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The Bunt (/ˈbʌnt/,^[1] Tulu: [bɐɳʈɐɾɯ]) people are an Indian community who historically have inhabited the districts of coastal Karnataka and Kasaragod district, in South India.^[2] Bunts were traditionally a warrior-class community,^[3]^[4] with agrarian origins,^[2] forming the landed gentry of the region.^[5] They are the dominant land-owning and farming community of Tulu Nadu, and speak Tulu and Kundagannada as their mother tongue.^[6]^[7] Today, the Bunts are a largely urbanised community, with a population size of less than one million, worldwide.^[8]^[9]

Etymology

The word Bunt means powerful man or warrior in Tulu language.^[5] Bunts are also referred to as okkelme, which means farmers or cultivators and references their agrarian origins^[2]

History

Kodial Guthu family (circa 1900). This particular Bunt family were landlords in the city of Mangalore, India

American anthropologist Sylvia Vatuk states that the Bunt community was a loosely defined social group.^[10] The matrilineal kin groups that constituted the caste were linguistically, geographically and economically diverse, which were united by their arrogation of aristocratic status and power.^[10] The Bunts speak Tulu and Kundagannada as their native language and were traditionally an agrarian caste engaged in rice cultivation.^[11]^[2]^[12]^[13]^[14] The Bunts follow a matrilineal system of inheritance called Aliyasantana.^[15] They have 93 clan names or surnames and are divided into 53 matrilineal septs called Bari.^[16] Members of the same bari did not intermarry.^[16]^[a] According to S. D. L. Alagodi, the Bunts "originally belonged to the warrior class. Being the martial race of Tulu Nadu, they served the ruling chiefs which brought them considerable benefits and allowed them to become the landowners and nobles of the region."^[5]^[17]

Bunt clans claim descent from the ancient Alupa dynasty (circa 2nd century CE – 15th century CE). Historian P. Gururaja Bhat mentions that the Alupa royal family were of local origin possibly belonging to the Bunt caste.^[18] The title Alupa (Alva) survives until this day among the Bunts according to historian Bhaskar Anand Saletore.^[19] Some ruling and feudal clans of North Kerala adjacent to Tulu Nadu were also likely descended from Bunts. Indian anthropologist Ayinapalli Aiyappan states that a powerful and warlike clan of the Bunts was called Kola Bari and the Kolathiri Raja of Kolathunadu was a descendant of this clan.^[20]

Norwegian anthropologist Harald Tambs-Lyche, states that the Bunts were warriors of the Jain kingdoms.^[21] Jainism gained a foothold in the Canara region during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty who were themselves Jains.^[22] The Hoysala Ballal kings are known to have appointed Bunts as military officers.^[22] A section of Bunts believe that they were originally Jains who later became a caste group.^[23] A legend prevalent among the Bunts states that one of the Jain kings of the Bunts abandoned Jainism and took to eating peacock meat to cure a disease.^[23] Veerendra Heggade, the hereditary administrator of the Dharmasthala Temple has also publicly spoken about the Jain origin of the Bunts.^[24] Heggade is the current head of the Pattada Pergade family of Bunt heritage which continues to practice the Jain religion.^[25]

The concept of personal landed property existed in South Canara district from at least the 12th century and also a military tenure not very different from the feudal system of Europe.^[26]^{[clarification needed]} The Bunts, being a martial caste, were exempt from paying land taxes.^[26] Around the 15th century, the Bunts had consolidated themselves as a land-owning feudal caste grouping. Among the Bunts existed rich landlords as well as poor labourers who were often exploited by the former.^[27] Bunt families controlled several villages and lived in a manor house. Several villages were generally united under a single Bunt chiefdom, and the chiefdoms had considerable autonomy despite being vassals to the Jain kings. The Bunt chiefs and petty princes became virtually independent after the rise of the Nayakas of Keladi.^[21] The Haleri Rajas, who were likely a cadet branch of the Nayakas of Keladi invited Bunt families to settle in Kodagu district after establishing the Kingdom of Coorg.^[28]^[29]

At the start of the 16th century, the Tuluva dynasty came to control the Vijayanagara Empire with its capital at Hampi in North Karnataka.^[30]^[31] It has been suggested by scholars Mysore Hatti Ramasharma and Mysore Hatti Gopal that the Tuluva rulers were of Bunt origin.^[32] A section of Bunts called Parivara Bunt have also traditionally claimed to be Nayaks (chieftains) of the Vijayanagara Empire.^[33]

The feudal life and society of Bunt began to disintegrate during the colonial period, leading to a period of increasing urbanisation.^[9]

Religion

The Bunts practice Hinduism as well as Jainism.^[34] Alagodi wrote in 2006 of the Tulu Nadu population that, "Among the Hindus, a little over ten per cent are brahmins, and all the others, though nominally Hindus, are really propitiators or worshippers of tutelary deities and bhutas."^[35] Amitav Ghosh describes the Tulu Butas as protective figures, ancestral spirits and heroes who have been assimilated to the ranks of minor deities. The cult worship of the Butas is widely practiced in Tulu Nadu by a large section of the population. The Bunts being the principal landowners of the region were the traditional patrons of the Buta Kola festival which included aspects akin to theatrical forms like Yakshagana.^[36]

Butas and daivas (tutelary deities) are not worshiped on a daily basis like mainstream Hindu gods.^[37] Their worship is restricted to annual ritual festivals, though daily pujas may be conducted for the ritual objects, ornaments, and other paraphernalia of the būta. Unlike with the better-known Hindu gods of the puraṇic variety, buta worship is congregational and every caste in the Tulu speaking region has its own set of butas and daivas that they worship.^{[citation needed]}

Depending on the significance of the people who worship them, butas or daivas can be family deities (kuṭuṃbada buta), local or village deities (jageda buta, urada buta), or deities associated with administrative units such as manorial estates (Guțțus, e.g., Adve Moodra Guthu ,Andemaar Guthu , Kinnimajal Guthu, Kudal Guthu.) (Beedus, e.g., Malarbeedu, Kuloor Beedu). groups of estates (Magane, e.g., Aila Magane uppala, districts (sime) or even small kingdoms (royal butas or rajandaivas).^[38] The deity Jumadi is cited as an example of a Rajandaiva, i.e. a royal deity who reigns over a former small kingdom or large feudal estate. Jumadi is worshiped mainly by the rich land-owning Bunts who are the chief patrons of his cult. In the myth, as well as in the religious Buta Kola dance, Jumadi is always accompanied by his warrior attendant, called Bante, who appears to be specially related to the patrons of the Bunt caste.^[39] Kodamanthaye, Kukkinanthaye, Jaranthaye, Ullaya and Ullalthi are some of the other deities from the royal Buta cult.^[40]

Manor houses

Kowdoor Nayarabettu: A medieval Bunt manor house.

