Kunbi
Encyclopedia
Kunbi is a generic term applied to castes of traditionally non-elite tillers in Western India. These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa (Leva Patil
), Lonari
and Tirole communities of Vidharbha. The communities are largely found in the state of Maharashtra
but also exist in the states of Madhya Pradesh
, Gujarat, Karnataka
, Kerala
and Goa
. Kunbis are included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC)
in Maharashtra.
Sant Tukaram, one of the most revered Varkari
saints of the Bhakti
tradition of Maharashtra belonged to this community. Most of the Mawala
s serving in the armies of the Maratha Empire
under Shivaji came from the community. The Shinde and Gaekwad
dynasties of the Maratha Empire are originally of Kunbi origin. In the fourteenth century and later, several Kunbis who had taken up employment as military men in the armies of various rulers underwent a process of Sanskritization and hence started identifying themselves as Marathas. The boundary between the Marathas and the Kunbi however became obscure in the early 20th century due to the effects of colonization, and the two groups came to form one block, the Maratha-Kunbi.
Tensions along caste lines between the Kunbi and the Dalit
communities were seen in the Khairlanji killings, and the media have also reported sporadic instances of violence against Dalits. Other inter-caste issues include the forgery of caste certificates by politicians, mostly in the grey Kunbi-Maratha caste area, to allow them to run for elections from wards reserved for OBC candidates. In April 2005 the Supreme Court of India ruled that the Marathas are not a sub-caste of Kunbis.
, the term Kunbi is derived from kun and bi meaning people and seeds respectively. Fused together, the two terms mean "those who germinate more seeds from one seed". Another etymology states that Kunbi is believed to have come from the Marathi
word kunbawa, or Sanskrit kur, "agricultural tillage". Yet another etymology states that Kunbi derives from kutumba (family), or from the Dravidian
kul, "husbandman" or "labourer". Thus anyone who took up the occupation of a cultivator could be brought under the generic term Kunbi. Russel and Lal imply that the derivation from kun (root) or kan (grain) combined with bi (seed) is not probable. G. S. Ghurye
has posited that while the term may "signify the occupation of the group, viz., that of cultivation ... it is not improbable that the name may be of tribal origin."
Other spellings and variants include: Kulambi (Deccan), Kulwadi (South Konkan
), Kanbi (Gujarat), Kulbi (Belgaum
), Reddies (Andhra Pradesh
), Kurmi
(Bihar
, Uttar Pradesh
, Madhya Pradesh
, Jharkhand
). Singh and Lal also report that Cocoona is synonymous with Kunbi in Gujarat.
, make the main peasant communities in the state.
Russell and Lal report that the population of the Kunbis in the British Indian Central Provinces
in 1911 was 1,400,000 and that Kunbis were present in the Nagpur, Chanda, Bhandara, Wardha, Nimar and Betul districts of the province. They report that the population was 800,000 in Berar
in the same year. In 1981 the population of Kunbis in the Dangs district was recorded at 35,214. Older gazetteers of various relevant districts record two-three other agricultural castes in addition to the Kunbis. These additional castes include the Mali at 53,000 and Kunbi are put at 397,000 in the Pune district. The Sholapur gazetteer clubs the Kunbi and the Marathas together to a total of 180,000 in 1881. Marathas and Kunbis are recorded under the common heading of Kunbi in the census of 1881. The group is often associated with the Kurmi
caste, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous. In 2006, the Indian government announced that Kurmi was considered synonymous with the Kunbi and Yellam castes in Maharashtra
.
, amongst other meanings, referred to all speakers of the Marathi language in the fourteenth century. An example of this is the record of the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta
whose use of the term included multiple castes who spoke Marathi. Several years later, as the Bahamani kings and other rulers started employing the local population in their military, the term Maratha evolved to have a martial connotation. Those who were not associated with the term Maratha and were not untouchables at the same time started identifying themselves as Kunbi. According to the Stewart Gordon, the so-called Marathas now differentiated themselves from the others such as the cultivators (Kunbi), iron-workers and tailors. Thus at lower status levels of the members of the group, the term Kunbi was applied to those who tilled the land and it was possible for outsiders to become Kunbi, an example of which is recorded by Enthoven. Enthoven observed that it was very common for Koli
s or fishermen to take up agriculture and become Kunbis. In the eighteenth century, under the Peshwas, newer waves of villagers joined the armies of the Maratha Empire
. These newer military men started seeing themselves as Marathas too, thus obscuring boundary between the Marathas and Kunbi. This differentiating boundary between the Marathas and Kunbis thus became unclear giving rise to a new category, the "Maratha-Kunbi". While this view of the term was common amongst colonial European observers of the eighteenth century, the European observers were ignorant about the evidence of caste connotations of the term. It was true that the dividing line between the Maratha and Kunbi was obscure but there was evidence of certain families calling themselves Assall Marathas or true Marathas. The Assal Marathas claimed to be Kshatriyas in the Varna hierarchy and claimed lineage from the Rajput clans of north India. The rest, the Kunbi, accepted that they came lower in the Varna hierarchy. Thus while the Maratha caste emerged from the Kunbi through the Sanskritisation
process, the two consolidated in to a single block due to the social reforms as well as political and economic development that took place during British rule in early 20th century .
The British installed Chatrapati Pratapsinh Bhonsle
, a descendant of Shivaji, noted in his diary in the 1820s – 1830s period that the Gaekwad
s, another powerful Maratha dynasty had Kunbi origins. He notes further "These days, when the Kunbis and others grow wealthy, they try to pollute our caste. If this goes on, dharma
itself will not remain. Each man should stick to his own caste, but in spite of this these men are trying to spread money around in our caste. But make no mistake, all Kshatriyas will look to protect their caste in this matter. Later, in September 1965, writing in the in the Marathi Dnyan Prasarak newspaper and addressing the changing meaning of the term Maratha and the social mobility of the day, an author first notes the origins of the Maratha-Kunbi cluster of castes, the eating habits and living conditions of the people of Maharashta. The author then states how only a very small circle of families, like those of Shivaji Bhonsale, can claim the Kshatriya status. The author states further that these Kshatriya families have not been able to stop the inroads made by the wealthy and powerful Kunbis who had bought their way into Kshatriya status through wealth and inter-marriages. Of the most powerful Maratha dynasties, the Shindes (later anglicized to Scindia) were of Kunbi origin. A "Marathaisation" of the Kunbis has been seen between the censuses of 1901 and 1931 which shows a gradually declining number of Kunbis resulting from more and more Kunbis identifying themselves as Marathas. Lele records in 1990 that a subset of the Maratha-Kunbi group of castes became the political elite in the state of Maharashtra starting in sixties and seventies and have continued to be the elites till today. The elite Maratha-Kunbis have institutionalised their ideology of agrarian development through their control of the Congress party. The state Government of Maharashtra does not recognize a group called Maratha-Kunbi.
According to Irawati Karve
, the Marata-Kunbi form over 40 percent of the population of Western Maharashtra. Later in 1990, Lele records that the Maratha-Kunbi group of castes account for 31% of the population and is found all over Maharashtra.
), Lonari and the Tirole communities.
According to the Anthropological Survey of India
, of these nine castes, the Jadav and Tirole self-identify as Kshatriya
, the Leva as Vaishya
and the rest as Shudra
. The Lonari used to refer to themselves as Chhatriya Lonari Kunbi, but since their inclusion in the classification "Other Backward Classes," they have dropped the "Chhatriya". The names of subsets of the Kunbi in Berar
, according to Edward Balfour
, were Tirale, Maratha, Bawane, Khaire, Khedule, and Dhanoje. In a strict interpretation of the caste system, the word Kunbi does not identify a caste but rather a status, just as the word Rajput
. All Kunbi communities of Maharashtra speak Marathi and use the Devanagri script for written communication. In Gujarat, the Anthropological Survey of India records that Kunbis have benefited economically from the government development programmes. While both, boys and girls receive formal education, the drop-out rate of girls is higher due to economic reasons. While diet of the Kunbi communities vary between vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism, most and perhaps all of the communities abstain from consumption of pork and beef. Based on an analysis of family names of Kunbi castes like the Tirale and Bowne, Russell and Lal conclude that the Kunbi are largely made up of aboriginal tribes.
Over the centuries the community has produced the prominent Varkari saint of the Bhakti tradition, Sant Tukaram and the Mawalas. Like numerous other communities such as the Mahar
, Mehra, Bhil
, Koli
, etc. and the Brahmin
groups, the Kunbi perceive themselves as an indigenous community.
, Gadchiroli
, Bhandara
and Nagpur
districts of the Vidharbha region in Maharashtra. The Anthropological Survey of India records in 2003 that while Hindi
is spoken by the community while communicating with outsiders, the women of the community can only understand and not speak Hindi. The Dhonoje observe strict endogamy with marriages being mostly arranged by family elders. Kunbi Dhonoje males marry between 20 and 25 whereas the females marry earlier between 18 and 22.
