The Kashyap Rajput or Kashyap are a
caste
A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
in India. They are sometimes called the Koshyal or Kanshilya.
History
''Kashyap'' is originally one of the eight primary
gotras (clans) of the
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
s, being derived from
Kashyapa, the name of a
rishi
In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...
(hermit) from whom the eponymous gotra Brahmins believe to have descended. The Brahmanical clan system was later emulated by people as an early example of the
sanskritisation process. In more recent times, the All-India Kashyap Rajput Mahasabha pressure group was established prior to the 1941 census of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
to lobby the census authorities to record the caste as ''Kashyap Rajput'' rather than by any other name.
Kashyap communities
There were proposals in 2013 that some or all of the communities related to Kashyap in the state should be reclassified as
Scheduled Castes under India's
system of positive discrimination; this would have involved declassifying them from the
Other Backwards Class category. Whether or not this would happen was a significant issue in the campaign for the
2014 Indian general election.
They are among 17 OBC communities that were again proposed for Scheduled Caste status by the
Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
-controlled
Government of Uttar Pradesh. However, this proposal, which relates to
votebank politics, has been stayed by the courts; the prior attempt had been rejected by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
.
See also
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Kashyap (surname)
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{refend
Other Backward Classes
Social groups of Uttar Pradesh