Though there is ample evidence (both ancient and modern) to substantiate the theory of Sanskritisation, there is no evidence that shows Rajputisation to be a real phenomenon.This argument rests entirely upon a fallacious and highly problematic approach to history – semantics.

There seems to be no end to the representation war in Bollywood’s period portrayals. The unveiling of the first teaser of Prabhas-starrer ‘Adipurush‘ stirred the controversy pot once again. Based on the epic ‘Ramayana’, the film’s portrayal of mythical figures like Ravana has received flak from the BJP owing to the alleged ‘misrepresentation’ of the Brahmin antagonist. Others slammed the film for its amateurish use of Computer-generated imagery (CGI) that blew things out of proportion. This is just one of many instances where tampering with history in the guise of creative liberty hasn’t gone down too well. Similar interference has been found recently in academic inferences on many ethnic communities, positing arguments that seek to divide them.

MISREPRESENTATION OF COMMUNITIES FEEDS POPULAR IMAGINATION

Colonial ethnographers such as HA Rose, Denzil Ibbetson, and Lepel Griffin can be accredited as the harbingers of sociological, ethnographic research in South Asia. Colonial theorists obsessed over race, class, and, naturally, the origins of communities. They documented the locally sourced accounts meticulously.

It is in these colonial writings that one finds many pastoralist peasant communities (e.g. Jats, Gujjars, Ahirs, etc.) claiming descent from Kshatriyas/Rajputs. This process of appropriating Rajput clan names (surnames), titles (e.g. Rana, Thakur, etc.), and names such as Singh is a form of Sanskritisation.

Some sociologists later concocted a theory about a social process called ‘Rajputisation’ through which heterogenous, politically ascendant groups began to identify as ‘Rajputs’ and gradually formed a distinct community with different groups joining it at different periods throughout history.

Though there is ample evidence (both ancient and modern) to substantiate the theory of Sanskritisation, there is no evidence that shows Rajputisation to be a real phenomenon.This argument rests entirely upon a fallacious and highly problematic approach to history – semantics.

ARE ETHNIC DIVISIONS OF SIMILAR LINEAGE WARRANTED?

An example of such weak research is found in a recent article by Arjun Bhattacharya where he makes a perplexing and astounding argument that the “Rajputras” mentioned in ancient Sanskrit inscriptions are not referring to today’s Rajputs. If one were to break down the former, ‘Rajputra’ comes down to ‘Raja-ka-put'(son), suggestive of the latter being a derivative.

Oddly enough, all historians including those who support the fallacious theory of Rajputisation would have to agree that the Chahamanas of the 12th century are the same Chauhans that existed in the Mughal era and ceded their territories in 1947 to form the Republic of India. Indeed, there is no evidence on the contrary. The entire argument rests upon a false distinction between Rajputra and Rajput and can only function through a negation, denial, and ignorance of all historical evidence.

This is tantamount to one arguing that Pant, Pandit, Panda, Pandey, Purohit, Bahman, Brahmin, etc. do not refer to the Brahmin community or that Jaats and Jatts are different ethnic groups. In a similar vein, it would be equally absurd to argue that Kurmi, Kunbi, Patidar and Patel refer to different communities.

In the North Indian context, Bania, Vaishya and Vanij refer to the same mercantile groups in different regions. Synonyms or linguistic changes or translations do not indicate the rise or decline of a community.

This story was originally published in thequint.com . Read the full story here