Raju: Difference between revisions
Reverted good faith edits by Harshavardhanvarma (talk): How many more times? (TW) |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
{{pp-protected|small=yes|expiry=08:49, 21 February 2015 (UTC)}} |
{{pp-protected|small=yes|expiry=08:49, 21 February 2015 (UTC)}} |
||
{{Infobox caste |
{{Infobox caste |
||
| caste = [[Kshatriya]] |
|||
| caste_name = Raju |
|||
| Gotras = vasistha,Dhananjaya,Koundinya,Kasyapa&Bharadwaja. |
|||
| populated_states = [[Andhra Pradesh]] |
|||
| |
| region = [[India]],[[Nepal]] |
||
| religions = |
| religions = [[Hinduism]] |
||
}} |
}} |
||
The ''' |
The '''Andhra Kshatriyas''' (or '''Rajulu'''{{cn|date=March 2014}}) are a [[Telugu people|Telugu]] caste in Andhra Pradesh. |
||
== |
==Origins and Etymology== |
||
The Raju caste, which A. Satyanarayana calls the "locally dominant landed gentry", claims [[Kshatriya]] status in the ''varna'' system despite there being "no real Kshatriya varna" in the Andhra region.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Growth of Education among the Dalit-Bahujan Communities in Modern Andhra, 1893-1947 |first=A. |last=Satyanarayana |title=Education and the Disprivileged: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century India |editor-first=Sabyasachi |editor-last=Bhattacharya |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2002 |isbn=978-81-250-2192-6 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=f-jBIp3iWdEC |page=53 |accessdate=2012-02-29}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The anthropologist Minna Säävälä glosses the present-day Rajus as a "higher caste of traditional warriors and rulers; Kshatriya",<ref>{{cite book|first=Minna |last=Säävälä |title=Fertility and familial power relations: procreation in south India|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=c9FwQxGqwOUC&pg=PA16 |accessdate=4 March 2014 |year=2001 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-7007-1484-1 |page=xvi}}</ref> but does not provide an explanation or source for this description. }} They also claim descent from the ancient royal dynasties of India such as the [[Eastern Chalukyas]], [[Later Cholas|Chalukya-Cholas]], [[Vishnukundina]], [[Gajapati Kingdom|Gajapati]], [[Chagi]], [[Paricheda]] and [[Kota Vamsa]].<ref>{{cite book| title=A History of the Early Dynasties of Andhradesa |first=B.V |last= Krishnarao |year=1942 |publisher=V. Ramaswami Sastrulu |isbn= |url=http://books.google.co.in/books?id=ONSCAAAAIAAJ&q=A+History+of+the+Early+Dynasties+of+Andhradesa&dq=A+History+of+the+Early+Dynasties+of+Andhradesa |page=258}}</ref> |
|||
[[File:Udaipur coat of Arms Branches.jpg|thumb|Mewar Coat of Arms]] |
|||
''Raju'' is a [[Telugu language]] variant of the [[Sanskrit]] title ''[[Raja]]'', a term for a monarch or princely ruler. Austin Cynthia Talbot describes the term as being |
|||
[[File:Sisodia branches.jpg|thumb|Branches of the Sisodia Clan]] |
|||
{{quote|...most often used by members of noble or princely lineages. [But it] could also designate an individual employed by a lord or prince.<ref name="talbot" />}} |
|||
[[File:Vijayanagaram.JPG|thumb|Coat of Arms of Vijayanagaram]] |
|||
[[File:West Entrance of the Vizianagaram fort in Andhra Pradesh.jpg|thumb|260px|West Entrance of the Vizianagaram fort in [[Andhra Pradesh]]]] |
|||
In medieval Andhra Pradesh, the title was used in both senses, and was very likely adopted by some secular [[Brahmin]]s, who occupied important advisory functions. The royal usage at that time was particularly prevalent in the northern coastal areas of the region. Talbot also notes that the title, and others in use at that time, do not align with the [[Vedic]] four-fold [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] system and in that sense could not refer to a [[caste]].<ref name="talbot">{{cite book |title=Precolonial India in practice: Society, Region and Identity in Medieval Andhra |first=Austin Cynthia |last=Talbot |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-513661-6 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C |pages=57–58 |accessdate=2012-02-29}}</ref> However, they do appear to have conformed to |
|||
[[File:Viznm kota.jpg|thumb|Main Entrance of Vizianagaram Fort]] |
|||
