The Gautam Rajputs is a Rajput clan belonging to the Ikshvaku dynasty[1] with gotra Gautam, primarily found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh along with states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.[2][3]
The clan name Gautam means "descendant of Gotama or Gautam", "Gotama" meaning "one who has the most light,"[4] and comes from the fact that Kshatriya clans adopted the gotra of their house priests.[5][6]
Jodha Singh Attaiya a great chieftain during Indian rebellion of 1857 also belongs to this ancient clan.[7] Attaiya is a cadet branch of Gautam Rajputs.
Raja Dhillu[8][9] of Gautam Rajput clan who was ruler of Kannauj captured Indraprastha[10] and renamed it as Dilli[11] which eventually became Delhi.
Raja Haribaran Dev of Argal,[12] a principality of Gautam Rajputs located in modern-day Fatehpur Uttar Pradesh, fought for Sher Shah Suri (otherwise known as Sher Khan) against Humayun in the 16th century.[13]
By the time of Aurangzeb's reign, the Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in Pargana Nizamabad had gained enough strength to field armed contingents including artillery, horse cavalry and elephants and made incursions against the neighboring Bhumihars of Gorakhpur.[14] 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. 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.[14]
In the case of Raja Uday Pratap Singh [15] of Nagar Basti, 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.[16] This was in part a result of British policies that led to declining socio-economic fortunes.[17][18]
Gautam Rajputs are ancient Kshatriya clan and they must not be misunderstood with the Gautam Brahmins, Gautam Bhumihars, and other scheduled castes or scheduled tribes with the same name.