The caste that one belongs to serves as a strong determinant of his or her voting pattern. In India, different political parties represent the interests of different caste groups. The upper caste people have more freedom to vote by political beliefs. The Mandal Commission covered more than 3000 Other Backward Castes.

Upper caste A caste considered “higher” than a scheduled caste and other backward class. For example, a newspaper report may term a Rajput as “higher” caste.

1,108 castes

The caste system divides Hindus into four main categories – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras. The main castes were further divided into about 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes, each based on their specific occupation. Outside of this Hindu caste system were the achhoots – the Dalits or the untouchables.

The seven major Brahmin Gotras take the names of the saints whose lineages they represent: Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Bhradwaja, Gautama, Atri, Vasishta and Kashyapa.

As of 2008, the Banjara community has been listed as a Scheduled Tribe in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha. They were designated as an Other Backward Class in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and as a Scheduled Caste in Karnataka, Delhi and Punjab.

The Mukkulathor people, who are also collectively known as Thevar, are a community or group of communities native to the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India.

Nadar

Vellalar is a Tamil caste used primarily by various Sub castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The Vellalar enjoyed a status almost as high as Brahmins, due to the possession of land—the basis of wealth.

Gounder is a title used by various communities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It may refer to communities such as the kuruba, Kongu Vellalar, Vokkaliga, Vanniyars, Vettuvars and Uralis.

Devanga (also known as Devanga Chettiar) is a Hindu caste from South India that traditionally followed the occupation of textile merchandise, weaving and farming.They mostly found in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

Naidu (Nayudu/Naidoo) is a title used by many South Indian Telugu communities, such as the Balijas, Gollas, Reddy Dombar Kammas, Kapus and Velamas.

Reddys are classified as a Forward Caste in modern India’s positive discrimination system. They are a politically dominant community in Andhra Pradesh, their rise having dated from the formation of the state in 1956.

Sharma is a Brahmin Hindu surname in India and Nepal.

Desai as a surname is used by Deshastha Brahmin, Karhade Brahmin, Anavil Brahmin, Rabari, Leva Patel, Patidar, and Lingayat communities of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat.

As surname used by Brahmins Among Brahmins, Mehta surname is popularly used by Anavil Brahmins and Nagar Brahmins of Valsad and Surat regions of Gujarat. In the Gujarati language, the term was used to address teachers and accountants, becoming associated with these professions.

The Shrimal (Srimal) Jain are part of the Oswal merchant and minister caste that is found primarily in the north of India. Humad is the name of an ancient Jain community originally from Gujarat and Rajasthan, India.

During the rule of Qutb-shahis of Golkonda majority of Deshmukhs and Sir-Deshmukhs were Deshastha Brahmins of Madhwa Section. In Andhra Pradesh, especially in the Guntur and Krishna districts, the title “Deshmukh” was used by Deshastha Brahmin Zamindars.

Joshi (Devanagari: जोशी) is a surname used by the Brahmins (caste) in India and Nepal. Joshi is also sometimes spelled as Jyoshi. Joshi is a common family name in Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Goa and Uttar Pradesh in India and Nepal.

Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially disadvantaged….First Backward Classes Commission.

Jainism is considered to be a legally distinct religion in India. A section of scholars earlier considered it as a Hindu sect or a Buddhist heresy, but it is one of the three ancient Indian religions.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Oswal (sometimes spelled Oshwal or Osval) are a Jain community with origins in the Marwar region of Rajasthan and Tharparkar district in Sindh. They claim to be of Rajput descent.

Organization. The Parwars are divided into 12 gotras, each gotra is further divided into 12 shakhas (mura)s. Traditionally 4 of the shakas of the grandparents of the boy, and four of the shakhas of the grandparents of the girl were required to be distinct for a marriage to take place.

Jainism in Pakistan (پاکستان میں جین مت) has an extensive heritage and history, although there are no Jains in the country today.

Lord Mahavir

Jainism co-existed with Buddhism and Hinduism in ancient and medieval India. Many of its historic temples were built near the Buddhist and Hindu temples in 1st millennium CE.