Kathi people

The Kathi people is a small group of clans found in the peninsular Kathiawar (now called Saurashtra) region of Gujarat, western India. It was from the Kathis that the Maratha Empire and later the British Raj named the Saurashtra region as Kathiawar until it was renamed Saurashtra, as the Kathis were prominent there during the 17th-18th centuries. The Kathis are a peasant caste,[1] and have historically married with Rajputs, Ahirs, and Barbarias.[2]

A Kathi man, 1911.

The Kathis practiced the partition of territory upon a rulers death, in which his territory would be carved out among his sons. However, the British encourage the practice of primogeniture, in which a ruler's territory would be completely inherited by his eldest son (or whomever was next in succession). The British favored this practice because it was easier to maintain control over a few large states rather than hundreds of small ones. However by the late 1920s, only a few Kathi rulers had adopted primogeniture.[3][4][5] Government of India has added them in Other Backward Class in the central list of Gujarat due to their educational backwardness.[6]

Culture

Kathi people are horse lovers and keep Kathiawari horses, which are known worldwide.[5][7]

References
  1. Shah, Amit (1988). "Division and Hierarchy: An Overview of Caste in Gujarat". Division and Hierarchy: An Overview of Caste in Gujarat. Hindustan Publishing Corporation. p. 4.
  2. Desai, I.P (1988). "A Critique on "Division and Hierarchy"". Division and Hierarchy: An Overview of Caste in Gujarat. Hindustan Publishing Corporation. p. 60.
  3. McLeod, John (1999). Sovereignty, Power, Control: Politics in the State of Western India, 1916-1947. Brill. pp. 13, 196, XI.
  4. Karve, Irawati (1990). Kinship Organization in India. Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 172.
  5. International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds Page 251-252
  6. "Central OBC list, Gujarat". National Commission for Backward Classes. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  7. , Bonnie Hendricks (1995). International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806127538. Pages 251–252.

6. Books of The History of Kathiawad from the Earliest Times by Captain Wilberforce-Bell

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.