Kunbi

Common card · No. 278038

Kunbi (alternatively Kanbi) (Marathi: ISO 15919: Kuṇabī, Gujarati: ISO 15919: Kaṇabī) is a generic term applied to several castes of traditional farmers in Western India. These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Khedule, Khaire, Tirole, Masaram, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Lewa (Leva Patil), Lonari, Tirole and Khaire communities of Vidarbha. The communities are largely found in the state of Maharashtra but also exist in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat (now called Patidar), Karnataka, Kerala and Goa. Kunbis are included among the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Maharashtra. Most of the Mavalas serving in the armies of the Maratha Empire under Shivaji came from this community. The Shinde and Gaekwad dynasties of the Maratha Empire are originally of Kunbi origin. In the fourteenth century and later, several Kunbis who had taken up employment as military men in the armies of various rulers underwent a process of Sanskritisation and began to identify themselves as Marathas. The boundary between the...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Bemrose, Colo. Derby, PD-US