page_title: Tagadhari
section_title: Status and Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Tagadhari / Status and Culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Engineer and Architect Dilli Jang Thapa, Architect of Rajbiraj City (1938 AD), Chandra Canal, Churiya Mai Tunnel, etc. Grandson of Thapa Kaji Gajraj Singh Thapa, Nepalese tea industry pioneer. Related to Rana dynasty through grandmother Badan Kumari, daughter of Jang Bahadur Rana.
context_page_description: Tagadhari are members of a Nepalese Hindu group that is perceived as historically having a high socio-religious status in Nepalese society. Tagadhari are identified by a sacred thread around the torso, which is used for ritualistic purposes in Hinduism. In Sanskrit the sacred thread is called yajñopavītam and in Nepali Janai. The cord is received after the Upanayana ceremony. Tagadharis were historically favoured by the government of Nepal and various religious and caste-based legal provisions were enacted on their behalf. The legal code of 1854, Muluki Ain, which was introduced by Chhetri Maharaja and Prime Minister of Nepal, Jang Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji made it impossible to legally enslave Tagadharis and decreed fewer punishments for them in comparison to Matawali and Dalits.
context_section_description: The three Tagadhari and Dvija castes among the Parbattias are Brahmin, Thakuri and Chhetri. These three Tagadhari castes were influential in political, social and religious developments in the Kingdom of Nepal. The royal Shah dynasty and their allied aristocrats are drawn from Thakuri and Chhetri families. Among the Parbattia Tagadharis, Brahmins (Bahun) enjoy the highest hierarchical rank, with their major occupations being governmental services, agriculture and priestly works. Most of the Brahmins are, however, cultivators and are generally more economically backward than other Chhetri, Newar and Magar farmers. Thakuris are politically and socially ahead of others and have been developed from the miscegenation of Khas, Magars and some possible Indian Rajput immigrants. Chhetris are a homogeneous and endogamous caste whom are devoid of subdivisions, which is considered uncharacteristic among other Indian castes. Major occupations of Chhetris include governmental services, agriculture and military. Chhetris and Thakuris claim descent from the ancient Indian Kshatriyas and form the ruling and warrior classes of Nepal.
  The ethnicities of the officers at and above the Under-Secretary level in governmental positions of Nepal in 1969 showed Chhetri and Brahmin as dominant in the top two highest positions, with 102 (35.17%) and 97 (33.45%) officers respectively among the total of 290 officers. As per the Public Service Commission of Nepal, Brahmins (33.3%) and Chhetris (20.01%) were two largest caste group to obtain governmental jobs in the fiscal year 2017-18 even though 45% governmental seats are reserved for women, indigenous groups, Madhesis, Dalits, people with disability and those from the backward regions. Chhetris are highly dominant in the military sector of Nepal. Of the senior officers of the Nepal Army, 74.4% of the total in 1967 consisted of Chhetris. Similarly, Chhetris were 38.1%, 54.3% and 55.3% of the senior officers in the years 2003, 2004 and 2007 respectively.
caption: Portrait of a Chhetri aristrocrat from the 20th century
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