Baria, or Baraiya, Bareeya and Bariya is a

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

(

Gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

) of the

Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...

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 ...

found in the

Indian State India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

and

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory in India. The territory was constituted through the merger of the former territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Plans for the proposed merger were announced by th ...

. the Devgad Baria was their Stronghold or given their name to

Baria State The Baria State, also known as Bariya State, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rul ...

in Gujarat. according to the historian Y.V.S Nath, the ruling royal family of

is original

by caste but later they claimed to be of

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 ...

origin to be in high status among other Princely States. According to the census records of 1931, there were 1,03,769

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Baria Kolis and 5 Baria Kolis were converted to Jain

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

in the

Baroda State Baroda State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later a princely state in present-day Gujarat. It was ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India. With th ...

of Gaekwars.

Origin

The Baria Kolis got their name from the

Devgadh Baria Devgadh Baria is a municipality in Dahod district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is a small town nestled in the foothills on the eastern border of Gujarat State. It is 41 kilometers from Godhra in the west, 55 kilometers from Dahod in the ea ...

of Gujarat and it was their Stronghold as well as they were lawless and turbulent people.

Piracy

Historically, the Baria Kolis were well known

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

of Gujarat and the Piram

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

of Gujarat was stronghold of Baria Koli pirates but later they were defeated by Mokhadaji Gohil in 1325.

Rawal Rawal may refer to: Places * Rawal, Uttar Pradesh, India * Rawal, Kapurthala, India * Rawal lake, in Pakistan Other uses * Rawal (caste), an Indian community from Rajasthan and Gujarat * Rawal (name), including a list of people with the nam ...

Bhavsinhji of

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city and the headquarters of Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Gohil. It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state before it was merged into the Dominion ...

died in 1764, leaving behind him five sons, and the eldest of and these, Akherajji I, succeeded as Ruler of the State. At this juncture the fort of

Talaja Talaja may refer to: People * Roope Talaja (born 1988), Finnish ice hockey player * Silvija Talaja (born 1978), Croatian tennis player Places * Talaja Caves, India * Talaja, Bhavnagar Talaja is a town and a municipality in Bhavnagar distric ...

was in the hands of Baria Koli pirates, a ment lawless band of pirates who infested the western littoral from

Cambay Khambhat state or Cambay state was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The city of Khambhat in present-day Gujarat was its capital. The state was bounded in the north by the Kaira district (Kheda district, Kheda) and in the sout ...

to the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

. Their unjust exactions pressed so heavily upon merchants in that locality that the large trade previously carried on was almost entirely ruined, even British ships falling ment then sent

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

s, which were assisted by Rawal Akherajji and his army, and it was their combined forces which captured the stronghold of Talaja and defeated the Baria clan of Koli pirates.

History

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 ...

Raj in Gujarat, The Baria Kolis were holders of Vanta lands (private estates). the Bariya Kolis were formerly known as Bandits because of their anti-social activities but later settled as agriculturist in villages. Around 1950, Kolis of Baria clan joined the Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha which was started by Koli elite Natwarsinh Solanki for upliftment of Koli society. after joining the Sabha, Baria Kolis were not in conflicts against

s but Kolis of

Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...

didn't join the Sabha because they thought that '

Patidar Patidar (Gujarati language, Gujarati: ), formerly known as Kunbi, Kanbi (Gujarati language, Gujarati: ), is an Indian land-owning and peasant Caste system in India, caste and community native to Gujarat. The community comprises at multiple sub ...

wasn't their enemy and they didn't need to be Rajputs to be called as

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 ...

References

{{Reflist Koli clans

External links

Feminists Rethink the Neoliberal State: Inequality, Exclusion, and Change by Leela Fernandes

Origin

Piracy

History

See also

References

External links