Lodha caste
Lodha Caste Lodha caste is an ancient Hindu caste living in India. In the ancient Varna system, this caste is considered to be Kshatriya Varna and was known as Lodh. Over time, this caste came to be known as Lodha from Lodh and was identified as a hardworking farmer. In British India, the Lodha caste has been considered as the dominant cultivator. In the British era, The people of the Lodha caste spread from the United Provinces towards the Central Provinces and after going there the Lodha people changed their name to Lodhi. Presently, this caste is known  by the three names Lodh, Lodha and Lodhi and they have been included in other backward castes in the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana etc. Whereas in West Bengal and Odisha, they are placed in the category of Scheduled Tribes. Origin. The origin of the Lodha caste is the caste derived from the word 'Lodham' used in Mandala 3, Sukta 53 and Mantra 23 of the oldest book of the Rigveda. The word Lodhan was used in this mantra as an adjective to demonstrate the qualities of a skilled warrior . It is said that at the time of the conflict between Chandravansh and Suryavansha, Chandravanshi Maharaj Budh, with the advice of Kulguru, prepared the army of heroes with Lodh virtues according to the meaning of this mantra and won the battle. Later the heroes of this army came to be identified as Lodh Kshatriya, which later became known as Lodha Kshatriya. British historians have expressed different views about the origin of the Lodha caste. M. A. Sherring has written in his book 'Hindu Tribes and Casts as Representative in Benaras' that the people of Lodh caste originally sold the bark  of a tree called Lodh which was used for coloring and medicine, hence these people are called Lodh. John C. Nesfield has written in his book 'Brief View of Caste System' that the word "Lodha" is derived from the word Clod-Breaker in English. Here Clod means 'lod' and Breaker means 'ha', adding these to form the word Lodha." W. Crooke wrote in his book 'The Tribes and Casts of North-Western provinces and Awadh' that the word "Lodha" is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Lodhara' which means 'the bark of a tree' which is used for coloring as these  people start. because of this used to live by selling the bark of this tree, hence it is called Lodha. "Crook's second opinion was that" Lodha is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Lubdhaka' which means 'a fearless' or 'a hunter'.” As it is said for them. R. V. Russell has written in his book "The Tribes and Cast of the Central Provinces of India" that "He came from Ludhiana in Punjab in the Madhya Pradesh and that is why he came to be called Lodhi." His permanent name is Lodha. "It is further written in this book that" In  Sagar district, it is said that the first Lodhi was created by Mahadeo from a scarecrow in a Kurmi woman's field and given the vocation of a farmservant. E. A. Gait has written in the year 1901 Bengal census report that "about the origin of this caste, it is said in Midnapore that they were chosen by the Pandavas for hunting, while in Mayurbhanj they are said to be descendants of King Bali." History of Lodha caste The Lodha caste has existed since mythological times. There are many castes mentioned in the Puranas, which were called Sodh, Rodh, Lodh , Bodh, Lodha are descendants of these.The Lodha caste is from the Kshatriya dynasty. Kshatriyatva of this caste is also proved by the memories and the Atra Samhita.Even in the Mughal period, the Lodha caste is mentioned as Lodh Rajput. During the time of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Lodh Rajput horsemen and soldiers were in large numbers in the royal army of Agra, Konda and Ahmedabad. Lodha caste in North Western Provinces (present Uttar Pradesh) In the British books, the Lodha caste in North Western Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh) is considered as an independent caste among the peasantry and  it is mentioned among the major cultivating castes. It has been written about the Lodha caste that they are good crop growers, quiet and hardworking.They have been living in the Awadh region since ancient times. Lodha, named Kantha, who lived about nine hundred years, had established a city called Kantha. Which is 9 miles