{{quote|...the existence of broad social categories based primarily on occupation. Although [the title] did not necessarily designate a distinct class, much less a bounded community, or a hereditary grouping, various sets of these titles differentiated social types marked by a common status and shared occupation.<ref name="Talbot">{{cite book |title=Precolonial India in practice: Society, Region and Identity in Medieval Andhra |first=Austin Cynthia |last=Talbot |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-513661-6 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C |page=61 |accessdate=2012-02-29}}</ref>}} |
|||
The Maharaja of Vizianagram is descended from the Ranas of Udaipur, one of the most ancient, and, in popular estimation, most illustrious families in India. He is consequently of the Grahilot tribe; and speaks of himself as belonging to the Sisodiya branch, and of the Vasisht gotra. According to the traditions of this famous house, Bijaibhup, one of its members, at a very early period, settled in Ajudhiya, the modern Oudh, whence, in the year 514 of the Saka era, corresponding to 592 A.D., his descendant, Madhavavarma, emigrated to the Telingana country, accompanied by representatives of the Vasisht, Dhanunjaya, Kaundinya, Kasyap, and Bharaddwaj gotras of his own tribe. |
|||
The colonists established themselves at Bejamarah, on the river Kristnai which country they occupied for 921 years. In course of time they became a numerous people. Gradually disputes broke out among them, which ended in the loss of their independent sovereignty, and in their submission to Sultan Kali, A.D. 1512, the founder of the Kutbshahi dynasty of Golcondah. Under Abdallah, the fifth king of that line, Pusapati Tummeraj, otherwise called Raghunadharaj, was appointed as Subadar of the Sircars, A.D. 1652, and received a Jaghir, or landed estate, consisting of the Kamila and Bhogaporam Fargannahs. This was the first distinction conferred on the ancestors of the Vizianagram family by the Golcondah princes. When the Golcondah territory fell into the hands of the Emperor Aurungzebe, Tummeraj was confirmed in his office of Subadar, and received a present of a two-edged sword from the emperor, which furnished the device of the coat of arms still used by the family. |
|||
Temple inscriptions from the period of the [[Kakatiya dynasty]], a [[South India]]n dynasty that ruled most of the Telugu speaking lands covered by current day [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]] from 1083 CE to 1323 CE,<ref>Gribble, J.D.B., History of the Deccan, 1896, Luzac and Co., London</ref> refer both to royal and clerical ''rajus'' as donors, together with peasant leaders called ''[[Reddy|reddies]]''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Precolonial India in practice: Society, Region and Identity in Medieval Andhra |first=Austin Cynthia |last=Talbot |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-513661-6 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pfAKljlCJq0C |page=112 |accessdate=2014-03-4}}</ref> |
|||
The office, however, was not to be a sinecure. Tummeraj received orders from his master, first to expel the English from his territory by every means in his power, and to take possession of or destroy their property, wherever found; and, secondly, on their renewal of friendly intercourse with the emperor, his orders were to let them trade freely as heretofore. |
|||
In 1690 Tummeraj was succeeded by his son Slta Ram Chandrulu, who added ten Pargannahs, or baronies, to the family estates, and assumed the title of Kalinga Maharaj, in virtue of his acquiring Potturu, in the Kalinga territory. He had a retinue of 125 cavaliers and 450 foot soldiers, for his guard of honour, and maintained several detachments of armed men in various parts of the country over which he exercised jurisdiction. |
|||
Sita Ram was succeeded by his son Veda Ananda Raj, who had two sons, Sita Ram Raj, and Veda Vijiaram Raj. The latter entered upon the duties of the administration of the Circars in the room of his father. He expelled Jaffir Al i Khan, the Nawab of Chicacole, and, as a reward for his faithful services, was honoured by the emperor with the title of Manea Sultan, or Chief of the Hill Districts. Thereupon, he took up his residence in the town of Vizianagram, where he erected the present fort, in the year 1730, a quadrangular stone edifice with an enormous bastion at each corner. |
|||
