The Rautia is a caste found in the states of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

Chhatishgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. They were agriculturalist, estate holder and militia under Nagvanshi kings of Chotanagpur.

History and origin

According to their traditions, the community helped and protect

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 ...

prince, who as a reward had given lands in

Lohardaga Lohardaga is a town and the district headquarters of Lohardaga district in the Indian state of Jharkhand, west of Ranchi, the state capital. Earlier (early 1900s) Lohardaga was the commissionary headquarters for Chotanagpur. It was only lat ...

Jashpur Jashpur District is a district of the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh bordering Jharkhand and Odisha. Jashpur Nagar is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district was formerly a princely state before Indpendence. Highly mou ...

territory. They were agriculturalist, estate holder and militia under the Nagvanshi kings of Chotanagpur. In 1812 Jagirdar

Bakhtar Say Bakhtar Say was an Indian freedom fighter. He was Jagirdar of Basudev Kona. He had fought against East India Company force in 1812 along with Parganait of Pahar Panri Mundal Singh. Early life Bakhtar Say was born in Nawagarh in Raidih block of ...

along with Parganait

Mundal Singh Mundal Singh was an Indian freedom fighter. He was Parganait of Pahar Pani. He and Jagirdar of Basudev Kona Bakhtar Say had fought against East India Company force in 1812. Early life Mundal Singh was born in Pahar Pani village of Gumla district i ...

rebelled against excessive tax imposition. They killed tax collector send by Nagvanshi king Govind Nath Shah and defeated an

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

force. Later they were defeated by company force, captured and hanged in Kolkata.

Subdivision

Rautia have three subdivision Barki, Majhli, Chhotki. The subdivision is based on purity of descent. Barki are of pure descent. Majhli and Chhotki subdivision are descendants of Rautia father and mother of other castes. Offspring were admitted to Majhli group if mother was from Kanwar, Gond and other respectable caste. Offsprings of Rautia father and women from untouchable caste such as Ganda and Ghasia caste were admitted to Chhotki group.

Present circumstances

They speak the Sadri dialect of

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

. They have titles like Ganjhu, Baraik, Kotwar, Sai and Singh. The Rautia are divided into three sub-groups, the Bargohri or pure Rautia, the Majhgohri and chhot gohri. This is also divided into gotras (subdivision): Barwan (wild dog), Baghel (tiger), Bira (hawk), Jogi, Kansi (Kans grass), Katwar, Kharakwar, Kharsyal (deer), Khumbhoj, Kumhar (potter), Lathoor, Majhi, Nag (Cobra), Rukhi (Squirrel), Sand (bull), Sonwani (gold water) etc. Marriage is forbidden within same clan and allowed within different clans. These groups are endogamous, with the former considering itself superior over the other. It is said that the Majhli and Chhotki were the descendants of Rautia fathers and mothers of other castes. Traditionally and primarily they are cultivators. They also gather fruits and tubers from the jungles nearby. A small number have begun to emigrate to towns and cities such as Ranchi.

Culture

The traditional festivals of Rautia are Karam,

Jitiya Jitiya (also called Jivitputrika) is a three-day-long Hindu festival which is celebrated from the seventh to ninth lunar day of Krishna-Paksha in Ashwin month. It is celebrated mainly in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand ...

Nawakhani Nawakhani is harvest festival of of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In this festival people eat new grain of rice after harvesting. Etymology Nawakhani means ''eating new''. Nawa means ''New'' and Khani means ''eat''. It signify eating new g ...

and Diwali. The traditional dances of Rautia are

Jhumar Jhumar or Jhoomar (also called Ghumbar in Sandalbar area) is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Multan and Balochistan, also thrived in Sandalbar areas (Faisal abad, Jhang, Chiniot, Nankana Sahib, Toba Tek Singh districts) ...

Domkach Domkach or Damkach is a folk dance of Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand. In Bihar, Domkach dance is performed in Mithila and Bhojpur regions. In Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. Wi ...

and

Paiki Paiki (also known as Painki and Paika) is a Sadani Nagpuri martial folk dance of the Chotanagpur plateau region of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In the dance, people wear dhoti, a turban with peacock feathers in it. They hold sword in the ...

Official classification

Rautia are included in list of

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, ...

in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In 2016, The Dr Ram Dayal Munda Tribal Research Institute recommend inclusion of Rautia caste in

Schedule Tribe 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 design ...

list. According to TRI, Rautia have primitive features, distinctive culture and are backward in social, educational and economical aspects. The

Government of Jharkhand The Government of Jharkhand also known as the State Government of Jharkhand, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Jharkhand and its 24 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Gove ...

had sent the proposal to the

Ministry of Tribal Affairs The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, a branch of Government of India, looks after the affairs of the tribal communities in India by providing educational scholarships, grants to create more health infrastructure in tribal communities and direct cash ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. But the proposal have not approved yet by Government of India.

References

{{reflist Social groups of Bihar Social groups of Madhya Pradesh Indian castes Social groups of Jharkhand Social groups of Odisha