The Kirar is 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 ...

agricultural caste whose traditional occupation is cultivation. They originated in Kiserkot of

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

and migrated to different parts of India. Singh noted that, they were a similar group like Kol and

Bhil Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of the s ...

, and lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Now they have settled down in different areas where

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

is their main occupation. Kirar has three subgroups: Karod, Dhakad and Dharod Kirar. In local caste hierarchy they come next to Brahmin, Jain and Rajput. They accept food from the upper castes however the upper castes do not accept food from Kirar. The Kirar are educationally backward. In 1966, the All India Kirar Samaj Sangh was established. The organization promotes community members' financial well-being and benefits. They have submitted a memorandum requesting that they be added to the list of

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 designa ...

. The Kirars are classified as

Other Backward Class The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...

es (OBCs) category in the Indian states of

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 ...

, and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

Notable people

Shivraj Singh Chouhan Shivraj Singh Chouhan (born 5 March 1959), is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the 17th and current Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, having been elected to the same position 3 times in the past, and a Member ...

, incumbent Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh *

Thakur Malkhan Singh Thakur Malkhan Singh (24 November 1889 – 24 January 1962) was a noted politician, educationist, lawyer and freedom fighter during the Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with th ...

* Muskan Kirar

References

Indian castes Social groups of Rajasthan Social groups of Madhya Pradesh {{India-ethno-stub