Vokkaliga

Vokkaliga (also transliterated as Vokkaligar, Vakkaliga, Wakkaliga, Okkaligar, Okkiliyan) is a community, or a group of closely-related castes, from the Indian state of Karnataka. They are also present in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.

As a community of warriors and cultivators they have historically had notable demographic, political, and economic dominance in Old Mysore (region). It is believed by some historians that the Rashtrakutas:"The community of the land tillers or agriculturists was known as vokkaligas. The importance given to the cultivation of land is amply demonstrated by the fact that numerous tanks were dug and irrigational facilities
were provided at various places. Some of the Rashtrakuta inscriptions found in the Banavasimandala carry the depiction of a plough at the top. There is a view that the
Rashtrakutas were originally prosperous cultivators, who later on dominated the political scene. Some of the inscriptions refer to them as Kutumbinah which is interpreted as meaning cultivators." and Western Gangas were of Vokkaliga origin. The Vokkaligas occupied administrative positions in the Vijayanagara Empire. They later formed the early rulers of the Nayakas of Keladi. The Vokkaligas had the most families in the ruling classes of the 17th century when the Arasu caste of the Wodeyars was created to exclude them.:"In the 17th Century, Chikkadevaraja created the Urs caste and classified it into 31 clans. Of these, 13 clans were deemed superior, while the remaining 18 were placed lower in the hierarchy. This latter comprised ruling families in the domain he was rapidly expanding. The most populous caste in this region, the Gowdas (the caste name Vokkaliga was later affixed to it during the British Census), clearly had more families in the ruling classes. But that did not deter Chikkadevaraja from omitting them from the new caste of 'Urs' that he had created.":"The royal house came from an extremely small group, the Arasus (Urs), which claimed warrior (Kshatriya) status but were viewed by the state's two largest landowning castes, the Lingayats and the Vokkaligas, as an inferior cowherd (Yadava) caste." Under the Kingdom of Mysore they operated autonomously and also served in the army and militia. The Vokkaligas formed the landed-gentry: "Vokkaligas are the landed gentry and the agriculturist caste of Karnataka." and warrior class of Karnataka.

Most subsects of the Vokkaliga community are designated as Forward castes by the Central Government of India. While some subsects in rural areas, are designated as Other Backward Class by the Karnataka Government.:"Not all 115 sub-sects of the Vokkaliga community have been included under OBC. As a result, many sub-sects are deprived of government benefits. All sub-sects must be included under OBC and we must campaign for this,campaign for this," the statement said. The pontiff also said that Vokkaligas in urban areas were in dire straits and they needed more reservation. At present, some 20 sub-sects of Vokkaligas come under Category 3A with a 4 per cent reservation in Karnataka.

Vokkaligas commonly carry titles such as Gowda, Hegde and Gounder.:”The community has titles viz. Gowda, Gowdar, Gounder and Kounder.”

Etymology

Vokkaliga

Vokkaliga is a Kannada-language word found in some of the earliest available literary works of the language, such as the ''Kavirajamarga'', '' Pampa Bharata'', and ''Mangaraja's Nighantu''. It has been used as an appellation for the cultivator community since time immemorial. Generally, the term has come to mean an agriculturist though various etymological derivations are available, including:
Kempe Gowda I chieftain under the Vijayanagara Empire. The city of Bengaluru was founded by Kempe Gowda in 1537.
* The word ''okka'' or ''okkalu'' is a Kannada word for a family or a clan and an ''okkaliga'' is a person belonging to such a family. This is an allusion to the totemistic exogamous clans which together form an endogamous sub group, of which there are many amongst the Vokkaligas. These clans are called Bali, Bedagu, Kutumba, Gotra or simply Okkalu all of which mean ''family''. They are named after their progenitor, primary occupation or in most cases after various birds, animals or objects.
* ''Okkalutana'' in Kannada means agriculture
* Alternate etymologies include , which means "threshing" in Kannada, and means someone from a family that threshes

Gowda

According to historian Suryanath U. Kamath, the word ''Gowda'' derives from ''Gavunda''. The German Indologist Gustav Oppert opined that the root of ‘Gowda’ is a Dravidian word meaning "mountain".

