The Gautam Rajputs is a Rajput clan found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh,[1] Bihar[2] and Madhya Pradesh. Jodha Singh Attaiya a great chieftain during Indian rebellion of 1857 also belongs to this ancient clan.[3]

History

Some people fought for Sher Shah Suri (otherwise known as Sher Khan) against Humayun in the 16th century.[4] By the time of Aurangzeb's reign, the Gautam Rajputs had gained enough strength to field armed contingents including artillery, horse cavalry and elephants and made incursions against the neighboring Bhumihars of Gorakhpur.[5] One late 17th-century rajput chief from the Azamgarh area, named Bikramajit Singh, a descendant of Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in pargana Nizamabad, converted to Islam like some of his predecessors. His sons and descendants went on to found communities, establish markets and construct improvements such as a canal connecting the Tons River with the Kol.[5]

In the case of one Gautam family, from Nagar, the decision by the British East India Company to dispossess them in favour of another landholder was the cause of them joining in the Indian rebellion of 1857.[6] This was in part a result of British policies that led to declining socio-economic fortunes and thus a reduction in their ability to construct favourable marriage alliances.[7][8]

Note

Gautam Rajputs are one of the prominent Rajput clan and these should not be misunderstood with other castes such as Gautam Brahmans, Gautam Bhumihars, and other scheduled castes or scheduled tribes.[9]

References

  1. ^ Singh, Ram Bali (1975). Rajput Clan-settlements in Varanasi District. National Geographical Society of India. p. 61.
  2. ^ Singh, Ram Bali (1977). Clan Settlements in the Saran Plain (Middle Ganga Valley): A Study in Cultural Geography. National Geographical Society of India, Banaras Hindu University. p. 145.
  3. ^ Division, Publications. WHO'S WHO OF INDIAN MARTYRS Vol 3. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 978-81-230-2182-9.
  4. ^ Fox, Richard Gabriel (1971). Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India. University of California Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-52001-807-5.
  5. ^ a b Muzaffar Alam (1998). "Aspects of Agrarian Uprisings in North India in the Early Eighteenth Century". In Muzaffar Alam; Sanjay Subrahmanyam (eds.). The Mughal State 1526-1750. Oxford University Press. pp. 461–463. ISBN 978-0195652253.
  6. ^ Rag, Pankaj (1998). "1857: Need for Alternative Sources". Social Scientist. 26 (1): 113–147. doi:10.2307/3517585. JSTOR 3517585.
  7. ^ Kasturi, Malavika (2004). "Taming the 'Dangerous' Rajput; Family, Marriage and Female Infanticide in Nineteenth-Century Colonial North India". In Fischer-Tiné, Harald; Mann, Michael (eds.). Colonialism as Civilizing Mission: Cultural Ideology in British India. Anthem Press. pp. 126–128. ISBN 978-1-84331-363-2.
  8. ^ Mishra, Subhash (15 July 2002). "Mixed Strains". India Today. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  9. ^ Bingley, A.H. (2020). Handbook on Rajputs. Asian Educational Services. p. 26. ISBN 9788121234689.

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