All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha
Encyclopedia
The All India Kurmi Kshatriya MahaSabha (AIKKM) is a Social Organisation, established in 1910 for the welfare of Kurmi
community.
in order to protest against the police recruitment policy. This was followed by an organisation in Awadh that sought to draw other communities - such as the Patidar
s, Maratha
s, Kapu
s and Naidu
s - under the umbrella of the Kurmi name. This body then campaigned for Kurmis to classify themselves as Kshatriya in the 1901 census and, in 1910, led to the formation of the All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha.
By 1910, in the All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha, the Ramanandi sect
, a caste of monastic Brahmin sages, traced the Kurmis ancestry to Luv
, confirming their Kshatriya claims as Suryavanshi Kshatriya
.
from which the neo-Kshatriyas, the Rajputs, claim their descent from the fire pits at Mt. Abu in western India with the claim that all previous kshatriyas were destroyed, with the Rajputs being the new kshatriyas. Most of the Kurmis are land owning agrarians. The link between kshatriyas and agriculture has been justified on the grounds of linguistic affinities between the root *ar- ("bravery, heroism", found in English and Greek hero, Russian geroj, and Sanskrit ārya) and other words for cultivators, i.e. those who labour nobly (Russian oratel' or ploughman, Airga in the Zend-Avesta); as well as in the legend of King Prithu, who tamed the earth to make the earth fertile again. It is for this reason that the Sanskrit word for "earth" is "Prithvi", in honor of the Aryan King Prithu who first cultivated the earth.
Kurmi
The Kurmi are a Hindu agricultural Jāti in India.The group has been associated with the Kunbi, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous. In 2006, the Indian government announced that Kurmi was considered synonymous with the Kunbi and Yellam castes in Maharashtra...
community.
Origin
The first Kurmi caste association was formed in 1894 at LucknowLucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
in order to protest against the police recruitment policy. This was followed by an organisation in Awadh that sought to draw other communities - such as the Patidar
Patidar
The Patidar are a Hindu ethnic group found primarily in the state of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in India.Patidars are also known as Patel, a common surname with in the community.D. F...
s, Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
s, Kapu
Kapu
Kapu refers to the ancient Hawaiian code of conduct of laws and regulations. The kapu system was universal in lifestyle, gender roles, politics, religion, etc. An offense that was kapu was often a corporal offense, but also often denoted a threat to spiritual power, or theft of mana. Kapus were...
s and Naidu
Naidu
Naidu is a title used by various social groups of the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states of India. It is also used in Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa and Chattisgarh...
s - under the umbrella of the Kurmi name. This body then campaigned for Kurmis to classify themselves as Kshatriya in the 1901 census and, in 1910, led to the formation of the All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha.
By 1910, in the All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha, the Ramanandi sect
Ramanandi sect
The Ramanandi sect is also called RAMAVAT sect and SHRI sect. This Vaishnava denomination has played an important role in shaping the social and spiritual climate of the populous Ganges valley. The Ramanandi movement owes its popularity to the saint Ramananda who lived in Varanasi in the 14th...
, a caste of monastic Brahmin sages, traced the Kurmis ancestry to Luv
Lava (Ramayana)
Lava or Luv and his twin brother Kusha, were the children of the Lord Rama and his wife Sita, whose story is recounted in the Ramayana. Per that text, he is known as the founder of Lavapuri,that is, the modern day city of Lahore,...
, confirming their Kshatriya claims as Suryavanshi Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
.
About the organisation
The organisation was formed to unite the Kurmi community. It is a welfare organisation, working for educational, political and social empowerment of the community.Beliefs
Kurmi is a Sanskrit word literally means Able, Powerful, Noble, Master etc. The organisation believes Kurmis are the real Ancient Vedic Kshatriyas. Most of the ancient Vedic kshatriyas were later recorded as degraded kshatriyas or "shudra kings" by some Brahmin priests who resented the rise of Buddhism and the monetary support which Buddhist institutions received by the major warrior tribes descended from the Aryans at the time. Evidence of such activity can be drawn from the Agni PuranaAgni Purana
The Agni Purana, one of the 18 Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts, contains descriptions and details of various incarnations of Vishnu. It also has details account about Rama, Krishna, Prithvi, and the stars...
from which the neo-Kshatriyas, the Rajputs, claim their descent from the fire pits at Mt. Abu in western India with the claim that all previous kshatriyas were destroyed, with the Rajputs being the new kshatriyas. Most of the Kurmis are land owning agrarians. The link between kshatriyas and agriculture has been justified on the grounds of linguistic affinities between the root *ar- ("bravery, heroism", found in English and Greek hero, Russian geroj, and Sanskrit ārya) and other words for cultivators, i.e. those who labour nobly (Russian oratel' or ploughman, Airga in the Zend-Avesta); as well as in the legend of King Prithu, who tamed the earth to make the earth fertile again. It is for this reason that the Sanskrit word for "earth" is "Prithvi", in honor of the Aryan King Prithu who first cultivated the earth.