Image of Laxmi Keshav (Family deity or Kuldaivat), On the low bench from left, small statues of Goddess Annapurna,
Ganesh, Balkrishna (crawling baby Krishna)[34]

Sociologist S. D. Pillai states, basing on the studies by G. S. Ghurye, that claim of Brahminhood by communities such as some Saraswat subcastes of the Western Indian Konkan belt who historically had no knowledge of vedas, no priesthood, and even ate non-vegetarian food demonstrates that the Brahmin claim was available on other grounds and using legends to justify Brahmin origins. But the non-vegetarian tradition did not apply to Saraswats from the south of Western India.[35][36][37]

Chitpavans from Konkan area acted as priests for religious rituals and also involved in farming.[38]

Among Karhades there are both

Vaishnavites. Smarthas are followers of Adi Shankara and Vaishnavas are followers of Madhvacharya.[39][40][41]

The deshastha and the karhade historically allowed cross-cousin marriages but the chitpavan did not.[42] Historically, widow remarriage was uncommon among the ritually upper castes in Maharashtra i.e. Marathi speaking brahmins, CKPs and Saraswat unlike among some others castes.[43]

Like most other Hindu communities, Marathi brahmins have a shrine called a devghar in their house with idols, symbols, and pictures of various deities.[44]

Diet

See also:
List of festivals of Maharashtrian Brahmins
A Maharashtrian vegetarian meal with a variety of items

Maharashtrian Brahmins, Deshasthas, Chitpavans and Karhades have historically been strict vegetarian. As per Singh, Saraswats eat only fish.[45][46][35][47] Singh's claim is, however, contradicted by the Saraswat Mahila Samaj (Saraswat caste association of Women) of Mumbai that has published a book Rasachandrika in 1988 on Saraswat cuisine discussing egg, fish and even mutton recipes. [48]

During the Peshwa era, brahmins of Pune passed caste specific laws for alcohol - making the sale of liquor illegal to

Shenvi(GSB)s, Prabhus and the officers working for the administration.[49]

Social and political issues

Sociologist

Gaud Saraswat Brahmin(Shenvi), 71 were Prabhus, 28 were Parsis and 25 belonged to lower castes. In the New English school in Pune, in 1886, 911 out of 982 were Brahmins. In the employment of the "elite administrative hierarchy" in 1886, out of 384, 211 were Brahmins, 37 were Prabhus and there was only one Shudra.[50]

Gail Omvedt concludes that during the British era, the overall literacy of Brahmins and CKPs was overwhelmingly high as opposed to the literacy of others such as the Kunbis and Marathas. Specifically, the top three literate castes were Chitpavans, CKPs and Deshasthas. Men were more literate than the women from any caste. Female literacy as well as English literacy showed the same pattern among castes.[51][a]

Karhade should get united. He encouraged this by writing comprehensive discussions on the urgent need for these three sub-castes to intermarry and dine together.[52]

Politics

Maharashtrian Brahmins have played a significant role in the Hindu nationalist movement. Christophe Jaffrelot, a political scientist, states that even in Indore (a city in Madhya Pradesh), from 1950 to 1965, Maharashtrian Brahmins and CKP together accounted for two-third or three-fourth of the Hindu nationalist representation in the municipal councils.[53]

Jaffrelot thinks that Brahmins are still resented by the Marathas and Dalits of Maharashtra despite no longer having much political power.[54]

Anti-Brahmin violence

After

University of Pune, noted that

It will be too much to believe that the riots took place because of the intense love of Gandhiji on the part of the Marathas. Godse became a very convenient hate symbol to damn the Brahmins and burn their properties.[55]

Another political scientist, Donald B. Rosenthal, said that the motivation for the violence was the historical discrimination and humiliation faced by the Maratha community due to their caste status and "Even today, local Brahmins claim that the Marathas organized the riots to take political advantage of the situation".[56]

