Arise Bharat

In 1921 Census- The Race Was To Rise In Hierarchy – Understanding Why ?

Hindus never believed in living at the mercy of other. Swabhimaana or self-respect was an essential part of our value system. When the British started categorization of jaatis as High & Low Castes, many jaati ( caste ) sabhas in 1921, put up representations to be called as Higher castes. The representations included – Ahars as Yadavas, Yadava as kshatriya, Aheria as Hara Rajput, Ahir as Kshatriya, Banjaras as Chauhans and Rajputs, Barhai as Dhiman Brahman, Chamar as Jatav Rajput, Gadaria as Pali Rajput, Gujar as kshatriya, Jat as Jaduvanshi Thakur, Nai as Nai Brahman, Patwa as Brahman and so on..This list runs to 63 pages . Each of this caste demanding a higher place in the social hierarchy. Contrast this with the movements later where movements were made so that Scheduled castes be called as Crushed communities- Dalits.  

Shift in Caste Numbers : Also, the census thereafter showed that numbers in castes changed frequently. For example,  Yeatts, who was the  British Census officer compared 5 successive censuses and wrote that caste enumeration is useless since the figures swing.  He gave examples of Ambattans who were recorded as 2,27,000 in one census and in successive ones, they came to 10,000 because they went to other jaatis. Similarly, the number of gollas declined but Yadavas increased. The reason being one Jaati had many upajaatis ( sub-castes ) and transmigration among upajaatis was common. It is for this reason that the British made enumeration of caste rigid and tied benefits like jobs, sops etc to caste.

 The Census Commissioner of India for 1931, J.H. Hutton noted,

Sorting for caste is really worthless unless nomenclature is sufficiently fixed to render the resulting totals close and reliable approximations. Had caste terminology the stability of religious returns, caste sorting might be worthwhile

. With the fluidity of current appellations it is certainly not… 227,000 Ambattans have become 10,000, Navithan, Nai, Nai Brahman, Navutiyan, Pariyari claimabout 140,000 all terms unrecorded or untabulated in 1921

Only explanation for this could be that most of the Ambattans of 1921 changed into some other caste. Similarly, the number of Marathas in Central Provinces and Berar increased from93,901 in 1911, to 206,144 in 1921. This more than 110% increase in number can be explained by the mass mobilization of Kunbis ( Kurmi’s) to Marathas during the period. It was also found that Koli’s could rise to the status of Maratha Kunbi by taking to cultivation.

Read more at this article on Tackling Caste Debate