Socio-Economic Status of Hanabar Community: A Sociological Study of Hukkeri Taluka

Some authorities suggest that the Ahirs (now known as the Yadavas) migrated to Maharashtra from Punjab and Sindh in early historical times. Other researchers speculate that these people have been living in Maharashtra for the past 5,000 to 10,000 years. Historians like PM Chandorkar, using literary and epigraphic sources, have argued that the modern Ahirs and Gavalis should be identified with the Yadavas and Ahiras of classical Sanskrit texts. Furthermore, the Khandesh region of Maharashtra, which was at one point ruled by the Ahirs, was formerly known as the land of the Ahirs, and the Ahirs in the present-day Khandesh region speak a dialect of Marathi, it is called Ahirani. The community claims descent from the great Yadava families, one of which included Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. The entire North India, Gujarat and the Deccan were ruled by kings of the Yadava families. They have retained their Kshatriya caste traditions, customs and occupations. They have made many appointments to the government and have been included in the Maratha regiments. The Gawlis are distributed throughout Maharashtra (Ahir Gawli, Lingayat Gawli). Reginald Edwards has classified the Gawlis as various castes of Ahir Gawli (a sub-caste of the famous Yadava caste of North India), while the Hanbar, Hanbar Gawli and Singaji Gawlis are distinct from the Yadav-Ahir Gawli. Along with the Marathas and Kumbis, the Ahir Gawlis are considered one of the allied castes of the Maratha caste and were formerly included in the Maratha regiment.