Dhonojes engage a Brahmin priest for conducting their marriage, birth and death rituals. Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial the exception for those less than 11 years of age. Common places of pilgrimage include Nashik, Pandharpur
, Ramtek
and Tuljapur
. Important Hindu festivals observed include Vaisakhi
, Akadi
, Yatra
, Rakshabandhan, Dussera, Diwali
and Holi
. All women and most men are vegetarian though some are occasional non-vegetarians.
Most Dhonojes live in extended families but there are an increasing number of nuclear families in proportion with breaking away from the traditional occupation and urban migration. In a multiethnic village, it is not possible to tell Kunbi Dhonoje by their surname alone. Formal education has had a positive impact on the younger generation of the Dhonoje women.
Although Hindus, they are known to conduct a fair or urus in reverence of the Muslim saint, Dawal Malik.
The main language of the community is Marathi with Devanagri script for written communication and community members who visit urban areas for business reasons are able to communicate in broken Hindi. The communities' traditional dress is similar to other peer communities. All women and the majority of the men are vegetarians, some are occasional non-vegetarians. Consumption of tea is common, mainly to overcome fatigue.
Hindre are strictly endogamous and their marriages are arranged. Child marriages were practiced in the past but the age of marriage in 2003 has been recorded as being between 20–25 for males and 17 to 22 for females. Cremation of the dead is the norm, exceptions being burial of the stillborn and babies who are a few months old. Brahmin priests are employed for the Hindu rituals. Main festivals of the Hindre include Vaishakhi, Akhadi, Yatra, Rakshabandhan, Dussera and Holi. Places of pilgrimage include Pandharpur, Tuljapur, Ramtek, Nashik and Saptashringi. The traditional caste council which existed in the 20th century for solving issues like divorces and social issues has been supplanted by the statutory gram panchayat
of the state government. Common surnames are Jaitale, Wankhed, Chouhan, Gawande, Mahale, Bhoir, Choudhary, Jadhav, etc. and it is not possible to identify a Hindre Kunbi on the basis of surname alone in a multi-ethnic village. Changes in surnames have been recorded, an example of which is the changing of Chouhan to Jaitale.
Surnames are varied and their origins are unknown but they are generally formed from the place of their dwelling, key events in the family from past generations or the names may simply bear a reference to an animate or inanimate object. Amongst the rural Jadhavs, the traditional caste council has been replaced by the Akhil Bharatiya Jadhav Kunbi Samaj, a registered regional council located in Nagpur which also engages in social work. The rulings of the statutory gram panchayat are also abided by at the village level. Jadhav males are non-vegetarian but the women generally do not eat meat.
There are no further subdivisions amongst the Jadhavs.
administration. In 1916, the Jhade are recorded by Russsell and Hiralal as belonging to the Gond stock The same ethnographic records state that the Jhade are the earliest immigrants to the Nagpur area. Contemporary Jhade and Bowne contest this claim since they do not have any oral tradition of this nature. Marriages are arranged and typical age of marriage is between 22 to 25 and between 16 to 20 for men and women respectively. Marriages with maternal cousins are preferred. Cremation of the dead is the norm, the exceptions being those who die before five years of age. The Jhade do not employ the services of a Brahmin priest to carry out the death rites. Common Jhade surnames are Katode, Jhanjad, Toukar, Baraskar, Khokle, Shende, Bhoie, Dhenge, Tejare, Bandobhnje, Waghaye, Trichkule, Baraskar, Khawas, Bhuse, etc. The Anthropological Survey of India states in 2003 that the Jhade boys and girls have access to formal education who mostly go on to attain high school education. The Survey also states that the community also has access to modern day amenities like electricity, health centres, motorable roads, public transport, post offices, drinking water and fair price shops of the Indian Public Distribution System
.
Some family names of the Bowne recorded in Russel and Lal in 1916 with their English meanings are: Kantode (broken ear), Nagtode (broken nose), Dukkarmare (a pig killer), Titarmare (pigeon killer), Ghodmare (horse killer), Waghmare (tiger killer), Gadhe (a donkey), and Lute (a plunderer).
, Khair, which the community has traditionally cultivated as an occupation. The home districts of the community are the Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts and in these districts they are also known as Khedule Kunbi. The community is endogamous and practices arranged marriages, the typical age of marriage for men and women is between 20–25 and 18–22 respectively. Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial is an exception for the economically disadvantaged who cannot afford cremation. Kunbi Khaire men are occasional non-vegetarians whereas the women are vegetarian. Borkte, Kukorkar, Lambade, Tiwade, Thakur, Chatur, Pal, Dhake, Elule, Sangre, Tangre, Timare are only a few of the Khaire surnames from a long list. Important festivals observed by the community are Dussera, Diwali, Holi and Ganeshchaturthi. Traditional places of pilgrimage are Pandharpur, Nasik, Ramtek and Tuljapur.
The use of the traditional jati panchayats have been discontinued by the Khaire community for a long time and the community now makes use of the gram panchayat while still consulting community elders for some social disputes. The Anthropological Survey of India states in 2003 that the Khaire boys and girls have access to formal education who mostly go on to attain high school education, and sometimes higher when conditions are favourable. Drop out rates for girls are higher due to social reasons. The Survey also states that the community also has access to modern day amenities of electricity, heath centres, motorable roads, public transport, post offices, drinking water and fair price shops of the Indian Public Distribution System
.
which is now in Madhya Pradesh. The community is associated with two other communities from Gujarat, the Lewa and the Lewa Patidar, the former are a well known community and the latter are sometimes referred to as their parental group, however, the Kunbi Leva Patil of Maharashtra have roots which are long established in the Kunbi community of Maharashtra. The community perceives their distribution to be in 72 villages in the Jalgaon and Buldhana districts. The Lewa Patil are numerically, economically and educationally superior in some of the multi-ethnic villages of the Buldhana and Jalgaon district. Nuclear families are replacing the traditional extended family system due to a changing economy and due to an increasing number of conflicts over property inheritance. Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial the exception for the very young (up to three to four months age). There is no distinctive attire of the Leva community – they follow local fashion trends. On very rare occasions, older Leva men wear a Gujarati style, boat shaped topi
or hat made from black or brown silk. Some of the common Leva surnames are Warade (Deshmukh), Narkhede, Kharche, Supe, Borle, Panchpande, Kolte, etc. Dowry is practiced in the Leva community and the amount is negotiable. The attitude towards formal education is positive though Leva girl students drop out of school earlier due to social conditions.
in the Mehkar-Chikhli taluka of the Buldhana district where their original occupation was salt making from the salt lake. They migrated from the Lonar lake region and eventually arrived in present-day Maharashtra. The oral tradition of the community contains an elaborate story of their migration. The tradition states that the community migrated first to Aurgangabad from their original place of origin in the Lucknow
district of Uttar Pradesh
then to Buldana and finally to their current locations in the Amravati and Betul districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh respectively. In the two tehsils of Multai
and Warud
in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashra respectively, the Lonari Kunbi are also known as Deshmukhs and Kumbhares. The Lonari now rely on the gram panchayats under the state government as changes in the sociopolitical landscape have caused the influence of the traditional caste council to diminish. Monogamy and adult marriages are the norm but the practice of marriage to a woman of the same surname (referred to as hargote) is not allowed. According to the Lonari Kunbi community, they do not engage in the practice of dowry
The Lonari Kunbis follow the joint family system but the restrictions on land-owning for agriculture under the Land Revenue Act and the improved educational status of the newer generations is a cause of formation of nuclear families. A large number of the community members depend on revenue from agriculture, either by directly cultivating their own lands or by working as agricultural labour. The Lonari Kunbi community has made much progress since the 1950s but problem of poverty is still prevalent and economic instability is still a concern to members of the community.
s who migrated from Rajasthan
as a result of a general migration of the tribes of Rajputana
. Older ethnographic accounts note that a large scale migration of the community occurred from Rajasthan to Maharashtra in the eighteenth century under the reign of Raghuji Bhonsle. The community enjoys a high social status amongst the other agricultural communities. One reason for their high social status is the fact that some families of this community were chosen to collect revenue in the days of the Maratha Empire
. Two separate etymologies exist for the community name. One states that the community is named after the place of their origin, Therol, in Rajasthan. The other states that the community gets its name from their original occupation of Til
or sesame cultivation. Compared with the other Kunbi communities, the Tirole are numerically superior to all and their home districts are Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati and Yeotmal districts. Although occasional non-vegetarian men are found in the community, the community is mainly and traditionally vegetarian.
