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53-704: Known for its controversial and often violent agitations, it gained exposure after its members attacked, vandalised and ransacked the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune , claiming that it helped American scholar James Laine ’s book on Shivaji titled Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India , certain parts of which were unacceptable to them. During this attack on BORI, they destroyed many precious and rare manuscripts which laid to decades of research to waste. Sambhaji Brigade demands reservation for

106-849: A Nomadic Tribe , which comes under Other Backward Class category. Dhangar (shepherds) is a sub-caste of the Gadaria caste in Delhi , Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh , the Kuruba caste in Karnataka and the Bharwad caste in Gujarat . Gadaria, Kuruba are classified as Other Backward Class in those respective states while Bharwad is classified as Scheduled Tribe in Gujarat, in India's system of reservation . In Maharashtra ,

159-459: A division of labour amongst brothers of one family. The nation around Hingoli was called Bara-Hatti which means country of twelve Hatkar-Dhangars. These twelve tribes later formed three sub-divisions and one half-division. These three being Hatkar (shepherd), Gavli or Dange (cowherd) and Khutekar (wool and blanket weaver)/Sangar. All sub-castes fall in either of these divisions. The archaeological evidence and ethnographic data suggest that

212-528: A critical edition of the Harivamsa was inaugurated by the president of India, Rajendra Prasad , on 19 November 1954. The publication was completed in November 1971. The critical edition in two volumes consists of the four parvan s of the Harivamsa . The pratika Index in six volumes consists of 360,000 verse quarters with appendices. Two volumes of the cultural index have been published so far. The constituted text of

265-803: A few weeks. On 5 December 2021, two activists of Sambhaji Brigade hurled ink at a journalist and writer Girish Kuber in Nashik in protest against some controversial references about Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in his book. Purushottam Khedekar is one of the founders of this organisation. He is also a prominent leader in the Maratha Seva Sangh, a related organisation and co-founder of Shiva Dharma. Khedekar has written several books including Bhatta Cha Kardhankal and Maharaj Mala Maaf Kara (Translates as "Your Majesty, I ask for your forgiveness"). Pune Police issued an arrest warrant against Khedekar for inciting anti-Brahmin feelings. In 2015 he submitted an affidavit in

318-486: A memorial for it. This act was strongly opposed by local Dhangar community for they believe that the dog was real. In fact many people say that Waghya was Shivaji's dog and the reason for why the memorial was constructed over there. In January 2017, four Sambhaji Brigade followers pulled down a bust of celebrated Marathi playwright Ram Ganesh Gadkari which was located in Sambhaji Park in central Pune and threw it in

371-452: A mixed dialect of Gujarati and Marathi and are closely related to the Ladshe and Dange who have supposedly come from Gujarat . On the other hand, Gadhari -Nikhar and Gadhari -Dhangar, having migrated from North India , speak Sanskrit and Hindi . Telangi speaks Telugu and probably migrated from Andhra Pradesh , the remaining groups speak Marathi . The Gavli or Dange Dhangars found in

424-588: A palmleaf manuscript of the Upamitibhavaprapañcakathā dated 906. Among the several scholars referring to the works at BORI, the most well-known person arguably is the Bharat Ratna awardee, Pt. Pandurang Vaman Kane . A long-term project under the auspices of BORI, started on 1 April 1919, was the preparation of a critical edition of the Mahabharata . V.S. Sukthankar was appointed general editor of

477-460: A statewide protest by Political parties such as BJP , Shiv Sena and MNS . Following to this Government of Maharashtra (which included NCP) removed name of Dadoji Konddev from school history books stating that Government's committee of historians found no evidence that Dadoji Konddev was teacher of Shivaji. The move was heavily criticized by historians and scholars. Some members of the government-appointed committee also resigned in protest citing that

530-414: A superfluity of women at the top and a scarcity at the bottom of the social scale. According to the 1891 Census of India , the pastoral class of Indian population was divided into two groups. First group was called cattle graziers which included Ahirs , Gopas , Gawali and Golla . The second group was called shepherds which included Gadaria , Dhangars, Kuruba , Idaiyan , Bharwad and Rabari . In