Most Bunts followed a matrilineal system of inheritance and the eldest male member in the female line was the head of the family.^[41] This head of the family was called Yajmane and he would preside over the manorial court during the feudal era.^[41]

The Nadibettu Aramane house in Shirva was built in the 14th century and has copper plate inscriptions of the Vijayanagara Empire^[41] Chavadi Aramane of Nandalike, the manorial house of the Heggade chieftaincy has inscriptions from the 16th century.^[42] Suralu Aramane of the Tolaha dynasty is another house of chieftains in Udupi district; it dates from the 15th century.^[43] The Suralu Mud Palace is currently under the ownership of Sudarshan Shetty, a descendant of the Tolahas who is leading a restoration project.^[44] The Suralu Palace is a State protected Monument which was partially restored in 2016 with help from the Government of Karnataka^[45]

Some other houses of the Bunts that preserve medieval architecture include the Kodial Guthu house of Mangalore.^[46]^[47] Badila Guthu^[48] in Kannur, Shetty Bettu,^[49] Puthige Guthu, Markada Guthu^[49] and Kodethur Guthu^[50]^[51]

Organisation

The traditional community council of the Bunts have been replaced by a body of elected members called the Buntara Yane Nadavara Mathr Sangha (Bunt and Nadava Association). It was established in 1908 in Mangalore^[52] and has been called the apex body of the Bunt community by The Hindu newspaper.^[53] Similar regional and international organisations operate in areas where the Bunts have migrated.^[54]

The Bunt association, including its regional bodies, also runs schools, colleges, hostels and dispensaries.^[55]^[56]

Varna classification

The varna system of Brahmanic ritual ranking never really took hold in South Indian society. The two intermediate dvija varnas—the Kshatriyas^[57]^[58] and Vaishyas—did not exist.

James Manor said that

"Varnas – the four large traditional divisions of Hindu society, which exclude Dalits – have less importance in South India than elsewhere because there are no indigenous Kshatriyas and Vaisyas in the South"^[59]

There were essentially three classes: Brahmin, non-Brahmin and Dalit.^[60]^[61]^[62]^[63]

Hence Bunts along with other traditional land owning castes such as Vokkaligas, Reddys and Vellalars were categorised as Non Brahmin upper castes.^[64]^[65]^[66]

Reservation status

Bunts are categorized as Other Backward Class (OBC) by the Government of Karnataka at the state level.^[67]^[68]

Bunts are categorised as General Merit or Open category at the central level.^[69] However 2 judicial cases were found, where one subdivision of the bunt community, who are categorised as Nadavas were allowed to avail OBC reservation at the national level as 'Nadavas'.^[70]^[71]

References

Notes

^ S. Anees Siraj quotes Ganapathi Rao Aigal, one of the earliest historians to document the history of the Kanara region