Based on evidence from an old Marathi document, Karve concludes that the Tirole Kunbi differ significantly from the Kubis to the west of Nagpur and that they did not formerly claim to be Kshatriyas. This claim is in contradiction with Russell and Lal who suggests that the Tirole claim to be Rajputs. Based on the contradiction with Russell, G. S Ghurye states that Karve's statement is either esoteric or wrong. Russell and Lal record the population of the Tirole at seventy thousand in 1880 amongst a total of three hundred and fifty thousand Khandeshi Kunbis.
Some family names of the Tirale recorded in Russel and Lal in 1916 with their English meanings are: Kolhe (jackal), Wankhede (a village name), Kadu (bitter), Jagtap (famous), Kadam (a tree), Meghe (a cloud), Lohekari (iron worker), Ughde (exposed), Shinde (a palm tree), Hagre (one who suffers from diarrhea), Aglawe (an incendiary), Kalamkar (a writer), Wani (trader) and Sutar (carpenter).
Another agricultural community, the Kunbi Ghatole, claim that they are the same as the Tirole.
In Gujarat, Kunbi communities are found in the Dangs, Surat
and Valsad
districts. More recently, in 2003, Singh and Lal, have described the Kunbi of Gujarat as being non-vegetarian and consumers of alcoholic drinks such as mohua
. That community believes itself to be of a higher status than some other local groups due to the type of meat which they consume (for example, they believe that the Warli
s eat rats, and other groups eat beef). The community practices monogamous
endogamy
and marriage of cross cousins is acceptable, as is remarriage by widows. Divorce is permitted and the practice of marriage around the age of 10 – 12 years has been abandoned. Their dead are cremated.
A population of Kunbi (also locally called Kurumbi) is also found in Goa, where they are believed to be descendants of the area's aboriginal inhabitants. They are largely poor agriculturalists, though some of the oldest known landowners in Goa were of this class, and claimed for themselves the Vaishya
(merchant) varna. According to the leaders of the Uttara Kannada district Kunabi Samaj Seva Sangh, the population of their community in the region is 75,000.
and the Mali play a major role in the politics of the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra. The three groups together make up to 50% of the electorate and are known to influence election outcomes. The Kunbis, being landlords, hold the upper-hand in the politics of the region and can decide the outcome of at least 22 seats since they are dominant in every single village of the region. The Kunbis, who are known to have a more tolerant attitude and are more secular than the Telis, prefer the Congress party which has caused the party to hold a dominant position in the region for several decades. However in the last decade or so, the Congress has ignored the Kunbis and other parties like the BJP and the Shiv Sena
have seized the opportunity by giving more opportunities to Kunbi candidates in elections.
The Kunbi vote is frequently said to be the deciding factor in elections. In the 2009 elections, resentment of the Kunbis towards the Congress candidate Wamanrao Kasawar was said to have been benefiting Sanjay Derkar, the independent NCP rebel candidate, in a triangular contest which also included Shiv Sena's Vishvas Nandekar. In the 2004 MLA elections in Murbad
, the Kunbi vote was said to be the deciding vote in favour of Digambar Vishe, a BJP candidate belonging to the Kunbi community.
The former prime minister of India, P. V. Narasimha Rao
who consistently won elections from the Ramtek constituency was forced to run for elections from Andhra Pradesh after polling just 34,000 votes in 1989 to a relatively low key Janata Dal
candidate, Pandurang Hajare. Since them Ramtek has elected a candidate belonging to the Kunbi-Maratha community with consistency.
(NCP) was working hard to get rid of its "Kunbi Only" image because Sharad Pawar
found, after breaking away from the Congress, that it was not possible to win elections with just the Kunbi vote. To attract the non-Kunbi OBC vote, which was estimated to form 40 percent of the electorate, Pawar recruited Chhagan Bhujbal
, a Mali, and Pandurang Hajare, a Teli. Even though Pawar recruited other Telis like Pandurang Dhole, the Indian Express wondered if it would be enough to counter the age-old and keen Kunbi versus Teli rivalry. However a closer look at local and regional heavyweight leaders in the NCP revealed that almost all belonged to the Kunbi community. In 2009, the NCP president Sharad Pawar chose Anil Deshmukh
over Rajendra Shingane as a party candidate from the Vidharbha region because he represents the huge Kunbi-Marathi community in the region.
, one reason for the failure of political parties to consolidate the OBC votes in one block in Maharashtra, unlike in northern India, despite calls for "Kunbi-zation" of the Maratha caste, was the fact that Maharashtra had, as early as 1967, identified 183 communities as "educationally backward classes". By 1978 there were 199 communities in this category and the government implemented a policy of reserving 10 percent of educational seats and government jobs for these.
The official data used by the government for the definition of the Maratha-Kunbi castes puts them between 30 to 40 percent depending on whether a narrow or an inclusive definition of the caste is used. This causes the percentage of OBCs to vary between 29 to 38 percent of the population. It is critically important for the politicians of the state to ensure a narrow definition of OBC and maximize the Maratha representation. Thus the Maratha Mahasangha (All-Maratha Federation), fearing that the Mandal Commission
would divide the Maratha-Kunbis in to Kunbis and high Marathas, took an anti-Mandal stance and tried to attract marginalized Maratha-Kunbis by propagating martial and chauvinistic myths which in turn stigmatized the Muslims and Dalits. While the organization never received success outside of Mumbai, it showed that political leaders were willing to counter the rising OBC assertiveness.
after it was established that she had submitted a false caste certificate claiming to be Kunbi-Maratha thus qualifying to run for elections in wards reserved for OBC candidates. Subsequently all candidates who lost to Kunbi-Maratha candidates registered complaints against their opponents claiming falsification of certificates. A similar case of forgery of a caste certificate was reported in 2003 when the former Shiv Sena corporator, Geeta Gore, was sent to jail for falsely claiming to be a Kunbi Maratha. Geeta Gore had won in elections from ward 18 of Andheri (west) by claiming to be a member of the Kunbi-Maratha caste.
, the president of the Republican Party of India (Athvale)
advocated a caste based census in 2010. He claimed that many members of the Maratha caste in Maharashtra had converted to the Kunbi caste and such conversions and changes in the demographics of backward class populations can only be gauged by a caste-based census. While welcoming the decision of the Union Cabinet to conduct a caste based census in 2011, the OBC leader Gopinath Munde
said that 50% of the Kunbi Marathas were in the OBC category and that he supported reservation for the Maratha community in education and employment in the private sector but not in politics. Rajendra Vora stated in 2009 that even though the Marathas form 31 percent of the population, they have controlled 50 percent of the seats in the Maharashtra legislative assembly. In a paper dedicated to the topic, “Maharashtra: Virtual reservation for Marathas”, he claims that the Maratha-Kunbi community has de facto reservation in the Maharashtra legislative assembly. In January 2009, leaders of backward class community met with the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra to persuade him to keep the Marathas out of the OBC quota suggesting that since the Marathas are a part of the Kunbi community and that the Kunbis already have a quota, there is no need for the Marathas to be included as well.
family with the surname "Bhotmange" were murdered after being tortured by members of the Kunbi caste from the Khairlanji village in the Bhandara district. Two female members of the same family were paraded naked in the village and then raped. The Nagpur bench of the Mumbai High Court has sentenced eight villagers to life imprisonment, declaring the killings were motivated by revenge and not racism or casteism. An appeal against the High Court judgement to have the crime declared as casteism is still pending in the Supreme Court of India.
The Times of India reported in February 2011 that an honour killing of a Dalit man and Kunbi woman was suspected in Murbad of Thane
district.
Later in September of the same year, a 20 year old Dalit woman alleged that she was raped by a Someshwar Baburao Kuthe of the Kunbi caste in the Sarandi (Bujaruk) village of Lakhandur taluka. The local police registered an offense under section 376, 506 of IPC
and under section 3(1) 12 of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
to the Marathas. Mete also noted that the majority of the suicides by farmers in Maharashtra were in the Kunbi-Maratha community. According to Maratha leaders, the OBC status accorded to the Kunbis should be extended to the Marathas since Kunbis are Marathas. However Professor Goswami quotes the Khatri Commission and the Nagpur and Aurangabad benches of the Bombay High Court to reject the notion that the Kunbis are Marathas. In April 2005 the Supreme Court of India ruled that the Marathas are not a part of the Kunbi community.
Leva Patil
The Leva Patil is a community found in India.- Leva :Leva Patel/Kambi/ Patils claim Suryavanshi origin from Lava , the son of Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana....