583-697: Is a distinct caste from Yadav Gavli in Maharashtra and Goa . Moreover, Ahirs of Maharashtra prefer to be known as Ahir Dhangars and Marathas of Indore (Madhya Pradesh), like Holkars , call themselves Dhangar gadaria. In North India the gadaria, who call themselves dhangar , were at one time a wing of Dhangar society. Ahir is one of the gotra of Dhangars. The Shegar Dhangars, also known as Sagar Rajputs , were previously identified as shepherd by occupation and Shudra by Varna but later they changed their surname to Rajput and started wearing sacred thread . Khandoba (literally "father swordsman"),

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636-401: Is believed that this inscription has its origin between the first and the third century AD. Multiple theories have been proposed for the origin of the word Dhangar. It may be associated with a term for "cattle wealth". Bhagwan Lal Indraji maintains that it is derived from Sanskrit word Dhang which means hill. Syed Siraj-Ul-Hassan noted that some people of his time believed the term to come from

689-563: Is cattle rearing and weaving of woolens. The 'Dhangad' and the 'Dhangar' are two distinct communities having no ethnic affinity at all. The Dhangars who are shepherds have been notified as Nomadic tribe in the State of Maharashtra. Therefore, there is no printing mistake in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Amendment) Act, 1976 through which the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950

742-637: Is considered the best breed of ponies in Deccan. It is believed that their superior excellence is due to the Dhangar's practice of castrating them. Dhangars are noted for their martial qualities. A large number of Shivaji 's most trusted Mawalas or Maratha footmen were West- Pune Dhangars. On the other hand, Hatkar Dhangars, who are found mainly in the former Nizam state , especially in Nanded , Parbhani and Vidarbha , are known as Bargi Dhangars or "shepherds with

795-474: Is of a public trust registered under Act XXI of 1860. Initially, the institute received an annual grant of 3,000 rupees from the government of Bombay. Presently, it is partially supported by annual grants from the government of Maharashtra . The institute also receives grants from the government of India and the University Grants Commission for specific research projects. The institute has one of

848-746: Is on the historical record that for restraining the Hatkars, Nizam had sought help from the British Indian army . While some sources claim Malhar Rao Holkar , Founder of the Maratha Indore state , belonged to the Hatkar Dhangar sub-caste, the bakhars of Holkar dynasty say that he was a Khutekar Dhangar. "The three great tribes which compose the Maratha caste are the Kunbi or farmer, The Dhangar or shepherd, and

901-462: The Goala or cowherd. To this original cause may perhaps be ascribed that great simplicity of manner which distinguishes the Maratha people". In fact, the word " Maratha " in its narrower use is applied to a society in which Rajputs or quasi- Rajputs , at the top, with Kunbis (farmers), Dhangars (shepherds), and Goalas (cowherds) practise hypergamy, each group taking wives from the one below, causing

954-467: The Indian states of Maharashtra , northern Karnataka , Goa , Madhya Pradesh . They are referred to as Gavli Dhangars in northern Maharashtra ( Khandesh region ) and the forested hill tracts of India's Western Ghats , there are many distinct Gavli castes in Maharashtra and Dhangar Gavli is one of them. The word " Dhangar " is inscribed in a Buddhist cave in Pune district of Maharashtra. It

1007-495: The 27th report of Standing Committee on Labour and Welfare with regards to SCs and STs order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2002: There are two distinct communities having similar nomenclature, one is Dhangad which is a sub-group of Oraon, a Scheduled Tribe appearing at S.No..36 of the List of Scheduled Tribes. The traditional occupation of this community is cultivation. There is another community known as 'Dhangar' whose traditional occupation

1060-563: The BORI and destroyed priceless manuscripts and artifacts. Then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee condemned this violence though he upheld the importance of disagreement and debate in a democracy. After the incident 72 members of the group were arrested. In 2004 the director-general of police announced that a legal ban on the organization was being investigated, but as of 2015, organization has never been banned. In 2010, NCP -controlled Pune Municipal Corporation 's (PMC) decision to remove

