The Kuta are a

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 ...

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 state of

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. They are also known as Dhankuta .

Origin

The Kuta are an occupational

traditionally associated with rice husking. According to some traditions, the word kuta is a corruption of the

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

word kutna, which means to pound. The Kuta themselves claim to be Yaduvanshi

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 ...

s, who took up the occupation of rice husking. Over time this change of occupation led to the formation of a distinct community. They are a small community, found mainly in the districts of

Bahraich Bahraich is a city and a municipal board in Bahraich district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the Saryu River, a tributary of the Ghaghara river, Bahraich is north-east of Lucknow, the state capital. The districts of B ...

Moradabad Moradabad () is an industrial city, commissionerate, and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Del ...

and

Shahjahanpur Shahjahanpur () is a municipal corporation, town and district headquarters of Shahjahanpur District in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located between Bareilly and Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. History Shahjahanpur was establi ...

Present Circumstances

The Kuta are strictly

endogamous Endogamy is the cultural practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting any from outside of the group or belief structure as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relatio ...

and practice clan

exogamy Exogamy is the social norm of mating or marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which tw ...

. They are divided into ten exogamous sub-divisions, known as ''paltis'', namely the Chauhan, Parihar, Gahlot, Solanki, Hamoria, Shishwal, Chandravanshi, Rathor, Parmar and Kotak. The main function of the palti is to trace descent and to regulate their marriage alliances.People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 876 to 881 Manohar Publications The Kuta have seen a decline in their traditional occupation, with the growth of rice mills. Most Kuta are now petty businessmen, setting up their own rice mills. Others are involved in the transportation business. Like other

castes A caste is a 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 (endogamy), foll ...

, they have set a caste association, the Dhankut Samaj Kalyan Samiti, which acts as a community welfare association. Each Kuta settlement also contains a biradari panchayat, an informal caste association, which acts as an instrument of social control.

References

{{reflist Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Indian castes

Origin

Present Circumstances

See also

References