), Lonari
Lonari
LonariS, numbering 19,222 , including 9,672 male and 9,550 females, are found chiefly in Khandesh, Nasik, Poona, Satara, Sholapur, the Satara agency, and the southern Maratha country...
and Tirole communities of Vidharbha. The communities are largely found in the state of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
but also exist in the states of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Gujarat, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. Kunbis are included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC)
Other Backward Class
The Central Government of India classifies some of its citizens based on their social and economic condition as Scheduled Caste , Scheduled Tribe , and Other Backward Class . The OBC list presented by the commission is dynamic and will change from time to time depending on social, educational and...
in Maharashtra.
Sant Tukaram, one of the most revered Varkari
Varkari
Varkari is a Vaishnava religious movement within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indian states of Maharashtra and northern Karnataka. Varkaris worship Vithoba , the presiding deity of Pandharpur, regarded as a form of Krishna, an Avatar of Vishnu...
saints of the Bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
tradition of Maharashtra belonged to this community. Most of the Mawala
Mawala
Mawala is an exclusive term referring to the Maratha Armies in King Shivaji's reign. The word "Mawala" is supposed to have arisen because King Shivaji's Jagir was from the Mawal region in the Deccan plateau...
s serving in the armies of the Maratha Empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
under Shivaji came from the community. The Shinde and Gaekwad
Gaekwad
The Gaekwad or Gaikwad was a Maratha dynasty that ruled the princely state of Baroda in western India from the mid-18th century until 1947...
dynasties of the Maratha Empire are originally of Kunbi origin. In the fourteenth century and later, several Kunbis who had taken up employment as military men in the armies of various rulers underwent a process of Sanskritization and hence started identifying themselves as Marathas. The boundary between the Marathas and the Kunbi however became obscure in the early 20th century due to the effects of colonization, and the two groups came to form one block, the Maratha-Kunbi.
Tensions along caste lines between the Kunbi and the Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
communities were seen in the Khairlanji killings, and the media have also reported sporadic instances of violence against Dalits. Other inter-caste issues include the forgery of caste certificates by politicians, mostly in the grey Kunbi-Maratha caste area, to allow them to run for elections from wards reserved for OBC candidates. In April 2005 the Supreme Court of India ruled that the Marathas are not a sub-caste of Kunbis.
Etymology
According to the Anthropological Survey of IndiaAnthropological Survey of India
Anthropological Survey of India is the apex Indian organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research for human and cultural aspects, working primarily in the fields of physical anthropology and cultural anthropology...
, the term Kunbi is derived from kun and bi meaning people and seeds respectively. Fused together, the two terms mean "those who germinate more seeds from one seed". Another etymology states that Kunbi is believed to have come from the Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
word kunbawa, or Sanskrit kur, "agricultural tillage". Yet another etymology states that Kunbi derives from kutumba (family), or from the Dravidian
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
kul, "husbandman" or "labourer". Thus anyone who took up the occupation of a cultivator could be brought under the generic term Kunbi. Russel and Lal imply that the derivation from kun (root) or kan (grain) combined with bi (seed) is not probable. G. S. Ghurye
G. S. Ghurye
Govind Sadashiv Ghurye was an Indian professor of sociology. In 1924, he became the second person to head the Department of Sociology in the University of Mumbai...
has posited that while the term may "signify the occupation of the group, viz., that of cultivation ... it is not improbable that the name may be of tribal origin."
Other spellings and variants include: Kulambi (Deccan), Kulwadi (South Konkan
Konkan
The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...
), Kanbi (Gujarat), Kulbi (Belgaum
Belgaum
Belgaum is a city and a municipal corporation in Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the fourth largest city of the state of Karnataka, the first three being Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad....
), Reddies (Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
), Kurmi
Kurmi
The Kurmi are a Hindu agricultural Jāti in India.The group has been associated with the Kunbi, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous. In 2006, the Indian government announced that Kurmi was considered synonymous with the Kunbi and Yellam castes in Maharashtra...
(Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
). Singh and Lal also report that Cocoona is synonymous with Kunbi in Gujarat.
Demographics
There are a total of 305 communities in Maharashtra of which 161 (52.8%) are rural, 37 (12.1%) are urban, 97 (31.8%) are suburban and 97 (31.8%) are rural-urban. The Kunbi, along with the Marathas and MaliMali caste
The Mali are an occupational caste found among the Hindus who traditionally worked as gardners. They also call themselves Phul Mali, who derived their names from their occupation of growing flowers. The Mali are found throughout North India, East India as well as the Terai region of Nepal and...
, make the main peasant communities in the state.
Russell and Lal report that the population of the Kunbis in the British Indian Central Provinces
Central Provinces
The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur....
in 1911 was 1,400,000 and that Kunbis were present in the Nagpur, Chanda, Bhandara, Wardha, Nimar and Betul districts of the province. They report that the population was 800,000 in Berar
Berar Province
Berar Province, known also as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, was a province of British India. The province, formerly ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, was administered by the British after 1853, although the Nizam retained formal sovereignty over the province...
in the same year. In 1981 the population of Kunbis in the Dangs district was recorded at 35,214. Older gazetteers of various relevant districts record two-three other agricultural castes in addition to the Kunbis. These additional castes include the Mali at 53,000 and Kunbi are put at 397,000 in the Pune district. The Sholapur gazetteer clubs the Kunbi and the Marathas together to a total of 180,000 in 1881. Marathas and Kunbis are recorded under the common heading of Kunbi in the census of 1881. The group is often associated with the Kurmi
Kurmi
The Kurmi are a Hindu agricultural Jāti in India.The group has been associated with the Kunbi, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous. In 2006, the Indian government announced that Kurmi was considered synonymous with the Kunbi and Yellam castes in Maharashtra...
caste, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous. In 2006, the Indian government announced that Kurmi was considered synonymous with the Kunbi and Yellam castes in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
.
Maratha-Kunbi
There appears to have been very little information on the significantly large group of the Maharashtrian agricultural castes, known as Maratha-Kunbis, as late as the nineteenth century. Both individual terms, Kunbi and Maratha are equally complex. The term MarathaMaratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
, amongst other meanings, referred to all speakers of the Marathi language in the fourteenth century. An example of this is the record of the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
whose use of the term included multiple castes who spoke Marathi. Several years later, as the Bahamani kings and other rulers started employing the local population in their military, the term Maratha evolved to have a martial connotation. Those who were not associated with the term Maratha and were not untouchables at the same time started identifying themselves as Kunbi. According to the Stewart Gordon, the so-called Marathas now differentiated themselves from the others such as the cultivators (Kunbi), iron-workers and tailors. Thus at lower status levels of the members of the group, the term Kunbi was applied to those who tilled the land and it was possible for outsiders to become Kunbi, an example of which is recorded by Enthoven. Enthoven observed that it was very common for Koli
KOLI
KOLI is a radio station serving Wichita Falls, Texas and Vicinity with a country music format. It operates on FM frequency 94.9 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media. It is the radio flagship station for the Wichita Falls Wildcats hockey team....
s or fishermen to take up agriculture and become Kunbis. In the eighteenth century, under the Peshwas, newer waves of villagers joined the armies of the Maratha Empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
. These newer military men started seeing themselves as Marathas too, thus obscuring boundary between the Marathas and Kunbi. This differentiating boundary between the Marathas and Kunbis thus became unclear giving rise to a new category, the "Maratha-Kunbi". While this view of the term was common amongst colonial European observers of the eighteenth century, the European observers were ignorant about the evidence of caste connotations of the term. It was true that the dividing line between the Maratha and Kunbi was obscure but there was evidence of certain families calling themselves Assall Marathas or true Marathas. The Assal Marathas claimed to be Kshatriyas in the Varna hierarchy and claimed lineage from the Rajput clans of north India. The rest, the Kunbi, accepted that they came lower in the Varna hierarchy. Thus while the Maratha caste emerged from the Kunbi through the 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...
process, the two consolidated in to a single block due to the social reforms as well as political and economic development that took place during British rule in early 20th century .
The British installed Chatrapati Pratapsinh Bhonsle
Bhonsle
The Bhonsle were a prominent clan within the Maratha clan system who served as rulers of several states in India.The most prominent member of the clan was Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire...