Citations

^ Kāmat, Sūryanātha (1973). Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Canara. Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. p. 108. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Upadhya, Carol; Rutten, Mario; Koskimaki, Leah (27 June 2018). Provincial Globalization in India: Transregional Mobilities and Development Politics. Routledge. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-351-63107-5.
^ Wendt, Reinhard (2006). An Indian to the Indians?: On the Initial Failure and the Posthumous Success of the Missionary Ferdinand Kittel (1832–1903). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 143. ISBN 978-3-447-05161-3.
^ Singh, K. S.; India, Anthropological Survey of (1998). India's Communities. Oxford University Press. p. 573. ISBN 978-0-19-563354-2.
^ ^a ^b ^c Alagodi, S. D. L. (2006). "The Basel Mission in Mangalore: Historical and Social Context". In Wendt, Reinhard (ed.). An Indian to the Indians?: on the initial failure and the posthumous success of the missionary Ferdinand Kittel (1832–1903). Studien zur aussereuropäischen Christentumsgeschichte. Vol. 9. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 143. ISBN 978-3-447-05161-3. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
^ Bhat, N. Shyam (1 January 1998). South Kanara, 1799–1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response. Mittal Publications. p. 212. ISBN 978-81-7099-586-9.
^ Tambs-Lyche, Harald (9 August 2017). Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste. Routledge. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-351-39396-6.
^ "Shilpa Shetty, Aishwarya Rai – Bunts and Bubblies – D P Satish' Blog". News18. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b M Raghuram (19 April 2010). "Bunts feel at home wherever they are – DNA". DNA. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b Vatuk, Sylvia (1978). American Studies in the Anthropology of India. Manohar. pp. 236–239. ISBN 978-0-8364-0319-0. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
^ Research, Indian Council of Agricultural; Randhawa, Mohindar Singh; Nath, Prem (1959). Farmers of India,: Madras, Andhra Pradesh, Mysore & Kerala, by M. S. Randhawa and others. p. 269.
^ J. Sreenath, S. H. Ahmad (1989). All India anthropometric survey: analysis of data. South Zone. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 41. ISBN 9788185579054. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^ Sri Sathyan, B. N. (1973). Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Kanara. Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. p. 108. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
^ Bhat, N. Shyam (1 January 1998). South Kanara, 1799–1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response. Mittal Publications. p. 212. ISBN 978-81-7099-586-9.
^ Iyer, L. A. Krishna (1969). The Coorg tribes and castes (reprint ed.). Gordon Press Madras and Johnson. pp. 67–70. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b Siraj, S. Anees (2012). Karnataka State: Udupi District. Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department. p. 179. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
^ Hegde, Krishna (1990). Feudatories of Coastal Karnataka. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 10. Coastal Karnataka was home to number of feudatory rulers. All of them being Bunts following matrilineal inheritance called Aliya Santana and favouring both the Hindu and Jain Faith
^ Bhatt, P. Gururaja (1969). Antiquities of South Kanara. Prabhakara Press. p. iii. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
^ Saletore, Bhaskar Anand (1936). Ancient Karnāṭaka, Volume 1. Oriental Book Agency. p. 154.
^ Ayinapalli, Aiyappan (1982). The Personality of Kerala. Department of Publications, University of Kerala. p. 162. Retrieved 27 July 2018. A very powerful and warlike section of the Bants of Tulunad was known as Kola bari. It is reasonable to suggest that the Kola dynasty was part of the Kola lineages of Tulunad.
^ ^a ^b Tambs-Lyche, Harald (2017). Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste(Feudal Fiefs and Mosaic Patterns in South Kanara). Routledge. p. 376. ISBN 978-1-351-39396-6. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b Hānūru, Kr̥ṣṇamūrti (1991). Encyclopaedia of the Folk Culture of Karnataka. Institute of Asian Studies (Madras, India). p. 555. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
^ ^a ^b Sabharwal, Gopa (2006). Ethnicity and Class: Social Divisions in an Indian City. Oxford University Press. pp. 138–139. ISBN 978-0-19-567830-7. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
^ Bantwal, Rons (11 October 2011). "Mumbai: Dharmadhikari Dr Veerendra Heggade Lauds Social Welfare of Bunts Sangh". Daijiworld Media Network Mumbai (RD). Retrieved 14 February 2018.
^ R. Krishnamurthy (21 May 2015). "In the lap of the Western Ghats". The Hindu. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b Perspectives on Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu. Mangalore University. 1991. p. 145. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
^ Bhagat-Ganguly, Varsha (14 December 2015). Land Rights in India: Policies, movements and challenges. Routledge. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-317-35402-4.:"The Bunts were also a landlord class but there were tenants and labourers among them who were subject to exploitation by their own bunt landlords."
^ Cariappa, Ponnamma (1981). The Coorgs and their origins. Geetha Book House. p. 31. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
^ Kāmat, Sūryanātha (1993). Karnataka State gazetteers, Volume 1. Office of the Chief Editor, Karnataka Gazetteer. p. 147. Retrieved 22 June 2018. The Bants migrated from Dakshina Kannada and Kasargod to Kodagu. It is said that Haleri kings sent for these people from Manjeshwara, Kumble, Bantwala and Puttur to come and inhabit in Kodagu region.
^ Pollock, Sheldon (2011). Forms of Knowledge in Early Modern Asia: Explorations in the Intellectual History of India and Tibet, 1500–1800. Duke University Press. pp. 74–81. ISBN 978-0-8223-4904-4. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
^ Peter Fibiger Bang, Dariusz Kolodziejczyk (2012). Universal Empire: A Comparative Approach to Imperial Culture and Representation in Eurasian History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 222–223. ISBN 978-1-107-02267-6. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
^ Mysore Hatti Gopal, Mysore Hatti Rama Sharma (1978). The history of the Vijayanagar Empire, Volume 1. Popular Prakashan. p. 101. Retrieved 22 June 2018. The word Tuluva includes all the natives of the Tulu region. In a restricted sense, however, this word has been confined to the Bunts who form the majority of the cultivating class of the districts of North and South Kanara. Some of these Bunts prospering in trade have called themselves shetties or shresties and tried to raise themselves in the social scale. Although the later kings of Tuluva dynasty have called themselves Yadavas of the Lunar line and as having descended from Turvasu, there is little doubt that they were related by blood to this class of shetties.
^ Singh, Kumar Suresh (1998). India's communities, Volume 1; Volume 5. Oxford University Press. pp. 575–577. ISBN 978-0-19-563354-2. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
^ S. Jayashanker (2001). Temples of Kasaragod District. Controller of Publications, Directorate of Census Operations, Kerala. p. 7. Bants of Kasaragod are a military class. They are mostly Hindus except for few Jains and they include four divisions, Masadika Bants, Nadava Bants, Parivara Bants and Jaina Bants
^ Alagodi, S. D. L. (2006). "The Basel Mission in Mangalore: Historical and Social Context". In Wendt, Reinhard (ed.). An Indian to the Indians?: on the initial failure and the posthumous success of the missionary Ferdinand Kittel (1832–1903). Studien zur aussereuropäischen Christentumsgeschichte. Vol. 9. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 142. ISBN 978-3-447-05161-3. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
^ Ghosh, Amitav (2002). The Imam and the Indian: Prose Pieces. Orient Blackswan. pp. 192–200. ISBN 9788175300477. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
^ Suzuki, Masataka (2008). "Bhūta and Daiva: Changing Cosmology of Rituals and Narratives in Karnataka". Senri Ethnological Studies. 71: 51–85.
^ Brückner, Heidrun (1995). Fürstliche Fest: Text und Rituale der Tuḷu-Volksreligion an der Westküste Südindiens. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 199–201.
^ Brückner, Heidrun (2009). On an Auspicious Day, at Dawn -: Studies in Tulu Culture and Oral Literature. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 17. ISBN 9783447059169. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
^ K. Sanjiva Prabhu (1977). Special Study Report on Bhuta Cult in South Kanara District. Controller of Publications. pp. 39–60. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Siraj, M. A. (3 March 2012). "You can go back in time here". The Hindu. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^ P. Gururaja Bhatt (1969). Antiquities of South Kanara. Prabhakara Press. p. 16. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ "Suralu Aramane (Mud Palace)". www.udupitourism.com/. Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Moodubelle, Sheeja. "This 600-year old mud palace desperately needs a face-lift". NewsKarnataka. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Prabhu, Ganesh (20 May 2016). "Udupi's 500-year-old mud palace gleams anew". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Monteiro, John. "Mangalore: Kodial Guthu House Restored to Glory". Daijiworld Media. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^ Monteiro, John. "Mangalore: Once a Place of Pride, Kodialguttu now under Siege". Daijiworld Media. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^ Team Mangalorean. "Badila Guthu House – a Century-old Heritage". Mangalorean.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ARNI, CLARE. "Mansions at Dusk". www.indianquarterly.com. The Indian Quarterly. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Kamila, Raviprasad. "Guthu mane: a historical treasure". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Kamila, Raviprasad. "This Guttu Mane is 100 years old". No. 31 January 2012. The Hindu. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ K. Abhishankar, Sūryanātha Kāmat (1973). Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Kanara. Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. p. 697. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ "Corridors of power". The Hindu. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Prasad, Shodhan. "Dubai: Glamour blended with tradition at UAE Bunts' 44th anniversary celebration". No. 16 May 2018. Daijiworld Media. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Bhandary, Shreya (22 September 2016). "Colleges want MU to push first semester exam to December". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Monteiro, John B. "Mangalore: Bunts Hostel marks aborted centenary – A brief history". No. 8 May 2014. Daijiworld Media. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ Omvedt, Gail (January 1994), Dalits and the democratic revolution : Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit movement in colonial India / Gail Omvedt, Sage Publications, ISBN 0803991398, archived from the original on 8 March 2023, retrieved 4 May 2021:”In addition the three way ' caste division ( Brahman , non - Brahman , Untouchable ) seems particularly prominent here. There are no recognized 'Ksatriya' jatis anywhere in the south, and the three states (in contrast to the more inequalitarian hierarchies of Tamil Nadu and Kerala) are characterized by the dominance of large peasant jatis with landholding rights who historically supplied many of the zamindars and rulers but remained classed remained classed as 'Shudra' in the varna scheme.”
^ Thurston, Edgar (1909). Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4. Vol. 4. Madras: Government Press. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.:”In the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is recorded that “the term Kshatriya is, of course, wholly inapplicable to the Dravidian races, who might with as much, perhaps more, accuracy call themselves Turks.”
^ Manor, James (May 2012). Accommodation and conflict. CASTE MATTERS, a symposium on inequalities, identities and disintegrating hierarchies in India. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
^ Fox, Richard G. (January 1969), "Varna Schemes and Ideological Integration in Indian Society", Comparative Studies in Society and History, 11 (1): 27–45, doi:10.1017/S0010417500005132, S2CID 145053341: "When recognition of a regional varna scheme has been unavoidable—such as the tripartite division into Brahmins, non-Brahmins, and Untouchables in much of the South— it has been explained in terms of an historical corruption or breakdown of the standard four-class system, rather than regarded as a functional entity in its own right."
^ Jalal, Ayesha (1995). Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative and Historical Perspective. Cambridge University Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-521-47862-5. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^ Bernard, Jean Alphonse (2001). From Raj to the Republic: A Political History of India, 1935–2000. Har Anand Publications. p. 37. ISBN 9788124107669.
^ Raychaudhuri, Tapan; Habib, Irfan; Kumar, Dharma (1982). The Cambridge Economic History of India: c.1200–c.1750. Cambridge University Press Archive. pp. 27–28. ISBN 978-0-521-22692-9.
^ Rani, K. Suneetha (31 October 2017). Influence of English on Indian Women Writers: Voices from Regional Languages. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-93-81345-34-4.
^ Bhagat-Ganguly, Varsha (14 December 2015). Land Rights in India: Policies, movements and challenges. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-35402-4.
^ Brien, Charmaine O' (15 December 2013). The Penguin Food Guide to India. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-93-5118-575-8.
^ "Backward Classes, Karnataka" (PDF). p. 2,15.:p2."Candidates belonging to Category-ll(A),. 1(B), III(A), and III(B) shall be entitled to reservation in the manner specified in the new Comprehensive Creamy Layer policy";p15. Bunt/Bant is listed under III(B)
^ "Caste Report". Karnataka ePASS(Electronic Payment and Application System of Scholars). Department of Backward Classes Welfare, Government of Karnataka. 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
^ "PDF – National OBC list for Karnataka" (PDF).
^ Ananya R Shetty vs The State Of Karnataka, WRIT PETITION NO.25977/2014 (GM-CC) (Karnataka High Court 11 June 2014) ("Hence, a direction is issued to respondent No.2 to reconsider the application of the petitioner seeking issue of OBC Certificate by keeping in view the observations as made by this Court and by perusing the documents furnished by the petitioner in respect of the application.").
^ Sri. Naveen Kushal Shetty vs The State Of Karnataka, WRIT PETITION NO.39894/2012 (GM-CC) (Karnataka High Court 10 October 2012) ("Petitioner claims that he belongs to ‘Nadava’ community/caste. It finds place at Sl. No. 122 in the Central List of OBCs for the state of Karnataka. The Tahsildar rejected the petitioner's application by one line order stating that there is no option for bunts in OBCs list...The Tahsildar shall grant an opportunity to the petitioner to file additional documents, if he so desires and also personal hearing before passing order on the petitioner's application. The Tahsildar shall pass a speaking order and communicate the same to the petitioner immediately thereafter.").

