User:Gopalbitode/Hendr Patil Samaj

he Kunbi Hendre are synonymous with the Hendre Patils, as far as their perceived distribution in the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra in the districts of Nanded, Parbhani, Yeotmal and Akola is concerned.[1] There are no further subdivisions of the community.[2] The community is said to have migrated from the Sahyadri ranges to the central Vidharbha region.[1] The community does not have an oral tradition concerning the etymology of the word Hindre or the history of their migration, so their own origin is unknown to the them. While the Hindre were grouped with the Kunbis of the Khandesh region in early ethnographical studies, the origin of the community is not known.[1] Their population has not been accurately recorded in any official records; since the community is only found in certain rural districts, the Anthropological Survey of India estimates their population to be in thousands or in lakhs.[1] While the traditional occupation of the Hindre Kunbis is agriculture, better educational opportunities and urbanization have resulted in a disruption of their traditional economy, which has caused many Hindre to pursue diversified occupations.[3] The main language of the community is Marathi with Devanagri script for written communication. Community members who visit urban areas for business reasons are able to communicate in broken Hindi.[1] The communities' traditional dress is similar to that of other peer communities.[1] All women and the majority of the men are vegetarians.[1] Consumption of tea is common, mainly to overcome fatigue.[2] Hindre are strictly endogamous[2] and their marriages are arranged.[4] Child marriages were practiced in the past but the age of marriage in 2003 was recorded to be between 20–25 for males and 17–22 for females.[2] Cremation of the dead is the norm; stillborn babies and those who died after a few months are buried.[5] Brahmin priests are employed for the Hindu rituals.[6] Main festivals of the Hindre include Vaishakhi, Akhadi, Yatra, Rakshabandhan, Dussera and Holi.[6] Places of pilgrimage include Pandharpur, Tuljapur, Ramtek, Nashik and Saptashringi.[1] The traditional caste council which existed in the 20th century for solving social issues like divorce has been supplanted by the statutory gram panchayat of the state government.[6] Common surnames are Jaitale, Wankhed, Chouhan, Gawande, Mahale, Bhoir, Choudhary and Jadhav; it is not possible to identify a Hindre Kunbi on the basis of surname alone in a multi-ethnic village.[2] Changes in surnames have been recorded, an example of which is the changing of Chouhan to Jaitale.{{sfn|Dhar|2004|p=1193}