The Dhangars are caste of people found in the

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 ...

n states of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, northern

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

. They are referred to as Gavli Dhangars in northern Maharashtra ( Khandesh region) and the forested hill tracts of India's Western Ghats, there are many distinct

Gavli Gavli (also spelled as Gawli or Gavali) ( Marathi: गवळी) is a Hindu caste in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. They are a part of the Yadav community. Etymology The name Gauli may have been derived from a Sanskrit word ...

castes in

and Dhangar Gavli is one of them.

History

Etymology

The word "''Dhangar''" is inscribed in a Buddhist cave in Pune district of Maharashtra. It is believed that this inscription has its origin between the first and the third century AD. Multiple theories have been proposed for the origin of the word Dhangar. It may be associated with a term for "cattle wealth".

Bhagwan Lal Indraji Bhagwan Lal Indraji or Bhagwanlal Indraji (8 November 1839 – 16 March 1888) was an Indian archaeologist and scholar. A member of the Royal Asiatic Society's Bombay branch. He made transcripts of several ancient Indian inscriptions, including t ...

maintains that it is derived from Sanskrit word Dhang which means hill. Syed Siraj-Ul-Hassan noted that some people of his time believed the term to come from the Sanskrit "''dhenugar''" ("cattle herder") but dismissed that etymology as being "fictitious". In

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

, the word Danagãra means cowherd and is derived from Dana which means cattle. Dana is the

tadbhava (Sanskrit: तद्भव, , lit. "arising from that") is the Sanskrit word for one of three etymological classes defined by native grammarians of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, alongside tatsama and deśi words. at pp. 67-69. A "tadbhava" is ...

of Dhana, which comes from Go-dhana which means cattle in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. According to

Shamba Joshi Shankara Baaladeekshita Joshi (1896– 28 Sep 1991), popularly referred to as Sham Ba Joshi, was an authority on the culture of Karnataka. Joshi was known for his unique and distinctive style of research. The range of his interests, study, re ...

, Hatakara-Dhanagara (

Hatkar Hatkar is a Hindu caste found in Deccan region of India. Their home language is Marathi. However, Bargi is a distinct sub-caste from Hatkar Dhangar. Hatkar (हातकर) is also a surname used by Saraswat Brahmins in Maharashtra, which is ...

-Dhangar) is a compound of two words of the same meaning.

Subdivisions

Initially there were twelve tribes of Dhangar, and they had a

division of labour The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any economic system or organisation so that participants may specialise ( specialisation). Individuals, organisations, and nations are endowed with or acquire specialised capabilities, a ...

amongst brothers of one family. The nation around

Hingoli Hingoli is a city and a municipal council in Hingoli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra Description Hingoli is a city and a municipal council in Hingoli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Hingoli is located at . Demographic ...

was called Bara-Hatti which means country of twelve Hatkar-Dhangars. These twelve tribes later formed three sub-divisions and one half-division. These three being

(shepherd),

or Dange (cowherd) and

Khutekar The Dhangars are caste of people found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh . They are referred to as Gavli Dhangars in northern Maharashtra ( Khandesh region) and the forested hill tracts of India's Wes ...

(wool and blanket weaver)/Sangar. All sub-castes fall in either of these divisions.

Historical migrations

The archaeological evidence and ethnographic data suggest that the contemporary Dhangar castes are the result of more than one migration from North-West

, between 4000 and 10000 BC. The density and distribution patterns of the different groups of Dhangars seem to have been guided by the suitability of the region for the sustenance of the animals that they traditionally maintained and the products of those animals on which the specific groups subsisted. Ethno-historic investigations among the Dhangars suggest that the Kannade, Unnikankan and Kurmar who speak

were originally from

and might have migrated to the present habitats in

at different points of time. Whereas

, Zende, Thellari and Dange trace their origin to a single caste in the remote past, Shegars or

Sagar Rajput The Sagar Rajput is a Hindu caste. History and origin The Sagar Rajput caste was formerly known as Shegar Dhangar. They were shepherds and farmers by tradition. They owned more farming land than other farming communities and also held the office ...

s claim that they have nothing to do with the Dhangars and are descendants from

Rajputs 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 ...

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 ...

Ahirs Ahir or Aheer (derived from the Sanskrit word: abhira) is a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the Yadav surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

speak " Ahrani", also known as Gavli boli, a mixed dialect of

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

and are closely related to the Ladshe and Dange who have supposedly come from

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 ...

