Arora
| Arora | |
|---|---|
| Religions | Hinduism • Sikhism |
| Languages | Punjabi, Sindhi |
| Region | Primarily the Punjab region of India and Pakistan |
| Related groups | Khatri • Bhatia • Sood |
The Arora is a community originating from the Punjab and Sindh region of India and Pakistan. The name is derived from their native place Aror (capital of Sauvira Kingdom) and the community comprises both Hindus and Sikhs.[1] Historically, the Arora section of the Khatri community had been principally found in West Punjab , in the districts to the south and west of Lahore. Scott Cameron Levi, believes that they are a "sub-caste of the Khatris".[2] It is believed that Khatris are Kshatris of Lahore, whereas Aroras are Kshatris of Aror.[3] After Partition of India, Punjabis who migrated from erstwhile Punjab were mostly Khatris and Aroras. Studies reveal that "Arora Khatri, Bedi, Ahluwalia etc. are some of the important castes among the Punjabis".[4]
According to W.H McLeod and Louis Fenech, Aroras originally came from the Potohar region which consists of Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Attock, Chakwal and Islamabad provinces.[5]
Occupation and demographics
According to the Commission Reports by Justice Gurnam Singh (1990) and Justice K.C. Gupta (2012), Arora is a forward caste socially, educationally and economically. It was reported that "despite of being uprooted from their homeland", Arora community has high literacy rate. An economic survey conducted by Maharishi Dayanand University states that Arora/Khatri people have good representation both in government as well as private sector. They are both in business, services and other fields. They are "economically well-off and not dependent on money-lending or shopkeeping". They are engaged as "doctors, engineers, administrators and are represented in white-collar jobs". The Arora were divided in two main sub groups, namely Hindu Arora and Sikh Arora depending upon the religion pursued.[6]
Pettigrew notes that the Aroras were working as shopkeepers and small traders within the Sikh community in Punjab.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).}}
Uttaradhi (north), Dakhanadhi (south) and Dahre (west) are three major sub-groups of the Arora people based on territorial differentiations.[7] Before the independence of India, Arora used to marry in their own sub-group i.e. Uttradhi, Dakkhna or Dahra but after the independence, spheres of permissible arranged matrimonial alliances were widened to include other sub-groups of Arora.[8]
British ethnographer Denzil Ibbetson observed that Arora-Khatris were centered in Multan and Derajat (region consisting of Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan) which are now part of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions of modern-day Pakistan. They conducted business throughout Afghanistan and Central Asia.[9]
In the census of 1951, Aroras that were settled in Punjab returned their caste names as Khatris, Arora Khatris, Arore, Rore, Aror, Rora Khatris, Aror Khatris etc. Some of the Aroras simply returned their caste names with Arora sub-caste names such as Arya, Ahuja, Batheja, Bathla, Chawla, Chabbra, Juneja, Jadeja, Taneja, Upneja, Wadhwa etc. [10]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter (17 November 2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. ISBN 9780192527479 – via books.google.com.
- ^ Levi (2002), p. 107
- ^ India, Punjab (1976). Volume 9 of Punjab District Gazetteers. Controller of Print and Stationery. p. 87.
- ^ Government of Haryana, Department of Welfare. "Report of Backward Classes Commission". Welfare of Scheduled Caste & Backward Classes Department. pp. 05, 135. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ McLeod, W. H. (24 July 2009). The A to Z of Sikhism. Scarecrow Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8108-6344-6.
- ^ Government of Haryana, Department of Welfare. "Report of Backward Classes Commission". Welfare of Scheduled Caste & Backward Classes Department. pp. 135–136. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ Singh, Surely Kumar (1997). People of India: India's communities. Kolkata: Anthropological Survey of India. p. 126.
- ^ "Religions And Castes". District Gazetteer - Amritsar. Department of Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management, Government of Punjab. 1976. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ Oonk, Gijsbert (2007). Global Indian Diasporas: Exploring Trajectories of Migration and Theory. Amsterdam University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-90-5356-035-8.
- ^ Government of India, Deputy Registrar General (23 August 1956). "GLOSSARY OR CASTE NAMES RETURNED AT THE CENSUS OF 1951 IN THE DISTRICTS OF PEPSU" (PDF). Linguistic Survey of India. Archived from the original on 23 August 1956. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
Bibliography
- Levi, Scott Cameron (2002), The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and Its Trade, 1550–1900, Leiden: BRILL, ISBN 978-90-04-12320-5, retrieved 23 October 2011