Thread by @ScionofBourbon

🧵 On Origin of Gaur Brahmins.

Disclaimer- This thread aims to examine the origin/homeland of Gaur Brahmins and take down some myths/misconceptions surrounding it; based on historical records available. 1/n

Intro- Gaur/Gour/Gaud Brahmins is a Brahmin subcaste mainly settled in West UP(Upper Doab), Haryana,Delhi, North-East Rajasthan(Dhundhar,Shekhawati,etc.) and minority in Chambal-Gird region of MP.
The term "Gaur" should not be confused with Panch-Gaur which is a term used 2/n

for all Brahmin sub-castes north of Vindhyas(namely Saraswat,Gaur,Maithil,Utkal,Kanyakubj).

MYTHS REGARDING ORIGINAL HOMELAND OF GAURS/

Shrouded in misconceptions and ignorance, many people including Gaur themselves identified their origin from Gauda-desha or Bengal.3/n

This belief took off in medieval times after Gauda in Bengal became power centre, thus arbitrarily, association of Gaur Brahmins with Gauda desha/city came into vogue; which was debated and rejected by numerous British historians; counter-arguments being 4/n

1. If Gaur Brahmins originated from Bengal, why there is no remnant of their population in modern day Bengal.
2. How was it possible that they crossed territories of Maithil,SPB and KKB without settling somewhere in between and came to their present settlements in WUP,HR,RJ. 5/n

3. Provincial/Regional Identification of Broms started only after 7th century, as CV Vaidya writes; then if such a migration happened after that time, why wasn't there an inscription,record or even a story of such huge migration 6/n

The next question is; WHAT WAS GAUR/GAUD REGION
Historically, few region across India were identified as "Gaur" from where many communities, such as Gaur Brahmin, Gaur Rajputs,Gaur Tagas originated. 7/n

1. As in this Archeological Report, region of Northern Kosala was called "Gaud" which then became known as Modern-day Gonda in UP. This may be possible as Gaur Brahmins have settlements here and Gaur Rajputs also hold estates in the region. 8/n

2. CV Vaidya called the region around Thanesar(modern day Kurukshetra) as Gauda-desha.
3. Similarly, G Campbell believed Gaur to be taken from area surrounding Saraswati river in Western India(Ghaggar-Hakra) belt and Sir Cunningham mentioned the Uttar Kosala theory. 9/n

Now, keeping these theories in mind, let us see some other proofs. In Bulandshahr, which has one of the largest Gaur Brahmin settlement; there was a inscription of a land grant dated third century, which confirms that Brahmins were settled here in those times. 10/n

Now, if Gaurs "migrated" from Bengal, why did they didn't settle and crossed SPB, KKB and settled in West UP having indigenous Brahmin there too. Thus it is most probable that the indigenous Brahmins there came to be known as Gaurs when the regional classification 11/n

came into force. Hence the theory of Gaur being Thanesar gets traction. Also, Bulandshahr gazetteer mentions Shikarpur estate, headed by Gaur Brahmin "Chaudharis" with its history going to medieval times and being in constant conflict with local Muslims 12/n

Also, in Alha-Udal story, they mention of winning Gauda region along with Chanda etc, this Gauda here was certainly not Bengal 13/n

Going through these, one may suggest that Gaur was identified as either Uttara Kosala or Kurukshetra,at times when medieval Gauda in Bengal didn't exist.

Also, the genetic study done among various Brahmin subcastes of UP, Gaur Brahmins clustered very closely 14/n

with Saraswats and Sanadhya, who have their origin in North India, this study was taken from "Indian Journal of Anthropology and Human Genetics" ;simply affirming that Bengal Migration theory is a hoax.

@bamtul_bukhara @The_Gaurs @BamanBased @VladimirGaddafi RT for maximum reach, would soon make a separate thread on branches and distribution of Gaurs.