The Circars were only in nominal subjection to Aurungzebe, and were in reality in the hands of the Hindu chiefs who ruled over them. This state of things continued until 1724, when Yusufjah, the great Viceroy of the Deccan, took them under his control, and at once inaugurated a thorough system of civil and military government. At his death, the French endeavoured to obtain a footing in these provinces, in consequence of the disputed succession. Eventually, Salabat Jang, of the family of Yusufjah, granted to the French, at the close of 1753, the four Circars of Mustafanagar or Kondapilly, Ellore, Rajamandry, and Chicacole, which were taken possession of by Bussy, the French General, through his subordinate M. Morasin, then at Masulipatam. |
|||
At that time the most powerful Hindu noble in the Chicacole Circar was Veda Vijiaram Raj, head of the Vijianagar family, who became a valuable ally of Bussy. In the winter of 1756 the French general began his march into the Circars, accompanied by 500 European soldiers and 4000 Sepoys, and on the 19th December arrived at Rajamandry. Here he was met by Raja Vijiaram Raj, and other Indian chiefs, at the head of a force numbering 10,000 men. |
|||
Raja Ranga Row, chief of the Poligars in the neighbourhood, whose large estates, extending over twenty square miles, were contiguous to those of Raja Vijiaram Raj, having made himself obnoxious to the latter, it was proposed to Bussy that Raja Ranga Row should be compelled to quit his hereditary lands of Bobily for others of greater extent, situated at a distance from Vijiaram Raj's territories. As Ranga Row declined the proposal, when made to him, it was resolved to force him into submission. With the aid of his native friends, Bussy made an attack upon him at day-break on the 24th January 1757, and sustained it till the afternoon. Perceiving the hopelessness of further defence, Ranga Row formed the resolution of putting to death all the women and children in the fort, to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. Assembling his principal men, he explained to them his determination, which was at once put in execution. Ranga Row was presently killed by a musket ball, and the fort captured. |
|||
Raja Vijiaram, however, paid dearly for his avarice, for, on the third day after the capture, at midnight, while asleep, four men from Bobily entered his tent, and assassinated him. |
|||
On the news of his death spreading abroad, a crowd of people collected together, and while they were in full debate on the catastrophe, an old man was observed advancing leading a boy. 'This is the son of Ranga Row, whom I have preserved against his father's consent,' said the old man. On hearing this, Bussy presented to the boy the estate which he had offered to Ranga Row in exchange for Bobily, and retained him for a while in his camp. |
|||
Leaving Bobily, Bussy marched through the northern part of the Chicacole province, and on his return to Hydrabad, defeated the British troops at Vizagapatam, and established his power there, as well as in the other parts of the Northern Circars. |
|||
Raja Vijiaram Raj was succeeded by his nephew Gajapati Anand Raj Maharaj. The new Raja, soon after the departure of Bussy, made an attack on Vizagapatam, expelled the French garrison, and sent intelligence of his exploit to Madras, offering to surrender to the English the places he had captured. He also asked for the aid of a force wherewith to proceed against the French in the Deccan. Being unsuccessful in his application to Madras, he turned to Bengal for assistance. Lord Clive, with his accustomed promptness and far-sightedness, sent an expedition by sea to his support, under the command of Colonel Forde, which disembarked at Vizagapatam on the 12th September 1758<ref>http://books.google.co.in/books?id=8V4IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA125&vq=Vizianagram&output=html_text#PA125</ref><ref>https://archive.org/stream/studiesinsouthin00ramarich#page/21/mode/1up</ref>. |
|||
==Ethnonyms== |
==Ethnonyms== |
||
| Line 34: | Line 43: | ||
A well-known contemporary "Raju (Kshatriya)" was [[Sathya Sai Baba|Sai Baba]].<ref>N. Suman Bhat (2005), ''Saints of the masses'', Sura Books, p.82</ref> |
A well-known contemporary "Raju (Kshatriya)" was [[Sathya Sai Baba|Sai Baba]].<ref>N. Suman Bhat (2005), ''Saints of the masses'', Sura Books, p.82</ref> |
