Khas people
Khas people (Nepali: खस जाति) are people of Indo-Iranian ethno-linguistic group. They are indigenous native speakers of Nepali language (Khas Kura; translit.Khas speech) which is an Indo-Iranian language. Khas people have been referred as Parbatiya and Pahari or Gorkhali. Khas are most dominant faction in Nepal. They are around 31% of Nepal but nearly two thirds of government officials. The word “Khas” is little used in modern times. Khas peoples call themselves by their group names such as Bahun, Kshetri, Sanyasi/Sannesi, Kami, Damai, etc.
![]() Sample photo of Khas man in the scholarly work at Library of India | |
Total population | |
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c. 16 million[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
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Languages | |
Nepali language (Khas Kura) as mother tongue | |
Religion | |
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History
Khas people have been described as of Indo-Iraian genes thus unrelated to darker Indic people of India. . Khas people consists of Bahun (Khas Brahmin), Chhetri & Thakuri (Khas Kshatriyas), Sanyasi, Kami, Damai, Gandharbha/Gaine, Badi and Sarki people. Many historians referred dominant Thakuri and Chhetri as Khas Rajputs.[2]
Modern day
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Khas people continue Hindu religion with some ancestral deity called Masto gods.
Khas family names
Bahun, Chhetri & Thakuri
Acharya, Adhikari, Arya, Aryal, Bam, Badola, Saun (Saud or Samant), Bagadwal, Baral, Basnet/Basnyat, Barmola, Bhandari, Bhattarai, Bista/Bisht, Bhatta, Bhetwal, Budhathoki, Chand, Chauhan, Chaulagain, Chhetri, Dahal, Dabral, Devkota, Dhakal, Dhital, Dimri, Dhungel, Dobhal/Doval, Dobriyal, Dulal, Gautam, Gusain, Ghimire, Joshi, Kalauni, Karki, Kattel, Katuwal, Kandari, Kukreti, Khand, Khadka, Khanal, Khatri/K.C., Koirala, Kunwar , Lamsal, Lekhak, Lohani, Oli, Mainali, Negi, Nautiyal, Nouni, Pathak, Panta, Pandey, Hamal, Malla, Mamgain Poudel/Paudyal/Poudar(hill), Pokharel, Rana, Raut, Ranabhat, Rawat, Rautela, Raturi, Rijal, Regmi, Rimal, Sitoula, Sapkota, Shah, Sen, Shahi, Silwal, Semwal, Sharma, Singh, Thakur/Thakuri, Thapa, Thapliyal, Upreti, Upadhyay, Wagle, Wasti, Air, Aidi, Kandwal, khadayat, kathayat, pela, bhat, ter, bohra, pali, budal, chaisir, danga, rawal, pujara, mahat, mahra etc.
(Dasnami)
Puri, Saraswati, Bharati: Bhaveswa Tirtha, Ashram: Adhigata Ban, Aranya: Kashyap Giri, Parvat, Sagar :Bhrigu
Khas Dalits
Badi, Bishwakarma/B.K., Damai, Dholi, Gandharbha, Kami, Nagarchi, Pariyar, Ranapaheli, Sarki, Sundas, etc.
References
Citations
- "Nepali (npi)". Ethnologue. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- John T Hitchcock 1978, pp. 116–119.
Books
- John T Hitchcock (1978), Himalayan Anthropology: Indo-Tibetan interface, Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 9789027977007
- Richard P Burghart (1984), "The Formation of the Concept of Nation-State in Nepal", The Journal of Asian Studies, 44 (1): 101–125, doi:10.2307/2056748, JSTOR 2056748, S2CID 154584368