 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Rajasthan,Himachal Pradesh,Gujarat,Maharashtra,Uttar Pradesh,Haryana,Karnataka,Odisha,[1]Kashmir[2] | |
| Languages | |
| Hindi,Gujarati,Marathi,Bhil,Kachi Koli,Konkani,Kannada | |
| Religion | |
 Hindu • Muslim •Christian | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kori,Koli Christians, Baria |
TheKoli is an Indiancaste that is predominantly found in India, but also inPakistan andNepal. Koli is anagriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they also work as fishermen along with agriculture.
In the beginning of 20th century, the Koli caste was recognised as adenotified tribe underCriminal Tribes Act by theBritish-Indian Government because of their anti-social activities duringWorld War I.The Koli caste forms the largestcaste-cluster in Gujarat andHimachal Pradesh, comprising 24% and 30% of the total population in those states respectively.[3][4]
.jpg)
There has historically been some difficulty in identifying people as Koli or asBhil people in what is now the state of Gujarat. The two communities co-existed in the hills of that area and even today there is confusion regarding their identity, not helped, in the opinion of sociologistArvind Shah, by there being "hardly any modern, systematic, anthropological, sociological or historical study" of the Kolis.[5] Sources from the medieval period suggest that the termKoli was applied generically to lawless people, while British colonial studies considered it to be a vague collective noun for varied communities whose sole common feature was that they were inferior to theKunbis. At some stage,Koli became accepted as acaste and thus superior to the tribal Bhils.[6]
Records of Koli people exist from at least the 15th century, when rulers in the present-day Gujarat region called their chieftains marauding robbers,dacoits, and pirates. Over a period of several centuries, some of them were able to establish petty chiefdoms throughout the region, mostly comprising just a single village.[7] Although notRajputs, this relatively small subset of the Kolis claimed the status of the higher-ranked Rajput community, adopting their customs and intermixing with less significant Rajput families through the practice ofhypergamous marriage,[8][9] which was commonly used to enhance or secure social status.[10] There were significant differences in status throughout the Koli community, however, and little cohesion either geographically or in terms of communal norms, such as the establishment of endogamous marriage groups.[11]
Through the colonialBritish Raj period and into the 20th century, some Kolis remained significant landholders and tenants,[9] although most had never been more than minor landowners and labourers.[11] By this time, however, most Kolis had lost their once-equal standing with thePatidar[a] community due to the land reforms of the Raj period.[12] The Kolis preferred the landlord-based tenure system, which was not so mutually beneficial. They were subject to interference from the British revenue collectors, who intervened to ensure that the stipulated revenue was remitted to the government before any surplus went to the landlord.[13] Being less inclined to take an active role in agriculture personally and thus maximise revenues from their landholdings, the Koli possessions were often left uncultivated or underused. These lands were gradually taken over by Kanbi cultivators, while the Kolis became classified as acriminal tribe due to their failure to meet the revenue demands and their tendency to raid Kanbi villages to survive. The Kanbi land takeovers also reduced the Kolis to being the tenants and agricultural labourers of Kanbis rather than landowners, thus increasing theeconomic inequality between the communities. The difference was further exacerbated by the Kanbis' providing better tenancy arrangements for members of their own community than for Kolis.[14]
During the later period of the Raj, the Gujarati Kolis became involved in the process of what has subsequently been termedsanskritisation. At that time, in the 1930s, they represented around 20 percent of the region's population and members of the local Rajput community were seeking to extend their own influence by co-opting other significant groups as claimants to theritual title ofKshatriya. The Rajputs were politically, economically and socially marginalised because their own numbers – around 4–5 per cent of the population – were inferior to the dominant Patidars, with whom the Kolis were also disenchanted. The Kolis were among those whom the Rajputs targeted because, although classified as acriminal tribe by the British administration, they were among the many communities of that period who had made genealogical claims of descent from the Kshatriya. The Rajput leaders preferred to view the Kolis as being Kshatriya by dint of military ethos rather than origin but, in whatever terminology, it was a marriage of political expedience.[9]
