Welcome to Koli Samaj.org, your online resource on Koli community of Gujarat.
This is an exceprt from the book "The Thakors of North Gujarat, A Caste in the Village
and the Region" by Lancy Lobo
pages 169 to 171
Koli Associations in Different Regions of Gujarat
Koli associations should be seen at the sub-regional levels. At the sub-regional levels efforts
are afoot to unite each of the different divisions such as Talpada, Pardesh, Baria and Palia in
itself. At the regional level attempts are made to unite all the different divisions of Kolis. Not
much is known about Koli associations in central Gujarat but it is likely that associations that
exist in north Gujarat also exist here. The kshatriya Sabha with its headquarters in Nadiad in
Kheda district has been the major association in central Gujarat and has attracted a good deal
of attention from the Kolis of the region. In the Ahmedabad district, efforts have been made
to recognize the Talpada Koli marriage circles for social and educational purposes. For
instance, in Dholka taluka, the 42 village circle has become active in this regard. In
Ahmedabad city itself, there is Uttar Gujarat Thakor Yuvak Mandal (North Gujarat Thakor
Youth Assocation).
In the unpublished paper on Talpada Kolis in south Gujarat, Arjun Patel mentions that a
number of them had participated in the 1926 Non-Cooperation movement, the 1930 Dandi
Satyagraha, and the Quit-India movement of 1942. From the Olpad and Choryasi talukas
alone 91 Kolis became freedom fighters. Koli leaders here have been active in bringing about
social reform among their folk. Twenty-three caste associations (gnati sangathano) have been
recorded in south Gujarat by Patel (1992: 371), as for example: (1) south Gujarat
region-specific, Dakshin Gujarat Koli Patel Samaj Sangh, Surat; and (2) sub-region specific
Shree (Talpada) Koli Patel Samaj (limited to Olpad-Choryasi); Bardoli Pradesh Taluka Koli
Samaj; Shree Chikhli Taluka Koli Samaj, and so on. The main objectives of these associations
are social reform, promotion of education, and furtherance of the economic interests of Kolis.
These associations, like the north Gujarat Koli associations, do not avowedly profess any
political objective. Patel (1992) notes that many associations in south Gujarat held joint
activities. However, the efforts of the south Gujarat Kolis to unite with Kolis of other regions
were unsuccessful.
Kambad, a Talpada Koli from Bhavnagar, Saurashtra, in his book (1981: 453, in Gujarati),
Samast Koli Samaj (All Koli Association), writes that since 1951 meetings were held nearly
every year at different places in Saurashtra to bring about a fellow feeling among Kolis and to
promote all-round development among them. According to Roy (1983), this association took
formal shape on 20 November 1973, under the title Samast Talpada Koli Samaj (All Talpada
Koli society). Its first convention was held at Chotila (Surendranagar district) where about
7000 Kolis from Saurashtra assembled. During this convention the bandharan (constitution)
of the association was framed and approved.
According to this constitution, at the village level five elected members compose the Nath or
gramya panch (village caste council) with powers to tackle civil and social disputes and
offences. The collective representation of a minimum of five and a maximum of twelve
village Naths or gramya punch mostly of adjacent villages, is called Hunda. Roy (1983) has
traced 13 Hundas having 106 gramya panchs in what is called Panchal Vistar, that cuts across
portions of Surendranagar, Rajkot, Junagadh and Amreli districts of Saurashtra. These 13
Hundas constitute the Nath Mandal, the supreme body. Its composed of elected members
from each of 13 Hundas. Each Hunda is constituted of elected members from each Nath or
gramya panch. Once of the main objectives is "To develop the general standard of the Koli
Samaj with respect to economy, culture and education" (Roy 1983: 127). The Nath Mandal
appears to be a purely programmatic effort and yet is significant. Kambad (1981: 465-472) in
Gujarati) makes no secret about the political intentions of the Samast Koli Samaj and its efforts
to bring the Talpada associations of south Gujarat and Saurashtra together, perhaps eventually
aiming at the union of all the Talpadas on a common political platform.
The non-Talpada Kolis, though less organized, are also showing signs of stirring up
organizationally. Some of the Koli associations in different regions may exist only on paper,
i.e., may not be really active, as for instance, Shri Samast Talpada Koli Samaj. However,
what is significant is the aspiration it embodies for the Kolis. There is an effort at fusion and
an orientation towards horizontal solidarity. One must also remember that a number of Koli
associations may have come into existence only to take advantage of grants and funds from
the government available at a particular point of time.
The Kshatriya Sabha was the most ambitious project to unite the highly differentiated Kolis
and Rajputs. After its break-up, small Koli associations, societies and trusts sprang up all over
Gujarat under the appellations, "All Gujarat Koli", "All Koli", "All Kshatriya", "All Talpada Koli"
and so on. These express the desire to unite the different strata among Kolis, so that they
may be exploit political opportunities under the dictum "union is strength". Caste
consciousness and 'we feeling' among Kolis has gained momentum, but it has also to face
formidable barriers of subdivisions and substrata.
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