, a descendant of Shivaji, noted in his diary in the 1820s – 1830s period that the Gaekwad
Gaekwad
The Gaekwad or Gaikwad was a Maratha dynasty that ruled the princely state of Baroda in western India from the mid-18th century until 1947...
s, another powerful Maratha dynasty had Kunbi origins. He notes further "These days, when the Kunbis and others grow wealthy, they try to pollute our caste. If this goes on, dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
itself will not remain. Each man should stick to his own caste, but in spite of this these men are trying to spread money around in our caste. But make no mistake, all Kshatriyas will look to protect their caste in this matter. Later, in September 1965, writing in the in the Marathi Dnyan Prasarak newspaper and addressing the changing meaning of the term Maratha and the social mobility of the day, an author first notes the origins of the Maratha-Kunbi cluster of castes, the eating habits and living conditions of the people of Maharashta. The author then states how only a very small circle of families, like those of Shivaji Bhonsale, can claim the Kshatriya status. The author states further that these Kshatriya families have not been able to stop the inroads made by the wealthy and powerful Kunbis who had bought their way into Kshatriya status through wealth and inter-marriages. Of the most powerful Maratha dynasties, the Shindes (later anglicized to Scindia) were of Kunbi origin. A "Marathaisation" of the Kunbis has been seen between the censuses of 1901 and 1931 which shows a gradually declining number of Kunbis resulting from more and more Kunbis identifying themselves as Marathas. Lele records in 1990 that a subset of the Maratha-Kunbi group of castes became the political elite in the state of Maharashtra starting in sixties and seventies and have continued to be the elites till today. The elite Maratha-Kunbis have institutionalised their ideology of agrarian development through their control of the Congress party. The state Government of Maharashtra does not recognize a group called Maratha-Kunbi.
According to Irawati Karve
Irawati Karve
Irawati Karve was an Indian anthropologist, educationist, and a writer from Maharashtra, India. She was born at Irawati to G. H. Karmarkar, engineer in Myingyan, Burma, so as to commemorate birth place secrede river iravati, she was given name 'Iravati'...
, the Marata-Kunbi form over 40 percent of the population of Western Maharashtra. Later in 1990, Lele records that the Maratha-Kunbi group of castes account for 31% of the population and is found all over Maharashtra.
Kunbi communities from Vidarbha region of Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, the Kunbi communities include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa (Leva PatilLeva Patil
The Leva Patil is a community found in India.- Leva :Leva Patel/Kambi/ Patils claim Suryavanshi origin from Lava , the son of Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana....
), Lonari and the Tirole communities.
According to the Anthropological Survey of India
Anthropological Survey of India
Anthropological Survey of India is the apex Indian organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research for human and cultural aspects, working primarily in the fields of physical anthropology and cultural anthropology...
, of these nine castes, the Jadav and Tirole self-identify as 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...
, the Leva as Vaishya
Vaishya
Vaishya is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order. According to Vedic tradition, this caste primarily comprises merchants, farmers, cattle-herders and artisans.-Duties of Vaishyas:...
and the rest as Shudra
Shudra
Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...
. The Lonari used to refer to themselves as Chhatriya Lonari Kunbi, but since their inclusion in the classification "Other Backward Classes," they have dropped the "Chhatriya". The names of subsets of the Kunbi in Berar
Berar
Berar may refer to:*Berar Sultanate, a Deccan sultanate established 1490*Berar Subah, a Subah of the Mughal empire from 1596 to 1724*Berar Province, a province of British India*Berar , a sailing ship built in 1863-See also:...
, according to Edward Balfour
Edward Balfour
Edward Green Balfour was a Scottish surgeon, orientalist and pioneering environmentalist in India best known for the Cyclopaedia of India several editions of which were published after 1857.-Life and career:Balfour was the second son of Captain George Balfour of the East India Company marine service...
, were Tirale, Maratha, Bawane, Khaire, Khedule, and Dhanoje. In a strict interpretation of the caste system, the word Kunbi does not identify a caste but rather a status, just as the word Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
. All Kunbi communities of Maharashtra speak Marathi and use the Devanagri script for written communication. In Gujarat, the Anthropological Survey of India records that Kunbis have benefited economically from the government development programmes. While both, boys and girls receive formal education, the drop-out rate of girls is higher due to economic reasons. While diet of the Kunbi communities vary between vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism, most and perhaps all of the communities abstain from consumption of pork and beef. Based on an analysis of family names of Kunbi castes like the Tirale and Bowne, Russell and Lal conclude that the Kunbi are largely made up of aboriginal tribes.
Over the centuries the community has produced the prominent Varkari saint of the Bhakti tradition, Sant Tukaram and the Mawalas. Like numerous other communities such as the Mahar
Mahar
Mahar is an important social group within the Indian state of Maharashtra and surrounding states. A grouping of related endogamous castes, the Mahar are the largest scheduled caste group in Maharashtra, in which they comprise ten percent of the population .On...
, Mehra, Bhil
Bhil
Bhils are primarily an Adivasi people of Central India. Bhils are also settled in the Tharparkar District of Sindh, Pakistan. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages....
, Koli
KOLI
KOLI is a radio station serving Wichita Falls, Texas and Vicinity with a country music format. It operates on FM frequency 94.9 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media. It is the radio flagship station for the Wichita Falls Wildcats hockey team....
, etc. and the Brahmin
Maharashtrian brahmin
Maharashtrian Brahmin or Marathi Brahmin may refer to:*Deshastha Brahmin*Karhade Brahmin*Konkanastha, Chitpavan Brahmin*Devrukhe Brahmin*Daivadnya Brahmin*Goud Saraswat Brahmin...
groups, the Kunbi perceive themselves as an indigenous community.
D honoje
The Kunbi Dhonoje are primarily a community of land-owning agriculturists with deep roots in Maharashtra, however, their origin and historical background are unknown. The Dhanoje get their name from raising small stock or dhan, which comes from Dhangar, another caste in Maharashtra. Their home districts are primarily the ChandrapurChandrapur
Chandrapur is city and a municipal council in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is also the headquarters of Chandrapur district....
, Gadchiroli
Gadchiroli
Gadchiroli is a town and a municipal council in Gadchiroli district in the state of Maharashtra, central India. It is the administrative headquarters of the district.It is very lush in Monsoon season but also prone to flooding....
, Bhandara
Bhandara
Bhandara is a city and a municipal council in Bhandara district in the state of Maharashtra, India.- Overview :It is the second major city in Vidharba a region that is Maharashtra. Bhandara is an agricultural centre for the farmers around its region majorly growing rice. The district speaks...
and Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
districts of the Vidharbha region in Maharashtra. The Anthropological Survey of India records in 2003 that while Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
is spoken by the community while communicating with outsiders, the women of the community can only understand and not speak Hindi. The Dhonoje observe strict endogamy with marriages being mostly arranged by family elders. Kunbi Dhonoje males marry between 20 and 25 whereas the females marry earlier between 18 and 22.
Dhonojes engage a Brahmin priest for conducting their marriage, birth and death rituals. Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial the exception for those less than 11 years of age. Common places of pilgrimage include Nashik, Pandharpur
Pandharpur
Pandharpur is an important pilgrimage city on the Bhimā river in Solāpur district, Maharashtra, India. The Vithoba temple attracts about half a million Hindu pilgrims during the major yātrā in the month of Ashadh ....
, Ramtek
Ramtek
Ramtek is a city and a municipal council in Nagpur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-History:Ramtek has got Historic temple of lord Rama. It is believed that Ramtek was the place where Rama, the Hindu god, rested while he was in exile. Legend has it that the aashram of great hindu sage...
and Tuljapur
Tuljapur
Tuljapur is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative seat of Tuljapur taluka.The town is home to a famous temple, Tulja Bhavani Temple, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Bhavani...
. Important Hindu festivals observed include Vaisakhi
Vaisakhi
Vaisakhi is an ancient harvest festival celebrated across North Indian states, especially Punjab by all Punjabis regardless of religion. In Sikhism the Khalsa was founded on same day as the Vaisakhi festival, so Sikhs celebrate twice as much....
, Akadi
Akadi
In the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, Akadi is the goddess of Movement, Speed, and Air Elementals. Her alignment is primarily Neutral, and the symbol of Akadi is usually represented by a pale cloud on a blue background.-Publication history:...
, Yatra
Yatra
' , in Hinduism and other Indian religions, generally means pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, places associated with Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and other sacred pilgrimage sites. Tīrtha-yātrā refers to a pilgrimage to a holy site, and is...
, Rakshabandhan, Dussera, Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
and Holi
Holi
Holi , is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. Holi is also known as festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism, such as Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United...
. All women and most men are vegetarian though some are occasional non-vegetarians.
Most Dhonojes live in extended families but there are an increasing number of nuclear families in proportion with breaking away from the traditional occupation and urban migration. In a multiethnic village, it is not possible to tell Kunbi Dhonoje by their surname alone. Formal education has had a positive impact on the younger generation of the Dhonoje women.
Although Hindus, they are known to conduct a fair or urus in reverence of the Muslim saint, Dawal Malik.
