Khatri, Chhatri
This article is an extract from
THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
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Khatri, Chhatri
In 1872 there were 117,508 Chhatris resident in Bengal, of whom 14,393 belonged to the eastern districts. There are, however, reasons for supposing that these figures include many individuals having no claim to the rank of Rajputs, for the Surajbansis, Manipuris, and Kachharis, who call themselves Chhatris, are offshoots of the great Indo-Chinese family.
The Chhatris occupy twenty houses in Dacca at the present day. Too poor to become traders, and too proud to cultivate the soil, they obtain employment as post-office clerks, constables, and "Daroghas." The majority belong to the Pachhaniya branch of the caste, but members of the Khanna, Chopra, and Dhanwar tribes are met with, who having married with lower grades have severed all connection with their homes. The Purohit of the Dacca Chhatris is a Sarsut or Sarasvati Brahman, who pays an annual visit to his flock. Chandika, a form of Durga, is the patron deity of the caste; but each gotra has its own peculiar idol.
Chhatris are invested with the sacred cord when eight years old, and individuals who minister at certain religious observances have a thread of one more ply than those who do not.
At Chhatri marriages the bride, as with Muhammadans, remains in the inner apartments, and the "Mandua" is erected in an inner courtyard, where the service is performed.
An interesting tradition connects the modern Khatris with the foundation of the Muhammadan city. When the Khatri, Rajah Man Singh, in 1595, occupied Dacca with the Mughal army, and encamped on a tract, cleared of jungle, ever since called Urdu, an image of Durga, said to have been the property of Veda-bati, the divorced wife of Adisura, was found, and deposited in a shrine, called Dhakesvari, still regarded as the palladium of the city. At the present day the revenue of this sanctuary is divided between several old Khatri families and the Brahmachari Mahant of the Ramna Akhara.
At Paikpara, and in villages around Barmi Hat on the Lakhya, reside a class of Hindus, calling themselves Randa,1 or Randak, Khatri, who give a confused account of themselves, repeating the names of Ballal Sen and Rajah Man Singh, as if connected in some mysterious way with their settlement in Bengal and their degraded position among Hindus. Kanaujiya Brahmans officiate as Purohits, and a Bengali Brahman of Pancha Sara, near Rampal, as Guru. The majority follow the worship of Krishna, hut a few that of Siv. Being naturalised Bengalis they have relinquished the names of former gotras, and adopted the common Sudra one, Aliman. Sudras eat with them in private, but in public refuse to touch their water pots. They are employed as cultivators, shopkeepers, and Ta'llukdars.