The term "Gowda" and its archaic forms in Old Kannada such as ''Gamunda'', ''Gavunda'', ''Gavuda'', appear frequently in the inscriptions of Karnataka. The '' Epigraphia Carnatica'' is replete with references to land grants, donations to temples, hero-stones (''Veeragallu''), stone edicts and copper plates dating back to the age of the Western Ganga Dynasty (est. 350 CE) and earlier. The Gavundas were landlords that collected taxes and rendered military service to the Kings. Noboru Karashima says the Gavundas had functions corresponding to that of the Chola Vellala Nattars.:"They are, for example, Gavunda chiefs and heggade revenue officers vis-à-vis the Chola Vellala nattars; kalnad military tenure vis-à-vis padai-parru or parigraham tenure in the Chola state" The majority of the gavundas were derived from the Vokkaligas; but by the 10th century, the term gavunda also came to denote chiefship of a community or group and was adopted by the heads of other communities assimilated into the early medieval state.

The Vokkaligas of Tamil Nadu use ''Gowdar'' and ''Gounder'' as their surname. The Tamil origins to the word ''Gounder'' claim its derivation from ''kavundan'' or ''kamindan'' (one who watches over).

Whether the name ''Gauda/Gowda'' is an allusion to the Gauḍa region or not has not been conclusively proved.

Subgroups

The term Vokkaliga was used to refer to Canarese cultivators. Vokkaliga community has several sub-groups within its fold such as Gangadhikara, Namdhari Vokkaliga, Morasu Vokkaliga, Kunchitiga, Halikkar(Palikkar) Vokkaliga, Reddy Vokkaliga, Gounder, Tulu Gowda. etc.:"'Okkalu' means cultivation or agriculture. The main sub-divisions are 'Morasu Vokkaliga', 'Ganga- dikara Vokkaliga', Kudu Vokkaliga, Kunchitiga, Hallikar(Pallikar) Vokkaliga, Namdhari Vokkaliga, Reddy Vokkaliga, Telugu Vokkaliga, Sarpa Vokkaliga, Uppinakolagada Vokkaliga, Mustiku Vokkaliga, Kapu Vokkaliga, Pakanatha Reddy Vokkaliga, Nadashetty Vokkaliga, Gowdas, Gounder and Vokkaliga Hegde."

Exogamy at the family/clan level is strictly controlled by using the idiom of Mane Devaru (the patron god of the given exogamic clan) which dictates that the followers of same ''Mane Devaru'' are siblings and marriage is thus forbidden, allowing marital alliances only with another clan and not within.

Gangadikara Vokkaliga

The Gangadikara Vokkaligas, also known as the Gangatkars are numerically the largest among the Vokkaliga. The Gangadikaras are mostly found in the Mysore, Mandya, Chamarajnagar, Hassan, Bangalore, Ramanagara and Tumkur districts of Karnataka. Gangawadi was the name for the area covering these districts, ruled over by the Western Ganga Dynasty and Gangadikara is a contraction of the term Gangawadikara (A man of Gangawadi). According to Burton Stein and L. K. Iyer the Ganga rulers were Gangadikara Vokkaliga chiefs.:"Indeed, the very lacklustre of the Ganga rulers who preceded the Cholas and Hoysalas suggests that they were essentially peasant chiefs who neither sought nor managed to break their ties with the dominant peasant folk of the territory. That peasantry still identifies itself with the ancient Ganga designation; they are called, garigadikaras who in 1891 comprised forty-four per cent of the total population of the land-controlling peasantry of Mysore State (i.e. Vokkaligas). Gangadikara is a slight contraction of the term gangavadikara, ‘men of the Ganga country’.":"The Gangadikara seem to be a more recent stratum, whose name reminds us of the Ganga-kings, who ruled in Mysore in the 10th century. We may regard their connections with the former ancient ruling house as very similar to those of the Arasu, the present-day aristocracy of Mysore, with the present- day ruling family. " The Gangadikara Gowdas claim to be descendants of the erstwhile Ganga rulers. The administrative setup of Gangas vested power in the Ooru Gauda, Nadu Gauda, Pergade (archaic for Hegde, Pergade->Peggade->Heggade) and so on, at various levels of administration and apart from administrative duties, the Gauda was expected to raise militia when called for.

The Gangadikaras and other Vokkaligas were considered analogous to the Vellalar Chieftains of Tamil Country. They are Deccan Kshatriyas corresponding to Marathas of Maharashtra. The Gangadikaras and the Kongu Vellalars could possibly share a common origin.:"The Gangadikara peasantry of Gangavadi appears to have been more significantly linked to the Kongu peasantry to the south than to peasant peoples in the central and northern parts of medieval Karnataka. Similarly, the Marasu Vokkaligas of eastern Bangalore and central and southern Kolar districts appear to have been linked to Tondaimandalam" In fact, the word ''Konga'' is the Tamil equivalent for ''Ganga''.

