[
]
Docks, dams and canals in British India
The KGK contributed to the building of docks, dams, barrages and irrigation canals between 1850 and 1980,[ and they in the eighteenth century had been among the communities who built the first ports of Bombay and ]Hornby Vellard
The Hornby Vellard was a project to build a causeway uniting all seven islands of Bombay into a single island with a deep natural harbour. The project was started by the governor William Hornby in 1782 and all islands were linked by 1838. The wo ...
. Other docks were developed in Bombay during 1870–1895 (Prince's Docks built in 1885 and Victoria Docks built in 1891) in which many Mistris of Kutch and Kadia Kshatriyas of Saurashtra worked. The Mandavi Docks, bridge over Rukhmavati at Mandvi
Mandvi is a beach town with municipality in the Kutch district, Kachchh district (Kutch) in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat. It was once a major port of the region and summer retreat for Maharao (king) of the Cutch ...
and many road bridges across territories of British India are built by the community using their mason's skills.[
]
Mining
In the regions of British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
known as Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
, 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 ...
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 ...
, the ''Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyas'' pioneered Indian involvement in coal mining from 1894. They broke the previous monopolies held by British and other Europeans, establishing many collieries at Jharia coalfields and Ranigunj coalfield.[''Diary of Golden Days at Jharia – A Memoir and History of Gurjar Kashtriya community of Kutch in Coalfields of Jharia'' – written by Natwarlal Devram Jethwa, co-author Raja
Pawan Jethwa of Calcutta (1998).]
Seth Khora Ramji of Sinugra was the first Indian to break the British monopoly in the Jharia Coalfields.[Encyclopedia of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by British Authority (1920)] Natwarlal Devram Jethwa[ says that
]
Present status
Distribution in India
The community members are found scattered throughout India and Community's associations exist in the states of 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, Uttar Pradesh, 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 ...
, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa 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 ...
.
Present day identity
They are marked as one of the Socially and Educationally Backward community by Government. The community on national level is referred as "Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya" mostly in present-day India. However, the "Mistri", which was mostly used during the last century and before is nowadays only used in Kutch and Gujarat. The term Mestri/Mistry is used to refer to community by the Government of Gujarat and the Other Backward Class Certificate as per the ''Bakshi Panch'' report.[''Kutch Gurjar Kshatriys : A brief History & Glory: by Raja Pawan Jethwa. (2007) Calcutta.'' The Book has separate sections: INTRODUCTION : Gives an overview of Kutch Gurjar Kshtriya community and its ancient history (I) KGK and Architect built by them mainly in Princely State of Cutch. (II) KGK and Railway : Gives details of some major Railway work with mileage wise details (III) KGK Surnames & History : Section gives details of various Kshatriya clan's history and origin of their surnames. (IV) Section deals with Kuldevi names various clans of KGK worship.]
References
Notes
{{Reflist, group=nb
Tribes of Kutch
Kutch district
Hindu communities