||
===Uplifting of the poor=== |
|||
After the independence of India, [[Zamindari]] was abolished.{{refn|group=note|A '''zamindar''' or '''zaminder''' or '''zemindar''' on the Indian subcontinent was an [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocrat]], typically [[hereditary]], who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his [[peasant]]s, from whom the zamindars reserved the right to collect tax (often for military purposes). Over time, they took [[princely]] and royal titles such as ''[[Maharaja]]'' (Great King), ''[[Raja]]'' (King), ''[[Nawab]]'' (Lord), ''[[Mirza]]'' (Prince), ''[[Taluqdar]]'' (District Holder), ''[[Chowdhury]]'' (Lord), "[[Reddy]]", "[[Naidu]]," "[[Gounder]]," and many others.}} During this time many Raju zamindars donated their property and land liberally for the upliftment of poor and education. [[Vizianagaram]], the oldest and largest Hindu Princely State of Andhra Pradesh (Samsthanam), was donated by Maharaja PVG Raju to the Republic of India. He also donated enormous wealth, Khazana, land, gold, diamonds, properties, palaces to Korukonda Sainik school, Andhra University, Mansas Trust and to poor and needy for schools, colleges and hospitals.<ref>http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2002080501120200.htm&date=2002/08/05/&prd=mp&</ref> |
|||
==Notes== |
==Notes== |
||
| Line 39: | Line 51: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{reflist |
{{reflist}} |
||
[[Category:Raju| ]] |
[[Category:Raju| ]] |
||
[[Category:Titles in India]] |
[[Category:Titles in India]] |
||
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]] |
|||
[[Category:Social groups of Karnataka]] |
|||
[[Category:Telugu society]] |
|||
Revision as of 04:24, 21 March 2014
| Raju | |
|---|---|
| Religions | Hinduism |
| Region | India,Nepal |
The Andhra Kshatriyas (or Rajulu[citation needed]) are a Telugu caste in Andhra Pradesh.
Origins and Etymology
The Maharaja of Vizianagram is descended from the Ranas of Udaipur, one of the most ancient, and, in popular estimation, most illustrious families in India. He is consequently of the Grahilot tribe; and speaks of himself as belonging to the Sisodiya branch, and of the Vasisht gotra. According to the traditions of this famous house, Bijaibhup, one of its members, at a very early period, settled in Ajudhiya, the modern Oudh, whence, in the year 514 of the Saka era, corresponding to 592 A.D., his descendant, Madhavavarma, emigrated to the Telingana country, accompanied by representatives of the Vasisht, Dhanunjaya, Kaundinya, Kasyap, and Bharaddwaj gotras of his own tribe. The colonists established themselves at Bejamarah, on the river Kristnai which country they occupied for 921 years. In course of time they became a numerous people. Gradually disputes broke out among them, which ended in the loss of their independent sovereignty, and in their submission to Sultan Kali, A.D. 1512, the founder of the Kutbshahi dynasty of Golcondah. Under Abdallah, the fifth king of that line, Pusapati Tummeraj, otherwise called Raghunadharaj, was appointed as Subadar of the Sircars, A.D. 1652, and received a Jaghir, or landed estate, consisting of the Kamila and Bhogaporam Fargannahs. This was the first distinction conferred on the ancestors of the Vizianagram family by the Golcondah princes. When the Golcondah territory fell into the hands of the Emperor Aurungzebe, Tummeraj was confirmed in his office of Subadar, and received a present of a two-edged sword from the emperor, which furnished the device of the coat of arms still used by the family. The office, however, was not to be a sinecure. Tummeraj received orders from his master, first to expel the English from his territory by every means in his power, and to take possession of or destroy their property, wherever found; and, secondly, on their renewal of friendly intercourse with the emperor, his orders were to let them trade freely as heretofore. In 1690 Tummeraj was succeeded by his son Slta Ram Chandrulu, who added ten Pargannahs, or baronies, to the family estates, and assumed the title of Kalinga Maharaj, in virtue of his acquiring Potturu, in the Kalinga territory. He had a retinue of 125 cavaliers and 450 foot soldiers, for his guard of honour, and maintained several detachments of armed men in various parts of the country over which