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Pod (caste)
Poundra is a Dalit community from West Bengal. They are called ''Purno'' in North Bengal, ''Pod'' and ''Padmaraja'' in South Bengal, and ''Baleya'' in Medinipur and Baleshwar. They find the name ''Pod'' offensive. Their population was around two and a half million in 2011. As per census of India 2001, their overall literacy rate was 72 % - male 83% and female 59%. Their main subcastes are or used to be, the Chasi Poundra, the Mecho Poundra, the Tanti Poundra and the Dhamna Poundra. The differentiation between seems to have its origin in the occupations. They are divided in a number of ''gotras''. History Medieval Bengal No mention is found in the Bṛhaddharma Upapuraṇa (c. 13th century), which remains the earliest document to chronicle a hierarchy of castes in Bengal. The Brahma Vaivarta Purana, notable for a very late Bengali recension c. 14/15th century, notes "Paundrakas" to be the son of a Vaisya father and Sundini mother but it is unknown if the groups are connect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a avarna, fifth varna, also known by the name of ''Panchama''. Dalits now profess various religious beliefs, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam. Scheduled Castes is the official term for Dalits as per the Constitution of India. History The term ''Dalit'' is a self-applied concept for those called the "untouchables" and others that were outside of the traditional Hindu caste hierarchy. Economist and reformer B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) said that untouchability came into Indian society around 400 CE, due to the struggle for supremacy between Buddhism and Historical Vedic religion, Brahmanism (an ancient term for Brahmanical Hinduism). Some Hindu priests befriended untouchables ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourth-most populous and thirteenth-largest state by area in India, as well as the eighth-most populous country subdivision of the world. As a part of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the third-largest metropolis, and seventh largest city by population in India. West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority. The area's early history featured a succession ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brihaddharma Purana
The Brihaddharma Purana ( sa, बृहद्धर्म पुराण, ) is a Hindu religious text, which classified itself (I.25.26) as the last of the 18 Upapuranas. The extant text comprises three ''khaņḑa''s (parts): ''pūrvakhaņḑa'', ''madhyakhaņḑa'' and ''uttarakhaņḑa''. On the basis of its usage of Sanskrit words with unusual meaning and Sanskrit proverbs popular in Bengal, a number of modern scholars believe that this text was written in Bengal. According to R. C. Hazra, a modern scholar, this text was composed in the second half of the 13th century. He classified it as a non-sectarian ''Upapurana''. Content The ''pūrvakhaņḑa'' and ''madhyakhaņḑa'' of both the Asiatic Society and the Vangavasi edition have 30 chapters. While the ''uttarakhaņḑa'' of the Asiatic Society edition comprises 14 chapters, the Vangavasi edition comprises 21 chapters and R. C. Hazra considers these additional 7 chapters (15-21) as the essential part of the text. ''Pūr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri Gupta; the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Skandagupta. The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others.Raghu Vamsa v 4.60–75 The high points of this period are the great cultural developments which took place primarily during the reigns of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Many Hindu epics and literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pala Empire
The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffix ''Pāla'' ("protector" in Prakrit). The empire was founded with the election of Gopāla as the emperor of Gauda in late eighth century AD. The Pala stronghold was located in Bengal and eastern Bihar, which included the major cities of Gauḍa, Vikramapura, Pāṭaliputra, Monghyr, Somapura, Ramavati (Varendra), Tāmralipta and Jaggadala. The Pālas were astute diplomats and military conquerors. Their army was noted for its vast war elephant corps. Their navy performed both mercantile and defensive roles in the Bay of Bengal. At its zenith under emperors Dharmapala and Devapala in the early ninth century, the Pala empire extended their dominance into the northern Indian region, with its territory stretching across the Gangetic pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahma Vaivarta Purana
The ''Brahmavaivarta Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्मवैवर्त पुराण; ) is a voluminous Sanskrit text and a major Purana (''Maha-purana'') of Hinduism. It is an important Vaishnavism text. This Purana majorly centers around the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. Although a version may have existed in late 1st millennium CE, its extant version was likely composed in the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent. Later, it was likely revised somewhere in South India. Numerous versions of this Purana exist and are claimed to be the part of manuscripts of the ''Brahmavaivarta Purana'' or the ''Brahmakaivarta Purana''. The text is notable for identifying Krishna as the supreme reality and asserting that all gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Ganesha are one and the same and in fact, all are the incarnations of Krishna. Goddesses like Radha, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Savitri are asserted to be equivalent and are mentioned as the incarnations of Prakruti in thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Hope Risley