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 {{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
-The '''Bunt''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʌ|n|t}},<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kāmat|first1=Sūryanātha|title=Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Canara|date=1973|publisher=Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press|page=108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrG1AAAAIAAJ|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> {{IPA|tcy|bɐɳʈɐɾɯ|lang}}) people are an Indian community who historically have inhabited the districts of [[coastal Karnataka]], in [[South India]].<ref name=":0" /> Bunts were traditionally a [[Kshatriya|warrior-class]] community,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wendt|first=Reinhard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCHZ_pDUnVAC&dq=bunts+warrior+class&pg=PA143|title=An Indian to the Indians?: On the Initial Failure and the Posthumous Success of the Missionary Ferdinand Kittel (1832–1903)|date=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05161-3|pages=143|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Singh|first1=K. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw9uAAAAMAAJ&q=bunt|title=India's Communities|last2=India|first2=Anthropological Survey of|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-563354-2|pages=573|language=en}}</ref> with agrarian origins,<ref name=":0" /> forming the [[landed gentry]] of the region.<ref name=Alagodi2006p143>{{cite book |chapter=The Basel Mission in Mangalore: Historical and Social Context |first=S. D. L. |last=Alagodi |title=An Indian to the Indians?: on the initial failure and the posthumous success of the missionary Ferdinand Kittel (1832–1903) |volume=9 |series=Studien zur aussereuropäischen Christentumsgeschichte |editor-first=Reinhard |editor-last=Wendt |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=2006 |isbn=978-3-447-05161-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCHZ_pDUnVAC |page=143 |access-date=2011-12-29}}</ref> They are the dominant land-owning and farming community of [[Tulu Nadu]], and speak [[Tulu language|Tulu]] as well as [[Kundagannada]] as their mother tongue.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhat|first=N. Shyam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0nZzbFDSAoC&pg=PA212|title=South Kanara, 1799–1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response|date=1998-01-01|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-586-9|pages=212|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Tambs-Lyche|first=Harald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOsrDwAAQBAJ|title=Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste|date=2017-08-09|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-39396-6|pages=128|language=en}}</ref> Today, the Bunts are a largely urbanised community, with a population size of less than one million, worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/blogs/india/d-p-satish/shilpa-shetty-aishwarya-rai-bunts-and-bubblies-5-11027-739168.html|title=Shilpa Shetty, Aishwarya Rai – Bunts and Bubblies – D P Satish' Blog|date=2007-01-29|website=News18|access-date=2020-04-13}}</ref><ref name="Bunts feel at home wherever they are – DNA" />
+The '''Bunt''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʌ|n|t}},<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kāmat|first1=Sūryanātha|title=Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Canara|date=1973|publisher=Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press|page=108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrG1AAAAIAAJ|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> {{IPA|tcy|bɐɳʈɐɾɯ|lang}}) people are an Indian community who historically have inhabited the districts of [[Kanara|coastal Karnataka]] and [[Kasaragod district]], in [[South India]].<ref name=":0" /> Bunts were traditionally a warrior-class community,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wendt|first=Reinhard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCHZ_pDUnVAC&dq=bunts+warrior+class&pg=PA143|title=An Indian to the Indians?: On the Initial Failure and the Posthumous Success of the Missionary Ferdinand Kittel (1832–1903)|date=2006|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05161-3|pages=143|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Singh|first1=K. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw9uAAAAMAAJ&q=bunt|title=India's Communities|last2=India|first2=Anthropological Survey of|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-563354-2|pages=573|language=en}}</ref> with agrarian origins,<ref name=":0" /> forming the [[landed gentry]] of the region.<ref name=Alagodi2006p143>{{cite book |chapter=The Basel Mission in Mangalore: Historical and Social Context |first=S. D. L. |last=Alagodi |title=An Indian to the Indians?: on the initial failure and the posthumous success of the missionary Ferdinand Kittel (1832–1903) |volume=9 |series=Studien zur aussereuropäischen Christentumsgeschichte |editor-first=Reinhard |editor-last=Wendt |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=2006 |isbn=978-3-447-05161-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCHZ_pDUnVAC |page=143 |access-date=2011-12-29}}</ref> They are the dominant land-owning and farming community of [[Tulu Nadu]], and speak [[Tulu language|Tulu]] and [[Kundagannada]] as their mother tongue.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhat|first=N. Shyam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0nZzbFDSAoC&pg=PA212|title=South Kanara, 1799–1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response|date=1998-01-01|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-586-9|pages=212|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Tambs-Lyche|first=Harald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOsrDwAAQBAJ|title=Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste|date=2017-08-09|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-39396-6|pages=128|language=en}}</ref> Today, the Bunts are a largely urbanised community, with a population size of less than one million, worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/blogs/india/d-p-satish/shilpa-shetty-aishwarya-rai-bunts-and-bubblies-5-11027-739168.html|title=Shilpa Shetty, Aishwarya Rai – Bunts and Bubblies – D P Satish' Blog|date=2007-01-29|website=News18|access-date=2020-04-13}}</ref><ref name="Bunts feel at home wherever they are – DNA" />
 ==Etymology==
-The word ''Bunt'' means ''powerful man'' or ''warrior'' in [[Tulu language]].<ref name="Alagodi2006p143" /> Bunts are also referred to as ''okkelme,'' which means farmers or cultivators and references their agrarian origins.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Upadhya|first1=Carol|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDBiDwAAQBAJ|title=Provincial Globalization in India: Transregional Mobilities and Development Politics|last2=Rutten|first2=Mario|last3=Koskimaki|first3=Leah|date=2018-06-27|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-63107-5|pages=245|language=en}}</ref>
+The word ''Bunt'' means ''powerful man'' or ''warrior'' in [[Tulu language]].<ref name="Alagodi2006p143" /> Bunts are also referred to as ''okkelme,'' which means farmers or cultivators and references their agrarian origins<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Upadhya|first1=Carol|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDBiDwAAQBAJ|title=Provincial Globalization in India: Transregional Mobilities and Development Politics|last2=Rutten|first2=Mario|last3=Koskimaki|first3=Leah|date=2018-06-27|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-63107-5|pages=245|language=en}}</ref>
 ==History==
+[[File:Buntfamilyofkodialguttu.jpg|thumb|Kodial Guthu family (circa 1900). This particular Bunt family were landlords in the city of [[Mangalore]], India]]
+[[File:KULOOR BOODU HOUSE 2022.jpg|thumb|Kuloor Boodu house has a history of more than two hundred years. This is the main house in northern Kasaragod]]