1113-544: The BORI on 1 April 1918. The first curator, P.K. Gode took active initiatives to enhance this collection. Presently, the Institute has over 29,000 manuscripts. The largest part of the collection (17,877 Manuscripts) is part of the "Government Manuscript Library", while there is an additional collection of 11,633 manuscripts. The most prized collections include a paper manuscript of the Cikitsāsārasangraha dated 1320 and

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1166-482: The Dhangars come under Nomadic Tribe category within the larger Other Backward Class category. On the other hand, Dhangad (cultivators), also known as Oraon , Dhanka and Dom, are listed as Scheduled Tribes in the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa . In Bihar , Jharkhand and West Bengal Dhangad or Dom is listed as Scheduled Caste whereas Oraon as Scheduled Tribe . According to

1219-498: The Dhangars in some areas of the state was worse than that of Scheduled Tribes , and the government was committed to providing them reservation under the ST category". As per India's system of reservation , Dhangars are classified as Other Backward Class in Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi. In Maharashtra, they are classified as

1272-547: The Dhangars suggest that the Kannade, Unnikankan and Kurmar who speak Kannada were originally from Karnataka and might have migrated to the present habitats in Maharashtra at different points of time. Whereas Hatkar , Zende, Thellari and Dange trace their origin to a single caste in the remote past, Shegars or Sagar Rajputs claim that they have nothing to do with the Dhangars and are descendants from Rajputs of Rajasthan . Ahirs speak " Ahrani ", also known as Gavli boli ,

1325-523: The Dhangars were late to take up modern-day education. In Maharashtra , the Dhangars are classified as a Nomadic Tribe but in 2014 were seeking to be reclassified as a Scheduled Tribe in India's system of reservation . The Dhangar community's population in Maharashtra is around 1.5 crore, which is 13% of the total 11.25 crore (112.5 million) population of the state. Devendra Fadnavis , former Chief Minister of Maharashtra , had said that "The situation of

1378-522: The Dhangars. Since it is considered auspicious, the dance is also performed at the time of temple festivals. The dancers also hold colorful scarves which when moved in a swaying manner suggest the fanning of elephant's ears. Dhangari Ovi is a type of folk singing, which is about women's work songs and the epic-length performances of Dhangars, in which sung verses alternate with narrative passages in prose. Traditionally being shepherds, cowherds, buffalo keepers, blanket and wool weavers, butchers and farmers,

1431-551: The Maratha community and wants inclusion of Marathas in Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. They also demand free education for Maratha children and registered marriages instead of religious ceremonies. The organization has been described as having an anti-Brahmin caste stand and has been repeatedly criticized for its extremist views. Sambhaji Brigade is known for aggressive and violent agitations. Their first violent protest

1484-563: The Sanskrit " dhenugar " ("cattle herder") but dismissed that etymology as being "fictitious". In Kannada , the word Danagãra means cowherd and is derived from Dana which means cattle. Dana is the tadbhava of Dhana, which comes from Go-dhana which means cattle in Sanskrit . According to Shamba Joshi , Hatakara-Dhanagara ( Hatkar -Dhangar) is a compound of two words of the same meaning. Initially there were twelve tribes of Dhangar, and they had

1537-556: The coastal strip practiced cattle/buffalo/sheep herding and shifting cultivation . ahir , Halmat, Khutekar, Kurmar-Unnikankan , Mendhe, Shegar , Telangi, Unnikankan and Zade herded sheep and wove woolen blankets. Dhangar, Hande, Hatkar , Hattikankan , Kannade, Kurmar-hattikankan and Zende reared only Sheep. However, Hatkars in Sangli district also maintained cattle and some Zendes used to maintain ponies. Thellaris herded both sheep and cattle. Sangars were weavers of woolen blankets. In

1590-421: The committee head Jaysing Pawar only had caste considerations in mind when submitting the report, without regard to actual historical evidence. The group was also responsible for a protest and attack against a dog's ( Waghya ) statue located on Raigad Fort next to Shivaji 's memorial. According to legend the dog (named Waghya) was Shivaji's dog. The group claimed that the dog was not real and there should not be

1643-402: The conservation, preservation, and research of old manuscripts and rare books related to Orientalism , particularly Indology . It is located in Pune , Maharashtra , India. It was founded on 6 July 1917 and named after Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837–1925), a scholar of Orientalism. The institute is well known for its collection of old Sanskrit and Prakrit manuscripts. This institute