The Gangadikaras have two primary sections – the Bujjanige (or Dhaare Shastradavaru) and the Pettige (or Veelyada Shastradavaru) based on differences in rituals performed during the wedding ceremony. They can be Shaiva or Vaishnava in religious affiliation (called Mullu and Dasa sects). Cheluru Gangadikaras (also called Chelaru), another small sub-sect, are said to be strictly vegetarian, a vestige of the times when the Gangas followed Jainism. Oral traditions of the people maintain that after the decline of the Ganga power they reverted to Hinduism retaining certain Jain practices. The Gangadikara Vokkaligas have as many as 40 ''kulas'', exogamous clans, known in Kannada as ''Bedagu''.

Morasu Vokkaliga

The border regions of Karnataka around modern-day Bangalore, Tumkur and Hosur was known as Morasu-nadu and was dominated by Morasu Vokkaligas.

The chief endogamous divisions of the Morasu Vokkaligas are Morasu proper, Musuku, Palyada sime and Reddy. They speak both Kannada and Telugu. Telugu is restricted to the two sections of Reddy and Palyada Sime. The usual caste titles are Gowda for the Kannada section and Reddy for the Telugu section.

Many Palegars belonged to the Musuku group. The Palegars of Devanhalli, Dodballapur, Yelahanka, Magadi, Hoskote, Kolar, Anekal and Koratagere were Morasu Vokkaligas. The famous Kempe Gowda I, the founder of Bangalore City, was the most distinguished of the Palegars of Magadi. The family of Kempe Gowda migrated from Kanchi in the 15th century. The Devanahalli Fort was built by Malla Bhaire Gowda to immortalise Bhaire Gowda, the headman of one of the seven clans that migrated from Kanchi.

Burton Stein noted a link between Morasu Vokkaligas and the Thondaimandala Vellala.

Kunchitiga Vokkaliga

Kunchitigas are concentrated mostly in Tumkur, Chitradurga, Bangalore and Mysore. They are also found in Salem, Coimbatore and Theni districts of Tamil Nadu. They were traditionally agriculturists and were known for being a successful and enterprising group.:"A good proportion of them are also educated and occupy a responsible place in society. They call themselves Kunchitigas or Kunchati Vokkalu"

Namdhari Vokkaligas

The Namdhari Vokkaliga is the oldest and second largest Vokkaliga sub-group and are concentrated in Malenadu. The Namdharis were Jains who converted to Vaishnavism along with their Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana and are followers of Sri Ramanujacharya.

The Hoysalas were possibly of Namdhari Vokkaliga origin. Historians refer to the founders of the Hoysala dynasty as natives of Malenadu based on numerous inscriptions calling them ''Maleparolganda'' or "Lord of the Male (hills) chiefs" (''Malepas'').Rice B.L. in Kamath (2001), p123Keay (2000), p251Quotation:"The home of the Hoysalas lay in the hill tracts to the north-west of Gangavadi in Mysore" (Sen 1999, p498)Thapar (2003), p367Stien (1989), p16Natives of south Karnataka (Chopra 2003, p150 Part 1) Some historians believe Hoysala originated from Sosevuru (Modern Angadi, Mudigere taluk).The Hoysalas originated from Sosevuru, identified as modern Angadi in Mudigere taluk (Kamath 2001, p123)An indigenous ruling family of Karnataka from Sosevuru (modern Angadi) (Ayyar 1993, p600) Hoysalas also strongly supported Kannada language.Ayyar (2006), p. 600Pollock (2006), p. 288–289However by the 14th century, bilingual inscriptions lost favor and inscriptions were mostly in the local language (Thapar 2003, pp393–95) The early Hoysala chiefs had alliances with the Western Ganga DynastySeetharam Jagirdhar, M.N. Prabhakar, B.S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar in Kamath (2001), p123 and claimed to be heirs to the Gangas. Several of the major feudatories of the Hoysalas were Vokkaligas.

Hallikkar Vokkaliga

Hallikkar Vokkaligas or Pallikar Vokkaligas are a subsect of Vokkaligas. They were mainly engaged in the rearing of cattle. According to M. N. Srinivas, the Hallikar were related to the Gollas and Kurubas. The namesake is the best in the far-famed Amrit Mahal cattle.:"Hallikara Vokkaligas.—This is a section that is mainly engaged in the rearing of cattle. The breed of that name is the best in the far-famed Amrut Mahal Cattle."

