"Baratha" and "Bharatas" redirect here. For the Vedic tribe, see Bharatas (tribe). For the noctuid moth genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Baratha, see Mocis

Mocis

Mocis is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.David Wagner et al state about the behaviour of Mocis larvae: "Unlike most catocaline larvae, Mocis caterpillars do not wriggle violently when accosted, but rather simply drop to the ground--a habit shared by many grass feeders--where their...

.

Bharathas also Bharatakula are a Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

n caste

Caste

Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...

 of Paravar immigrants from Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 in India.

Origins

In India they were traditional fishers' merchants and traders. Most are Roman Catholics although a significant minority practice Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

.

Paravar are to be found all over Sri Lanka. Amongst Sri Lankan Tamils Paravar are still a fishing and trading caste although commonly confused with the Karaiyar

Karaiyar

Karaiyar, also known as Karayar, Karaiar or Kurukulam, is traditionally both a seafaring and warrior caste found in the Tamil Nadu state of India, coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora.-Origins:...

. The Bharatas or Bharatakula identity is maintained by a relatively prosperous merchant group from India that settled amongst the Sinhalese in the Negombo area.

Claims of North Indian origins

Already in India, keeping with the tradition of Sanskritisation

Sanskritisation

Sanskritization or Sanskritisation is a particular form of social change found in India and Nepal. It denotes the process by which castes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the upper or dominant castes. It is a process similar to...

 they had their name as Bharatas a Vedic

Vedic period

The Vedic period was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BCE, also...

 tribe of Indian mythology from North India. In Sri Lanka they have maintained this caste myth and claim North Indian Kshatriya

Kshatriya

*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...

 varna or caste origins. It is also noteworthy that the Bharatas in the Rig Veda were a clan among the Indo-Aryan Pauravas

Pauravas

The Pauravas was the name given to the many small kingdoms and tribes of ancient India in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.The Pauravas had also existed before then in the Vedic Ages led by King Sudas, who fought off the Iranian invaders at the Battle of the Ten Kings. The Pauravas were all situated...

 who fought away Iranian invaders.

Assimilation

Along with Colombo Chetty and other relatively recent merchant groups from South India, there is rapid Sinhalisation

Sinhalisation

Sinhalisation is a term that has number of meanings in Sri Lanka. Etymologically it is derived from Sinhala.-Sociological:From a sociological point of view it could mean the assimilation of ethno cultural minorities in Sri Lanka such as the Sri Lankan Tamils, Colombo Chetties and indigenous Veddas...

 or assimilation with the Sinhalese majority. But unlike the Colombo Chettys many still speak Tamil at home and even have marital relationships in India.

According to recent Sri Lankan census categories in July 2001, Bharatakula has been moved out of Sri Lankan Tamil category to simply as a separate ethnic group Bharatha thus currently they are neither Sinhalese nor Tamil.

Areas of inhabitation

They are primarily found in capital Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

 and in towns north of it, namely Negombo

Negombo

Negombo is a town of about 121,933, approximately 37 km north of Colombo, in Sri Lanka. It is located at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, about 7 km from the Bandaranaike International Airport...

 in the Western Province.

Names

Common last names adopted by Bharatkulas include Fernando, Ferdinandes, Peeris and Rubeiro. Fernando is the commonest last name.

See also

• Pauravas
  Pauravas
  The Pauravas was the name given to the many small kingdoms and tribes of ancient India in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.The Pauravas had also existed before then in the Vedic Ages led by King Sudas, who fought off the Iranian invaders at the Battle of the Ten Kings. The Pauravas were all situated...
  
  
• Dasarajna
• Colombo Chettys
• Negombo Tamils
  Negombo Tamils
  Negombo Tamils or Puttalam Tamils is a term usually used for native Sri Lankan Tamils who live in the western Gampaha and Puttalam districts of Sri Lanka. It does not apply to Tamil immigrants from other parts of Island into these districts...
  
  
• Paravar
• Karave
  Karave
  Karava also Karave, Kara, Karavaa, Kaura is a significant Sinhalese community who are considered secondary in caste to the Govigama. The Tamil equivalent is Karaiyar.- General :...