Thori (tribe)

The Thori are a scheduled caste found in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana in India. They are also known as the Nayak.^[1][2]

The Thori claim their descent from soldiers who served in the army of the Rajputs, though it is not clear whether those soldiers were Rajputs or not. Through this, they sometimes assert Rajput descent, but this claim is merely their attempt at Rajputization, as there is no historical, genealogical, or other evidence to support it. They claim that they held the role of commanders in the army of various Rajput Rajahs of Rajputana. As their power grew, the Rajahs tried to defame them. This led to a split with the wider Rajput community, and the Thori acquired a distinct identity. None of these claims are supported by historical evidence; hence, their Rajput descent is rejected and disagreed upon by most scholars and historians, as well as by people from other communities.^[3]

They are found mainly in the districts of Ganganagar, and Churu. Their spoken language is Marwari.

The Thori are a landless community, and economically marginalized. They work as daily wage labour in the industrial and agricultural sector. They have an effective caste council, known as the Nayak Samaj, which acts as quasi-judicial body and deals with intra-community dispute. The Thori are Hindu, with Pabuji being their main deity.^[4]

The Thori of Gujarat are also known as Utloiwala, Batwala and Jhori. They have two endogamous groups, the Makwana and Barasia. The Thori are a nomadic community, moving in bands of ten and fifteen and live in small reed huts. Like other Gujarat communities, they have a number of clans, called ataks. Their main ataks are the Parmar, Makowara, Gatar, Kharkaria, Bhoping, Narodia, and Mangarchi. The community is still mainly involved with the manufacturing of baskets. Their range is northern and central Gujarat, particularly the districts of Ahmadabad, Surendranagar, Sabarkantha, Panchmahal and Baroda. Like the Rajasthan Thori, they speakl Mewari.^[5]

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