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Jalia Kaibarta

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Jalia Kaibarta
Kaibarta fisherman in East Bengal 1860s
Regions with significant populations
 India (Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Odisha)
 Bangladesh (Rangpur, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong divisions)
Languages
Assamese • Bengali • Odia
Religion
Hinduism • Buddhism

Jalia Kaibarta (or Jaliya Kaibartta, or: Jāliya Kaibbarta, possibly also: Jalia Kaibartya) is a community comprising people of low ritual status, fishermen, who later acquired respectable caste identities within the larger Hindu fold, helped by their commercial prosperity and Vaishnavite affiliations, through Sanskritisation.[1] They are traditionally engaged in the occupation of fishing and boating and originally belonged to Assam, West Bengal, Odisha and eastern Bihar, Jharkhand along with Bangladesh. Jalia Kaibartas are categorised as a Scheduled Caste[2][3][4] and are the second largest among the 16 SCs in Assam under the name Kaibartta, Jaliya.[5][6]

Jaliya fisherman, from a 1799 collection of etchings

History

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Srishtidhar Dutta considers Kaibarta to be a Hinduised word of Kevatta which refer to a class of fishermens in the Buddhist Jatakas.[7]

People from Kaibarta caste were responsible for rowing the boats during overseas activities by Sadhabas (ancient Mariners from Kalinga) and were known as Majhis or Kandariyas. They have their own guild known as machhuya which is one of the eighteen guilds or srenis mentioned in gupta period a period work called Jambu-dvipa-prajña.[8]

The first Abahattha or late Apabhraṃśa manuscript, in the form of Caryapādas, was written by a Buddhist priest, known in Tibetan language as Lui-pā, who is identified with Matsyendranātha, a member of the fishermen community of mediaeval period, which later became Kaibartas.[9][10]

Medieval Odia poet and Vaishnav saint Achyutananda Dasa wrote kaibarta Gita which narrates the origin, growth, functions and roles of this community.[11][12][13]

The Kaibartas were initially considered a single community divided into two groups, Haliya and Jaliya Kaibarta, where the Haliya Kaibarta are considered to be superior than the latter.[14] In Assam many from the Jalia Kaibarta community under the influence of Garamur satradhikar gave up their traditional occupation of fishing and divided themselves into – mach mara and mach na-mara.[15] They are also claimed to have their own priests.[7] In colonial Assam the upper echelons of Dom fishers society aspired for acquiring new respectable caste identity within the larger Hindu fold. Assam already possesed an agriculturist caste of Kaibartas. For Dom elites the acquisition of Nadiyal status would only be a first step. Prosperous Dom\Nadiyals aspire to join Kaibartta rank while wishing to retain their profitable occupation of trade in fish. In 1911 census officials recognised Doms by the name of Nadiyal. In 1921 Nadiyals were upgraded to Kaibartas.[1]

Kaivarta Revolt

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The Kaivarta revolt, also known as the Varendra rebellion, is a significant event in Indian history, particularly in the context of Bengal. It was a revolt against King Mahipala II led by Kaivarta chieftain Divya, a feudal lord of Northern Bengal.[16][17] According to historian Ryosuke Furui, these events connote settling of non-agrarian groups in agrarian frontier and the growth of some section to a class of landholders.[18] Furui further noted there might also be a diverse social group in Varendra labelled as "Kaivarta".[19] The Kaivartas acquired the position of subordinate rulers through their association with the Pāla kings in the forms of military or other services and the appointment to administrative positions.[20]

Kaivarta Stambha erected by Kaivarta chieftain Divya.