Ghatole
The community name Ghatole is derived from Ghat meaning a hilly range. The community is known to have originally dwelt in the ghats of the Sahyadri ranges. The community belongs mainly to the western part of the Vidhabha region of Maharashtra. Oral tradition speaks of their arrival from the Sahyadris in Panchimhat. In Vidharbha, they live mostly in the Aurangabad, Nashik, Buldhana, Amravati, Yavatmal, Parbhani and Akola districts. The Ghatole claim to be the same as the economically and numerically superior Tirole or Tilole. Per their oral tradition, those families which interrupted their migration march from the Ghats became the Ghatole whereas those who continued their journey eastwards became the Tirole Kunbi. Despite the oral tradition, the two communities are now two distinct communities due to the strict endogamy for several generations and due to the geographical barriers. All women and most men are vegetarian though some are occasionally non-vegetarians who keep their utensils separate and usually cook outside of the family kitchen. Marriages are generally arranged and families are extended rather than nuclear. Locations of pilgrimage are Nasik, Shirdi, Tuljapur and Pandharpur. According to a report in 2009, the Ghatole Kunbi community in Akola and Washim areas of Vidharbha had preference for the Shivsena party than its political rivals.Hindre or Hendre
The Kunbi Hindre are synonymous with the Hindre Patils as far as their perceived distribution in the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra in the districts of Nanded, Parbhani, Yeotmal and Akola is concerned. There are no further subdivisions of the community. The community is said to have migrated from the Sahyadri ranges to the central Vidharbha region. The community does not have an oral tradition of the etymology of the word Hindre or the history of their migration, hence their own origin is unknown to the Hindre themselve; while the Hindre were grouped with the Kunbis of the Khandesh region in early ethnographical studies, the origin of the community is not known. Their numerical numbers have not been properly recorded in any official records and since the community is only found in certain rural districts, the Anthropological Survey of India estimates their population to be in thousands or in lakhs. While the traditional occupation of the Hindre Kunbis is agriculture, better educational opportunities and urbanization has resulted in a disruption of their traditional economy which has caused many of the contemporary Hindre to pursue diversified occupations.The main language of the community is Marathi with Devanagri script for written communication and community members who visit urban areas for business reasons are able to communicate in broken Hindi. The communities' traditional dress is similar to other peer communities. All women and the majority of the men are vegetarians, some are occasional non-vegetarians. Consumption of tea is common, mainly to overcome fatigue.
Hindre are strictly endogamous and their marriages are arranged. Child marriages were practiced in the past but the age of marriage in 2003 has been recorded as being between 20–25 for males and 17 to 22 for females. Cremation of the dead is the norm, exceptions being burial of the stillborn and babies who are a few months old. Brahmin priests are employed for the Hindu rituals. Main festivals of the Hindre include Vaishakhi, Akhadi, Yatra, Rakshabandhan, Dussera and Holi. Places of pilgrimage include Pandharpur, Tuljapur, Ramtek, Nashik and Saptashringi. The traditional caste council which existed in the 20th century for solving issues like divorces and social issues has been supplanted by the statutory gram panchayat
Gram panchayat
Gram panchayats are local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. As of 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300...
of the state government. Common surnames are Jaitale, Wankhed, Chouhan, Gawande, Mahale, Bhoir, Choudhary, Jadhav, etc. and it is not possible to identify a Hindre Kunbi on the basis of surname alone in a multi-ethnic village. Changes in surnames have been recorded, an example of which is the changing of Chouhan to Jaitale.
Jadhav
It is not known how the Jadhav came to be known by that name or when and how they were brought under the generic term Kunbi. The home districts of the Jadhav Kunbi are Amaravati, Yavatmal, and Nagpur. The community is strictly endogamous and consanguinal marriages with the maternal cousin are preferred over the paternal cousin However the number of marriages of such nature are low. Marriages are arranged and the preferred age for males is 22 or more and that for the women being 18 or more but these ages are now increasing as of 2003. Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial being the exception for children and for those who have died of snake bites. Brahmins are employed for naming and marriage ceremonies.Surnames are varied and their origins are unknown but they are generally formed from the place of their dwelling, key events in the family from past generations or the names may simply bear a reference to an animate or inanimate object. Amongst the rural Jadhavs, the traditional caste council has been replaced by the Akhil Bharatiya Jadhav Kunbi Samaj, a registered regional council located in Nagpur which also engages in social work. The rulings of the statutory gram panchayat are also abided by at the village level. Jadhav males are non-vegetarian but the women generally do not eat meat.
There are no further subdivisions amongst the Jadhavs.
Jhare or Jhade
The name of the Jhade or Jhare Kunbi community, also known as the Jhadpi, comes from Jhadi meaning forest. The home districts of the Jhade are Nagpur, Bhandara, Akola and Amravati. The Jhade of the Bhadara district are also known as the Bowne, meaning 52 in Marathi, due to the high revenue of 52 lakh generated by them for the MughalMughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
administration. In 1916, the Jhade are recorded by Russsell and Hiralal as belonging to the Gond stock The same ethnographic records state that the Jhade are the earliest immigrants to the Nagpur area. Contemporary Jhade and Bowne contest this claim since they do not have any oral tradition of this nature. Marriages are arranged and typical age of marriage is between 22 to 25 and between 16 to 20 for men and women respectively. Marriages with maternal cousins are preferred. Cremation of the dead is the norm, the exceptions being those who die before five years of age. The Jhade do not employ the services of a Brahmin priest to carry out the death rites. Common Jhade surnames are Katode, Jhanjad, Toukar, Baraskar, Khokle, Shende, Bhoie, Dhenge, Tejare, Bandobhnje, Waghaye, Trichkule, Baraskar, Khawas, Bhuse, etc. The Anthropological Survey of India states in 2003 that the Jhade boys and girls have access to formal education who mostly go on to attain high school education. The Survey also states that the community also has access to modern day amenities like electricity, health centres, motorable roads, public transport, post offices, drinking water and fair price shops of the Indian Public Distribution System
Public Distribution System
Public Distribution System is an Indian food security system. Established by the Government of India under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and managed jointly with state governments in India, it distributes subsidised food and non-food items to India's poor...
.
Some family names of the Bowne recorded in Russel and Lal in 1916 with their English meanings are: Kantode (broken ear), Nagtode (broken nose), Dukkarmare (a pig killer), Titarmare (pigeon killer), Ghodmare (horse killer), Waghmare (tiger killer), Gadhe (a donkey), and Lute (a plunderer).
Khaire
The Kunbi Khaire derive their name from the local name for catechuCatechu
For the region in India, see Kutch District.Catechu is an extract of any of several species of Acacia—but especially Acacia catechu—produced by boiling the wood in water and evaporating the resulting brew....
, Khair, which the community has traditionally cultivated as an occupation. The home districts of the community are the Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts and in these districts they are also known as Khedule Kunbi. The community is endogamous and practices arranged marriages, the typical age of marriage for men and women is between 20–25 and 18–22 respectively. Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial is an exception for the economically disadvantaged who cannot afford cremation. Kunbi Khaire men are occasional non-vegetarians whereas the women are vegetarian. Borkte, Kukorkar, Lambade, Tiwade, Thakur, Chatur, Pal, Dhake, Elule, Sangre, Tangre, Timare are only a few of the Khaire surnames from a long list. Important festivals observed by the community are Dussera, Diwali, Holi and Ganeshchaturthi. Traditional places of pilgrimage are Pandharpur, Nasik, Ramtek and Tuljapur.
The use of the traditional jati panchayats have been discontinued by the Khaire community for a long time and the community now makes use of the gram panchayat while still consulting community elders for some social disputes. The Anthropological Survey of India states in 2003 that the Khaire boys and girls have access to formal education who mostly go on to attain high school education, and sometimes higher when conditions are favourable. Drop out rates for girls are higher due to social reasons. The Survey also states that the community also has access to modern day amenities of electricity, heath centres, motorable roads, public transport, post offices, drinking water and fair price shops of the Indian Public Distribution System
Public Distribution System
Public Distribution System is an Indian food security system. Established by the Government of India under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and managed jointly with state governments in India, it distributes subsidised food and non-food items to India's poor...
.
Leva or Leva Patil
The Leva or Lewa are synonymous with the Lewa Patil, the suffix, "Patil", being a feudal title. The community does not have an oral tradition of their origin or migration but they generally accept that they have migrated from Gujarat to the Vidharba region via NimarNimar
Nimar is the southwestern region of Madhya Pradesh state in west-central India.The region lies south of the Vindhya Range, and consists of two portions of the Narmada and Tapti river valleys, separated by a section of the Satpura Range, about 15 miles in breadth...
which is now in Madhya Pradesh. The community is associated with two other communities from Gujarat, the Lewa and the Lewa Patidar, the former are a well known community and the latter are sometimes referred to as their parental group, however, the Kunbi Leva Patil of Maharashtra have roots which are long established in the Kunbi community of Maharashtra. The community perceives their distribution to be in 72 villages in the Jalgaon and Buldhana districts. The Lewa Patil are numerically, economically and educationally superior in some of the multi-ethnic villages of the Buldhana and Jalgaon district. Nuclear families are replacing the traditional extended family system due to a changing economy and due to an increasing number of conflicts over property inheritance. Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial the exception for the very young (up to three to four months age). There is no distinctive attire of the Leva community – they follow local fashion trends. On very rare occasions, older Leva men wear a Gujarati style, boat shaped topi
Gandhi cap
The Gandhi cap is a white coloured cap, pointed in front and back and having a wide band. It is made out of khadi. It takes its name after the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, who first popularised its use during the Indian independence movement...
or hat made from black or brown silk. Some of the common Leva surnames are Warade (Deshmukh), Narkhede, Kharche, Supe, Borle, Panchpande, Kolte, etc. Dowry is practiced in the Leva community and the amount is negotiable. The attitude towards formal education is positive though Leva girl students drop out of school earlier due to social conditions.
