Pod (caste)

The Pod (Poundra Kshatriya) are a scheduled caste from India. In Odisha and West Bengal, they are a scheduled caste.[1] Pod castes of Bengali community displaced from erstwhile East Pakistan have been accorded the status of Scheduled Castes in the State of West Bengal.[2] The Pod developed a sense of self‐respect by announcing a ‘self identity’.[3] There were 2,216,513 of them in West Bengal in 2001. The sex ratio within the 0–6 age group at the census was below state average concerning girls.[4]

The literacy rate was 72.1, the male one 83.5 and the female one 59.9.[4] There is a clear Hindu majority.[4] Their main-subcastes are or used to be the Chasi Pod, the Mecho Pod, the Tanti Pod and the Dhamna Pod. The differentiation between seems to have its origin in the occupations.[5] The Pod also are divided into groups like Dhulepure, Bajitpure, Baruni, Medinipur and Sadpure.[6] They are divided in a number of clans.[7] Pod is used as a derogatory term for East Bengalis.[8] Probably they are of tribal origin.[9] In 1911, among the girls from 5 to 11, 35.7 % were married or widowed.[10] At least in the 1911 census, they were more than 5 lakh Pod, many were cultivators or fishermen.[11]

There is a significant involvement of this group in the informal economy of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Inclusion in Scheduled Castes List". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  2. ↑ http://164.100.47.4/BillsTexts/LSBillTexts/AsIntroduced/j.pdf
  3. ↑ Rup Kumar Barman (1 January 2014). "From Pods to Poundra: A Study on the Poundra Kshatriya Movement for Social Justice 1891–1956". Contemporary Voice of Dalit. 7 (1): 121–138. doi:10.1177/0974354520140108. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via SAGE Journals.
  4. 1 2 3 http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_westbengal.pdf
  5. ↑ O'Malley, Lewis Sydney Steward; I.C.S (7 January 2018). "Bengal District Gazetteers: 24-Parganas". Concept Publishing Company. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Singh, Kumar Suresh; Bagchi, Tilak; Bandyopādhyāẏa, Śekhara; Bhattacharya, Ranjit Kumar (7 January 2018). "People of India: West Bengal". Anthropological Survey of India. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Bera, Gautam Kumar (7 January 2018). "The Unrest Axle: Ethno-social Movements in Eastern India". Mittal Publications. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ Jalais, Annu (3 June 2014). "Forest of Tigers: People, Politics and Environment in the Sundarbans". Routledge. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ Pillai, V. Kannu (7 January 2018). "Caste: Observation of I.C.S. Officers and Others Since 1881". Gautam Book Center. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (19 August 2004). "Caste, Culture and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal". SAGE Publications. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Risley, Sir Herbert Hope; Crooke, William (1 December 1999). "The People of India". Asian Educational Services. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  12. ↑ Chandra, Uday; Heierstad, Geir; Nielsen, Kenneth Bo (25 September 2015). "The Politics of Caste in West Bengal". Routledge. Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via Google Books.
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