+American anthropologist Sylvia Vatuk states that the Bunt community was a loosely defined social group.<ref name="Vatuk" /> The [[matrilineality|matrilineal]] kin groups that constituted the caste were linguistically, geographically and economically diverse, which were united by their arrogation of aristocratic status and power.<ref name="Vatuk">{{cite book|last1=Vatuk|first1=Sylvia|title=American Studies in the Anthropology of India|date=1978|publisher=Manohar|pages=236–239|isbn=978-0-8364-0319-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZlCDAAAAMAAJ|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> The Bunts speak [[Tulu language|Tulu]] and [[Kundagannada]] as their native language and were traditionally an agrarian caste engaged in rice cultivation.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Research|first1=Indian Council of Agricultural|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4P1IAAAAMAAJ&q=bunt+caste+agricultural|title=Farmers of India,: Madras, Andhra Pradesh, Mysore & Kerala, by M. S. Randhawa and others|last2=Randhawa|first2=Mohindar Singh|last3=Nath|first3=Prem|date=1959|pages=269|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=sree>{{cite book|last1=J. Sreenath, S. H. Ahmad|title=All India anthropometric survey: analysis of data. South Zone|date=1989|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India|isbn=9788185579054|page=41|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EyAAAAAMAAJ|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="sathyan">{{cite book|last1=Sri Sathyan|first1=B. N.|title=Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Kanara|year=1973|publisher=Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press|page=108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jooBAAAAMAAJ|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhat|first=N. Shyam|title=South Kanara, 1799–1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response|date=1998-01-01|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-586-9|pages=212|language=en}}</ref> The Bunts follow a matrilineal system of inheritance called [[Aliyasantana]].<ref name=Iyer>{{cite book|last1=Iyer|first1=L. A. Krishna|title=The Coorg tribes and castes|date=1969|publisher=Gordon Press Madras and Johnson|pages=67–70|edition=reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4HowAQAAIAAJ|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> They have 93 clan names or surnames and are divided into 53 matrilineal [[sept]]s called Bari.<ref name="Siraj">{{cite book|last1=Siraj|first1=S. Anees|title=Karnataka State: Udupi District|date=2012|publisher=Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department|page=179 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LGiex76a5-kC|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> Members of the same bari did not intermarry.<ref name="Siraj" />{{efn|S. Anees Siraj quotes [[Ganapathi Rao Aigal]], one of the earliest historians to document the history of the Kanara region}} According to S. D. L. Alagodi, the Bunts "originally belonged to the warrior class. Being the martial race of Tulu Nadu, they served the ruling chiefs which brought them considerable benefits and allowed them to become the landowners and nobles of the region."<ref name="Alagodi2006p143" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Hegde|first=Krishna|title=Feudatories of Coastal Karnataka|year=1990|publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]]|page=10 |quote=Coastal Karnataka was home to number of feudatory rulers. All of them being Bunts following matrilineal inheritance called Aliya Santana and favouring both the Hindu and [[Jain]] Faith}}</ref>
-[[File:Buntfamilyofkodialguttu.jpg|thumb|Kodial Guthu family (circa 1900). This particular Bunt family were landlords in the city of [[Mangalore]], India [[File:KULOOR BOODU HOUSE 2022.jpg|thumb|Kuloor Boodu house has a history of more than two hundred years. This is the main house in northern Kasaragod]]]]
+Bunt clans claim descent from the ancient [[Alupa dynasty]] (circa 2nd century CE – 15th century CE). Historian [[P. Gururaja Bhat]] mentions that the Alupa royal family were of local origin possibly belonging to the Bunt caste.<ref name="Bhatt">{{cite book|last1=Bhatt|first1=P. Gururaja|title=Antiquities of South Kanara|date=1969|publisher=Prabhakara Press|page=iii|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UdMCAAAAMAAJ |access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref> The title Alupa (Alva) survives until this day among the Bunts according to historian [[Bhaskar Anand Saletore]].<ref name="Saletore">{{cite book|last1=Saletore|first1=Bhaskar Anand|title=Ancient Karnāṭaka, Volume 1|date=1936|publisher=Oriental Book Agency|page=154 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=whZHAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> Some ruling and feudal clans of North [[Kerala]] adjacent to Tulu Nadu were also likely descended from Bunts. Indian anthropologist [[A. Aiyappan|Ayinapalli Aiyappan]] states that a powerful and warlike clan of the Bunts was called ''Kola Bari'' and the [[Kolathiri]] Raja of [[Kolathunadu]] was a descendant of this clan.<ref name="Aiyappan">{{cite book |last1=Ayinapalli |first1=Aiyappan |title=The Personality of Kerala |date=1982 |publisher=Department of Publications, [[University of Kerala]] |page=162 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SXFuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=27 July 2018 |quote=A very powerful and warlike section of the Bants of Tulunad was known as Kola bari. It is reasonable to suggest that the Kola dynasty was part of the Kola lineages of Tulunad.}}</ref>
-American anthropologist Sylvia Vatuk states that the Bunt community was a loosely defined social group.<ref name="Vatuk" /> The [[matrilineality|matrilineal]] kin groups that constituted the caste were linguistically, geographically and economically diverse, which were united by their arrogation of aristocratic status and power.<ref name="Vatuk">{{cite book|last1=Vatuk|first1=Sylvia|title=American Studies in the Anthropology of India|date=1978|publisher=Manohar|pages=236–239|isbn=9780836403190|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZlCDAAAAMAAJ|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> The Bunts speak [[Tulu language|Tulu]] and [[Kundagannada]] as their native language and were traditionally an agrarian caste engaged in rice cultivation.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Research|first1=Indian Council of Agricultural|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4P1IAAAAMAAJ&q=bunt+caste+agricultural|title=Farmers of India,: Madras, Andhra Pradesh, Mysore & Kerala, by M. S. Randhawa and others|last2=Randhawa|first2=Mohindar Singh|last3=Nath|first3=Prem|date=1959|pages=269|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=sree>{{cite book|last1=J. Sreenath, S. H. Ahmad|title=All India anthropometric survey: analysis of data. South Zone|date=1989|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India|isbn=9788185579054|page=41|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EyAAAAAMAAJ|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="sathyan">{{cite book|last1=Sri Sathyan|first1=B. N.|title=Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Kanara|year=1973|publisher=Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press|page=108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jooBAAAAMAAJ|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhat|first=N. Shyam|title=South Kanara, 1799–1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response|date=1998-01-01|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-586-9|pages=212|language=en}}</ref> The Bunts follow a matrilineal system of inheritance called [[Aliyasantana]].<ref name=Iyer>{{cite book|last1=Iyer|first1=L. A. Krishna|title=The Coorg tribes and castes|date=1969|publisher=Gordon Press Madras and Johnson|pages=67–70|edition=reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4HowAQAAIAAJ|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> They have 93 clan names or surnames and are divided into 53 matrilineal [[sept]]s called Bari.<ref name="Siraj">{{cite book|last1=Siraj|first1=S. Anees|title=Karnataka State: Udupi District|date=2012|publisher=Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department|page=179|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LGiex76a5-kC|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> Members of the same bari did not intermarry.<ref name="Siraj" />{{efn|S. Anees Siraj quotes [[Ganapathi Rao Aigal]], one of the earliest historians to document the history of the Kanara region}} According to S. D. L. Alagodi, the Bunts "originally belonged to the warrior class. Being the martial race of Tulu Nadu, they served the ruling chiefs which brought them considerable benefits and allowed them to become the landowners and nobles of the region."<ref name="Alagodi2006p143" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Hegde|first=Krishna|title=Feudatories of Coastal Karnataka|year=1990|publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]]|page=10 |quote=Coastal Karnataka was home to number of feudatory rulers. All of them being Bunts following matrilineal inheritance called Aliya Santana and favouring both the Hindu and [[Jain]] Faith}}</ref>
