Lakhera

Lakhera (also spelt as Lakhara, Lakshakar, Laxkar, Lakhpati, Lakshkar, Lakhera, Lakeri & Lakheri)[1] are a community native to Hindi Belt.[2]

Lakhera /Lakheri/Lakeri
Regions with significant populations
•  India
Languages
• various Hindi dialects
Religion
• Hinduism 100% •

They are a community earlier associated with bangle making and business of the same. They are Pure Rajputs and they sacrificed their weapons by the order of Lord Shiva and started work of "Lakh" for Goddess Parvati (Wife of Lord Shiva)and they are vanshaj of Goddess Parvati. In Hindu mythology Lakh is considered to be sacred as it indicates symbol of Suhaag in married life. From the name of Lakh society got their name as Lakhera or Laxkar. Now this community is growing and exploring with variety of business. The community is also equated with the Patwa community at some places.[2][3]

Origin

The Lakhera get their name from the Sanskrit laksha kuru meaning a worker in lac. According to their mythologies, this caste created by the goddess Parvati. Other traditions make them out to be Rajput.[3] They are said to have originated in Rajasthan, and then spread to Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra. The community in Delhi speaks Hindi, while in Haryana they speaks Haryanvi, while in Rajasthan they Speaks Hadoti.[4] In Maharshtra can speak Marathi, Marwadi. They are known as Lakheri, Lakeri in Maharashtra. In Pandharpur (Dist-Solapur, Maharshtra) They sells Bangels made by Lakh. So they are called as Lakheri.

The main goddess of this caste is Sati Mata (that is, Shree Chena Mata and Kushla Mata) and Rupji Maharaj. There are many gotra and sub gotra are in lakhera caste normally bangle making and selling is the main business of lakheras.

Present circumstances

The Lakhera community consists of a number of clans, the main ones being the Hatadiya (gahlot, rana),Chauhan,Bhati,Nainvaya,Bagdi (rathod), Nagoriya, Parihar, Solanki, Garhwali, Kethuniya and Atariya etc. They are an endogamous community, and each clan is exogamous. The majority of the Lakhera are still involved in the manufacture and selling of bangles. Some members of the community are now shopkeepers. The Lakhera are Hindu, and have customs similar to other North Indian Hindus. They live in multi-caste villages, occupying their own distinct quarters.[4]

In Uttar Pradesh, the community is found mainly in the south and east of the state. They are found mainly in Jalaun, Hamirpur, Lalitpur and Jhansi.[5]

Lakhera is an occupational based caste residing in Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Bihar, Maharashtra. barhi and jabalpur People of Lakhera community are professional artist of Lakh(substance used to make bangles) which is an inherent heritage of Lakhera community. Prime objective of Lakhera group is to enhance the knowledge about Lakhera community through the process of sharing, getting together and then working to achieve the objectives. To makes efforts, to integrate Lakhera community, achieve maximum cooperation and mutual understanding by all the ways of formal and informal discussions, academic relations and personal interactions. Caste's National youth Organization is Akhil Bhartiya Lakhara Yuva Sanghatan (ABLYS).

References
  1. People of India Haryana Volume XXIII edite by A. K. Bhatia pages 324 to 328 Manohar
  2. People of India - Volume 38, Page 569 - Kumar Suresh Singh, Anthropological Survey of India
  3. Shyam, (Dr ) S. R. Khan Dr Radhey (2008). Global encyclopaedic ethnography of Indian Muslim. Global Vision Publishing House. pp. 444–445. ISBN 9788182202993.
  4. People of India Hayana Volume XXIII edited by M. L. Sharma and A. K. Bhatia pages 324 to 328 Manohar
  5. Tribes and Castes of North Western Provinces and Oudh Volume III by William Crook pages 361 to 362
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