Tulu and Kodagu Vokkaliga

Tulu and Arebhase Gowda (Gauda) are the subsect of the Vokkaliga community located primarily in the South Canara District, Kodagu District, Indian state of Karnataka and Bandadka village of Kasaragod, Kerala State. They are said to have 10 Kutumba and 18 Bari as their primordial root families, from which a Nūru Mane or "hundred families" arose.

Jogi (Jogi Vokkaliga)

Jogi Vokkaligas are mostly found in parts of Chitradurga, Shivamogga, Tumkur and Mandya districts. They worship Bhairava. They were the teachers (mattpati) of Adichunchanagiri matt during its early days. The Jogi are disciples of yoga and traditionally wear saffron-colored clothing.

Nonaba Vokkaliga

They were residents of the ancient Kingdom of Nonambavadi which was ruled by the Pallavas up till 10th century A.D. The Pallavas also called themselves as Nonambadhi Raja, Nonamba Pallava, Pallavadhi Raja, etc. This section of the Vokkaligas are Lingayats by faith. In most respects, they follow the same customs as the Gangadhikara Vokkaligas.

Sadars

They are Vokkaligas found chiefly in the Shimoga and Chitradurga Districts. They were originally Jains, though many converted to the Lingayat and Hindu faiths. The Hindus worship both Siva and Vishnu, while the Jains worship the Jain Tirthankaras and Hindu Gods as well. The non-Lingayats, are divided into
Huvvinavaru ("Those of flowers") and Hongeyavaru ("Those of the Honge Mara"). Sadas had a high social status due to their strict vegetarianism and total abstinence. They have the usual Kattemane form of caste organization. The use the caste title Gowda.

Varna Classification

The varna system of Brahmanic ritual ranking never really took hold in South Indian society. The two intermediate dvija varnas—the Kshatriyas:”In addition the three way ' caste division (Brahman, non - Brahman, Untouchable) seems particularly prominent here. There are no recognized 'Ksatriya' jatis anywhere in the south, and the three states (in contrast to the more inequalitarian hierarchies of Tamil Nadu and Kerala) are characterized by the dominance of large peasant jatis with landholding rights who historically supplied many of the zamindars and rulers but remained classed remained classed as 'Shudra' in the varna scheme.”:”In the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is recorded that “the term Kshatriya is, of course, wholly inapplicable to the Dravidian races, who might with as much, perhaps more, accuracy call themselves Turks.” and Vaishyas—did not exist.

James Manor said that

There were essentially three classes: Brahmin, non-Brahmin and Dalit.:"Aside from Brahmans and Rajputs, few actual caste groups could be readily correlated with varna distinctions and few of these castes could be found across wide parts of India. Dominant caste groups in most regions were specific to those regions, as for example the Marathas of Bombay, the Vellalars of Madras, and the Vokkaligas of Mysore. Even the assumption that occupational differentiation provided both the most ready key to caste distinction and the most usable measure of caste significance for imperial purposes flew in the face of the recognition that formal caste titles only rarely indicated true occupation" Vokkaligas were considered non-Brahmin upper-castes.:"Urs also reduced the proportion of upper caste Lingayat and Vokkaliga aspirants to the state government of the Congress ticket":"Women belonging to upper caste like Kshatriya, Lingayats, Vokkaliga caste groups are increasingly represented in modern occupations ":"The Shudra castes like Kamma and Reddy (Andhra Pradesh), Vokkaliga and Lingayat (Karnataka), Thewar and Vanniyar (Tamil Nadu), Maratha (Maharashtra) and Patels (Gujarat) are described as upper castes."

Quoting Gail Omvedt

Therefore Vokkaligas along with other ruling castes like Bunts, Marathas and Nairs were classified as "Upper shudra"/"Sat shudra" during the British Raj. This ritual status was not accepted by the Vokkaligas and was misleading as historically, dominant land-holding castes like the Vokkaligas, Vellalars and Reddys belonged to the ruling classes and were analogous to the Kshatriyas of the Brahmanical society.

