The Kalwar, Kalal or Kalar are an

Indian caste The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mug ...

historically found in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

, Jammu & Kashmir and other parts of north and central India. The caste is traditionally associated with the distillation and selling of

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

, but around the start of the 20th century assorted Kalwar caste organisations sought to leave that trade and redefine their community through

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 ...

process.

History

Because their hereditary occupation of distilling and selling liquor was considered degrading, the Kalals held a very low status in the traditional

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 ...

hierarchy of South Asia. This situation changed when the Kalal chief Jassa Singh rose to political power in the 18th century. Jassa Singh styled himself as Ahluwalia after the name of his native village, and established the ruling dynasty of the

Kapurthala State Kapurthala State, with its capital at Kapurthala, was a former Princely state of Punjab. Ruled by Ahluwalia Sikh rulers, spread across . According to the 1901 census the state had a population of 314,341 and contained two towns and 167 village ...

. Following Jassa Singh's rise, other

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

Kalals also adopted Ahluwalia as the name of their caste, and started giving up their traditional occupation. The regulations imposed by the colonial British administration on manufacture and sale of liquor accelerated this process, and by the early 20th century. Before the advent of the British rule, the Muslim Kalals also attempted to raise their social status by adopting the Kakezai

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

identity. Some of these Kalal-turned- Kakezais, such as the Hoshiarpur family that ruled the

Jalandhar Doab Doaba also known as Bist Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba is called "Doabi". T ...

in the 1840s, further raised their status by claiming to be high-caste Shaikhs. Sikh Kalals also claimed Khatri or Rajput origin. Kalwars in

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

were claiming themselves to be of the

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 ...

status in the 1890s. During the British rule, the Kalals took up a variety of occupations, including trade, agriculture, army service (especially the Ahluwalias), government service, and law.

References

Indian castes Social groups of Rajasthan Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Social groups of Punjab, India Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan Brewing and distilling castes {{India-ethno-stub