Bhaiband, meaning “brotherhood”, are a

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 ...

jāti ''Jāti'' is the term traditionally used to describe a cohesive group of people in the Indian subcontinent, like a tribe, community, clan, sub-clan, or a religious sect. Each Jāti typically has an association with an occupation, geography or t ...

within the Sindhi caste of India and Pakistan.

History

The

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

region was ruled by various Muslim dynasties from 711 until the conquest by 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, ...

in 1843, when it became a part of Bombay Presidency. During that period, Hindus were a significant minority of the population although accurate figures continued to be unavailable until after 1947. Mark-Anthony Falzon notes that, "Due to the shifting criteria of categorisation and the complex politics of census in general, the decennial colonial censuses of pre-independence Sindh must be read with caution." Of these Hindus, most were broadly designated as members of the Lohana

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

, with the exceptions being those considered to be Bhatias or

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

s. Although some now considered to be

Vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four Varna (Hinduism), varnas of the Hinduism, Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly ...

in the Hindu ritual ranking system known as

varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

, the Lohanas trace their origin as members of the

Lohana Lohana, also referred to as Loharana, Thakkar and Lohrana, are an Indian trading or mercantile ''jāti''. Lohanas claim to be descendants of the Lava, son of Rama, and to descend from the Raghuvanshi dynasty.Lachaier, Pierre. "Cérémonies D'hom ...

varna from Raghuvanshi clan. Among the Lohana jatis - a social grouping based on birth and kinship - are the Bhaibands, who by the time of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

were held in a lesser useful than the

Amil Amil Kahala Whitehead (born September 19, 1973) is an American former rapper and singer. She was prominent in the late 1990s as a Jay-Z protégé, and recorded the single " Can I Get A..." with him for the '' Rush Hour'' soundtrack. Amil's d ...

subgroup of Lohanas but who were the wealthiest as a result of their mobility and participation in trade. Although most of the Bhaibands around

Nawabshah Nawabshah ( sd, نوابشاھ, ur, ) is a tehsil and headquarters of the Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the 27th largest city in Pakistan. Nawabshah Teh ...

Tando Adam Khan Tando Adam ( ur, ; sd, ٽنڊو آدم) is a city in Sindh, Pakistan. It was formerly under Nawab Shah district (now known as Shaheed Benazir Abad District) until 1955 and later became part of Sanghar District. It is the 57th largest city ...

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

in Sindh were ancestral Zamindaar and

Jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

dars. They were also known for their fierce attitude and very well respected in surrounding Muslim population. Falzon considers their trade-sourced wealth to be their "distinguishing characteristic" among the Hindus of Sindh. Although it was generally uncommon, there was intermarriage between Amils, Bhaibands and another Lohana jati, the Sahitis. The ritual prohibitions of caste, such as restrictions on eating and worshipping together, permeate life in south India but did not play a great role in the life of Sindhis. Nonetheless, a hierarchy existed and, according to Falzon, "still today, Bhaibands are seen by Amils as unpolished, having poor aesthetic tastes, and given to vulgar displays of wealth". While Bhaibands always saw Amils as subservient to rulers or government and doubt their own ability to be rich and successful.

References

Notes Citations

History

See also

References

Further reading