Ghanchi

Ghanchi (Delvadia/Modh/Modi/Sahu/Sahoo/Teli/Ganiga/Gandhi) is an other backward caste found in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and various parts of India. Ghanchi also refers to a well-known family based in India Gujarat in the regions of Kolak.^[1][2] Ghanchi caste has further many Gotra (Clan) which includes Gahlot, Borana, Sahu, Solanki, Bhati, Panwar, Parihar, Chauhan, Dayya, Devra, Dhandia, Nikub Parmar, Parihariya, Parmar, Sankhla & Surecha .^[3] The Modh Ghanchi sub-caste is of (OBC).^[4] The Sahu, Teli, Ganiga and other OBC, are related castes found in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.^[5]

Origin

The name is of Indian origin, and means a businessman (producer and seller of oils) (Teli). The surname is commonly found in Lunavada, Surat, Navsari, Ahmedabad, Valsad, Bilimora as well as Ghanchi, Modh Ghanchi (Originally from Modhera, Gujarat), Saurashtra, Amreli, Bagasra, Bilkha, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Kalol, Kadi, parts of Rajasthan Jodhpur, Pali, Sojat, Sumerpur, Mumbai.^[1] Those of the Gandla cast who extract oil from oil seed are known as the Gandla community.

Nowadays major number of this community is moving all around Gujarat including Kutch District, Gujarat.

Notable people

• Narendra Modi, the 15th Prime Minister of India.^[6] Modi belongs to the OBC (Other Backward Caste) Modh Ghanchi community,^[7] which is a Gujarati caste equivalent of Teli in Odisha, UP and Bihar, Gandla in Andhra Pradesh.^[8][9][10] Modh refers to the town Modehra, from where his caste originated.^[11]

See also

• shetty
• Teli
• Shah
• Sahu
• Ganiga
• Ghanchi
• Patel
• Gandla caste in ap ( they form 2.5% of Andhara Pradesh population )
• Rathour

References

1. People of India Gujarat Volume XXII Part One Editors R. B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan and M Azeez Mohideen pages 397 to 401
2. "Ghanchis in Rajasthan want to be led by Narendra Modi". The Financial Express.
3. www.ghanchisamaj.com. Rajesh Panwar http://www.ghanchisamaj.com/index.php. Retrieved 19 March 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
4. Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for Gujarat
5. Manish Kumar (7 May 2013). "Nitish Kumar's 'wait and watch' on Bihar BJP's latest Narendra Modi gimmick". NDTV.com.
6. "Ambedkar's false groupies out of sync with his legacy".
7. "'Modi is a Teli-Ghanchi OBC': BJP". DNA. Apr 23, 2014.
8. "'Modi is a Teli-Ghanchi OBC': BJP". The Times of India.
9. "dna special: 'Narendra Modi-is-an-OBC' campaign picks up in Bihar, but lacks steam in neighbouring UP". DNA. 2009-06-27. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
10. "Ghulam Nabi Azad's jibe at Modi casteist: BJP". Times of India. 2009-06-27. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
11. Bhagvadgomandal Encyclopedia (1928-1955)મોઢ બ્રાહ્મણ, વાણિયા, સુતાર અને ઘાંચીની એક જ્ઞાતિ. તે મૂળ ચાણસ્મા તાલુકાના મોઢેરા ગામની છે