Daraihan caste is last name of many people in Indian subcontinent. Daraihan caste definition is A small caste of debased Rajputs found in the Bilaspur District of Chhattisgarh and numbering some 2000 persons in 1901. They say that their ancestors were Rajputs from Upper India who settled in Chhattisgarh some generations back in the village of Dargaon in Raipur District. Thence they were given the name of Dargaihan which has been corrupted into Daraihan. Others say that the name is derived from dari a prostitute but this is perhaps a libel. In any case they do not care about the name Daraihan and prefer to call themselves Kshatriyas. They have now no connection with the Rajputs of Upper India and have developed into an endogamous group who marry among themselves. It seems likely that the caste are an inferior branch of the Daharia cultivating caste of Chhattisgarh which is derived from the Daharia clan of Rajputs. Like other Rajputs the Daraihans have an elaborate system of septs and subsepts the former having the names of Rajput clans while the latter are taken from the eponymous gotras of the Brahmans. There are fourteen septs named as a rule after the principal Rajput clans of whom four the Chandel Kachhwaha Dhandhul and Sakrawara rank higher than the other ten and will take daughters from these in marriage but not give their daughters in return. Besides the septs they have the standard Brahmanical gotras as Kausilya Bharadwaj Vasishtha and so on to the number of seven and the members of each sept are divided into these gotras. Theoretically a man should not take a wife whose sept or gotra is the same as his own. The marriage of first cousins is forbidden and while the grandchildren of two sisters may intermarry for the descendants of a brother and a sister the affinity is a bar till the third generation. But the small numbers of the caste must make the arrangement of matches very difficult and it is doubtful whether these rules are strictly observed. They permit the practice of Gunravat or giving a bride for a bride. In other respects the social customs of the caste resemble those of their neighbours the Daharias and their rules as to the conduct of women are strict. The men are well built and have regular features and fair complexions from which their Rajput ancestry may still be recognised. They wear the sacred thread. The Daraihans are good and intelligent cultivators many of them being proprietors or large tenants and unlike the Daharias they do not object to driving the plough with their own hands. In the poorer families even the women work in the fields. They have a strong clannish feeling and will readily combine for the support or protection of any member of the caste who may be in need of it.. Daraihan caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Daraihan caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Daraihan caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Daraihan caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many foreginers and followers of Abrahmic religions criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
Secondly I have seen Abrahmic religions especially Muslims and Christians claiming that they have no caste system – It is an utter lie. All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Daraihan caste is also known as Daraihan Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don’t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.
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