In 1947, around the time thatIndia gained independence, the Kutch, Kathiawar, Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha (KKGKS) caste association emerged as anumbrella organisation to continue the work begun during the Raj.Christophe Jaffrelot, a French political scientist, says that this body, which claimed to represent the Rajputs and Kolis, "... is a good example of the way castes, with very different ritual status, join hands to defend their common interests. ... The use of the word Kshatriya was largely tactical and the original caste identity was seriously diluted."[9]
The relevance of the Kshatriya label in terms of ritual was diminished by the practical actions of the KKGKS which, among other things, saw demands for the constituent communities to be classified asBackward Classes in the Indianscheme for positive discrimination. Kshatriyas would not usually wish to be associated with such a category and indeed it runs counter to the theory of Sanskritisation, but in this instance, it suited the socio-economic and political desires. By the 1950s, the KKGKS had established schools, loan systems and other mechanisms of communal self-help and it was demanding reforms to laws relating to land. It was also seeking alliances with political parties at the state level; initially, with theIndian National Congress and then, by the early 1960s, with theSwatantra Party. By 1967, the KKGKS was once again working with Congress because, despite being a haven for Patidars, the party leadership needed the votes of the KKGKS membership. The Kolis gained more from the actions of the KKGKS in these two decades than did the Rajputs, and Jaffrelot believes that it was around this time that a Koli intelligentsia emerged.[9] Ghanshyam Shah, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, describes the organisation today as covering a broad group of communities, from disadvantaged Rajputs of high prestige to the semi-tribalBhils, with the Kolis in the middle. He notes that its composition reflects "a common economic interest and a growing secular identity born partly out of folklore but more out of common resentment against the well-to-do castes".[15]
The Kolis of Gujarat remained educationally and occupationally disadvantaged compared to communities such as theBrahmins and Patidars.[16] Their manyJātis include theBareeya,Khant andThakor, and they also useKoli as a suffix, giving rise to groups such as the Gulam Koli and Matia Koli. Some do not refer to themselves as Koli at all.[3]
TheShial, orShiyal is aclan of Kolicaste found in theIndian state ofGujarat. They were notedpirates of Gujarat.[17] The Shial Kolis got their name from the Shial island situated at south coast ofKathiawar.[18] Shial Kolis defeated and captured the Shial island fromPortuguese India and made it their stronghold along withChanch, Gujarat but later they were defeated byNawab ofJanjira andJafrabad.[19] during theWorld War I, they were enlisted as soldiers inBritish Indian Army byBritish Indian government.[20]
The Koli community classified asOther Backward Class byGovernment of India in theIndian States ofGujarat,[21]Karnataka,[22]Maharashtra[23] andUttar Pradesh,[24] but Tokre Koli, Malhar Koli and Mahadev Kolis are listed asScheduled Tribe byState Government of Maharashtra.[25]
TheGovernment of India classified the Koli community asScheduled Caste in the2001 census for the states of Delhi,[26]Madhya Pradesh[27] and Rajasthan.[28]
The Koli caste ofMaharashtra andGujarat was classified as aCriminal Tribes underCriminal Tribes Act of 1871 by the Government of India because of their anti-social activities such asrobberies, murder,blackmailing, and crop andanimal theft.[29] In 1914, Kolis of Maharashtra revolted against British rule and attacked government officials, and to control them, the government again declared the Kolis as a criminal tribe under the Bombay Criminal Tribes Act. Around 7000 Kolis were required to attend the call each day.[30] Kolis often attacked theMarwariBanias,Sahukars andMoneylenders. Kolis were often reported to burn houses and account books and looted the available valuables of moneylenders if they were unable to pay the debt given by moneylenders. This was especially common in Maharashtra and Gujarat. In 1925, Kolis were registered under Criminal Tribes Act.[31] The Indian historianG. S. Ghurye writes that Kolis worked as soldiers in theIndian Army in severalRegiments but again in 1940 Koli soldiers were classified as a Criminal Tribe under Criminal Tribe Act by the Bombay Government for their uncommon activities against government officials.[32] In 1952, the Criminal Tribes Act was repealed temporarily and replaced withHabitual Offenders Act with slight modifications.
In India, Kolis are mostly found in theIndian states ofGujarat, Himachal Pradesh andMaharashtra. Kolis are 24% of the total state population in Gujarat[33] and 30% in Himachal Pradesh.[34]
Pakistan, The Kolis are found in theSindhprovince of Pakistan. Most of them are in relationship with Kolis of Gujarat.[35]
Nepal, Kolis of Nepal ruled over Ramgram, Devdaha and Panditpur.[36]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