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1696-437: The contemporary Dhangar castes are the result of more than one migration from North-West India , between 4000 and 10000 BC. The density and distribution patterns of the different groups of Dhangars seem to have been guided by the suitability of the region for the sustenance of the animals that they traditionally maintained and the products of those animals on which the specific groups subsisted. Ethno-historic investigations among

1749-410: The court and apologised unconditionally for his remarks on Brahmin women. The Maratha Seva Sangh, founded by Khedekar, has been demanding reservations for the Maratha community and is also supporting creation of a new religion of its own called 'Shiva Dharma' Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute ( BORI ) is a research institute involved in

1802-465: The critical edition has also been made available on CD-ROM. In 1932, there was a need for money for the publication of the Mahabharata . A formal request was made to the seventh nizam of Hyderabad , Mir Osman Ali Khan , who granted Rs.1000 /- per year for a period of 11 years and offered Rs 50,000 for construction of the guest house which is called "Nizam Guest House". The office of the university

1855-484: The critically constituted text of the 18 parvas of the Mahabharata consisting of more than 89,000 verses, an elaborate critical apparatus and a prolegomena on the material and methodology (volume I), written by V.S. Sukthankar. Further work since the initial publication has produced a critical edition of the Harivamsa , a pratika index, a bibliography of ancillary materials, and a cultural index. The project of preparing

1908-634: The early 1920s, the leaders from the North Indian Ahir and the Maharashtrian Gavli which were ritually considered as lower castes and formed the bulk of landless peasants in Gangetic plains, founded All India Yadav Mahasabha (AIYM) in order to lay claims to Yadava identity through sanskritisation of their constituents and by re-imagining a glorified past based on a fabricated descent from the mythical Yadu . Many castes across India adopted Yadav as

1961-612: The government of India. In 2007, the Rigveda manuscripts preserved at the Institute were included in UNESCO 's Memory of the World Register . The government of Bombay, in 1866, started a pan Indian Manuscript Collection project. Noted scholars like Georg Bühler , F. Kielhorn , Peter Peterson, Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar , S. R. Bhandarkar, Kathavate and Ghate collected more than 17,000 important manuscripts under this project. This collection

2014-451: The guardian deity of the Deccan is the favorite god of the caste and is worshiped every Sunday and on Saturday – the light sixth of Margashirsha day – with offerings of sweetmeats. Vithoba of Pandharpur is worshiped daily in every household. Biroba and Mhaskoba are other popular gods amongst Dhangars. Gaja Nach, which literally means the dance of elephant, is a traditional dance of

2067-717: The largest collections of rare books and manuscripts in South Asia, consisting of over 125,000 books and 29,510 manuscripts. The institute publishes a journal, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute , four times a year. The institute also hosts the Manuscripts Resource and Conservation Centre under the auspices of the National Mission for Manuscripts , a project of the Ministry of Culture of

2120-585: The last name, illustrating claimed descent from Yadu. They also started practicing vegetarianism and teetotalism. Various communities, all over India, who were traditionally involved in cattle related occupations enthusiastically followed these recommendations. This effort was part of the process of Sanskritization and Aryanization. Dhangar society in India includes Dhangars in Maharashtra and Goa , Gadaria in North India, Bharwad in Gujarat , and Kuruba both in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. However, Dhangar Gavli

2173-610: The nearby Mutha river . The Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) community, the community to which Gadkari belonged later organized a meeting to protest this incident at the Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan (a theater named after Gadkari) in Thane . Sambhaji Brigade claimed that Gadkari had portrayed Sambhaji in bad light in an unfinished play Rajsanyas , written a century ago by referring to some out-of-context content. Indian National Congress leader Nitesh Rane later rewarded

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2226-451: The past, some Dhangars were Inamdars and some were tenure-holders, holding lands either by a share or by paying a lump sum for a certain period. Dhangars were also known for producing fine breeds of cattle and ponies. Khillari cattle , a mixture with a breed of Mysore , was pioneered by a Dhangar of Nashik named Gowdia who owned cattle in Mysore state . Similarly, Dhangar or Khilari pony

