Pradhan

Pradhan (Devanagari: प्रधान) is a ministerial title used in regions of Hindu cultural tradition that equates to the more popular term Vizier in rank and function.[1][2] The Sanskrit pradhan translates to "major" or "prime";[3] however, the more modern Hindi definitions provided by the Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary also include "chief" and "leader".[4] The precise interpretation can differ significantly by region. The style was abandoned by many Indian princely states during the Mughal era in favor of Persian styles such as Wasir and Diwan.

Pradhan is a notable surname used mostly by the Brahmin, Kshatriya gurjar, and Kayastha people of northern, western, and southern India. These include the Khandayat and Bhanayat of Odisha, the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu of Maharashtra, and Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, among others. It is also commonly employed as a high-caste family name by lineages belonging to the Chatharīya (or Kshatriya) caste of the Newāh/Newār (Nepal Bhasa: नेवा:) community of Nepal [5]

Usages

  • Pradhan Mantri: refers to the Prime Minister in India and Nepal (Mantri is the root of Mandarin).
  • Pradhan Senadhipati: Chief of Staff ("Senadhipati" is an old Sanskrit style for a military leader, also used in Nepal for Commander-in-Chief).
  • Pradhan Senapati: Grand General (also translated as Chief of Staff).
  • Pradhan was the title of a Minister who sat on the Council of 8 (Ashta Pradhan) in the early Maratha Empire prior to Peshwa administration.
  • Pradhans of Nepal: In modern Nepal, Pradhan refers to the family name of people of the Newār community who trace their roots to northern and central India. Among the Newars, they follow Hinduism and the two traditional lineages among Kathmandu and Patan's Pradhans; the Thabahi/Thamel and the Munshi Pradhans respectively; are among the highest tier "Thakur" (ठाकुर/थकु/ठकुरी) lineage of the "Chatharīya" (छथरीय/क्षत्रीय) Srēṣṭha caste who are descendants of the Malla (Nepal) royalty and its nobility.[6] The other family names of this group consist of the surnames Malla, Joshi, Rājbhandārī, Rājvanshī, Kāyastha, Māské, Hādā, Amātya, among others.[7][8] Chatharīyas are distinguished by the use of their clan or occupational titles (e.g., Pradhān, Rājbhandārī) instead of the all-encompassing "Shrestha" surname. Newar caste system stratifies them as belonging to the Kshatriya varna.[9][10]
  • Pradhans of Sikkim / Darjeeling: In present-day Indian states of Sikkim and sections of West Bengal, Assam and Bhutan, Pradhan is a title assumed by all the Newar descendants who immigrated from Kathmandu Valley to these places primarily since the mid 19th century. Descendants of the various immigrant upper and lower Newar castes have since adopted the title of 'Pradhān' as their singular caste-denoting name, whereas Pradhan in Nepal is only used as a specific family title by the descendants of the Kshatriya (Chāthariya) aristocratic Newar families of Kathmandu and Patan.[11] Today, Pradhans of Sikkim form an influential ethnic group of a homogenous, non-caste and non-endogamous community, which is in sharp contrast to that of the Newārs of Nepal which still retains its highly complex, heterogenous and caste-based community, where Pradhan is only one of the hundreds of family titles used.[12] Notable Pradhans of Sikkim include trader Chandravir Pradhan (Kayastha), literary icon Paras Mani Pradhan (Shakya), first Chief Justice of Nepal Hari Prasad Pradhan, Bollywood cinematographer Binod Pradhan, footballer Sanju Pradhan, 1974 AD lead singer Adrian Pradhan, actors Menuka Pradhan, Poojana Pradhan, Uttam Pradhan, etc. In terms of India's Affirmative action policy, they are a Forward caste in all of India except in Sikkim where, like the entirety of its native population, are given protective status in which Pradhans are given forward caste (General caste).[13]

Sources

  1. ↑ http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/38366/Ashta-Pradhan
  2. ↑ http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/561019
  3. ↑ Klaus Glashoff. "Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit". Spokensanskrit.de. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  4. ↑ Stuart, Ronald. The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Edited by Ronald Stuart McGregor. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  5. ↑ Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1951). "History and Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age" (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan): 313–314.
  6. ↑ Levy, Robert I. (1990). Mesocosm Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 79. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ↑ Sharma, Prayag Raj. Land, Lineage and State: A Study of Newar Society in Mediaeval Nepal. Social Science Baha Books. ISBN 978 9937 597 27 2.
  8. ↑ "Status of Shrestha". Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  9. ↑ "David Gellner: Language, Caste, Religion and Territory. Newar Identity, Ancient and Modern". Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  10. ↑ Michaels, Alex (2008). Siva in Trouble: Festivals and Rituals at the Pasupatinatha Temple of Deopatan. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534302-1.
  11. ↑ Shrestha, Bal Gopal. "Castes Among Newars Status of Shrestha". Academia.edu. European Bulletin of Himalayan Research.
  12. ↑ Gellner and Quigley. Contested Hierarchies A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Clarendon Press: Oxford Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology. ISBN 978-0-19-827960-0.
  13. ↑ zzxxShrestha, Bal Gopal (2015-02-01). "Newars of Sikkim". Vajra Books. Missing or empty |url= (help)
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