. On the other hand, Gadhari-Nikhar and Gadhari-Dhangar, having migrated from

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

, speak Sanskrit and Hindi. Telangi speaks

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

and probably migrated from

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, the remaining groups speak

Past occupation

The Gavli or Dange Dhangars found in the coastal strip practiced cattle/buffalo/sheep herding and

shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cul ...

ahir Ahir or Aheer (derived from the Sanskrit word: abhira) is a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the Yadav surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

, Halmat, Khutekar, Kurmar-Unnikankan, Mendhe, Shegar, Telangi, Unnikankan and Zade herded sheep and wove woolen blankets. Dhangar, Hande,

, Hattikankan, Kannade, Kurmar-hattikankan and Zende reared only Sheep. However, Hatkars in Sangli district also maintained cattle and some Zendes used to maintain ponies. Thellaris herded both sheep and cattle. Sangars were weavers of woolen blankets. In the past, some Dhangars were Inamdars and some were tenure-holders, holding lands either by a share or by paying a lump sum for a certain period. Dhangars were also known for producing fine breeds of cattle and ponies.

Khillari cattle The Khillari is a cattle breed. It is a member of the ''Bos indicus'' sub-species, native to Satara district, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur regions in Maharashtra and Bijapur district, Karnataka, Bijapur, Dharwad District, Dharwad and Belagavi Dist ...

, a mixture with a breed of

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, was pioneered by a Dhangar of

Nashik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

named Gowdia who owned cattle in Mysore state. Similarly, Dhangar or Khilari

pony A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...

is considered the best breed of ponies in Deccan. It is believed that their superior excellence is due to the Dhangar's practice of castrating them.

Role in the Maratha Empire

Dhangars are noted for their martial qualities. A large number of

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

's most trusted Mawalas or

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

footmen were West-

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Dhangars. On the other hand,

Dhangars, who are found mainly in the former

Nizam state Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnata ...

, especially in

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the List of cities in Maharashtra, tenth largest city in the state and the List of cities in India by population, seventy-ninth most populated city in India. It is the second largest city in ...

Parbhani Parbhani (, ) is a city in Maharashtra state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Parbhani District. Parbhani is one of the largest cities in Marathwada region. Parbhani is around away from regional headquarters of Aurangabad w ...

and

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...

, are known as

Bargi Bargis () were a light cavalry mercenary group of Maratha Confederacy's who indulged in large scale depredations in the countryside of western part of the Bengal Subah for about ten years (1741–1751) during the Maratha invasions of Bengal. Ma ...

Dhangars or "shepherds with the spears" and were perhaps

rs or mounted troopers during the time of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. However,

or Bande Dhangar is a distinct sub-caste from them. Hatkars were in the army of

in large numbers and were known for their bravery in the

. "Naik" and "Rao" were the titles given to them.

s were a dread to others and even

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

was afraid of them. It is on the historical record that for restraining the Hatkars, Nizam had sought help from the

British Indian army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

. While some sources claim

Malhar Rao Holkar Malhar Rao Holkar (16 March 1693 – 20 May 1766) was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia, appointed by Peshwa Bajirao I to help spread the Maratha rule to nort ...

, Founder of the Maratha Indore state, belonged to the Hatkar Dhangar sub-caste, the

bakhar ''Bakhar'' is a form of historical narrative written in Marathi prose. are one of the earliest genres of medieval Marathi literature. More than 200 bakhars were written in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, the most important of them chr ...

s of Holkar dynasty say that he was a Khutekar Dhangar.

Relationship with Yadavs

According to the

1891 Census of India Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **German Empire, Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Ze ...

, the pastoral class of Indian population was divided into two groups. First group was called cattle graziers which included

, Gopas, Gawali and Golla. The second group was called shepherds which included

Gadaria The Gadaria or Gadariya is a herding caste of North India that was traditionally involved professionally in livestock breeding, especially sheep. They are primarily found in Uttar Pradesh and in some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Hima ...

, Dhangars,

Kuruba Kuruba is a Hindu caste native to the Indian state of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are the third-largest caste group in Karnataka. Traditionally, these are shepherds who used to do the work of sheep/goat and animal ...

, Idaiyan,

Bharwad The Bharwad are a Hindu caste found in the state of Gujarat in India, primarily engaged in herding livestock. History According to Sudipta Mitra, historians believe the Bharwards arrived in northern Gujarat in the 10th century, fleeing the M ...

and

Rabari The Rabari people (also known as Rebari, Raika, Desai and Dewasi people) are a caste group from Rajasthan, Kutch district, Kutch region of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab of India and the Sindh province of Pakistan. They were traditionall ...

. In the early 1920s, the leaders from the North Indian

Ahir Ahir or Aheer (derived from the Sanskrit word: abhira) is a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the Yadav surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

and the Maharashtrian

which were ritually considered as lower castes and formed the bulk of landless peasants in Gangetic plains, founded

All India Yadav Mahasabha The All India aheer Mahasabha is a caste-based community organisation established on 17 April 1924 to serve a broad body of Indian social groups collectively known as the Yadav caste. The educated elite among the Yadavs instigated the formatio ...

