Dharala Koli
The Dharala,[1] or Dhurala is a title used by Koli caste of Gujarat, Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu who were professional soldiers and were experts in sword fighting.[2] during the British Raj in India, the 80% of the total population of Kolis in Kheda district were Dharala.[2] the Koli Dharalas plundered the British trading ships because they were turbulent and considered as bad tribe.[3] the Koli Dharalas also served in British Indian Army as trackers and village guard and were occasionally used as soldiers in wartime by British government in return of sum.[4]
The most of the Koli Dharalas were from Patanvadia,[5] Talapada subcaste of Kolis who were prosperous and respected in society and ruled over petty Princely States during British regime.[6]
Dharala Vero
The Dharala Vero was a type of tax collected by Kolis of Gujarat to allowed the other caste people to live in their villages.[7] in 1920, the Mahatma Gandhi tried to reform the Koli Dharalas to get ride of Anti social activities such as gang Robberies and tax collection from other caste people.[8]
Origin or meaning
The title of Dharala is taken from the Dhar (Sharpness) of a sword's edge. Dharala means experts of sword fighting.[9]
Clans
The most of the Koli Dharalas were belong to the Baria clan of Kolis.[10]
References
- ↑ Yājñika, Acyuta. The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva, and Beyond (in en) (2005). New Delhi, India: Penguin Books India. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-14-400038-8.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chaturvedi, Vinayak. Peasant Pasts: History and Memory in Western India (in en) (2007). New Delhi, India: University of California Press. p. 30–35. ISBN 978-0-520-25076-5.
- ↑ Drew, John. The Christmas the Kolis took to cricket (in en). The Daily Star (2021-12-06). Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ↑ Jain, Jyotindra. Folk Art and Culture of Gujarat: Guide to the Collection of the Shreyas Folk Museum of Gujarat (in en) (1980). New Delhi, India: Shreyas Prakashan. p. 133.
- ↑ Tambs-Lyche, Harald. Power, Profit, and Poetry: Traditional Society in Kathiawar, Western India (in en) (1996). New Delhi, India: Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 130: a significant number of Patanvadia Kolis were Dharala in kaira district. ISBN 978-81-7304-176-1.
- ↑ Saṅghavī, Nagīnadāsa Purushottamadāsa. Gujarat: A Political Analysis (in en) (1995). New Delhi, India: Centre for Social Studies. p. 71:Dharala Koli who were of Talapada subcaste of Koli caste - s are the most prosperous group amongst the community and enjoy the highest status within the community because a few of them were petty princes during the British regime . A group of castes ( 25 % ) of Hindus.
- ↑ Clark, Alice Whitcomb. Central Gujarat in the Nineteenth Century: The Integration of an Agrarian System (in en) (1979). New Delhi, India: University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 72.
- ↑ Hardiman, David. Peasant Nationalists of Gujarat: Kheda District, 1917-1934 (in en) (1981). New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-19-561255-4.
- ↑ Chaturvedi 2007, p. 30.
- ↑ Clark 1979, p. 138.