Pradhan

Pradhan (Devanagari: प्रधान) is a generally ministerial title of Sanskrit origin in cultures of Hindu tradition, mainly used in the Indian subcontinent.[1][2] The Sanskrit pradhan translates to "major" or "prime";[3] however, the more modern Hindi definitions provided by the Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary also include "chief" and "leader".[4] The precise interpretation can differ significantly by region. The style was abandoned by many Indian princely states during the Mughal era in favor of Persian styles such as Wasir and Diwan.

Surname

Pradhan is a notable surname used by castes falling mostly under the Brahmin or Kshatriya varna of various societies of India and Nepal. Notable use of the word as family surnames include people from castes like the Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu of Maharashtra, (Khandayat,Gopal, Chasa) of Odisha, Rajput of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, among others.[5]

In modern Nepal, Pradhan is employed as a high-caste lineage name by a section of the Chatharīya (or Kshatriya) Newārs who they trace their roots to northern and western India. Among the Newars, the two traditional lineages among Kathmandu and Patan's Pradhans; the Thabahi/Thamel and the Patan Pradhans respectively; are among the highest tier "Thakur" (ठाकुर/थकु/ठकुरी) lineage of the "Chatharīya" (छथरीय/क्षत्रीय) Srēṣṭha caste who are descendants of the Malla (Nepal) royalty and its nobility.[6] The other family names of this group consist of the surnames Malla, Joshi, Rājbhandārī, Rājvanshī, Hādā, Amātya, among others.[7][8] Chatharīyas are distinguished by the use of their clan or occupational titles (e.g., Pradhān, Malla, Rājbhandārī) instead of the all-encompassing "Shrestha" surname. Newar caste system stratifies them as belonging to the Kshatriya varna.[9][10]

In present-day Indian states of Sikkim and sections of West Bengal, Assam and Bhutan, Pradhan is a title assumed by all the Newar descendants who immigrated from Kathmandu Valley to these places primarily since the mid 19th century. Descendants of the various immigrant upper and lower Newar castes have since adopted the title of 'Pradhān' as their singular caste-denoting name, whereas Pradhan in Nepal is only used as a specific family title by the descendants of the Kshatriya (Chāthariya) aristocratic Newar families of Kathmandu and Patan.[11] Today, Pradhans of Sikkim form an influential ethnic group of a homogenous, non-caste and non-endogamous community, which is in sharp contrast to that of the Newārs of Nepal which still retains its highly complex, heterogenous and caste-based community, where Pradhan is only one of the hundreds of family titles used.[12] Notable Pradhans of Sikkim include trader Chandravir Pradhan (Kayastha), literary icon Paras Mani Pradhan (Shakya), first Chief Justice of Nepal Hari Prasad Pradhan, Bollywood cinematographer Binod Pradhan, footballer Sanju Pradhan, 1974 AD lead singer Adrian Pradhan, actors Menuka Pradhan, Poojana Pradhan, Uttam Pradhan, etc. In terms of India's Affirmative action policy, they are a Forward caste/General in all of India except in Sikkim where, like the entirety of its native Nepali-origin population, Pradhans/Newars are given protective status. The key distinction is that Newars, along with Bahun and Chhetri of Sikkim, have been categorised as Other Backward Class, while the rest of Nepali-speaking Sikkim populace are categorised under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.[13]

Local Head

Pradhan is an elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the panchayat (village government) in India (gram panchayat). The pradhan, together with other elected members, have the power of constituencies of the gram panchayat. The pradhan is the focal point of contact between government officers and the village community. Pradhan title in such setting is mainly used in east Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. Similarly, in the Deoghar district of Jharkhand, Pradhan is the head of the village who inherits this hereditary office. In some villages, they are also known as Mulraiyat.

Usages

Sources
  1. http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/38366/Ashta-Pradhan
  2. http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/561019
  3. Klaus Glashoff. "Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit". Spokensanskrit.de. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  4. Stuart, Ronald. The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Edited by Ronald Stuart McGregor. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  5. Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1951). "History and Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age" (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan): 313–314. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Levy, Robert I. (1990). Mesocosm Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 79.
  7. Sharma, Prayag Raj. Land, Lineage and State: A Study of Newar Society in Mediaeval Nepal. Social Science Baha Books. ISBN 978-9937-597-27-2.
  8. "Status of Shrestha". Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  9. "David Gellner: Language, Caste, Religion and Territory. Newar Identity, Ancient and Modern". Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  10. Michaels, Alex (2008). Siva in Trouble: Festivals and Rituals at the Pasupatinatha Temple of Deopatan. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534302-1.
  11. Shrestha, Bal Gopal. "Castes Among Newars Status of Shrestha". Academia.edu. European Bulletin of Himalayan Research.
  12. Gellner and Quigley (1995). Contested Hierarchies A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Clarendon Press: Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology. ISBN 978-0-19-827960-0.
  13. zzxxShrestha, Bal Gopal (2015-02-01). "Newars of Sikkim". Vajra Books. Missing or empty |url= (help)
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