Gwalvanshi Ahir

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Gwalvanshi Ahir[1] is a dominant subdivison[2] of Ahirs.[3][4] They are populated in North-Western Provinces[5] and in Oudh (Awadh).[6]

Chaudhari Bechai Yadav, Zamindar of Barbojhi, Muhammadabad, Mau (Old Azamgarh)

Origin

The Gwalvanshi Ahirs claim their descent from the Gopis of Braj.[7][8]

History

Mirzapur

According to Ain-i-Akbari, they were zamindars of the Ahirwara pargana (present Ahraura) in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh.[9] Their khap chaudharis held the title of 'Mahtus' or 'Mahto' in the Agori pargana of the old Mirzapur.[10]

Varanasi

They also made Warren Hastings fled from Varanasi.[11] When Goswami Tulsidas was taken hostage by Muslim soldiers of Akbar in Varanasi, they were the ones who made him free by attacking on the Muslim force.[12] As zamindars in the Varanasi district, they held properties like the Kashikarvat.[13][14] They were respectively called Sardars in Kashi.[15]

Basti

Due to extensive land-holdings they were called Bhumidar in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh.[16]

Ayodhya

Them in the Faizadad pargana (in today's Ayodhya district) as landlords claimed to be descended from an Ahir raja of Berat. Another account is, that they were settled there by Raja Chandra Sen.[17]

Azamgarh

In the Azamgarh district, they have a tradition that their ancestors were once the ruling race, holding the same position that Rajputs hold now. They also own the most of the land in Azamgarh district. In the Gopalpur pargana of Azamgarh, they held as much land as the other three castes (Rajputs, Brahmins & Kayasths) combined together.[18]

Jaunpur

In Jaunpur, they were enlisted as 'big zamindars with hundreds of acres of land'.[19]

Lakhimpur Kheri

Ahbaran was a Gwalbansi Ahir chieftain of Khairigarh. He laid siege to Kheri (Khairigarh) which was under the Mughal Empire and had a strong independent rule over the region. Akbar mentioned him as a cruel king.[20]

Sitapur

In Awadh's Khairabad province, the propreitors of parganas of Pali and Bawan in Ain-i-Akbari were Gwalbansi Ahirs.[21]

Military History

From the United Provinces, they were also ones who were recruited in the First World War.[22] Their special companies were also made and that class yielded more successful results than any other.[23]

Physical Appearance

Carleton S. Coon once stated about Ahirs of Senapur (a village in Jaunpur which is predominated by Gwalvanshi Ahirs)[24] that: Ahirs are, in average, quite light in skin color and pride themselves on their physical superiorty to other groups. Their robustness is usually attributed to the active, outdoor life they lead, but undoubtedly the greater amount of dairy products that they have at their disposal has some influence. The Ahirs are the athletes of Senapur. They excel at wrestling, at fencing with staves, at jumping, and at acrobatics of all kinds.[25]

Present circumstances

They were farmers and land-holders in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. At the turn of the century, they took up other occupations, including business in a big way.[26][27]

Notable people

Culture

They sing Loriki and Birahas.[41] They have started the Ramleela at Chaukaghat (Nati Imli) in Varanasi.[42] They also actively participate in the Bharat Milaap done in the Ramleela.[42] They are great devotee of Radha-Krishna.[43] Most of the Ahir Birs (deities who died gloriously) in Eastern Uttar Pradesh were Gwalvanshi Ahirs only.[31][24] They also wore the Janeo (the sacred-thread) and hence were called as "Janeodhari Ahirs". Which firmly places them within the kshatriya sect of the varna system.[44]

Kuldevi

Their clan deity (Kuldevi) is Mata Vindhyavasini Jogmaya.[43]

References

  1. ^ Ames Library Pamphlet Collection: consists of extracts from the Journal of the United Service Institution of India, v.1-12, 1871-1883. 1764.
  2. ^ Maurya, Sahab Deen (1989). Population and Housing Problems in India. Chugh Publications. ISBN 978-81-85076-77-5.
  3. ^ Maheshwari, Anil (20 January 2022). Uttar Pradesh Elections 2022: More than a State At Stake (UP Elections). Om Books International. ISBN 978-93-91258-48-1.
  4. ^ Singh, Bhrigupati (6 April 2015). Poverty and the Quest for Life: Spiritual and Material Striving in Rural India. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-19454-7.
  5. ^ Risley, Sir Herbert Hope (1892). The Tribes and Castes of Bengal: Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal secretariat Press.
  6. ^ Crooke, William (1890). An Ethnographical Hand-book for the N.-W. Provinces and Oudh. North-Western provinces and Oudh government Press.
  7. ^ Ibbetson, Sir Denzil; Maclagan (1990). Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-0505-3.
  8. ^ Michelutti, Lucia (29 November 2020). The Vernacularisation of Democracy: Politics, Caste and Religion in India. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-08400-9.
  9. ^ Contemporary Social Sciences. Research Foundation of India. 1978.
  10. ^ Sherring, Matthew Atmore (1872). Hindu Tribes and Castes. Thacker, Spink & Company.
  11. ^ "Historical episodes that PM spoke about in Kashi - Civilsdaily". 16 December 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  12. ^ Tripathi, Anand Prakash (1981). Amr̥talāla Nāgara ke upanyāsa (in Hindi). Ānanda Prakāśana.
  13. ^ Mere sākshātkāra: Rāma Vilāsa Śarmā (in Hindi). Kitāba Ghara. 1994.
  14. ^ Vyāsa, Kedāranātha (1986). Kāśīkhaṇḍokta Pañcakrośātmaka Jyotirliṅga Kāśīmāhātmya evaṃ Kāśī kā prācīna itihāsa (in Hindi). Kedāranātha Vyāsa.
  15. ^ Mukharji Viswanath (1958). Bana Rahe Banaras. Bhartiya Gyanpith Kashi.
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  19. ^ Ahmad, Iqbal (1968). Śarkī rājya Jaunapura kā itihāsa (in Hindi). Śīrāja Hinda Prakāśana Bhavana.
  20. ^ Hunter, William Wilson (1886). The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Trübner & Company.
  21. ^ Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sitapur. Government of Uttar Pradesh. 1964.
  22. ^ Roy, Kaushik (29 June 2018). Indian Army and the First World War: 1914–18. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-909367-0.
  23. ^ Newul Kishore Press, Lucknow (1922). Indias Services In The War Vol-iii.
  24. ^ a b Coccari, Diane Marjorie (1986). The Bir Babas of Banaras: An Analysis of a Folk Deity in North Indian Hinduism. University of Wisconsin--Madison.
  25. ^ a reader in general anthropology. 1948.
  26. ^ Ratan Mani Lal (11 May 2014). "Azamgarh: Why Mulayam cannot take Yadav votes for granted"
  27. ^ Lucia Michelutti, Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town (2002) London School of Economics and Political Science University of London, p.90-98
  28. ^ Agarwal, Madhav (24 September 2013). "Greco-Roman hopes to build on Sandeep's bronze". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  29. ^ "The Hindu : Sport : Yogeshwar, Narsingh land gold". web.archive.org. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Moscow Olympic gold medallist former hockey player Ravinder Pal Singh succumbs to COVID". The Times of India. 8 May 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
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  35. ^ "Jaunpur Election Results 2019: BSP's Shyam Singh Yadav seals victory by a margin of 80936 votes". www.timesnownews.com. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
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  41. ^ Beissinger, Margaret; Tylus, Jane; Wofford, Susanne Lindgren (31 March 1999). Epic Traditions in the Contemporary World: The Poetics of Community. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-21038-7.
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