Kewat
Regions with significant populations
India
Bihar937,861 (0.7174% of Bihar's population)[1]
Religion
Hinduism

The Kewat, also spelled Kevat, is a Hindu caste, found in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India. They are the traditional boatmen of northern India, and also in neighbouring country Nepal.

Kewats are recognised as Scheduled Caste in the states of Assam, West Bengal and Tripura as Keot, Keyot or Jalkeot.[2][3][4]

Origin

The name "Kevata" was first appeared in the Pillar Edict V of Emperor Ashoka.[5] "Kevata-bhoga" referred to places or bhuktis where this community resided. The people whose livelihoods centred around water or aquatic bodies used to be called Kevat.[6]

Present circumstances

The Kewat are among 17 OBC communities that have been proposed for Scheduled Caste status by the Samajwadi Party-controlled Government of Uttar Pradesh. However, this proposal, which relates to votebank politics and has been made in the past, has been stayed by the courts; a prior attempt was also rejected by the Government of India.[7][8]

In Nepal

The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Kewat as a subgroup within the broader social group of Madheshi Other Caste.[9] At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 153,772 people (0.6% of the population of Nepal) were Kewat. The frequency of Kewat by province was as follows:

The frequency of Kewat was higher than national average (0.6%) in the following districts:[10]

References

  1. ↑ "List of caste wise population of Bihar". live Hindustan. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Scheduled Caste list of Assam, India".
  3. ↑ "Scheduled Caste list of West Bengal, India".
  4. ↑ "Scheduled Caste list of Tripura, India".
  5. ↑ Bhaumik, Sudarshana (26 August 2022). The Changing World of Caste and Hierarchy in Bengal: Depiction from the Mangalkavyas c. 1700–1931. Taylor & Francis. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-000-64143-1.
  6. ↑ Amulyacharan Vidyabhushan Rachanavali (Vol 3 ed.). 1990. pp. 189–191.
  7. ↑ "Setback for Akhilesh government as High Court stays their order to include 17 sub-castes in the SC category". Financial Express. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "UP govt to include 17 other backward castes in SC list". Hindustan Times. PTI. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Population Monograph of Nepal, Volume II
  10. ↑ 2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report
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