Gautam (Rajput clan)

The Gautam Rajputs is a Rajput clan belonging to the Ikshvaku dynasty with gotra Gautam, primarily found in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh,[1] Bihar[2] and Madhya Pradesh along with states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Thakur Jodha Singh

The clan name Gautam means "descendant of Gotama or Gautam", "Gotama" meaning "one who has the most light,"[3] and comes from the fact that Kshatriya clans adopted the gotra of their house priests.[4][5]

Jodha Singh Attaiya a great chieftain during Indian rebellion of 1857 also belongs to this ancient clan.[6] Attaiya is a cadet branch of Gautam Rajputs.

History

The Gautam Rajputs like the Sengar Rajputs claim descent from a Brahmin Rishi (saint) named Singhi Rishi, who married the daughter of the Gaharwar king of Kannauj.[7][8]

Raja Haribaran Dev of Argal,[9] a principality of Gautam Rajputs located in modern-day Fatehpur Uttar Pradesh, fought for Sher Shah Suri (otherwise known as Sher Khan) against Humayun in the 16th century.[10]

By the time of Aurangzeb's reign, the Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in Pargana Nizamabad had gained enough strength to field armed contingents including artillery, horse cavalry and elephants and made incursions against the neighboring Bhumihars of Gorakhpur.[11] One late 17th-century rajput chief from the Azamgarh area, named Bikramajit Singh, a descendant of Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in pargana Nizamabad, converted to Islam. His sons and descendants went on to found communities, establish markets and construct improvements such as a canal connecting the Tons River with the Kol.[11]

In the case of Raja Uday Pratap Singh [12] of Nagar Basti, the decision by the British East India Company to dispossess them in favour of another landholder was the cause of them joining in the Indian rebellion of 1857.[13] This was in part a result of British policies that led to declining socio-economic fortunes.[14][15]

Notables

Note

Although the Gautam Rajputs do claim descent from Singhi/Siringi Rishi,[16] they are not to be misunderstood with the Gautam Brahmins, Gautam Bhumihars, and other scheduled castes or scheduled tribes with the same name.

References
  1. Singh, Ram Bali (1975). Rajput Clan-settlements in Varanasi District. National Geographical Society of India. p. 61.
  2. Singh, Ram Bali (1977). Clan Settlements in the Saran Plain (Middle Ganga Valley): A Study in Cultural Geography. National Geographical Society of India, Banaras Hindu University. p. 145.
  3. Bopearachchi, Osmund (1 January 2021). "GREEK HELIOS OR INDIAN SŪRYA? THE SPREAD OF THE SUN GOD IMAGERY FROM INDIA TO GANDHĀRA". Connecting the Ancient West and East. Studies Presented to Prof. Gocha R. Tsetskhladze, Edited by J. Boardman, J. Hargrave, A. Avram and A. Podossinov, Monographs in Antiquity: 946. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  4. Witzel, Michael (2012). "Ṛṣis". Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online. Brill.
  5. Macdonell, Arthur Anthony; Keith, Arthur Berriedale (1912). Vedic Index of Names and Subjects. Vol. 1. John Murray. p. 240.
  6. Division, Publications. WHO'S WHO OF INDIAN MARTYRS Vol 3. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 978-81-230-2182-9.
  7. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handbook_on_Rajputs/Cc2HyXP5dygC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=gautam+rajputs+singhi+rishi&pg=PA121&printsec=frontcover
  8. Bingley, A.H. (2020). Handbook on Rajputs. Asian Educational Services. p. 26. ISBN 9788121234689.
  9. Supplement to the Fatehpur gazetteer(1887)
  10. Fox, Richard Gabriel (1971). Kin, Clan, Raja, and Rule: Statehinterland Relations in Preindustrial India. University of California Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-52001-807-5.
  11. Muzaffar Alam (1998). "Aspects of Agrarian Uprisings in North India in the Early Eighteenth Century". In Muzaffar Alam; Sanjay Subrahmanyam (eds.). The Mughal State 1526-1750. Oxford University Press. pp. 461–463. ISBN 978-0195652253.
  12. [https://www.livehindustan.com/uttar-pradesh/gorakhpur/story-raja-nagar-udai-pratap-fought-with-britishers-2192236.html
  13. Rag, Pankaj (1998). "1857: Need for Alternative Sources". Social Scientist. 26 (1): 113–147. doi:10.2307/3517585. JSTOR 3517585.
  14. Kasturi, Malavika (2004). "Taming the 'Dangerous' Rajput; Family, Marriage and Female Infanticide in Nineteenth-Century Colonial North India". In Fischer-Tiné, Harald; Mann, Michael (eds.). Colonialism as Civilizing Mission: Cultural Ideology in British India. Anthem Press. pp. 126–128. ISBN 978-1-84331-363-2.
  15. Mishra, Subhash (15 July 2002). "Mixed Strains". India Today. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  16. Bingley, A.H. (2020). Handbook on Rajputs. Asian Educational Services. p. 26. ISBN 9788121234689.

Further reading
  • Ansari, S. Hasan; Saleem, Mohd. (1980). "Spatial Diffusion of Gautam Rajput Clan Settlements in Ghazipur District". Man in India. 60 (3): 278–281.


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