The Kanet is a caste found in the state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

. They are generally regarded as a Thakur (noble) caste, even though they have sometimes been classified otherwise.There is the subcaste of kanets which is known as "Mukhiya". Kanet/Kunait is one of the

Rajput Clans Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Raj ...

Native to East Himachal. Kanets Claim themselves to be the Descendants of Hill Rajas of an Ancient Kingdom. Ethnically and linguistically, Kanet/Kunet Rajputs residing in middle and lower hills of Himachal are of an Indo-Aryan stock such as other Rajput clans, but there are also mixed Mongoloid-Tibetian stock of Kanets in Kinnaur and Lahul. Kanet/Kunait Rajputs that are of indo aryan stock are the Landlords and are known by the title Thakur, Although during British times they were considered one of the agriculturalist castes of Himachal like Ghirth. The term agricultural tribe, according to the

Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900 The Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900 was a piece of legislation introduced by the British Raj with the aim of limiting the transfer of land ownership in Punjab Province. It created an "agricultural tribes" category, the membership of which was ...

, was at that time synonymous with

martial race Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials in British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified each caste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. ...

. Recent genetic analysis showed close genetic affinities b/w the Brahmins and Hill Rajputs with Thakur Kanets.

Etymology

The modern Name "Kanet/kunet/Kunait" is an Apabhramsha of Kuninda or Kunid ��ुणिन्द/कुणीद/कुनिद ~ कुनेत/कुनैत/कनेत *Ku/कु changed to ka/क Or ku/कु *ñi/णि changed to nē/णे/ने/नै *Da/द changed to ta/त

Origin

According to a theory of their origin Kanets are descendants of

Kuninda The Kingdom of Kuninda (or Kulinda in ancient literature) was an ancient central Himalayan kingdom documented from around the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century, located in the southern areas of modern Himachal Pradesh and far western areas of U ...

(कुणिन्द/कुणीद) Dynasty which once ruled the Parts of East Himachal and to Kumaun region of Uttrakhand for a very long time till the rise of Gupta Empire and before the arrival of Medieval Era(6thCE-12thCE) Rajput Clans Chauhan,

Parmar Parmar is a Rajput clan found in Northern and Central India, especially in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Kutch, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and North Maharashtra. See also * Paramara Dynasty * Panwar Dynasty * Pawar * Pan ...

, Chandel from Central And North India. The Kingdom of

s is also mentioned in

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

as Kulinda.They were Defeated by the Arjuna. Kunindas are also mentioned by Panini in his Ashtadhyayi. A Kulinda/

chief named Subahu/सुबाहु' is mentioned in Mahabharata who joined the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

with his army and fought against

Kauravas ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his w ...

in the battle. One of the great kings of the Kuninda was Rajnah/

Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star People, groups and titles * Rana (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Rana (title), a histori ...

Amoghabhuti , who ruled in the mountainous valley of the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers (in today's southern Himachal and far western Uttarakhand in northern India around 200B.C.) The Greek historian Ptolemy linked the origin of the Kuninda to the country where the rivers Beas, Sutlej, Yamuna and Ganges originate.Ptolemy, ''Geography'' 7.1.42: ὑπὸ δὲ τὰς Βιβάσιος καὶ τοῦ Ζαράδρου καὶ τοῦ Διαμούνα καὶ τοῦ Γάγγου ἡ Κυλινδρινή, "and enclosed by the Bibasis, the Zaradros, the Diamuna, and the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

is Kylindrinē." One of the Edicts of Ashoka on a pillar is also present at Kalsi, in the region of Garhwal, indicating the spread of Buddhism to the region from the 4th century BCE. The Kuninda kingdom disappeared around the 3rd century, and from the 4th century, it seems the region shifted to Shaivite beliefs. Kanet Thakurs/Rajputs could be the descendants of Ruling Ranas(Chieftains) of the Ancient

Tribe.

Distribution

Kanet/Kunait are Mostly found in eastern

i.e in Districts like Solan, Mandi, Kullu, Sirmour and Shimla with very few representation in Kangra and Hamirpur.

Location of ancient Kunindas

References

{{reflist Social groups of Himachal Pradesh Indian castes Punjabi tribes