Kshatriya - Claimed Members

Claimed Members

There are numerous communities that claim Kshatriya status. These include:

• Marathas: of Maharashtra claim themselves as Kshatriyas. However, other groups are not. For example, the Maratha-Kunbis, who made up 31.19 percent of the population of the districts which came to constitute the state of Maharastra, were classified as Shudras, in the Census of 1931.

• Rajputs: a warrior class of North India.

• Rajus: claim to be Kshatriyas. It is claimed, from the medieval period, the term "Andhra Kshatriya" has been used synonymously with Rachavaru, Rajus and Telugu Kshatriya. However, the Madras District Gazetteers: Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur Districts records them as descendents of the Kammas and the classification of castes in Orissa took into account their supposed mixed parentage.

• Shrestha subdivision among ethnic Newar is recognised as Kshatriya in Nepal.

• The alien hordes that did not follow priestly customs or traditions (Shakas, Kushans, Indo-Greeks, Hunas and Parthians) were stated as Vratya Kshatriyas in Manusmriti.

• Gurung and Magar ethnic groups are recognised as Kshatriyas in Nepal by the Bahun, along with other groups such as Thakore and Chhetri. They acquired a Kshatriya ritual position with Brahmins playing agents of transformation in the medieval period; with the whole system becoming codified in the 19th century.

• The Meitei of Manipur were claimed to be Kshatriyas by the Bengali and Assamese Brahmins and were posited to be the descendants of epic warrior Arjuna.

• Vellalars: claim to have descended from the Tamil nobility, linked to Tamil royal lineages (Chera, Chola, Pandya) and claim Kshatriya status. However, their social group included those derived from lower-ranking peasant castes or Shudra agriculturists. The Vellalars did not follow ritualism for Kshatriyas as prescribed in the Dharmashastras; and the caste was classified as Shudra, with the Government of Madras in 1901 recognizing the 4-fold varna division did not describe the South Indian society adequately.

• Nairs - The Nairs claim to be Kshatriyas. However, they were recognized as Shudras by the Namboodiri Brahmins of Kerala and in the colonial period census of India.