The Orh (also known as Oad, Odh, Orh Rajput or Orad Rajput)[1][2] is a community of drifting labourers in Gujarat, Kathiawar, and parts of Rajasthan.[3] They are said to hold a variety of occupations. As artisans, they are carpenters, masons and stoneworkers and were considered to be Dalits.[4][5][6] As traders, they deal in grain, spices, perfumes, and cloth.[7] They are spread across 40 villages in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh where they bear surnames like Gadahi, Bhagat, Galgat, Kahlia, Kudavali, Maangal, Majoka, Mundai, Sarvana, and Virpali.[2] The Orh are recognised as part of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the state of Rajasthan.[8] In Pakistan, the community is settled in Sindh, Balochistan and lower Punjab, where their primary occupation is to build mud-houses, locally referred to as Oadki houses.[9][10]
References
- ^ Library of Congress Subject Headings. Library of Congress. 2013.
- ^ a b Sabha, India Parliament Lok (2006). Lok Sabha Debates. Lok Sabha Secretariat. pp. 393, 395.
- ^ Pal, Sushilaben; Narula, S. C. (1998). "Some Ballads and Legends : Gujarati Folklore". Indian Literature. 42 (5 (187)): 172–184. ISSN 0019-5804. JSTOR 23338788.
Oads are not gypsies, but a drifting tribe of labourers in Gujarat, Kathiawad, and some parts of Rajasthan. They drift and shift lock, stock and barrel with their families wherever work is to be had.
- ^ Upreti, Harish Chandra (1981). Social Organization of a Migrant Group: A Sociological Study of Hill Migrants from Kumaon Region in the City of Jaipur. Himalaya Publishing House. p. 68.
The untouchables or Doms included various artisan castes, such as Tamta, Lohar, Orh, Koi, Ajari, Das Dholi, Mirasi, etc
- ^ Upadhyay, H. C. (2007). Harijans of Himalaya: With Special Reference to the Harijans of Kumaun Hills. Gyanodaya Prakashan. pp. 13, 44. ISBN 9788185097206.
- ^ Vir, Dharam; Manral, Manju (1990). Tribal Women: Changing Spectrum in India. Classical Publishing Company. p. 113. ISBN 9788170541035.
ritually impure and so untouchables (Achhut) . They are village artisans who are more frequently described by their occupational subdivisions, e . g . Lobar (Blacksmith), Tamta (Coppersmith), Orh (Stoneworker and Mason) and so on .
- ^ Pillai, V. Kannu (2007). Caste: Observation of I.C.S. Officers and Others Since 1881. Siddharth Books. p. 224. ISBN 9788190558365.
- ^ "List Of Other Backward Classes in Rajasthan". Government of Rajasthan. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "KARACHI: Call to make caste bias a criminal offence". Dawn. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ Khan, Sahib (18 August 2013). "Oadki houses: A dying art". Dawn. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