-Bunt clans claim descent from the ancient [[Alupa dynasty]] (circa 2nd century CE – 15th century CE). Historian [[P. Gururaja Bhat]] mentions that the Alupa royal family were of local origin possibly belonging to the Bunt caste.<ref name="Bhatt">{{cite book|last1=Bhatt|first1=P. Gururaja|title=Antiquities of South Kanara|date=1969|publisher=Prabhakara Press|page=iii|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UdMCAAAAMAAJ |access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref> The title Alupa (Alva) survives until this day among the Bunts according to historian [[Bhaskar Anand Saletore]].<ref name="Saletore">{{cite book|last1=Saletore|first1=Bhaskar Anand|title=Ancient Karnāṭaka, Volume 1|date=1936|publisher=Oriental Book Agency|page=154 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=whZHAAAAIAAJ}}</ref> Some ruling and feudal clans of North [[Kerala]] adjacent to Tulu Nadu were also likely descended from Bunts. Indian anthropologist [[A. Aiyappan|Ayinapalli Aiyappan]] states that a powerful and warlike clan of the Bunts was called ''Kola Bari'' and the [[Kolathiri|Kolathiri Raja]] of [[Kolathunadu]] was a descendant of this clan.<ref name="Aiyappan">{{cite book |last1=Ayinapalli |first1=Aiyappan |title=The Personality of Kerala |date=1982 |publisher=Department of Publications, [[University of Kerala]] |page=162 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SXFuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=27 July 2018 |quote=A very powerful and warlike section of the Bants of Tulunad was known as Kola bari. It is reasonable to suggest that the Kola dynasty was part of the Kola lineages of Tulunad.}}</ref>
+Norwegian anthropologist [[Harald Tambs-Lyche]], states that the Bunts were warriors of the [[Jain]] kingdoms.<ref name="Tambs-Lyche">{{cite book |last1=Tambs-Lyche |first1=Harald|title=Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste(Feudal Fiefs and Mosaic Patterns in South Kanara) |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-39396-6|pages=376|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOsrDwAAQBAJ|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref> Jainism gained a foothold in the [[Kanara|Canara]] region during the rule of the [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysala dynasty]] who were themselves Jains.<ref name="hoysala">{{cite book |last1=Hānūru |first1=Kr̥ṣṇamūrti |title=Encyclopaedia of the Folk Culture of Karnataka |date=1991 |publisher=Institute of Asian Studies (Madras, India) |page=555 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pVZuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> The Hoysala Ballal kings are known to have appointed Bunts as military officers.<ref name="hoysala" /> A section of Bunts believe that they were originally Jains who later became a caste group.<ref name="Gopa">{{cite book|last1=Sabharwal|first1=Gopa|title=Ethnicity and Class: Social Divisions in an Indian City|date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567830-7|pages=138–139|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gEhPAAAAMAAJ|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref>  A legend prevalent among the Bunts states that one of the Jain kings of the Bunts abandoned Jainism and took to eating peacock meat to cure a disease.<ref name="Gopa" /> [[Veerendra Heggade]], the hereditary administrator of the [[Dharmasthala Temple]] has also publicly spoken about the Jain origin of the Bunts.<ref name="Heggade">{{cite news|last1=Bantwal|first1=Rons|title=Mumbai: Dharmadhikari Dr Veerendra Heggade Lauds Social Welfare of Bunts Sangh|url=http://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=118641|access-date=14 February 2018|agency=Daijiworld Media Network Mumbai (RD)|date=11 October 2011}}</ref> Heggade is the current head of the Pattada Pergade family of Bunt heritage which continues to practice the Jain religion.<ref name="dharmasthala">{{cite news|last1=R. Krishnamurthy|title=In the lap of the Western Ghats|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/look-at-temples-in-dakshin-kannada-district/article7180658.ece|access-date=14 February 2018|agency=The Hindu|date= 21 May 2015}}</ref>
+The concept of personal landed property existed in South Canara district from at least the 12th century and also a military tenure not very different from the feudal system of Europe.<ref name="landtax">{{cite book |title=Perspectives on Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu |date=1991 |publisher=Mangalore University |page=145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q2tuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref>{{clarify|reason=this is gibberish |date=September 2018}} The Bunts, being a martial caste, were exempt from paying land taxes.<ref name="landtax" /> Around the 15th century, the Bunts had consolidated themselves as a land-owning feudal caste grouping. Among the Bunts existed rich landlords as well as poor labourers who were often exploited by the former.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhagat-Ganguly|first=Varsha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7b29CwAAQBAJ&dq=Bunts+upper+caste&pg=PA122|title=Land Rights in India: Policies, movements and challenges|date=2015-12-14|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-35402-4|pages=122|language=en}}:"The Bunts were also a landlord class but there were tenants and labourers among them who were subject to exploitation by their own bunt landlords."</ref> Bunt families controlled several villages and lived in a [[manor house]]. Several villages were generally united under a single Bunt chiefdom, and the chiefdoms had considerable autonomy despite being vassals to the Jain kings. The Bunt chiefs and petty princes became virtually independent after the rise of the [[Nayakas of Keladi]].<ref name="Tambs-Lyche" /> The Haleri Rajas, who were likely a cadet branch of the Nayakas of Keladi invited Bunt families to settle in [[Kodagu district]] after establishing the [[Kingdom of Coorg]].<ref name="coorgb">{{cite book |last1=Cariappa |first1=Ponnamma |title=The Coorgs and their origins |date=1981 |publisher=Geetha Book House |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8otAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="kodagub">{{cite book |last1=Kāmat |first1=Sūryanātha |title=Karnataka State gazetteers, Volume 1 |date=1993 |publisher=Office of the Chief Editor, Karnataka Gazetteer |page=147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVVuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018 |quote=The Bants migrated from Dakshina Kannada and Kasargod to Kodagu. It is said that Haleri kings sent for these people from Manjeshwara, Kumble, Bantwala and Puttur to come and inhabit in Kodagu region.}}</ref>
-Norwegian anthropologist [[Harald Tambs-Lyche]], states that the Bunts were warriors of the [[Jain]] kingdoms.<ref name="Tambs-Lyche">{{cite book |last1=Tambs-Lyche |first1=Harald|title=Transaction and Hierarchy: Elements for a Theory of Caste(Feudal Fiefs and Mosaic Patterns in South Kanara) |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351393966|pages=376|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOsrDwAAQBAJ|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref> Jainism gained a foothold in the [[Kanara|Canara]] region during the rule of the [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysala dynasty]] who were themselves Jains.<ref name="hoysala">{{cite book |last1=Hānūru |first1=Kr̥ṣṇamūrti |title=Encyclopaedia of the Folk Culture of Karnataka |date=1991 |publisher=Institute of Asian Studies (Madras, India) |page=555 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pVZuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> The Hoysala Ballal kings are known to have appointed Bunts as military officers.<ref name="hoysala" /> A section of Bunts believe that they were originally Jains who later became a caste group.<ref name="Gopa">{{cite book|last1=Sabharwal|first1=Gopa|title=Ethnicity and Class: Social Divisions in an Indian City|date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195678307|pages=138–139|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gEhPAAAAMAAJ|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref>  A legend prevalent among the Bunts states that one of the Jain kings of the Bunts abandoned Jainism and took to eating peacock meat to cure a disease.<ref name="Gopa" /> [[Veerendra Heggade]], the hereditary administrator of the [[Dharmasthala Temple]] has also publicly spoken about the Jain origin of the Bunts.<ref name="Heggade">{{cite news|last1=Bantwal|first1=Rons|title=Mumbai: Dharmadhikari Dr Veerendra Heggade Lauds Social Welfare of Bunts Sangh|url=http://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=118641|access-date=14 February 2018|agency=Daijiworld Media Network Mumbai (RD)|date=11 October 2011}}</ref> Heggade is the current head of the Pattada Pergade family of Bunt heritage which continues to practice the Jain religion.<ref name="dharmasthala">{{cite news|last1=R. Krishnamurthy|title=In the lap of the Western Ghats|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/look-at-temples-in-dakshin-kannada-district/article7180658.ece|access-date=14 February 2018|agency=The Hindu|date= 21 May 2015}}</ref>
