Nayak (caste)

Not to be confused with Nayak (title).

The Nayak are a Hindu caste; also some Nayak are Punjabi found in India and Pakistan. Mainly Nayak follows Hindu.^[1] According to Vinay Krishin Gidwani, the Nayaks claim that they were, historically, Brahmins.^[2]

Demographics and occupation

The Nayaks reside in Haryana,^[3] Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal.^[4] They also live in Khammam district and West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh^[5] and in a number of villages near Ahmedabad in Gujarat.^[1] According to Kathryn Hansen, the main occupation of Gujarati Nayaks had been "singing, dancing and acting in plays".^[1]

Present circumstances

The Nayak caste is classified as a Scheduled Caste in Gujarat and Rajasthan states of India.^[2][6]

See also

• Nayak dynasty
• Nayakas of Keladi

References

1. Hansen, Kathryn (2013) [First published 2011]. "Radheshyam Kathavachak, My Theatre Days". Stages of Life: Indian Theatre Autobiographies (illustrated, reprint ed.). Anthem Press. pp. 102–169. ISBN 978-1783080687. OCLC 855190685.
2. Gidwani, Vinay Krishin (1996). Fluid Dynamics: An Essay on Canal Irrigation and the Processses of Agrarian Change in Matar Taluka (Gujarat). India (Ph.D.). University of California, Berkeley. p. xii. OCLC 41175219. nayak a Scheduled Caste, especially patronized by patels, claim to have been brahmins historically
3. Lok Sabha Debates. New Delhi, India: Lok Sabha Secretariat. 2002. p. 545. ISSN 0445-6769. OCLC 8866894. ...the Government of Haryana has also demanded that Nayak Caste be included in the list of Scheduled Castes. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
4. Lunheim, Rolf (1993). Desert People: Caste and Community — A Rajasthani Village. University of Trondheim. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-8290896121. OCLC 33369188.
5. Nagaraja, G. (15 July 2013). "Polls bring dispute over Nayaka caste status in West Godavari". The Hindu. Visakhapatnam, India. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
6. Lipner, Julius (2010). Hindus: Their religious beliefs and practices (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-415-45676-0. The Nāyak caste of the bhopo is among the lowest in the hierarchy of Rajasthan, and is listed officially as a scheduled caste (viz. Untouchable).