Baria, or Baraiya, Bareeya and Bariya is a clan ( Gotra) of the

Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...

caste found in the

Indian State India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory in India. The territory was constituted through the merger of the former territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Plans for the proposed merger were announced by t ...

. the Devgad Baria was their Stronghold or given their name to

Baria State The Baria State, also known as Bariya State, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was under the Rewa Kantha Agency of the Bombay Presidency and had its capital in Devgadh Baria town of present-day ...

in Gujarat. according to the historian Y.V.S Nath, the ruling royal family of

is original

by caste but later they claimed to be of

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

origin to be in high status among other Princely States. According to the census records of 1931, there were 1,03,769

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Baria Kolis and 5 Baria Kolis were converted to

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

in the Baroda State of Gaekwars.

Origin

The Baria Kolis got their name from the

Devgadh Baria Devgadh Baria is a municipality in Dahod district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is a small town nestled in the foothills on the eastern border of Gujarat State. It is 41 kilometers from Godhra in the west, 55 kilometers from Dahod in the ea ...

of Gujarat and it was their Stronghold as well as they were lawless and turbulent people.

Piracy

Historically, the Baria Kolis were well known pirates of Gujarat and the Piram

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

of Gujarat was stronghold of Baria Koli pirates but later they were defeated by

Mokhadaji Gohil Mokhadaji Gohil (1309–1347) was a ruler of Ghogha, near Bhavnagar in Gujarat during the mid-14th century. He was a descendant of Sejakaji Gohil of Khergadh who migrated to Saurashtra during the early 13th century. Mokhadaji Gohil was contemp ...

in 1325.

Rawal Rawal (also spelled Raval) or Raol originally is a regional variation of the Hindi princely ruler title Raja/Radjah (literally "king") used in some princely states in Rajputana and Western India (notably Gujarat), and is now also used as a caste ...

Bhavsinhji of Bhavnagar died in 1764, leaving behind him five sons, and the eldest of and these, Akherajji I, succeeded as Ruler of the State. At this juncture the fort of Talaja was in the hands of Baria Koli pirates, a ment lawless band of pirates who infested the western littoral from

Cambay Cambay, Kambay or Khambhat was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The City of Khambat (Cambay) in present-day Gujarat was its capital. The state was bounded in the north by the Kaira district and in the south by the Gulf of C ...

to the Indus. Their unjust exactions pressed so heavily upon merchants in that locality that the large trade previously carried on was almost entirely ruined, even British ships falling ment then sent

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

s, which were assisted by Rawal Akherajji and his army, and it was their combined forces which captured the stronghold of Talaja and defeated the Baria clan of Koli pirates.

History

During the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Raj in Gujarat, The Baria Kolis were holders of Vanta lands (private estates). the Bariya Kolis were formerly known as Bandits because of their anti-social activities but later settled as agriculturist in villages. Around 1950, Kolis of Baria clan joined the Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha which was started by Koli elite Natwarsinh Solanki for upliftment of Koli society. after joining the Sabha, Baria Kolis were not in conflicts against

s but Kolis of Saurashtra didn't joined the Sabha because they think that

Patidar Patidar ( Gujarati: ) is an Indian landlord and agrarian caste found mostly in Gujarat but also in at least 22 other states of India. The community comprises at multiple subcastes, most prominently the Levas and Kadvas. They form one of the ...

is not our enemy and we don't need Rajputs to be called as

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

References

{{Reflist Koli clans

External links

Feminists Rethink the Neoliberal State: Inequality, Exclusion, and Change by Leela Fernandes

Origin

Piracy

History

See also

References

External links