Charan


The Charan are a caste living in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan.

Social structure

Members of the caste are considered to be divine by a large section of society. Women of the caste are adored as mother goddesses by other major communities of this region, including Rajputs. For centuries, the Charans were known for their reputation of preferring to die rather than break a promise.
Charan society is based on written genealogy. A Charan will consider all the other Charans as equal even if they do not know each other and have radically different economic or geographic status.
Anil Chandra Banerjee, a professor of history, has said that Banerjee's opinion is shared by another historian, G. N. Sharma, who said that

Food and drink

Their eating and drinking habits resemble those of the Rajputs. Charans used to enjoy consumption of opium and drinking of liquor, practices which are also popular among the Rajputs of this region. But unlike Rajputs Charan women does not consume liquor. Charans do not eat the flesh of cows, and hold those who do in utter disregard. Cows are respected like mothers. Before Indian independence in 1947, a sacrifice of a male buffalo constituted a major part of the celebration of Navratri. Such celebrations quite often used to be presided over by Charan woman.

Contributions to Indian literature

A whole genre of literature is known as Charan literature. The Dingal language and literature exist largely due to this caste. Zaverchand Meghani divides Charani sahitya into thirteen subgenres:
Other classifications of Charani sahitya are Khyatas, Vartas and Vatas, Raso, Veli - Veli Krishan Rukman ri, Doha-Chhand.