he exercised jurisdiction. Sita Ram was succeeded by his son Veda Ananda Raj, who had two sons, Sita Ram Raj, and Veda Vijiaram Raj. The latter entered upon the duties of the administration of the Circars in the room of his father. He expelled Jaffir Al i Khan, the Nawab of Chicacole, and, as a reward for his faithful services, was honoured by the emperor with the title of Manea Sultan, or Chief of the Hill Districts. Thereupon, he took up his residence in the town of Vizianagram, where he erected the present fort, in the year 1730, a quadrangular stone edifice with an enormous bastion at each corner. The Circars were only in nominal subjection to Aurungzebe, and were in reality in the hands of the Hindu chiefs who ruled over them. This state of things continued until 1724, when Yusufjah, the great Viceroy of the Deccan, took them under his control, and at once inaugurated a thorough system of civil and military government. At his death, the French endeavoured to obtain a footing in these provinces, in consequence of the disputed succession. Eventually, Salabat Jang, of the family of Yusufjah, granted to the French, at the close of 1753, the four Circars of Mustafanagar or Kondapilly, Ellore, Rajamandry, and Chicacole, which were taken possession of by Bussy, the French General, through his subordinate M. Morasin, then at Masulipatam. At that time the most powerful Hindu noble in the Chicacole Circar was Veda Vijiaram Raj, head of the Vijianagar family, who became a valuable ally of Bussy. In the winter of 1756 the French general began his march into the Circars, accompanied by 500 European soldiers and 4000 Sepoys, and on the 19th December arrived at Rajamandry. Here he was met by Raja Vijiaram Raj, and other Indian chiefs, at the head of a force numbering 10,000 men. Raja Ranga Row, chief of the Poligars in the neighbourhood, whose large estates, extending over twenty square miles, were contiguous to those of Raja Vijiaram Raj, having made himself obnoxious to the latter, it was proposed to Bussy that Raja Ranga Row should be compelled to quit his hereditary lands of Bobily for others of greater extent, situated at a distance from Vijiaram Raj's territories. As Ranga Row declined the proposal, when made to him, it was resolved to force him into submission. With the aid of his native friends, Bussy made an attack upon him at day-break on the 24th January 1757, and sustained it till the afternoon. Perceiving the hopelessness of further defence, Ranga Row formed the resolution of putting to death all the women and children in the fort, to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. Assembling his principal men, he explained to them his determination, which was at once put in execution. Ranga Row was presently killed by a musket ball, and the fort captured. Raja Vijiaram, however, paid dearly for his avarice, for, on the third day after the capture, at midnight, while asleep, four men from Bobily entered his tent, and assassinated him. On the news of his death spreading abroad, a crowd of people collected together, and while they were in full debate on the catastrophe, an old man was observed advancing leading a boy. 'This is the son of Ranga Row, whom I have preserved against his father's consent,' said the old man. On hearing this, Bussy presented to the boy the estate which he had offered to Ranga Row in exchange for Bobily, and retained him for a while in his camp. Leaving Bobily, Bussy marched through the northern part of the Chicacole province, and on his return to Hydrabad, defeated the British troops at Vizagapatam, and established his power there, as well as in the other parts of the Northern Circars. Raja Vijiaram Raj was succeeded by his nephew Gajapati Anand Raj Maharaj. The new Raja, soon after the departure of Bussy, made an attack on Vizagapatam, expelled the French garrison, and sent intelligence of his exploit to Madras, offering to surrender to the English the places he had captured. He also asked for the aid of a force wherewith to proceed against the French in the Deccan. Being unsuccessful in his application to Madras, he turned to Bengal for assistance. Lord Clive, with his accustomed promptness and far-sightedness, sent an expedition by sea to his support, under the command of Colonel Forde, which disembarked at Vizagapatam on the 12th September 1758[1][2].
