Editing Pathare Prabhu

{{Short description|Hindu community in Maharashtra, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}

[[File:Pathare Prabhu man (19th century).png|thumb|Pathare Prabhu middle-class man of nineteenth century.]]

'''Pathare Prabhu''' is one of the [[Hindu]] communities found mainly in the Indian state of [[Maharashtra]].

==Introduction==

The Pathare Prabhus and the [[Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu]]s (CKP) are considered sister communities, both being part of the 'Prabhu caste'.<ref>{{cite book | title = Urban leadership in Western India: politics and communities in Bombay city, 1840-1885 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2eYhAAAAMAAJ&q=sister | author=Christine E. Dobbin| year=1972 |page= 225|isbn = 978-0-19-821841-8|quote=Not only were the Pathare prabhus aware for the need for self help. In 1876 the members of their sister community, the Chandraseniya Kayasth Prabhus, began to organize themselves.}}</ref>
Both Pathare Prabhu and CKP follow the [[Advaita Vedanta]] [[Smarta]] tradition of Hinduism propounded by [[Adi Shankara]].<ref>{{cite book | title = The Castes, Tribes and Culture of India | author = K.P.Bahadur, Sukhdev Singh Chib | page= 161| publisher=ESS Publications|year=1981| quote= pg 161: The Kayastha Prabhus...The creed mostly accepted by them is that of the advaita school of Shankaracharya, though they also worship Vishnu, Ganapati and other gods. ...Most of the Pathare Prabhus are the followers of smart sect who adopt the teachings of Shankaracharya}}</ref>

Along with all the [[Maharashtrian Brahmin]] castes and the CKP,  they are considered one of the 'high' or 'elite' castes of [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{cite journal | title = The American Economic Review - Volume 96, Issues 3-4 |page = 1228 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RC6yAAAAIAAJ&q=pathare|publisher = Nashville, Tenn. American Economic Association | year=2006 |quote= High castes include all the Brahmin jatis, as well as a few other elite jatis (CKP and Pathare Prabhus).Low castes include formerly untouchable castes (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes as defined by the government of India). Middle castes are drawn mostly from the cultivator jatis, such as the Marathas and the Kunbis, as well as other traditional vocations that were not considered to be untouchable.}}</ref>

The Pathare Prabhu, in the 19th century would to refer to Mumbai (then known as Bombay) as 'Desh' (country). They formed the "Union Club" under which were the five primary collectives of [[Girgaon]], [[Mazagaon]], [[Parel]], [[Mahim]] and [[Worli]]. In 1887, they held a meeting at the "Desh" level in which it was decided to stop inviting "naikins" (dancers) to sing at the [[Upanayana]] (thread ceremonies or "munja") and marriage celebrations. Historians cite an incident where a Pathare Prabhu member who broke this rule two years later was socially outcast by the community. He sued for defamation but the British Court ruled against him.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Making of History: Essays Presented to Irfan Habib (Anthem South Asian Studies)|year=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejrBraqBaLQC&pg=PA197|publisher=Anthem Press|page=197|isbn=9781843310389|editor1=Utsa Patnaik|editor2=Terence J. Byres|editor3=K. N. Panikkar}}</ref>

==Notable people==
*[[Moroba Kanhoba]] – 19th century writer and social reformer (women's rights advocate), author of the famous Marathi novel "Ghashiram Kotwal". His highly publicized marriage to a widow ended in a tragedy after the couple was found dead within a year of the marriage.<ref>{{cite book|title=Indian Writing in English: Tradition and Modernity|author1=Kanupriya |author2=Amar Nath Prasad|year=2006 |isbn=9788176257176 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HvhTI1GGIo8C&pg=PA168|quote=Moroba Kanhoba Vijaykar's novel Ghashiram Kotwal appeared in 1873. Ghashiram is not an imaginative character of literature.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Crossing Thresholds: Feminist Essays in Social History|page=350|year=2007|quote= Perhaps the most highly publicized was the ill-fated marriage of Moroba Kanhoba Vijaykar, one of the earliest members of the Society, in 1870. It resulted in the family's excommunication by his Pathare Prabhu caste, despite reformist support. But most unfortunate was the tragedy that struck before a year was over. The newly-weds were found dead in the neighbouring...}}</ref>
*[[Shivkar Bapuji Talpade]] –  allegedly flew an unmanned heavier-than-air aircraft in 1895, this [[Hindutva pseudohistory|pseudohistorical claim was made by Hindu nationalists]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/A-flight-over-Chowpatty-that-made-history/pmredirectshow/890055.cms?curpg=2|title = A flight over Chowpatty that made history|date = 18 October 2004|accessdate = 3 February 2015|website = The Times of India|quote=Talpade belonged to the Pathare Prabhu community, one of the founder of Mumbai}}</ref>
*[[Atmaram Sadashiv Jayakar]] – Notable zoologist, physician, naturalist and explorer. Best known for his scientific study on animals and medical surveys of Oman. He described some unknown species like [[Arabitragus jayakari]], [[Hippocampus jayakari]] and [[Omanosaura jayakari]], all named after him. He also studied the Omani dialect of Arabic.<ref>Omani Proverbs, Oleander Press, 1987, page 1-7</ref>
*[[M. V. Dhurandhar|Mahadev Vishwanath Dhurandhar]] – Well known Indian painter and artist.<ref>Pratap Velkar (1997). Pathare Prabuncha Itihasa, Shrividya prakashan, page 456</ref>
*[[Kanhoba Ranchoddas Kirtikar]] – Notable botanist, surgeon and Marathi poet.<ref>Pratap Velkar (1997). Pathare Prabuncha Itihasa, Shrividya prakashan, page 445</ref>
*[[M. R. Jayakar|Mukund Ramarao Jayakar]] – First vice chancellor of the [[University of Pune]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Myth of the Lokamanya: Tilak and Mass Politics in Maharashtra|publisher=University of California Press|url=https://archive.org/details/mythoflokamanya00rich|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/mythoflokamanya00rich/page/190 190]|author=Richard I. Cashman|year=1975|isbn=9780520024076 |quote=Although more at home in the cosmopolitan center of Bombay, and a member of the Council of the Bombay Presidency Association, the Pathare Prabhu lawyer, Mukund Ramrao Jayakar (1873-1959), expressed the typical response}}</ref>
*[[Narayan Dinanath Velkar|Raobahadur Narayan Dinanath Velkar]] (1798–1870) – 19th century social reformer, and first Native Municipal Commissioner of Bombay city and one of the founders of ''[[The Times of India]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vijayakar |first1=Pradeep |title=Mumbai's first Native Commissioner remembered |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbais-first-native-commissioner-remembered/articleshow/5941539.cms |publisher=[[The Times of India]] |date=May 17, 2010}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Pathare Prabhu (Kanchole)]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Pathare Prabhu}}
* [http://www.pathareprabhu.org The Pathare Prabhu Community Website]
* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/blavatsky/06brahmanic.html An interesting description of pathare prabhu culture as experienced by Helena Blavatsky in the 18th century.]

[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Hinduism in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Religion in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Social groups of Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Social groups of Goa]]
[[Category:History of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Prabhu Communities of Maharashtra]]