+At the start of the 16th century, the [[Tuluva dynasty]] came to control the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] with its capital at [[Hampi]] in North Karnataka.<ref name="pollock">{{cite book |last1=Pollock |first1=Sheldon |title=Forms of Knowledge in Early Modern Asia: Explorations in the Intellectual History of India and Tibet, 1500–1800 |date=2011 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-4904-4 |pages=74–81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=740AqMUW8WQC |access-date=16 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Tuluva">{{cite book |last1=Peter Fibiger Bang |first1=Dariusz Kolodziejczyk |title=Universal Empire: A Comparative Approach to Imperial Culture and Representation in Eurasian History |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-02267-6 |pages=222–223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xiKtT85kYloC |access-date=16 June 2018}}</ref> It has been suggested by scholars Mysore Hatti Ramasharma and Mysore Hatti Gopal that the Tuluva rulers were of Bunt origin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mysore Hatti Gopal |first1=Mysore Hatti Rama Sharma |title=The history of the Vijayanagar Empire, Volume 1 |date=1978 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmVuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018 |quote=The word Tuluva includes all the natives of the Tulu region. In a restricted sense, however, this word has been confined to the Bunts who form the majority of the cultivating class of the districts of North and South Kanara. Some of these Bunts prospering in trade have called themselves shetties or shresties and tried to raise themselves in the social scale. Although the later kings of Tuluva dynasty have called themselves [[Yadu|Yadavas]] of the Lunar line and as having descended from [[Turvashas|Turvasu]], there is little doubt that they were related by blood to this class of shetties.}}</ref> A section of Bunts called Parivara Bunt have also traditionally claimed to be [[Nayak (title)|Nayaks]] (chieftains) of the Vijayanagara Empire.<ref name="parivaranaik">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Kumar Suresh |title=India's communities, Volume 1; Volume 5 |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=575–577 |isbn=978-0-19-563354-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw9uAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref>
-The concept of personal landed property existed in South Canara district from at least the 12th century and also a military tenure not very different from the feudal system of Europe.<ref name="landtax">{{cite book |title=Perspectives on Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu |date=1991 |publisher=Mangalore University |page=145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q2tuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref>{{clarify|reason=this is gibberish |date=September 2018}} The Bunts, being a martial caste, were exempt from paying land taxes.<ref name="landtax" /> Around the 15th century, the Bunts had consolidated themselves as a land-owning feudal caste grouping. Among the Bunts existed rich landlords as well as poor labourers who were often exploited by the former.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhagat-Ganguly|first=Varsha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7b29CwAAQBAJ&dq=Bunts+upper+caste&pg=PA122|title=Land Rights in India: Policies, movements and challenges|date=2015-12-14|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-35402-4|pages=122|language=en}}:"The Bunts were also a landlord class but there were tenants and labourers among them who were subject to exploitation by their own bunt landlords."</ref> Bunt families controlled several villages and lived in a [[manor house]]. Several villages were generally united under a single Bunt chiefdom, and the chiefdoms had considerable autonomy despite being vassals to the Jain kings. The Bunt chiefs and petty princes became virtually independent after the rise of the [[Nayakas of Keladi]].<ref name="Tambs-Lyche"/> The Haleri Rajas, who were likely a cadet branch of the Nayakas of Keladi invited Bunt families to settle in [[Kodagu district]] after establishing the [[Kingdom of Coorg]].<ref name="coorgb">{{cite book |last1=Cariappa |first1=Ponnamma |title=The Coorgs and their origins |date=1981 |publisher=Geetha Book House |page=31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8otAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="kodagub">{{cite book |last1=Kāmat |first1=Sūryanātha |title=Karnataka State gazetteers, Volume 1 |date=1993 |publisher=Office of the Chief Editor, Karnataka Gazetteer |page=147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVVuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018 |quote=The Bants migrated from Dakshina Kannada and Kasargod to Kodagu. It is said that Haleri kings sent for these people from Manjeshwara, Kumble, Bantwala and Puttur to come and inhabit in Kodagu region.}}</ref>
-At the start of the 16th century, the [[Tuluva dynasty]] came to control the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] with its capital at [[Hampi]] in North Karnataka.<ref name="pollock">{{cite book |last1=Pollock |first1=Sheldon |title=Forms of Knowledge in Early Modern Asia: Explorations in the Intellectual History of India and Tibet, 1500–1800 |date=2011 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=9780822349044 |pages=74–81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=740AqMUW8WQC |access-date=16 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Tuluva">{{cite book |last1=Peter Fibiger Bang |first1=Dariusz Kolodziejczyk |title=Universal Empire: A Comparative Approach to Imperial Culture and Representation in Eurasian History |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107022676 |pages=222–223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xiKtT85kYloC |access-date=16 June 2018}}</ref> It has been suggested by scholars Mysore Hatti Ramasharma and Mysore Hatti Gopal that the Tuluva rulers were of Bunt origin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mysore Hatti Gopal |first1=Mysore Hatti Rama Sharma |title=The history of the Vijayanagar Empire, Volume 1 |date=1978 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmVuAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018 |quote=The word Tuluva includes all the natives of the Tulu region. In a restricted sense, however, this word has been confined to the Bunts who form the majority of the cultivating class of the districts of North and South Kanara. Some of these Bunts prospering in trade have called themselves shetties or shresties and tried to raise themselves in the social scale. Although the later kings of Tuluva dynasty have called themselves [[Yadu|Yadavas]] of the Lunar line and as having descended from [[Turvashas|Turvasu]], there is little doubt that they were related by blood to this class of shetties.}}</ref> A section of Bunts called Parivara Bunt have also traditionally claimed to be [[Nayak (title)|Nayaks]] (chieftains) of the Vijayanagara Empire.<ref name="parivaranaik">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Kumar Suresh |title=India's communities, Volume 1; Volume 5 |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=575–577 |isbn=9780195633542 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jw9uAAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref>
 The feudal life and society of Bunt began to disintegrate during the [[British Raj|colonial period]], leading to a period of increasing urbanisation.<ref name="Bunts feel at home wherever they are – DNA">{{cite web|author=M Raghuram|date=19 April 2010|title=Bunts feel at home wherever they are – DNA|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-bunts-feel-at-home-wherever-they-are-1373019|access-date=23 July 2016|publisher=DNA}}</ref>
@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 == Varna classification ==
+The [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] system of [[Vedic Brahmanism|Brahmanic]] ritual ranking never really took hold in South Indian society. The two intermediate [[dvija]] varnas—the Kshatriyas<ref name="Omvedt">{{Citation | title=Dalits and the democratic revolution : Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit movement in colonial India / Gail Omvedt | author1=Omvedt, Gail | date=January 1994 | publisher=Sage Publications | isbn=0803991398 | language=English | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=leuICwAAQBAJ&q=dalits+and+the+democratic+revolution+ksatriya+jatis+south&pg=PT56 | access-date=4 May 2021 | archive-date=8 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308054356/https://books.google.com/books?id=leuICwAAQBAJ&q=dalits+and+the+democratic+revolution+ksatriya+jatis+south&pg=PT56 | url-status=live }}:”In addition the three way ' caste division ( Brahman , non - Brahman , Untouchable ) seems particularly prominent here. There are no recognized 'Ksatriya' jatis anywhere in the south, and the three states (in contrast to the more inequalitarian hierarchies of Tamil Nadu and Kerala) are characterized by the dominance of large peasant jatis with landholding rights who historically supplied many of the zamindars and rulers but remained classed remained classed as 'Shudra' in the varna scheme.”</ref><ref name="Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4">{{cite book|first=Edgar|last=Thurston|year=1909|title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4|publisher=Government Press|location=Madras|volume=4|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42994/42994-h/42994-h.htm|access-date=15 February 2021|archive-date=11 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611230511/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42994/42994-h/42994-h.htm|url-status=live}}:”In the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is recorded that “the term Kshatriya is, of course, wholly inapplicable to the Dravidian races, who might with as much, perhaps more, accuracy call themselves Turks.”</ref> and Vaishyas—did not exist.