Ethnonyms
Over the centuries they have been called by various alternative names that signified their military status. During the British Raj they were known as Ratsas and Rajavars, which means of or belonging to the caste of Ratsawars[3] (Raja Caste),[4] using the title of Raju.[5]
From the medieval period, the term "Andhra Kshatriya" has been used synonymously with Rachavaru, Rajus and Telugu Kshatriya.[6][need quotation to verify]
Modern community
Population
A report published by the Overseas Development Institute in 2002, describing the Rajus of Andhra as an ex-warrior caste, noted that along with the Kapu and Vellamar they were
...important communities with considerable political significance in the State, although in numerical terms they constitute only a small percentage of the population and spatially are confined only to small pockets.[7]
As of 2002[update] the Rajus constituted less than 1 per cent of the population in Andhra Pradesh, concentrated mainly in the coastal region.[8]
A well-known contemporary "Raju (Kshatriya)" was Sai Baba.[9]
Uplifting of the poor
After the independence of India, Zamindari was abolished.[note 1] During this time many Raju zamindars donated their property and land liberally for the upliftment of poor and education. Vizianagaram, the oldest and largest Hindu Princely State of Andhra Pradesh (Samsthanam), was donated by Maharaja PVG Raju to the Republic of India. He also donated enormous wealth, Khazana, land, gold, diamonds, properties, palaces to Korukonda Sainik school, Andhra University, Mansas Trust and to poor and needy for schools, colleges and hospitals.[10]
Notes
- ^ A zamindar or zaminder or zemindar on the Indian subcontinent was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants, from whom the zamindars reserved the right to collect tax (often for military purposes). Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), Raja (King), Nawab (Lord), Mirza (Prince), Taluqdar (District Holder), Chowdhury (Lord), "Reddy", "Naidu," "Gounder," and many others.
References
- ^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=8V4IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA125&vq=Vizianagram&output=html_text#PA125
- ^ https://archive.org/stream/studiesinsouthin00ramarich#page/21/mode/1up
- ^ C. D. Maclean (1877). Standing information regarding the official administration of the Madras presidency in each department: in illustration of the yearly administration reports. E. Keys. pp. 341–. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ Satish Chandra; Sri Venkatesvara University (1977*). Sri Rebala Lakshminarasa Reddy Endowment lectures, 1976. Sri Venkateswara University. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Krishnarao, B.V (1942). A History of the Early Dynasties of Andhradesa. V. Ramaswami Sastrulu. p. 269.
- ^ Krishnarao, B.V (1942). A History of the Early Dynasties of Andhradesa. V. Ramaswami Sastrulu. p. 149,159.
- ^ Srinivasulu, K. (September 2002). "Caste, Class and Social Articulation In Andhra Pradesh. Mapping Differential Regional Tragectories" (PDF). London: Overseas Development Institute. p. 3. ISBN 0-85003-612-7. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
- ^ Suri, K. C. (September 2002). "Democratic Process and Electoral Politics in Andhra Pradesh, India" (PDF). London: Overseas Development Institute. p. 10. ISBN 0-85003-613-5. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
- ^ N. Suman Bhat (2005), Saints of the masses, Sura Books, p.82
- ^ http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2002080501120200.htm&date=2002/08/05/&prd=mp&