The Khatik (Hindi: खटीक, Urdu: کھٹیک), are an ethnic tribe found in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

, mainly modern-day India, Pakistan and Nepal. They are one of the most widespread community in South Asia. Khatik have a population of approximately 10 millions and are located mainly in New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

History

Origin

The Khatik are widely distributed community in North India, They are

Dhangar Dhangar is a herding caste of people found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. They are referred as Gavli in southern Maharashtra, Goa and northern Karnataka, Golla (caste), Golla in Andhra Prad ...

and originated from Kutekars. Russel (Vol. III, 1916, p. 453) and Risley (Vol. I, 1891, pt. 47) both agree in calling them a cultivating and vegetable selling caste.

Etymology

''Khatik'' is derived from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

. It means "killer or hunter" which comes from Khatt, "immediate killing". There is also a belief of there origins from

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by ''Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine year ...

and claims to be descendent of King Khatwanga of Ikshavaku dynasty.

Religion

Hinduism

Most of the modern-day Khatiks are

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and believe there origins from Khatwanga from

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...

and revered Hindu saint

Durbalnath Saint Durbalnath was an nineteenth century Indian Hindu saint. He was born at "Bichgaav" of Alwardistrict in Rajasthan. Durbalnath ji is considered as"kulguru" of Hindu Khatik community. Many temples of Durbalnath ji are situated all across ...

Islam

A minority of Khatiks are also

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...

and have mainly converted during the time of

Muslim rule in India Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent began in the course of a gradual Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent, beginning mainly after the conquest of Sindh and Multan led by Muhammad ibn al-Qasim. Following the perfunctory rule by the Ghazna ...

, some have also been forcefully converted to Islam.

Jainism

Khatik in Rajasthan inspired by Jain guru and adopted Jainism and terned Veerwal and now identified as Veerwal Khatik.

Legal status

Khatiks are identified as

Other Backward Class The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with Forward caste, Gen ...

in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Schedule Caste in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh.

Subdivisions

Hindu Khatik caste has divided into various subgroups based on their livelihood. These include: # Suryavanshi – They claim to be descendent of Khatwanga of

Ikshvaku clan The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...

and are traditionally

Tanga Tanga may refer to: Places Burkina Faso * , a town in eastern Burkina Faso * Tanga, Sidéradougou, a village in western Burkina Faso * Tanga-Pela, a village in northern-central Burkina Faso Other places * Tanga, Tanzania, a city and port on the ...

driver. # Sonkar – They are mainly

Butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

and are involved in meat profession. # Suryavanshi Aare Katika or Are Katika – They claims to be descendents of Are Brahmins. # Chak (Chik, Chikwa) – They usually make drums from animal skin. # Dhangar – They are mainly milk-yielding cattles caretakers. # Kalal – They are involved in meat selling professions. # Rangiya – They used to sell animal skins. # Mewafarosh – They used to collect and sell dry-fruits.

References

Sources

External links

* {{Authority control Indian castes Hindu communities Social groups of India Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Delhi Scheduled Castes of Punjab Scheduled Castes of Rajasthan Scheduled Castes of West Bengal Scheduled Castes of Haryana Scheduled Castes of Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Chhattisgarh Dalit communities Other Backward Classes of Gujarat Other Backward Classes of Maharashtra Other Backward Classes of Karnataka