Sir Herbert Hope Risley (4 January 1851 – 30 September 1911) was a British ethnographer and colonial administrator, a member of the Indian Civil Service who conducted extensive studies on the tribes and castes of the Bengal Presidency. He is notable for the formal application of the caste system to the entire Hindu population of British India in the 1901 census, of which he was in charge. As an exponent of scientific racism, he used the ratio of the width of a nose to its height to divide Indians into Aryan and Dravidian races, as well as seven castes. Risley was born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1851 and attended New College, Oxford University prior to joining the Indian Civil Service (ICS). He was initially posted to Bengal, where his professional duties engaged him in statistical and ethnographic research, and he soon developed an interest in anthropology. His decision to indulge these interests curtailed his initial rapid advancement through the ranks of the Servi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandala
Chandala ( sa, चांडाल, caṇḍāla) is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, traditionally considered to be untouchable. A female member of this caste is known as a ''Caṇḍālī''. History Varṇa was a hierarchical social order in ancient India, based on the Vedas. Since the Vedic corpus constitute the earliest literary source, it came to be seen as the origin of caste society. In this view of caste, ''varṇas'' were created on a particular occasion and have remained virtually unchanged. In this ordering of society, notions of purity and pollution were central, and activities were delineated in this context. ''Varṇa'' divides the society into four groups ordered in a hierarchy; beyond these, outside the system, lies a fifth group known as the ''untouchables'', of which the Chandala became a constituent part. The first mention of the fourfold ''varṇa'' division is found in the later ''Rigveda''. Vedi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bagdi Caste
The Bagdis are indigenous people descended from people with Dravidian links found in the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh who were associated with professions like cultivating and fishing.Roy, Milan. "SITUATING SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF BAGDI CASTE IN BENGAL." ''CASTE, GENDER AND MEDIA: SIGNIFICANT SOCIOLOGICAL TRENDS IN INDIA'': 102. The Bagdis are populous in Bankura, Birbhum and other districts in the western fringe of West Bengal. The Bagdis are one of the most numerous Scheduled castes of West Bengal. History J.N Bhattacharya described the Bagdis as an aboriginal tribe, who were fishermen, woodcutters, and litter carriers. The bagdis were also known as the ''criminal tribe'' of Bengal under Criminal Tribes Act of the British. Population and Literacy Data The Bagdis numbered 2,740,385 in West Bengal in the 2001 Indian census and were 14.9 percent of the scheduled caste population of West Bengal. 47.7 percent of the Bagdis were literate – 60.4 percent males and 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskritisation
Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper castes. It is a process similar to "passing" in sociological terms. This term was made popular by Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas in the 1950s. In a broader sense, also called Brahmanisation, it is a historical process in which "local" Indian religious traditions become syncretised, or aligned to and absorbed within the Brahmanical religion, resulting in the pan-Indian religion of Hinduism. Definition Srinivas defined ''Sanskritisation'' as a process by which In a broader sense, Sanskritisation is In this process, local traditions ("little traditions") become integrated into the "great tradition" of Brahmanical religion, disseminating Sanskrit texts and Brahmanical ideas throughout India, and abroad. This facilitated the devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scheduled Castes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designated in one or other of the categories. For much of the period of British rule in the Indian subcontinent, they were known as the Depressed Classes. In modern literature, the ''Scheduled Castes'' are sometimes referred to as Dalit, meaning "broken" or "dispersed", having been popularised by B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956), a Dalit himself, an economist, reformer, chairman of the Constituent Assembly of India, and Dalit leader during the independence struggle. Ambedkar preferred the term Dalit to Gandhi's term, Harijan, meaning "person of Hari/Vishnu" (or Man of God). In September 2018, the government "issued an advisory to all private satellite channels asking them to 'refrain' from using the nomenclature 'Dalit'", though "rights groups and i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Groups Of Odisha
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from the Latin word ''socii'' ("allies"). It is particularly derived from the Italian ''Socii'' states, historical allies of the Roman Republic (although they rebelled against Rome in the Social War of 91–87 BC). Social theorists In the view of Karl MarxMorrison, Ken. ''Marx, Durkheim, Weber. Formations of modern social thought'', human beings are intrinsically, necessarily and by definition social beings who, beyond being "gregarious creatures", cannot survive and meet their needs other than through social co-operation and association. Their social characteristics are therefore to a large extent an objectively given fact, stamped on them from birth and affirmed by socialization processes; and, according to Marx, in producing and reproducin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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