from the tehsil and 18 miles from Sadar station in Purva Pargana of Unnao district. For nearly a thousand years, a Lodha named Mankhi settled in Mankhi town, which is in Tehsil Hasanganj district, Unnao.According to the census in 1921, the population of the  Lodha caste in the United Provinces, British Territory, Oudh and Agra divisions was 10,46,816.In almost all the districts of United and North Western Provinces (present Uttar Pradesh), especially in Agra, Etah, Etawah, Mainpuri, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Sarangpur, Aligarh, Bulandshahar, Meerut, Badaun, Bijnor, Bareilly, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Farukhabad and Fatehpur etc. People of the Lodha caste used to reside here and it is not only laborers or farmers but also landlords, hence they were also called "Mukadam" in many places here. Lodha Castes in Central Provinces (Present Madhya Pradesh) The people of the Lodha caste from the United Provinces moved rapidly towards the  Central Provinces (present-day Madhya Pradesh). These people spread to the Narmada Valley, Banganga and Khairabad in Chhattisgarh But here they are known as Lodhi. Their proper designation is Lodha, but it has become corrupted to Lodhi in the Central Provinces. It is said about them here that they are hot blooded, avengers and ready to get involved in any disturbance anywhere. At the time of the census of 1911, their population here was about 3 lakhs. In the districts of Hoshangabad, Jabalpur, Sagar, Narsingpur, Bhandara, Mandla, Chhindwara, Raipur, and Damoh, etc. Lodhas lived in large numbers. Here they had  become the owners of their own land and started calling themselves "Thakurs" like the upper castes. The Raja of Panna had also given titles of Raja and Diwan to some of these families. He was given the status of "Patel" in Narsingpur. According to historians, those who came here from Ludhiana in Punjab started being called Lodhi, their permanent name is Lodha. Lodha caste in Rajputana (present-day Rajasthan) In Rajputana(present-day Rajasthan), the Lodha caste was considered to be the dominant peasant caste. These people used to cultivate more land in the eastern Rajputana districts. In Dholpur, he was  the owner of 45 villages and used the land of 91 more villages, thus in 1880 he used to cultivate 17 thousand acres of land.Prior to 1697, the Untgiri tehsil located in the southwest of Karauli state was under the occupation of the Lodha people. Ponds built of Lodhas are still present here. Lodra Rajput lived on the southern border of Devaraval, his capital name was Ludrava, it is 10 miles west of Jaisalmer.In the census of 1901, the population of Lodha people in Rajputana area was stated to be 44,943. Lodha lived in greater numbers in Rajputane 's Jaipur, Bharatpur, Dhaulpur, Kota, Bundi, Tonk, Jhalawar, Sirohi, Mewar, Marwar, Pratapgarh, Alwar and Shahpura etc. Lodha caste in Bengal and Orissa The castes of Lodh, Lodha and Nodh were the tribal castes of the tributaries of Angul and Orissa. It is said that these Lodhs came from Singhbhum and Mayurbhanj and they are related to the people of Mayurbhanj. Which is one of the ancient castes here. The Sahar and Sabar tribes in Midnapore are said to be synonymous with it. Their traditional business was to collect wild products like lac, cocoon, honey etc. In the tributary states, they  were called Lodha Khediya. Subcastes and Gotras of Lodha Caste Patharia, Mathuria, Sankla Jariya, Karhar, Banayan, Lakhia, Kharia, Khagi, Panis, Purbia, Katharia, Mahoria, Jaiswar, Singraur, Narwaria, AntaravediMahadele, Bhadoria, Jariya, Khakaraha, Jaisari, Onto, Basayan, Chandpuria, Daudansia, Gudaleya, Hardia, Jangra, Janghel, Kirbanis, Lohbansi etc.Pandit Chhotalal Sharma has described 515 strains of the Lodha caste in his book 'Jati Anvenshan'. Population of Lodha Caste According to the census conducted in 1891, the Cool population of the Lodha caste in India was 16,74,098. In which the maximum population is stated to be 10,29,213 in North Western Provinces (present Uttar Pradesh), 2,87,241 in Central  Provinces (current Madhya Pradesh) and 45,524 in Rajputana (present Rajasthan). External Links To know in detail about the history of Lodha caste, read this e book named "Lodha Jati Ka Itihas". https://archive.org/details/lodhas-history-in-blog