In

Lingayats joined the Marathas in their attacks against the Brahmins. Thousands of offices and homes were also set on fire. Molestation incidents were also reported during these attacks. On the first day alone, the number of deaths in Bombay were 15, and 50 in Pune. The total monetary loss has been estimated to Rs.100 million (or about 20 million in 1948 US dollars).[57]

Notable people

References

Notes

  1. ^ Omvedt does add a proviso saying that: There is difficulty in using such Census data, particularly because the various categories tended to be defined in different ways in different years, and different criteria were used in different provinces for classifying the population. Nonetheless, the overall trend is clear

Citations

  1. ^ Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 230. In Maharashtra Brahmin caste has Karhade, Deshastha, Kokanastha, Devrukhas, Sarasvats, etc. as sub- castes . Further Deshastha Brahmin sub - caste has sub - sub - castes like Rigvedi and Yajurvedi which are also endogamous groups.
  2. ISBN 978-0-295-74224-3
    .
  3. JSTOR 2637955
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-68466-649-2
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-14-024602-5
    .
  6. ^ # Irawati Karmarkar Karve; Yashwant Bhaskar Damle (1963), Group relations in village community, Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute, p. 9, The Brahmin who form about 8% of the population of Maharashtra.
    1. Subhash R. Walimbe; P. P. Joglekar; Kishor Kumar Basa (2007). Anthropology for archaeology: proceedings of the Professor Irawati Karve Birth Centenary Seminar. Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute. p. 158. While comprising only 9% of the Maharashtrian population, the eight endogamous Brahmin castes studied by Karve and Malhotra
    2. Maharashtra Assembly election: How Brahmin Devendra Fadnavis won over Marathas, India Today, 17 October 2019, For record, Brahmins contribute to around 10 per cent in the population of Maharashtra.
    3. After Marathas, Brahmins in Maharashtra seek reservation, The Economic Times, 3 December 2018, Dave also said they would be soon meeting the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission to pitch for their claims. According to the latter, the state had around 90 lakh Brahmins and 70% of them are below the creamy layer, which means they would be eligible for reservation benefits.
    4. No reservation for Brahmins, says Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, The Free Press Journal, 29 May 2019, The Brahmin community has around 8 percent share in the population of the state which is around 90 lakhs.
    5. "Maharashtra Brahmins unhappy, want separate 4% reservation", The Times of India, 31 January 2019, Vishwajeet Deshpande, a functionary of the Samaj, said that the Brahmin community comprises 8% of Maharashtra's total population of 11.4 crore.
    6. Distribution Of Brahmin Population, Outlook, 5 February 2022, Brahmins are about 10 percent of Maharashtra population.
    7. Maharashtra: Brahmin community presses for economic status survey, The Indian Express, 3 December 2018, It is widely believed that people from the Brahmin community are well-to-do. That is not true. Almost 60-70 per cent Brahmins are poor, especially those living in rural areas," said Anand Dave, president of Pune district unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Brahman Mahasangh. The mahasangh said that Brahmins make up 8-9 per cent of Maharashtra's population, which is around 90 lakh.
    8. Now Brahmins in Maharashtra want survey on socio-economic status, Frontline, The Hindu, 7 December 2018, In the numbers game, which is so crucial in influencing government policy, Brahmins do not do as well as Marathas. The Brahmin community forms about 9 per cent of the State's population as opposed to Marathas who constitute about 30 per cent of the population.
    9. Hazel D'Lima (1983). Women in Local Government: A Study of Maharashtra. Concept Publishing Company. p. 170.