Economy

Before the 20th century Vokkaligas were the landed gentry and agricultural caste of Karnataka. Despite the community enjoying the status of chieftains and zamindars, there were also a lot of small landholding farmers. They, along with the Lingayats, owned most of the cultivated land in the state. Therefore they were considered forward castes and dominant-majority communities. In 1961, Karnataka passed a new Land Reforms Act under the then Revenue minister and idealist Kadidal Manjappa (a Vokkaliga). This was followed by another Land Reform Act passed in 1973 by Ex-Chief Minister Devaraj Urs. These acts redistributed land from the Vokkaliga landlords to the landless and land-poor.

Notable People

Notable people belonging to Vokkaliga community:

Agriculture

* M. H. Marigowda, Indian horticulturist

Business

* R. Dayananda Sagar, Indian Businessman from Karnataka
* Raja Bagmane, Indian Businessman from Karnataka
* V. G. Siddhartha (born 1959), Indian Businessman from Karnataka

Film

* Akshara Gowda (born 1991), Indian actress from Karnataka
* Ambareesh (born 1952 as Huche Gowda Amarnath) Indian politician and actor from Karnataka
* Bhavya Gowda (born 1983), Indian model from Karnataka
* Devaraj (born 1953), Indian Actor from Karnataka
* Ere Gowda, Indian Kannada film director from Karnataka
* Jaggesh (born 1963 as Eshwar Gowda), Indian Kannada actor from Karnataka
* K. C. N. Gowda ( 1928–2012), Indian Kannada film producer and film distributor
* Pallavi Gowda (born 1993), Indian actress from Karnataka
* Rachita Ram, Indian actress from Karnataka
* Ramya (actress) (born 1982), Indian actress & politician from Karnataka
* Ravishankar Gowda, Indian actor from Karnataka
* Sheela Gowda (born 1957), Indian artist from Karnataka
* Vajramuni (born 1944), Indian actor & producer from Karnataka
* Yash (born Naveen Kumar Gowda), Indian actor from Karnataka

Historical Figures and Rulers

* Kempe Gowda I (1510–1569), Founder of Bengaluru & feudatory ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, now Karnataka, India

Law

* Venkate Gopala Gowda (born 1951), Indian Supreme court judge

Literature

* H. L. Nage Gowda (1915–2005), Indian Kannada folklorist and author
* Kuvempu (born 1904), Indian poet from Karnataka
* Shilpi Somaya Gowda (born 1970), Canadian novelist
* Poornachandra Tejaswi (born 1938), Indian writer and novelist from Karnataka

Politics

* C. T. Ravi, Indian politician from Karnataka
* C. P. Yogeshwara, Indian politician from Karnataka
* D. B. Chandre Gowda (born 1936), Indian politician from Karnataka
* D. K. Shivakumar (born 1962), Indian politician from Karnataka
* D. V. Sadananda Gowda (born 1953), Indian politician from Karnataka
* H. D. Deve Gowda (born 1933), Indian politician from Karnataka
* H. D. Kumaraswamy (born 1959 as Haradanahalli Devegowda Kumaraswamy Gowda), Indian politician from Karnataka
* Javare Gowda (1915–2016), Indian Kannada author
* Kadidal Manjappa (born 1908), Indian politician from Karnataka
* K. Chidananda Gowda, Indian computer scientist
* Kengal Hanumanthaiah (born 1908), Indian politician from Karnataka
* Krishna Byre Gowda (born 1973), Indian politician from Karnataka
* M. J. Appaji Gowda (died 2020), Indian politician
* Maritibbe Gowda, Karnataka politician
* N. H. Gouda, (1938–1992), Indian politician from Karnataka
* Narayana Gowda, Indian politician from Karnataka
* R. Ashoka, Indian politician from Karnataka
* Rajeev Gowda, Indian politician and academic from Karnataka
* Ramachandra Gowda, Indian politician from Karnataka
* Sadananda Gowda, Indian politician from Karnataka
* Shantaveri Gopala Gowda (1923–1972), Indian politician from Karnataka
* S. M. Krishna (born 1932), Indian politician from Karnataka
* Tejashwini Gowda (born 1966), Indian politician from Karnataka
* Tulsi Gowda, Indian environmentalist
* K. Venkatagiri Gowda (born 1923), Indian Economist & politician from Karnataka

Sports

* Girisha Nagarajegowda (born 1988), Indian Paralympic athlete known as Girish N. Gowda
* Vikas Gowda (born 1983), Indian athlete

See also

* Kannada people
* Adichunchanagiri Hills

References

{{reflist

Hindu communities
Social groups of Karnataka