Bhoi

The Bhoi (also known as Kewat) are an ethnic community native to several Indian states.

In the Khurda district of Orissa, the Bhoi community are also known as Kewat and are traditionally agricultural labourers. They are classified as a Scheduled Caste in India's system of positive discrimination. Now the "Bhoi" are the most suffered community from the year 1732 when the Bhoi Dynasty King, Gajapati maharaj Ramachandra Deva was out caste from the society because he was married to a muslim girl, the supporters of the king are side lined by the society they out caste the supporters. Though there is no inscription evidence, but the "Bhoi" community is the only community which has more than 50 surnames on them and few are belongs to modern society upper caste surnames, few are Mishra, Pani, Sharma, Rout, Samal, Parida etc. This is the forgotten history of Khurda king. Now the present king of Puri, Gajapati maharaj Dibyasingh Dev IV belongs to "Bhoi Dynasty". This is the only community which has been suffering from more than 270 years. It is hard to believe for the Khurda/ Odisha people, as there are only few publications which say a few about them (Bhoi kings). The history of the Bhoi kings can be verified from the "Madala Panjee". It is obvious that the sufferings from generation to generation has changed their social, economical status in the modern society. The society has given them the life of a Schedule caste in the modern era. Who cares for them? Their occupation means that they are considered much more ritually pure than many other similarly-classified communities in the state, The history of "Bhoi Dynasty" kings can be found in the publication "The forgotten chapters of Orrisan history by PK Pattanaik, M.A., L.L.B, D.P.M. & D.C.W, Ph.D (Utkal). ^[1]

In Gujarat, their traditional occupations include acting as palanquin-bearers, fishermen and water-carriers. They are a very low-ranked caste but not so low as to be untouchable.^[2] There, according to The People of India, the community comprises various endogamous sub-groups.^[3]

According to The People of India, the Bhois of Maharashtra originally lived in Mumbai, Nashik, Dhulia, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Pune, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and Sholapur districts of Maharshtra. They now live throughout the state. After India gained independence in 1947, they were included in the list of the Nomadic tribes for Maharashtra. The 22 sub-groups of the community found there use the Ahirani language within their family and within kin groups but speak in Marathi while talking to the others.^[4]

The Bhoi are also found in Assam, where they are a Scheduled Tribe.^[5]

Notes

1. Mohanty, Ramesh P. (2003). Dalits Development and Change: An Empirical Study. Discovery Publishing House. p. vii. ISBN 978-8-17141-696-7.
2. Hockings, Paul, ed. (1987). "Untouchability, the Untouchables and Social Change in Gujarat". Dimensions of Social Life: Essays in Honor of David G. Mandelbaum. Walter de Gruyter. p. 499. ISBN 978-3-11084-685-0.
3. Ghatak, N. K. (2003). "Bhoi". In Singh, K. S. The People of India: Gujarat, Part 1. Mumbai: Popular Prakashan. pp. 239–42. ISBN 81-7991-104-7.
4. Bose, D. K. "Bhoi". In Bhanu, B. V. The People of India: Maharashtra, Vol. 30, Part 1. Mumbai: Popular Prakashan. pp. 342–348. ISBN 81-7991-100-4.
5. Dikshit, Kamal Ramprit; Dikshit, Jutta K. (2013). North-East India: Land, People and Economy. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 370. ISBN 978-9-40077-055-3.