Dheevara (caste)

Dheevara is a grouping of fishing castes from the Kerala state of South India.

The word "Dheevara" is of Sanskrit origin, and has been used to describe fishermen in Gautama Dharmasutra and Mahabharata.[1] The Dheevara community was formed by Arayan, Valan and other castes to lobby for the fishers' rights, and to seek caste-based reservations in government jobs.[2] The members of the community formed the Dheevara Mahasabha ("Dheevara Great Assembly"), which is a politically powerful organization. Guru VedaVyasa was born into the Dheevara caste.[3]

The following castes are categorized as "Dheevara" in the Government's list of Other Backward Classes:[4][5]

  • Arayan or Araya
  • Bovi or Bovis Mogayar
  • Arayavathi
  • Mogaveera
  • Mukaya, Mokaya or Mukayar
  • Mukkuvan
  • Nulayan
  • Koli
  • Paniakkal
  • Valan
  • Valinijiar, Valinjiar or Valanchiyar

See also
  • Dhimar and Dhivar, fishing castes of North India, whose names are also derived from the word "Dheevara"

References
  1. Singh 2003, p. 292.
  2. Sathyapalan 2015, p. 90.
  3. Sathyapalan 2015, p. 95.
  4. "Central List of OBCs for the state of Kerala" (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  5. "List of Other Eligible Classes in Kerala State". Kerala Public Service Commission. Retrieved 18 May 2016.

Bibliography
  • Sathyapalan, Jyothis (2015). "Governability Challenges in Sustaining Small-Scale fisheries in an Urban Context: A study of Cochin Backwaters". In Svein Jentoft and Ratana Chuenpagdee (ed.). Interactive Governance for Small-Scale Fisheries: Global Reflections. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-17034-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Singh, Kumar Suresh (2003). People of India. 25. Anthropological Survey of India.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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