      ISBN 978-8170221418
      . Brahmins do not have a numerical superiority as they account for only 8 per cent of the population.
  7. ISBN 9780520024076
    . The Deshasthas, who hailed from the Deccan plateau, the Desh, accounted for three-fifths of the Maratha Brahman population.
  8. ^ Edmund Leach; S. N. Mukherjee (1970). Elites in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 98. The Chitpavans account for one-fifth of all Maharashtrian Brahmins.
  9. ISBN 9780190266332
    . In Maharashtra, Brahmins have been known for traditional occupations of broader scope than those in most of the rest of India. Not just characteristically priests and scholars as elsewhere, Maharashtrian Brahmins were also recognized as men of action: administrators, businessmen and political leaders
  10. ISBN 978-0-520-02407-6
    .
  11. ISBN 9780521033169
    .
  12. ISBN 9780253347848
    . Bijapur Sultanate certainly inherited patterns of cultural interaction from the Bahamani dynasty. One notable practice was the use of Maharashtrian Brahmins and Marathi-speaking soldiers in the kingdom's administration and army. Because the number of Muslims in Deccan was relatively small, the Deccan Islamic kingdoms depended on Brahmins, primarily from the Maharashtrian region, for administration and tax collection.
  13. ISBN 9781107034280
    .
  14. JSTOR 42930434
    .
  15. ^ Mohammad, T.A. (2008). Nobility in the Bijapuri Kingdom (PDF). Aligarh Muslim University. p. 61. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  16. ISBN 978-81-7099-581-4
    .
  17. ^ "India : Rise of the peshwas". Britannica.com. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  18. ISBN 978-0-230-59412-8
    .
  19. ^ Benke, T., 2010. THE ŚŪDRĀCĀRAŚIROMAN I OF KR S N A ŚES A: A 16th Century Manual of Dharma for Śūdras. Publicly accessible Penn Dissertations, p.159.[1]
  20. ISBN 978-1-317-98287-6
    .
  21. ^ - Rosalind O'Hanlon. 10 Dec 2013, Scribal Migrations in Early Modern India from: Routledge Handbook of the South Asian Diaspora Routledge Accessed on: 25 Nov 2019 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9780203796528.ch3
  22. ^ Koranne-Khandekar, Saee (2017). "A taste of home". live Mint. No. 1 Dec 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  23. ISBN 978-93-86277-98-5
    .
  24. ISBN 978-93-86446-43-5
    .
  25. ISBN 978-93-5194-180-4
    .
  26. JSTOR 2637955
    .
  27. ^ Leach, Edmund; Mukherjee, S. N. (1970). Elites in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 99.
  28. ^ Patterson, M.L., 1954. Caste and political leadership in Maharashtra. The Economic Weekly, pp.1066-7.[2]
  29. ISBN 978-81-7154-066-2
    .
  30. ISBN 978-81-321-0369-1
    .
  31. ISBN 978-81-250-2192-6
    .
  32. ^ Damodaran, H., 2008. Brahmins, Khatris, and Babus. In India’s New Capitalists (pp. 48-91). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
  33. ISBN 978-93-5195-280-0
    .
  34. ^ "Worship Of Balkrishna बाळकृष्ण सर्वांच्या देवघरात असतात,तुम्हाला माहित आहे का बाळकृष्णाची नित्यसेवा कशी करावी?". Maharashtra Times.
  35. ^
    ISBN 978-81-7154-807-1
    .
  36. ISBN 978-1-85359-673-5
    . Saraswatis claim that they come from the Brahmin caste – hence their name - but others believe that they are usurpers using some fake brahmin ancestry to maintain their superiority.
  37. ISBN 978-1-136-19820-5
    . Saraswat claim to Brahminhood is still strongly under dispute, particularly in the coastal districts of Karnataka.
  38. ^ Paul Hockings, ed. (1992). Encyclopedia of world cultures: South Asia - Volume 2. Macmillan Reference USA. p. 69. The occupation of the Chitpavans in their original territory of the Konkan was farming, with some income from performing rituals among their own caste.
  39. ISBN 9788187886105
    . The Karhada Brahmins: The Brahmins lived in southern parts of modern Maharashtra, between Konkan and Desh, in a province, then called Karathak, comprising Satara, Sangli, and Kolhapur, with Karad as capital. Hence the name of Karhada Brahmins. Among them too there are Smartas and Madhvas or Bhagwats (Vaishnavites).