Controversy

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There are demands of exclusion of sub-caste titled 'Kaibarta, Keuta and Dhibara' from SC category in Orissa. In 2012 the leaders State Aprushya Dalit Sarankshan Suraksha Samiti submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister calling for immediate deletion of this caste from the list as "they did not fulfill the basic parameters of untouchability."[21] In 2022 Orissa High Court had rejected the prayer for removal of 'Keuta, Kaibarta, and Dhibara' from Scheduled Castes on the ground that neither inclusion or exclusion of community from the list of scheduled caste in the constitution order 1950 is permissible at the instance of the court.[22] In 2023 thousands of members of this samiti again staged a demonstration in front of District Collector's office. According to them, "People belonging to Kaibarta, Keuta and Dhibar sub-castes are not at all Dalits, but they are enjoying 80 per cent reservation benefits meant for SC category at the cost of real Dalits. Therefore the Government should delete these sub-castes from the SC list."[23]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b The census of 1901 interpreted the act of renaming as a ‘‘refusal of those at the bottom of the social scale to acquiesce in the humble positions assigned to them.’’ For Assam’s Dom fisher caste, previously at the lowest end of the ritual hierarchy, this refusal took the form of claims to Aryanist belonging through the new names of Nadiyal and Kaibarta. In colonial Assam the upper echelons of Dom society succeeded for the most part in acquiring new, respectable caste identities within the larger Hindu fold, helped by commercial prosperity and Vaishnavite affiliations. Sharma, Jayeeta. Empire's Garden: Assam and the Making of India (PDF). Duke University Press. p. 214.
  2. ^ Atal, Yogesh (1981). Building A Nation (Essays on India). Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. p. 118. ISBN 978-8-12880-664-3.
  3. ^ Venkatesh Salagrama; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (30 December 2006). Trends in Poverty and Livelihoods in Coastal Fishing Communities of Orissa State, India. Food & Agriculture Org. p. 80. ISBN 978-92-5-105566-3. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  4. ^ Chakrabarty, Bidyut (1997). Local Politics and Indian Nationalism: Midnapur (1919-1944). New Delhi: Manohar. pp. 62–67.
  5. ^ India Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (1969). Report. Manager, Government of India Press. p. 122. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  6. ^ Indian Association of Social Science Institutions Quarterly. Indian Association of Social Science Institutions. 2003. pp. 104, 111. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b Dutta 1985, p. 35.
  8. ^ Patra, Benudhar (2008). "Merchants, Guilds and Trade in Ancient India: An Orissan Perspective". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 89: 133–168. ISSN 0378-1143. JSTOR 41692117.
  9. ^ Dasgupta, Shashibhushan (1946). Obscure Religious Cults, Calcutta University Press, Calcutta, p. 384-385, Internet Archive copy; third edition: Firma KLM Private Limited, Calcutta 1960, Internet Archive copy; fifth edition: Firma KLM Private Limited, Calcutta 1995, ISBN 81-7102-020-8
  10. ^ Ayyappapanicker, K. & Akademi, Sahitya (1997). Medieval Indian literature: an anthology, Volume 3. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 81-260-0365-0, ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5, [1] (accessed: Friday 5 March 2010)
  11. ^ Orissa (India); Behuria, N. C. (1990). Orissa State Gazetteer. Gazetteers Unit, Department of Revenue, Government of Orissa.
  12. ^ "The Kaibartas of Odisha". Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  13. ^ Mukherjee, Sujit (1998). A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings-1850. Orient Blackswan. p. 4. ISBN 978-81-250-1453-9.
  14. ^ "In Lower Assam the Keots are divided into two main endogamous groups, halova and jalova Keots, or agriculturalists and fishermen, the former being held superior than the latter"(Cantile 1980:235)
  15. ^ (Cantile 1980:17)
  16. ^ Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1977). Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-0436-4.
  17. ^ Furui, Ryosuke (2014). "Characteristics of Kaivarta Rebellion Delineated from the Rāmacarita". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 75: 93–98. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44158366.
  18. ^ Furui, Ryosuke (2019). Land and Society in Early South Asia: Eastern India 400–1250 AD. Taylor & Francis. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-000-08480-1.
  19. ^ Furui, Ryosuke (2009). Prajñådhara- ESSAYS ON ASIAN ART, HISTORY, EPIGRAPHY AND CULTURE. Kaveri Books. p. 322.
  20. ^ Furui, Ryosuke (2019). Land and Society in Early South Asia: Eastern India 400–1250 AD. Taylor & Francis. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-000-08480-1.
  21. ^ archive, From our online (14 May 2012). "Delete Keutas from SC list: Dalits". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Orissa HC junks plea on inclusion of certain castes". The Times of India. 22 October 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  23. ^ Panda, Ajit (28 January 2023). "'Drop Keuta, Kaibarta, Dhibara from SC category'". The Pioneer. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Revolutionary Artist Dr. Bhupen Hazarika: Voicing the Silence of the Subaltern" (PDF). Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences: 9.
  25. ^ Roy, Nibedita (2022). Kaibarta Jatibarner Itihas (in Bengali). Rajshahi: Tangan Prakashan. p. 209.

Citations

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  • Dutta, Shristidhar (1985). The Mataks and their Kingdom. Allahabad: Chugh publication.
  • Cantile, Audrey (1980). CASTE AND SECT IN AN ASSAMESE VILLAGE (Ph.D.). University of London.
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