Boria (caste)

The Boria also known as are a Hindu caste found in North India. The Boria are mainly a community of landowners and cultivators. They grow wheat and pulses, with animal husbandry being an important secondary occupation. Most boria belong to the Khatri sect.[1]

Boria/Pasi
A Boria woman harvesting radish in northern India
Regions with significant populations
India
Languages
Hindi
Religion
Hinduism, Buddhism, Shivism


The Boriya also a sub-group of the Pasi community. Although of Pasi origin, the two communities are now quite distinct and do not intermarry. They are found mainly in the Awadh region, mainly in the districts of Gonda, Faizabad, and Barabanki. The Boria speak the Awadhi dialect.[1]

History

The Boria Khatri are locally known as Bourasi which is used as their surname. They are reported to have higher social status and are economically well off. They also have titles like. Choudhury Vikal, Raahi etc. The sub-castes were endogamous initially, but later on due to non-availability of suitable spouses in their own sub-caste locally and the involvement of big expenditure in bringing a wife from the native place, They consider themselves to be Kshatriyas in the varna order but in their native villages they were considered to be shudras.[2]

Present circumstances

The Boria are a strictly endogamous community, and prefer marrying close kin. Most Baria belong to the Kabirpanthi sect.[1]

The Boria are mainly a community of landowners and cultivators. They grow wheat and pulses, with animal husbandry being an important secondary occupation. Historically, the community were mainly tenant farmers, working on land owned by Indian society They live in multi-caste and multi-religious villages, but occupy their own quarters. Each of their settlement contains an informal caste council, known as a biradari panchayat. The panchayat acts as an instrument of social control, dealing with issues such as divorce and adultery.[1]

The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Boria population as 4558.[3]

References
  1. People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 340 to 344 Manohar Publications
  2. Singh, Kumar Suresh; Bhanu, B. V.; India, Anthropological Survey of (2004). Maharashtra. Popular Prakashan. p. 1685. ISBN 978-81-7991-102-0.
  3. "A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
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