Kachhi (caste) explained

The Kachhi are a Hindu caste of vegetable cultivators found in the regions of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in India.

Myths of origin

The Kachhi caste form a part of a wider community that claims a common descent. This community, known as the Kushwaha, nowadays generally claim descent from Kusha, a son of the mythological Rama, who is considered to be an avatar of Vishnu. This enables their claim to be of the Suryavansh - or Solar - dynasty but it is a myth of origin developed in the twentieth century. Prior to that time, the various branches that form the Kushwaha community - the Mauraos, Kachhis and Koeris - favoured a connection with Shiva and Shakta.^[1] Ganga Prasad Gupta claimed in the 1920s that Kushwaha families worshiped Hanuman - described by Pinch as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita" - during Kartika, a month in the Hindu lunar calendar.^[2]

Present circumstances

In Uttar Pradesh, the vegetable-cultivators Kachhis traditionally cultivate on their comparatively smaller landholdings without aid of the animals.^[3]

In 1991, they were designated an Other Backward Class in the Indian system of positive discrimination. This applied to the populations in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.^[4]

Further reading

• Book: Chaudhuri, B. B. . Peasant History of Late Pre-colonial and Colonial India . Pearson Education India . 2008 . 978-8-13171-688-5 . 467–468.
• The Indian Empire and Peasant Production of Opium in the Nineteenth Century . J. F. . Richards . Modern Asian Studies . 15 . 1 . 1981 . 59–82 . 312105 . 10.1017/s0026749x00006788.

Notes and References

1. Book: Pinch, William R. . Peasants and monks in British India . University of California Press . 1996 . 978-0-520-20061-6 . 12, 91–92 . 2012-02-22.
2. Book: Pinch, William R. . Peasants and monks in British India . University of California Press . 1996 . 978-0-520-20061-6 . 98 . 2012-02-22.
3. Book: Singh. Charan. India's Poverty and Its Solution. 1964. Asia Publishing House. 88. 30 March 2017. en.
4. Book: Educational and Social Uplift of Backward Classes: At what Cost and How . S. P. . Agrawal . J. C. . Aggarwal . Concept Publishing . 1991 . 9788170223399 . 2014-03-07.