The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Volume 1 (of 4)Crooke, William
History
The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Volume 1 (of 4)
Crooke, William
Caste -- India -- History; Hindus -- India; Tribes -- India -- History
[The effect of the Muhammadan invasion on caste.] 8. Again, it will be
noted how many of these occupational groups have adopted Muhammadan
names. There is no name for the aggregate of the boating castes, but
Mallâh, which is Arabic. There were tailors, of course, from the
beginning of things, but they are now known as Darzi, not Sûji: the
turner must be an old handicraftsman, but his name, Kharâdi, is Arabic.
So with the Dafâli, drummer; the Mirâsi, singer; the Tawâif,
prostitute; the Rangsâz, painter; the Qalâ’igar, tinner; the Rangrez,
cotton printer, and so on. In fact, in the silence of history, we seem
to have only a faint idea of the tremendous bouleversement in Indian
society, caused by the invasions of brutal invaders like Mahmûd of
Ghazni and Shahâb-ud-din Ghori. They came like a mighty flood over the
land, and left the Hindu political and social organism a mass of ruins.
To begin with, they broke the power of the Râjput completely and drove
him from the fertile domains of the Ganges-Jumna valley to the deserts
of Râjputâna, or the forests of Oudh. It is to this stupendous event
that much of the form of modern Hindu society is due. The downfall of
the Kshatriya implied the rehabilitation of the Brâhman, and the needs
of a new race of conquerors, and of a court at no time lacking in
splendour, and with the house of Timûr rising to unexampled
magnificence, gave encouragement to the growth of new industries and
the accompanying reorganization of the caste system under a new
environment.
APPENDIX.
CLASSIFICATION OF CASTES BY TRADITIONAL OCCUPATION.
CLASS. CASTE OR TRIBE. STRENGTH.
Military and dominant Bhuînhâr 221,031
Jât 698,826
Râjput 3,633,843
Taga 128,563
---------
Total 4,682,263
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account