Lonari
The Lonari Kunbis are regarded as one of the established cultivating communities in Maharashtra. The Lonari are presently located in the eastern part of the Vidharbha region and in the adjoining districts of Madhya Pradesh. The name of the community comes from Lonar lakeLonar Lake
Lonar Lake is a saltwater lake at Lonar in Buldana district, Maharashtra, India, which was created by a meteor hitting the Earth during the Pleistocene Epoch. The impact crater thereby formed is the only hypervelocity meteoritic impact crater on basalt rock. A lake that evolved in the resulting...
in the Mehkar-Chikhli taluka of the Buldhana district where their original occupation was salt making from the salt lake. They migrated from the Lonar lake region and eventually arrived in present-day Maharashtra. The oral tradition of the community contains an elaborate story of their migration. The tradition states that the community migrated first to Aurgangabad from their original place of origin in the Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
district of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
then to Buldana and finally to their current locations in the Amravati and Betul districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh respectively. In the two tehsils of Multai
Multai
Multai is a town and a nagar panchayat in Betul district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.-Geography:Multai is located at . It has an average elevation of 749 metres . Multai is the holy place and origin for river Tapti. The daughter of Surya, the Sun God, Mata Tapti is worshiped here in...
and Warud
Warud
Warud is a city and a municipal council in Amravati district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Demographics:Warud has a population count of 41,005 . The current population is higher . Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%...
in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashra respectively, the Lonari Kunbi are also known as Deshmukhs and Kumbhares. The Lonari now rely on the gram panchayats under the state government as changes in the sociopolitical landscape have caused the influence of the traditional caste council to diminish. Monogamy and adult marriages are the norm but the practice of marriage to a woman of the same surname (referred to as hargote) is not allowed. According to the Lonari Kunbi community, they do not engage in the practice of dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
The Lonari Kunbis follow the joint family system but the restrictions on land-owning for agriculture under the Land Revenue Act and the improved educational status of the newer generations is a cause of formation of nuclear families. A large number of the community members depend on revenue from agriculture, either by directly cultivating their own lands or by working as agricultural labour. The Lonari Kunbi community has made much progress since the 1950s but problem of poverty is still prevalent and economic instability is still a concern to members of the community.
Tirole or Tirale
The Kunbi Tirole are an agricultural community found in the Khandesh region of Maharashtra. The community believe that they are RajputRajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
s who migrated from Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
as a result of a general migration of the tribes of Rajputana
Rajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
. Older ethnographic accounts note that a large scale migration of the community occurred from Rajasthan to Maharashtra in the eighteenth century under the reign of Raghuji Bhonsle. The community enjoys a high social status amongst the other agricultural communities. One reason for their high social status is the fact that some families of this community were chosen to collect revenue in the days of the Maratha Empire
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
. Two separate etymologies exist for the community name. One states that the community is named after the place of their origin, Therol, in Rajasthan. The other states that the community gets its name from their original occupation of Til
Sesame
Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
or sesame cultivation. Compared with the other Kunbi communities, the Tirole are numerically superior to all and their home districts are Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati and Yeotmal districts. Although occasional non-vegetarian men are found in the community, the community is mainly and traditionally vegetarian.
Based on evidence from an old Marathi document, Karve concludes that the Tirole Kunbi differ significantly from the Kubis to the west of Nagpur and that they did not formerly claim to be Kshatriyas. This claim is in contradiction with Russell and Lal who suggests that the Tirole claim to be Rajputs. Based on the contradiction with Russell, G. S Ghurye states that Karve's statement is either esoteric or wrong. Russell and Lal record the population of the Tirole at seventy thousand in 1880 amongst a total of three hundred and fifty thousand Khandeshi Kunbis.
Some family names of the Tirale recorded in Russel and Lal in 1916 with their English meanings are: Kolhe (jackal), Wankhede (a village name), Kadu (bitter), Jagtap (famous), Kadam (a tree), Meghe (a cloud), Lohekari (iron worker), Ughde (exposed), Shinde (a palm tree), Hagre (one who suffers from diarrhea), Aglawe (an incendiary), Kalamkar (a writer), Wani (trader) and Sutar (carpenter).
Another agricultural community, the Kunbi Ghatole, claim that they are the same as the Tirole.
Kunbi communities in other states
The 1885 Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia described the Kunbi as "though quiet and unpretending, are a robust, sturdy, independent agricultural people... though their institutitions are less democratic than those of the Jat and Rajput..." The author also noted that the Hyderabad Kunbi of the period were known to be "wholly illiterate." The 1881 Census of India stated that the Kunbi in all of India numbered 5,388,487.In Gujarat, Kunbi communities are found in the Dangs, Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
and Valsad
Valsad
Valsad , formerly known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in the Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. The city has a collectorate, a district court, and a police headquarters with a historic prison...
districts. More recently, in 2003, Singh and Lal, have described the Kunbi of Gujarat as being non-vegetarian and consumers of alcoholic drinks such as mohua
Tharra
Tharra is locally brewed alcoholic drink, or moonshine; from yeast fermentation of sugarcane, or wheat husk; in regions of northern India and Pakistan, especially Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Nasik and Haryana.-Preparation:...
. That community believes itself to be of a higher status than some other local groups due to the type of meat which they consume (for example, they believe that the Warli
Warli
The Warlis or are an Indian indigenous people, who live mostly in Dahanu and Talasari talukas of the northern Thane district, parts of Nashik and Dhule districts of Maharashtra, Valsad District of Gujarat, and the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. They have their own...
s eat rats, and other groups eat beef). The community practices monogamous
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
endogamy
Endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. A Greek Orthodox Christian endogamist, for example, would require that a marriage be only with another...
and marriage of cross cousins is acceptable, as is remarriage by widows. Divorce is permitted and the practice of marriage around the age of 10 – 12 years has been abandoned. Their dead are cremated.
A population of Kunbi (also locally called Kurumbi) is also found in Goa, where they are believed to be descendants of the area's aboriginal inhabitants. They are largely poor agriculturalists, though some of the oldest known landowners in Goa were of this class, and claimed for themselves the Vaishya
Vaishya
Vaishya is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order. According to Vedic tradition, this caste primarily comprises merchants, farmers, cattle-herders and artisans.-Duties of Vaishyas:...
(merchant) varna. According to the leaders of the Uttara Kannada district Kunabi Samaj Seva Sangh, the population of their community in the region is 75,000.
Politics
The Kunbis along with the two other backward communities, the TeliTeli
Teli is a business caste of oil pressers in India and Pakistan. Members may be either Hindu or Muslim; Muslim Teli are called Roshandaar or Teli Malik....
and the Mali play a major role in the politics of the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra. The three groups together make up to 50% of the electorate and are known to influence election outcomes. The Kunbis, being landlords, hold the upper-hand in the politics of the region and can decide the outcome of at least 22 seats since they are dominant in every single village of the region. The Kunbis, who are known to have a more tolerant attitude and are more secular than the Telis, prefer the Congress party which has caused the party to hold a dominant position in the region for several decades. However in the last decade or so, the Congress has ignored the Kunbis and other parties like the BJP and the Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
have seized the opportunity by giving more opportunities to Kunbi candidates in elections.
The Kunbi vote is frequently said to be the deciding factor in elections. In the 2009 elections, resentment of the Kunbis towards the Congress candidate Wamanrao Kasawar was said to have been benefiting Sanjay Derkar, the independent NCP rebel candidate, in a triangular contest which also included Shiv Sena's Vishvas Nandekar. In the 2004 MLA elections in Murbad
Murbad
Murbad is a census town in Thane district in the Indian state of Maharashtra near Thane and Karjat. Murbad is an industrial town with private and MIDC industries.-Geography:...
, the Kunbi vote was said to be the deciding vote in favour of Digambar Vishe, a BJP candidate belonging to the Kunbi community.