(AIYM) in order to lay claims to Yadava identity through sanskritisation of their constituents and by re-imagining a glorified past based on a fabricated descent from the mythical

Yadu This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indian religions. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the north ...

. Many castes across India adopted Yadav as the last name, illustrating claimed descent from Yadu. They also started practicing vegetarianism and teetotalism. Various communities, all over India, who were traditionally involved in cattle related occupations enthusiastically followed these recommendations. This effort was part of the process of

Sanskritization 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 ...

and Aryanization. Dhangar society in India includes Dhangars in Maharashtra and

, Gadaria in North India, Bharwad in

, and Kuruba both in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. However, Dhangar Gavli is a distinct caste from Yadav Gavli in

and

. Moreover,

of Maharashtra prefer to be known as Ahir Dhangars and

s of

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

(Madhya Pradesh), like

Holkar The Holkars (pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ were the ruling house of the Indore State of the Maratha Confederacy, and earlier held the rank of Subahdar under Peshwa Baji Rao I of the Maratha Empire. When the Maratha Confederacy began to we ...

s, call themselves Dhangar gadaria. In North India the gadaria, who call themselves dhangar, were at one time a wing of Dhangar society. Ahir is one of the

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 Dhangars.

Rajputisation attempt

The Shegar Dhangars, also known as

s, were previously identified as shepherd by occupation and Shudra by Varna but later they changed their surname to

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 ...

and started wearing

sacred thread ''Upanayana'' () is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' or ''acharya'', and an individual's initiation into a school in ...

Culture

Khandoba Khandoba (IAST: Khaṇḍobā), also known as Martanda Bhairava and Malhari, is a Hindu deity worshiped generally as a manifestation of Shiva mainly in the Deccan Plateau of India, especially in the state of Maharashtra and North Karnataka. He ...

(literally "father swordsman"), the guardian deity of the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

is the favorite god of the caste and is worshiped every Sunday and on Saturday – the light sixth of

Margashirsha Agrahayana or Margashirsha, ( or ), is the ninth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, ''Agrahayana'' is also the eight month of the year, beginning on 16 November and ending on 15 December. Margashirsha means relat ...

day – with offerings of sweetmeats.

Vithoba Vithoba (IAST: ''Viṭhobā''), also known as Vitthala (IAST: ''Viṭṭhala''), and Panduranga (IAST: ''Pāṇḍuraṅga''), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu ...

Pandharpur Pandharpur City (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a popular pilgrimage town, on the banks of Chandrabhaga River, Chandrabhagā River, near Solapur, Solapur city in Solapur district, Solapur District, Maharashtra, Ind ...

is worshiped daily in every household.

Biroba Biroba is a form of Hindu god Shiva. Biroba is the kuldaivat of Dhangars of Maharashtra State. There are many temples of Biroba in villages of Maharashtra. Also Karnataka in ijapura dist: aluk:ChadachanShiradon And also in Hunnur (taluk: Manga ...

and Mhaskoba are other popular gods amongst Dhangars. Gaja Nach, which literally means the dance of elephant, is a traditional dance of the Dhangars. Since it is considered auspicious, the dance is also performed at the time of temple festivals. The dancers also hold colorful scarves which when moved in a swaying manner suggest the fanning of elephant's ears. Dhangari Ovi is a type of folk singing, which is about women's work songs and the epic-length performances of Dhangars, in which sung verses alternate with narrative passages in prose.

Current situation

Traditionally being shepherds, cowherds, buffalo keepers, blanket and wool weavers, butchers and farmers, the Dhangars were late to take up modern-day education. In

, the Dhangars are classified as a

Nomadic Tribe Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In the twentieth century, ...

but in 2014 were seeking to be reclassified as a Scheduled Tribe in India's system of reservation. The Dhangar community's population in Maharashtra is around 1.5 crore, which is 13% of the total 11.25 crore (112.5 million) population of the state.

Devendra Fadnavis Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 5 December 2024 with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as his deputies, and previously held this positi ...

, former

Chief Minister of Maharashtra The chief minister of Maharashtra (IAST: Mahārāṣṭrāce Mukhyamaṃtrī) is the head of the executive branch of the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Following elections to the Legislative Assembly, the governor invites ...

, had said that "The situation of the Dhangars in some areas of the state was worse than that of Scheduled Tribes, and the government was committed to providing them reservation under the ST category".

Reservation

As per India's system of reservation, Dhangars are classified as Other Backward Class in Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi. In Maharashtra, they are classified as a

, which comes under Other Backward Class category.