2279-405: The project on 1 August 1925 and he continued until his death on 21 January 1943. After his death, S.K. Belvalkar was appointed general editor on 1 April 1943. On 1 April 1961, P. L. Vaidya was appointed as general editor of the project on the retirement of S. K. Belvalkar . R. N. Dandekar was appointed as the joint general editor on 6 July 1957. To widespread acclaim, the completion for publication

2332-460: The spears" and were perhaps Bargirs or mounted troopers during the time of the Maratha Empire . However, Bargi or Bande Dhangar is a distinct sub-caste from them. Hatkars were in the army of Shivaji in large numbers and were known for their bravery in the Maratha Empire . "Naik" and "Rao" were the titles given to them. Hatkars were a dread to others and even Nizam was afraid of them. It

2385-665: The statue of Dadoji Kondadev was claimed to be consistent with the party's policy to encourage demands of hardline Maratha groups. It is claimed that such a stance had helped the NCP maintain its dominance among the Maratha youth in Pune and rural Maharashtra. Sambhaji Brigade was also involved in a protest to remove the statue of Dadoji Kondadev from Lal Mahal in Pune claiming that he was just introduced as teacher of Shivaji by Brahmin historians. About 30 to 40 people entered Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and attacked Mayor's office. This led to

2438-547: The subsequent ban on the book were denounced in a statement by historians, among whom were R.S. Sharma , R.C. Thakran, Suraj Bhan, Irfan Habib , D N Jha , Shireen Moosvi and K. M. Shrimali. Oxford University Press , publisher of James Laine 's Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India , withdrew the book after protests from historian Ninad Bedekar and other right-wing politicians due to what they claimed to be 'objectionable' statements about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Dhangar The Dhangars are caste of people found in

2491-454: The vandals and made inflammatory remarks claiming that he had announced a reward earlier in 2016 for removing the bust, and was proud of the act carried out by the accused. He also tweeted that Sambhaji Brigade was not involved in the act, even when the outfit had claimed responsibility for the action. The vandalism was largely seen as an attempt to garner votes by playing the community card in the city's civic elections which were due to be held in

2544-696: Was amended. On 17 January 2019, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) wrote a letter to the Principal Secretary to the Government of Uttar Pradesh stating the difference between Dhangar and Gadaria , and that the Hindi version of the word Dhangar is धंगड़ (Dhangad), which is classified as Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh , as per the Gazette notification issued in 1950 by

2597-521: Was an attack on Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute . Several historical records were destroyed in this attack including handwritten copies by Adya Shankaracharya. This was followed by uprooting of Dadoji Kondev 's Statue from Lal Mahal , then by attacks on Waghya dog's statue on Raigad fort and then by attacks on R. R. Patil . A group of brigade members attacked and vandalised the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in January 2004. The attack

2650-462: Was announced on 22 September 1966, by Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan , then president of India , at a special function held at the institute. The Shloka composition in the BORI critical edition of the Mahabharata Other characters represent around 10% of shlokas The critical edition was collated from 1,259 manuscripts. This edition in 19 volumes (more than 15,000 demi-quarto size pages) comprised

2703-557: Was first deposited at Elphinstone College in Bombay. Then it was transferred to Deccan College (Pune) for better preservation. After the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) was founded in 1917, the BORI founders proposed to offer even better preservation and research. Hence Lord Willingdon, the then governor of the Bombay Presidency and the first president of BORI, transferred the valuable government collection of manuscripts to

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2756-506: Was operated at Nizam Guest House until 1 June 1949. The institute was vandalized on 5 January 2004 by a mob composed of members of an extremist self-styled Maratha youth squad, calling themselves the Sambhaji Brigade , named after the elder son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj . The incident provoked widespread reaction and led historian Gajanan Mehendale to destroy parts of his in-progress biography of Shivaji. The vandalism and

2809-417: Was prompted by the controversy over James Laine 's controversial book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India (OUP, 2003); scholars from the institute had collaborated with Laine on information for his book about the founder of the Maratha Empire , Shivaji , which the group had viewed as blasphemy claiming that book features "derogatory remarks on Shivaji and his mother ". Angry mob of Sambhaji Brigade stormed

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