  40. ISBN 9788120604889
    . The Karhades are all Rigvedis of the Shakala Shaka, who respect the sutra, or aphorism, of Ashwalayana. They belong to both the Smartha, and the Vaishnava sects, and in religious and spiritual matters follow the guidance of Sri Shankaracharya, and Madhwacharya, respectively.
  41. ^ Tapan K. Bose; Rita Manchanda (1997). States, Citizens and Outsiders: The Uprooted Peoples of South Asia. South Asia Forum for Human Rights. p. 25. The Brahmins, who found very few jobs in the arid hills of the western ghats, since one subcaste, the Chitpawan brahmins, dominated that region, felt the Chitpawan competition very unfair in Maharashtra. Most notably, these were Deshastha and Karhade Brahmans many of whom migrated across Deccan into the East Godavari basin. This was administered through the 19th century by Deshastha Brahmins who used the Maharashtrian surname, Rao.
  42. ^ Karve, I., 1958. What is caste. Economic Weekly, 10(4), p.153.[3]
  43. ^ Neela Dabir (2000). women in distress. Rawat Publishers. pp. 97, 98, 99.
  44. ^ Chavan, C. Y., & Chandar, S. (2022). The Relationships Between Socio-Economic, Political and Cultural Profiles of the People and House-Forms: Sawantwadi, Maharashtra, India.Journal of the International Society for the Study of Vernacular Settlementsal, Vol. 9, no.3,[4]
  45. ISBN 9780195633542
    . Among them the Chitpavan, Desastha, Karhade and Devdny Brahman are pure vegetarian.
  46. ISBN 9780195633542
    . The Saraswat Brahman eat only fish while other Brahmans like Deshastha, Karhade and Konkanastha take a vegetarian diet.
  47. ISBN 978-1-350-13708-0
    .
  48. ISBN 978-81-7154-290-1
    .
  49. ISBN 9788171542055
    . Thus the Brahmin government of Poona, while passing some legislation prohibiting the manufacture and sale of liquors, excluded the bhandaris kolis and similar other castes from the operation thereof but strictly forbade the sale of drinks to Brahmins, Shenvis, Prabhus and Government officers
  50. ISBN 9789383074679
    .
  51. ^ Omvedt, Gail (August 1973). "Development of the Maharashtrian Class Structure, 1818 to 1931". Economic and Political Weekly. 8 (31/33): 1418–1419.
  52. ^ Sandhya Gokhale (2008). The Chitpavans: social ascendancy of a creative minority. p. 147. As early as 1881, in a few articles Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the resolute thinker and the enfant terrible of Indian politics, wrote comprehensive discourses on the need for united front by the Chitpavans, Deshasthas and the Karhades. Invoking the urgent necessity of this remarkable Brahmans combination, Tilak urged sincerely that these three groups of Brahmans should give up caste exclusiveness by encouraging inter sub-caste marriages and community dining."
  53. ISBN 9780231103350
    . (pg 147)Members of the Maharashtrian high castes were particularly numerous, whether Brahmins or - like Thakre[Kushabhau, pg 133] - CKPs.(pg 148) In Indore, the Maharashtrian upper castes were particularly over-represented within the RSS and the Jana Sangh. In the municipal councils, from 1950-65, the Maharashtrian Brahmins and CKP accounted for two-thirds or three-fourth of the Hindu Nationalist representation.
  54. ^ "A war of labels". 9 January 2018.
  55. ^
    ISBN 9788171548552
    .
  56. ^
    ISBN 9789385990816
    .
  57. ISBN 978-0-9692907-2-8
    . Such resistance was to no avail, and the Brahmans' fears and troubles were realized in February 1948 when they were set upon by recently politicized communities - Marathas, as well as Jains and Lingayats - who unhesitatingly took advantage of the opportunity provided by assassin Godse's shots.[page 50]; This is no doubt low since about 1000 houses were officially reported to have been burnt down in some 300 villages spread across all thirteen talukas of the district and Aundh State.[page 40]

Bibliography
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