The former prime minister of India, P. V. Narasimha Rao
P. V. Narasimha Rao
Pamulaparti Venkata "Narasimha Rao" was the ninth Prime Minister of India . He led an important administration, overseeing a major economic transformation and several home incidents affecting national security of India. Rao accelerated the dismantling of the Licence Raj. He is often referred to as...
who consistently won elections from the Ramtek constituency was forced to run for elections from Andhra Pradesh after polling just 34,000 votes in 1989 to a relatively low key Janata Dal
Janata Dal
Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...
candidate, Pandurang Hajare. Since them Ramtek has elected a candidate belonging to the Kunbi-Maratha community with consistency.
Nationalist Congress Party
According to the Indian Express, soon after its inception in May 1999, the Nationalist Congress PartyNationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...
(NCP) was working hard to get rid of its "Kunbi Only" image because Sharad Pawar
Sharad Pawar
Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar , popularly known as SAHEB , is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
found, after breaking away from the Congress, that it was not possible to win elections with just the Kunbi vote. To attract the non-Kunbi OBC vote, which was estimated to form 40 percent of the electorate, Pawar recruited Chhagan Bhujbal
Chhagan Bhujbal
Chhagan Bhujbal is a politician from the state of Maharashtra, India. At present he is Minister of Public Works & Special Assistance Department, Maharashtra State and Guardian Minister, Nashik District; Member of Legislative Assembly, Yeola Assembly ; Constituency...
, a Mali, and Pandurang Hajare, a Teli. Even though Pawar recruited other Telis like Pandurang Dhole, the Indian Express wondered if it would be enough to counter the age-old and keen Kunbi versus Teli rivalry. However a closer look at local and regional heavyweight leaders in the NCP revealed that almost all belonged to the Kunbi community. In 2009, the NCP president Sharad Pawar chose Anil Deshmukh
Anil Deshmukh
Mr. Anil Vasantrao Deshmukh currently serves as the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Works in the Government of Maharashtra state, India. He has represented Katol, Nagpur district on behalf of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from...
over Rajendra Shingane as a party candidate from the Vidharbha region because he represents the huge Kunbi-Marathi community in the region.
OBC vote politics
According to the leading contemporary commentator on religious and political violence in India, Thomas Blom HansenThomas Blom Hansen
Thomas Blom Hansen is a Danish anthropologist and leading contemporary commentator on religious and political violence in India. He has worked on religious identities, local political organization and informal networks in Bombay and pursued an interest in the anthropology of politics, the...
, one reason for the failure of political parties to consolidate the OBC votes in one block in Maharashtra, unlike in northern India, despite calls for "Kunbi-zation" of the Maratha caste, was the fact that Maharashtra had, as early as 1967, identified 183 communities as "educationally backward classes". By 1978 there were 199 communities in this category and the government implemented a policy of reserving 10 percent of educational seats and government jobs for these.
The official data used by the government for the definition of the Maratha-Kunbi castes puts them between 30 to 40 percent depending on whether a narrow or an inclusive definition of the caste is used. This causes the percentage of OBCs to vary between 29 to 38 percent of the population. It is critically important for the politicians of the state to ensure a narrow definition of OBC and maximize the Maratha representation. Thus the Maratha Mahasangha (All-Maratha Federation), fearing that the Mandal Commission
Mandal commission
The Mandal Commission was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward." It was headed by Indian parliamentarian Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal to consider the question of seat...
would divide the Maratha-Kunbis in to Kunbis and high Marathas, took an anti-Mandal stance and tried to attract marginalized Maratha-Kunbis by propagating martial and chauvinistic myths which in turn stigmatized the Muslims and Dalits. While the organization never received success outside of Mumbai, it showed that political leaders were willing to counter the rising OBC assertiveness.
Forgery of caste certificates
There are several communities in Maharashtra that have been trying to pass themselves off as a depressed community in order to reap the benefits of the reservation. An issue of candidates of the Maratha caste, a non-backward caste, running for elections in wards reserved for OBC candidates got centre stage attention in the 2007 civic polls after the Maharashtra state government amended the OBC list on June 1, 2004 to retain the Kunbis and also include Kunbi-Marathas in the list. In 2010, the independent corporator, Malan Bhintade, who claimed to be Kunbi-Maratha but was actually later found to be of Maratha caste, lost her membership of the Pune Municipal CorporationPune Municipal Corporation
The Pune Municipal Corporation was established on 15 February 1950. The PMC controls the whole administration of Pune. The executive power of the corporation is vested in the Municipal Commissioner, an Indian Administrative Service officer appointed by the Maharashtra state government...
after it was established that she had submitted a false caste certificate claiming to be Kunbi-Maratha thus qualifying to run for elections in wards reserved for OBC candidates. Subsequently all candidates who lost to Kunbi-Maratha candidates registered complaints against their opponents claiming falsification of certificates. A similar case of forgery of a caste certificate was reported in 2003 when the former Shiv Sena corporator, Geeta Gore, was sent to jail for falsely claiming to be a Kunbi Maratha. Geeta Gore had won in elections from ward 18 of Andheri (west) by claiming to be a member of the Kunbi-Maratha caste.
Reservation in politics
Ramdas AthvaleAthawale Ramdas Bandu
Athawale Ramdas Bandu was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Pandharpur constituency of Maharashtra and is the antionant president of the Republican Party of India political party.He also repesented Mumbai North central in 12th Lok Sabha during 1998-99.Ramdas Athavale has...
, the president of the Republican Party of India (Athvale)
Republican Party of India (Athvale)
The Republican Party of India is a political party in India, a splinter group of the old Ambedkarite Republican Party of India. The president of the party is Ramdas Athvale....
advocated a caste based census in 2010. He claimed that many members of the Maratha caste in Maharashtra had converted to the Kunbi caste and such conversions and changes in the demographics of backward class populations can only be gauged by a caste-based census. While welcoming the decision of the Union Cabinet to conduct a caste based census in 2011, the OBC leader Gopinath Munde
Gopinath Munde
Gopinath Munde ) is an Indian politician. He is a senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party.-Early life:Gopinath Munde was born in Nathra Village, Parali, Beed, Maharashtra, India, in a farmer's family in rural Maharashtra. According to him, his parents "struggled against heavy odds and did not...
said that 50% of the Kunbi Marathas were in the OBC category and that he supported reservation for the Maratha community in education and employment in the private sector but not in politics. Rajendra Vora stated in 2009 that even though the Marathas form 31 percent of the population, they have controlled 50 percent of the seats in the Maharashtra legislative assembly. In a paper dedicated to the topic, “Maharashtra: Virtual reservation for Marathas”, he claims that the Maratha-Kunbi community has de facto reservation in the Maharashtra legislative assembly. In January 2009, leaders of backward class community met with the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra to persuade him to keep the Marathas out of the OBC quota suggesting that since the Marathas are a part of the Kunbi community and that the Kunbis already have a quota, there is no need for the Marathas to be included as well.
Inter-caste issues
In 2006, four members of a DalitDalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
family with the surname "Bhotmange" were murdered after being tortured by members of the Kunbi caste from the Khairlanji village in the Bhandara district. Two female members of the same family were paraded naked in the village and then raped. The Nagpur bench of the Mumbai High Court has sentenced eight villagers to life imprisonment, declaring the killings were motivated by revenge and not racism or casteism. An appeal against the High Court judgement to have the crime declared as casteism is still pending in the Supreme Court of India.
The Times of India reported in February 2011 that an honour killing of a Dalit man and Kunbi woman was suspected in Murbad of Thane
Thane
Thane , is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, northeastern suburb of Mumbai at the head of the Thane Creek. It is the administrative headquarters of Thane district. On 16 April 1853, G.I.P...
district.
Later in September of the same year, a 20 year old Dalit woman alleged that she was raped by a Someshwar Baburao Kuthe of the Kunbi caste in the Sarandi (Bujaruk) village of Lakhandur taluka. The local police registered an offense under section 376, 506 of IPC
Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code is the main criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code, intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. It was drafted in 1860 and came into force in colonial India during the British Raj in 1862...
and under section 3(1) 12 of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Marathas claiming OBC status through Kunbi affiliation
A representative of the Maratha community, Vinayak Mete, stated that the Maratha caste has roots in the Kunbi caste while making a case for extending the benefits of reservationReservation in India
Reservation in India is a form of affirmative action designed to improve the well being of socially backward and underrepresented communities of citizens in India. There are laws in place, wherein a certain percentage of total available slots in Jobs and Education are set aside for people from...
to the Marathas. Mete also noted that the majority of the suicides by farmers in Maharashtra were in the Kunbi-Maratha community. According to Maratha leaders, the OBC status accorded to the Kunbis should be extended to the Marathas since Kunbis are Marathas. However Professor Goswami quotes the Khatri Commission and the Nagpur and Aurangabad benches of the Bombay High Court to reject the notion that the Kunbis are Marathas. In April 2005 the Supreme Court of India ruled that the Marathas are not a part of the Kunbi community.