Who are Yadavs?

Yadav

• Yadav refers to a grouping of traditionally mainly

1. Non-elite (Ordinary,  Powerless, Poor People) 
2. Peasant-pastoral communities or castes
3. Found in India and Nepal that since the 19th and 20th centuries
4. Claimed descent from the mythological King Yadu as a part of a movement of social and political resurgence

• Yadav now covers many traditional peasant-pastoral castes such as Ahirs of the Hindi belt and the Gavli of Maharashtra
• Traditionally, Yadav groups were linked to cattle raising and, as such, were outside the formal caste system
• Since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Yadav movement has worked to improve the social standing of its constituents,^[9]through 

1. Sanskritization
2. active participation in the Indian and British armed forces
3. expansion of economic opportunities to include other, more prestigious business fields, and 
4. active participation in politics

• Yadav leaders and intellectuals have often focused on their claimed descent from Yadu, and from Krishna, which they argue confers kshatriya status upon them.
• Effort has been invested in recasting the group narrative to emphasise kshatriya-like valour
• However, the overall tenor of their movement has not been overtly egalitarian in the context of the larger Indian caste system
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