Dhangar vs Dhangad issue in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra

Dhangar (shepherds) is a sub-caste of the

caste in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

, the

caste in Karnataka and the

caste in

. Gadaria, Kuruba are classified as Other Backward Class in those respective states while Bharwad is classified as Scheduled Tribe in Gujarat, in India's system of reservation. In

, the Dhangars come under

category within the larger Other Backward Class category. On the other hand, Dhangad (cultivators), also known as Oraon, Dhanka and Dom, are listed as Scheduled Tribes in the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

. In

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

Dhangad or Dom is listed as Scheduled Caste whereas Oraon as Scheduled Tribe. According to the 27th report of Standing Committee on Labour and Welfare with regards to SCs and STs order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2002: On 17 January 2019, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) wrote a letter to the Principal Secretary to the

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (International Organization for Standardization, ISO: ''Uttara Pradēśa Sarakāra''; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appoin ...

stating the difference between Dhangar and

, and that 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 ...

version of the word Dhangar is धंगड़ (Dhangad), which is classified as Scheduled Caste 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 ...

, as per the Gazette notification issued in 1950 by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

. They recommended that the

community's धनगर (Dhangar) should not be included in the Scheduled Caste category and rather belong to the Other Backward Class category in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Notable people

(1694-1766), Maratha founder of the

Indore State Indore State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy ruled by the Maratha Holkar, Holkar dynasty. After 1857, Indore became a 19-Salute state, gun salute princely state within the Central India Agency of the Indian Empire (1876–1947), Ind ...

. *

Ahilyabai Holkar Ahilyabai Holkar (; 31 May 1725 – 13 August 1795), also spelled Ahalya Bai, was the Rajamata and later the ruling queen of Indore within the Maratha Empire. She established Maheshwar (in Madhya Pradesh) as the seat of the Holkar Dynasty. ...

(31 May 1725 – 13 August 1795), Queen of the Indore State. *

Yashwant Rao Holkar Yashwant Rao Holkar (1776–1811) also known as Jaswantrao Holkar was an Indian ruler, statesman and commander belonging to the Holkar clan of the Maratha Empire. He was the Raja of Indore State as part of the Maratha Empire. A gifted military ...

(1797-1811), King of the Indore State. * Anna Dange, former minister in

government. *

Anil Anna Gote Anil (anna) Gote is an Indian politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly, thrice elected from the Dhule City. He spent four years in jail charged with counterfeiting, but has never been convicted. Political career A former journalist ...

, current member of

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (ISO: ''Mahārāṣṭra Vidhāna Sabhā'') is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India. It consists of 288 members directly elected from single-seat constituenci ...

. * Chandrakant Kavlekar, current Deputy Chief Minister of Goa. *

Dattatray Vithoba Bharne Dattatray Vithoba Bharane is an Indian politician. He served as Minister of State in Government of Maharashtra in Thackeray Ministry. He was also Guardian Minister of Solapur District. He is a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Indap ...

, current state minister in Maharashtra government. *

Ganpatrao Deshmukh Ganpatrao Deshmukh (10 August 1927 – 30 July 2021) was an Indian politician. He was in office for 54 years. He was called "Abasaheb" by the people with love and affection. He was also called "Bhai" by peasants and workers. Biography He was th ...

, former cabinet minister and current MLA from

Sangola Sangole or (Sangola) is a city with a municipal council in Solapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated near Holy city Pandharpur . It is located at the intersection of state highways SH-161, SH-3, and SH-71. Traditional ...

, holds record for longest serving MLA (1962 to present). *

Gopichand Padalkar Gopichand Kundalik Padalkar (born 1 October 1982) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council. He got elected to the Legislative Council by MLA's (unopposed) on 14 May ...

, current member of

Maharashtra Legislative Council The Maharashtra Legislative Council or Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India. Maharashtra Legislature Leaders Party Group Leader & Chief Whip and Whip Location Th ...

from Maharashtra. *

Mahadev Jankar Mahadev Jagannath Jankar is an Indian politician from Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. He is former Cabinet Minister in Government of Maharashtra as Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Development in MAHAYUTI Govt. He is the fo ...

, founder of the Rashtriya Samaj Party, former cabinet minister and current member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. *

Ram Shinde Ram Shankarrao Shinde or better known as Prof. Ram Shinde is a politician, who is serving as the 7th and current chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council since 19 December 2024. He also serves as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative C ...

, former minister in Maharashtra government. * Vikas Mahatme, Member of Parliament in

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

for Maharashtra. He has been awarded

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

for his contribution to ophthalmology and social work.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Dhangar gotra list

at

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates t ...

{{Authority control Herding castes Dhangar Social groups of Maharashtra Social groups of Goa Ahir