Dheevara (caste)

Dheevara is a grouping of castes from the Kerala state of South India, who are categorised as Other Backward Class in India.

They are designated as Other Eligible Community by the State Govt of Kerala.

Etymology

The word Dheevara is of Sanskrit origin, and has been used to describe fishermen in Gautama Dharmasutra and Mahabharata.^[1] The Dheevara community was formed by Arayan, Valan and other castes to lobby for the fishers' rights, and to seek caste-based reservations in government jobs.^[2] The members of the community formed "Akhila Kerala Dheevara Sabha"(AKDS) andDheevara Mahasabha ("Dheevara Great Assembly"), which are politically powerful organizations. ^[3]

Listed castes

The following castes are categorized as "Dheevara" in the Government's list of Other Backward Classes:^[4][5]

• Arayan or Araya
• Bovi or Bovis Mogayar
• Arayavathi
• Mogaveera
• Mukaya, Mokaya or Mukayar
• Mukkuvan
• Nulayan
• Koli
• Paniakkal
• Valan
• Valinijiar, Valinjiar or Valinchiar

See also

• Dhimar
• Fishing communities in Maharashtra

References

1. Singh 2003, p. 292.
2. Sathyapalan 2015, p. 90.
3. Sathyapalan 2015, p. 95.
4. "Central List of OBCs for the state of Kerala" (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
5. "List of Other Eligible Classes in Kerala State". Kerala Public Service Commission. Retrieved 18 May 2016.

Bibliography

• Sathyapalan, Jyothis (2015). "Governability Challenges in Sustaining Small-Scale fisheries in an Urban Context: A study of Cochin Backwaters". In Svein Jentoft and Ratana Chuenpagdee (ed.). Interactive Governance for Small-Scale Fisheries: Global Reflections. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-17034-3.
• Singh, Kumar Suresh (2003). People of India. Vol. 25. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 9788173041181.

• Castes and Tribes of Southern India Edgar Thurston Castes And Tribes Of Southern India Vol.7 (t-z) [1]