The Kalwar, Kalal or Kalar are an

Indian caste The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, espec ...

historically found in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

, Jammu & Kashmir and other parts of north and central India. The caste is traditionally associated with the distillation and selling of

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

, but around the start of the 20th century assorted Kalwar caste organisations sought to leave that trade and redefine their community through

Sanskritisation Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper c ...

process.

History

Because their hereditary occupation of distilling and selling liquor was considered degrading, the Kalals held a very low status in the traditional

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

hierarchy of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. This situation changed when the Kalal chief Jassa Singh rose to political power in the 18th century. Jassa Singh styled himself as

Ahluwalia Ahluwalia may refer to: * Ahluwalia (misl) Ahluwalia (also transliterated as Ahluvalia) was a misl, that is, a sovereign state in the Sikh Confederacy of Punjab region in present-day India and Pakistan. The misl's name is derived from Ahlu, th ...

after the name of his native village, and established the ruling dynasty of the

Kapurthala State Kapurthala State, was a kingdom and later princely state of the Punjab Province (1849–1947), Punjab Province of British India. Ruled by Ahluwalia Sikh rulers, spread across . According to the 1901 census the state had a population of 314,341 a ...

. Following Jassa Singh's rise, other

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

Kalals also adopted Ahluwalia as the name of their caste, and started giving up their traditional occupation. The regulations imposed by the colonial British administration on manufacture and sale of liquor accelerated this process, and by the early 20th century, most Kalals had abandoned their traditional occupation. By this time, they had started claiming

Khatri Khatri () is a caste system in India, caste originating from the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are war ...

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

origins to try and enhance their social status. Before the advent of the British rule, the Muslim Kalals also attempted to raise their social status by adopting the Kakezai

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

identity. Some of these Kalal-turned- Kakezais, such as the

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the ...

family that ruled the

Jalandhar Doab Doaba, also known as Bist Doab or the Jalandhar Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River and the Sutlej River. People of this region are given the demonym "Doabia". The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Doaba ...

in the 1840s, further raised their status by claiming to be high-caste Shaikhs. Sikh Kalals also claimed Khatri or Rajput origin. Kalwars in

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

were claiming themselves to be of the

Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

status in the 1890s. During the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

rule, the Kalals took up a variety of occupations, including trade, agriculture, army service (especially the Ahluwalias), government service, and law.

References

Indian castes Social groups of Rajasthan Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Social groups of Punjab, India Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan Sindhi tribes Brewing and distilling castes {{India-ethno-stub