Basith

The Basith are a Hindu caste founded in Jammu and Kashmir. The caste has Scheduled Caste status.[1] According to the 2001 Census of India, the caste has 18,866 members.[2]

History

According to tradition, the Basith immigrated from Chamba in Himachal Pradesh in the nineteenth century to Poonch. The Basith speak Pahari and their customs are similar to neighboring communities, such as the Domaal. They are a Hindu community in a predominantly Muslim region. The Basith maintain distance from neighboring Muslim communities with strict restrictions on eating together.[1]

Culture

The Basith population is small and has no political representation. Many are farmers and the majority are poor. They worship Ganga, the Gita, and Gow Mata. After a death, they make chotha (a flatbread) on the fourth day and daswan on the tenth day. Sub-castes of Basiths include Telchubs, Chasyals, Charnals, Sukhwals and Malhotra.

The Basith are endogamous and practice clan exogamy. Their clans are called zaats and include the Chatriyal, Chimal, Raine, and Salotre, each of which have their own origin legend. A number of zaats then form a gotra. For example, the Chatriyal belong to the Changin gotra and the Chimal belong to the Pardwari gotra. Like many North Indian Hindus, the Basith have an informal caste council called a biradari panchayat. Each of their settlements have this informal body, headed by a chaudhary. The panchayat deals with all intra-community disputes, as well as those who breach community norms. Marriage outside the caste is discouraged, and those who do are excommunicated. The Basith are Hindu of the Satnami sect. They worship the Hindi pantheon as well as their clan gods and goddesses, called kul-devitas.[1]

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References
  1. Pandita, K.N; Charak, S.D.S; Rizvi, B.R, eds. (2003), People of India: Jammu and Kashmir: Volume XXV, New Dehli: Manohar, pp. 107–114
  2. STATE PRIMARY CENSUS ABSTRACT FOR INDIVIDUAL SCHEDULED CASTE
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