-The traditional ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|chaturvarna]]'' system is largely not found in South India. According to [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton|Buchanan]] and historians like P.N Chopra, Gundimeda Sambaiah and Sanjay Subrahmanyam etc., Bunts belong to the [[Shudra|Sat-Shudras]] or "Upper" Shudras category in the Hindu [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] system.<ref name="Gundimeda">{{Cite book|last=Gundimeda|first=Sambaiah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjjbCgAAQBAJ|title=Dalit Politics in Contemporary India|date=2015-10-14|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-38105-1|pages=19|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Subrahmanyam1990">{{cite book|author=Sanjay Subrahmanyam|title=Merchants, Markets and the State in Early Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbZIAAAAYAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-562569-1|pages=24, 46|quote=p.24.Inland , and away from the narrow strip of Brahmin settlements along the coast , the land was held and cultivated by the Bants , a caste of ' clean ' Sudras . p.46.The agrarian economy was dominated on the one hand by communities of Saiva Brahmins and their institutions, particularly off the coast, and on the other by a Sudra cultivating caste, the Bants, to the inland}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |date=2007|title=The quarterly journal of the Mythic society., Volume 98|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gm8EQrkyJO0C&q=buntars|location=Bangalore|publisher=The Mythic Society, Daly Memorial Hall|page=54}}:"He says Buntars are of the highest rank of sudras in Tuluva."</ref><ref name="Chopra">{{cite book |last=Chopra|first=Pran Nath|date=1982|title=Religions and Communities of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggtuAAAAMAAJ&q=Early+Christian+era|location=India |publisher=Orient Paperbacks |page=122 |isbn=9780391027480}}:"The Bunts are Sudras , although they played the role of Kshatriyas early in the Christian era when they and the Nadavas were the military Chieftains of the area"</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Udaya|first1=Barkur|title=Landlords and Peasantry in Medieval Karnataka Coast|year=2006|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44147941 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=67|publisher=Indian History Congress|pages=226 |doi= |jstor=44147941|access-date=18 April 2021}}:"The rich peasant farmers particularly the Brahmans and the high caste sudras such as Nadavas or Bunts , Billavas and Mogavirs owned paddy fields, large areas of gardens of coconut, arecanut and other products."</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= G. Shiri|date=1985|title=Wholeness in Christ: The Legacy of the Basel Mission in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IYAcAAAAMAAJ&q=Aliya+kattu+law|location=India|publisher=Karnataka Theological Research Institute|page=195|isbn=|quote=The Aliya Kattu law (inheritance law), which was widely practised by Billavas , Mogers and Bunts , and number of other Shudra castes , was not applied to... }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Madhava |first=K. G. Vasantha |date=1991|title=Western Karnataka, Its Agrarian Relations, 1500–1800 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0AaAAAAIAAJ&q=bunt+sudra|location=New Delhi |publisher=Navrang |page=176|isbn=9788170130734 }}:"For instance , the tax structure and the process of its collection of the Vijayanagara rulers and their feudatories enabled the Brāhamans , the Jains and the highcaste Sudras namely the Bunts the Nāyaks and the Gowdas to emerge as powerful landed gentry."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Punja|first=P. R. Ranganatha |date=1948|title=India's legacy, the world's heritage : Dravidian |volume=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLg1h6j5HcQC&q=brahminical+scale|location=Mangalore |publisher=Basel Mission Book Depot |page=123}}:"Like the Nairs in Malabar , the Bunts and Tulu Gowdas in Canara and the Vakkaligas ' and Gowdas of Nagara , the Coorgs are : in the brahminical scale – Sudra's"</ref> In Southern India, the upper Shudras were generally the landholding ruling classes of South India and were analogous to [[Kshatriya]]s and [[Vaishya]]s in North India.<ref name="Gundimeda"/><ref name="Chopra"/> According to Dr. D. N. Yogeeswarappa, Bunts are [[Nāga|Nagavanshi]] [[kshatriyas]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Yogeeswarappa|first=D. N.|title= The Study of Nayakatana in the Vijayanagara empire with special reference to Tuluva Dynasty|date=2012|pages=28–29|url=http://sscwtumkur.org/sscwcms/uploads/activities/permanent/2018/12/13/7_1544721945_nayakatana.pdf|language=en}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Citation is not peer reviewed. It is an unpublished minor research work replete with errors.|date=August 2021}}
+James Manor said that
-Bunts today are considered a forward upper caste community.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhagat-Ganguly|first=Varsha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7b29CwAAQBAJ&dq=Bunts+upper+caste&pg=PA122|title=Land Rights in India: Policies, movements and challenges|date=2015-12-14|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-35402-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rani|first=K. Suneetha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8RpBDwAAQBAJ&dq=Bunts+upper+caste&pg=PT136|title=Influence of English on Indian Women Writers: Voices from Regional Languages|date=2017-09-25|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|isbn=978-93-81345-34-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwJuAAAAMAAJ&q=Bunts+upper+caste|title=Indian Journal of Secularism: IJS : a Journal of Centre for Study of Society & Secularism|date=2000|publisher=The Centre|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Shand|first=Richard Tregurtha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g22GAAAAIAAJ&q=Bunts+upper+caste|title=Off-farm Employment in the Development of Rural Asia: Papers Presented at a Conference Held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 23 to 26 August 1983|date=1986|publisher=National Centre for Development Studies, Australian National University|isbn=978-0-86784-729-1|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kukreja|first1=Veena|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JUMeAAAAMAAJ&q=Bunts+forward+caste|title=The Congress Century|last2=Basu|first2=Rumki|date=1988|publisher=National Book Organisation|isbn=978-81-85135-24-3|language=en}}</ref>
+{{blockquote|"Varnas – the four large traditional divisions of Hindu society, which exclude Dalits – have less importance in South India than elsewhere because there are no indigenous Kshatriyas and Vaisyas in the South"<ref name="Manor">{{cite conference|first=James|last=Manor|title=Accommodation and conflict|conference=CASTE MATTERS, a symposium on inequalities, identities and disintegrating hierarchies in India|url=https://www.india-seminar.com/2012/633/633_james_manor.htm|date=May 2012|access-date=9 March 2021|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511215813/https://www.india-seminar.com/2012/633/633_james_manor.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
+There were essentially three classes: Brahmin, non-Brahmin and Dalit.<ref>{{citation |title=Varna Schemes and Ideological Integration in Indian Society |first=Richard G. |last=Fox |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=11 |number=1 |date=January 1969 |pages=27–45 |doi=10.1017/S0010417500005132|s2cid=145053341 }}: "When recognition of a regional ''varna'' scheme has been unavoidable—such as the tripartite division into Brahmins, non-Brahmins, and Untouchables in much of the South— it has been explained in terms of an historical corruption or breakdown of the standard four-class system, rather than regarded as a functional entity in its own right."</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Ayesha |last=Jalal |title=Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative and Historical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHPok4epvlIC&q=South+india |year=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-47862-5 |page=204 |access-date=4 May 2021 |archive-date=8 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308054358/https://books.google.com/books?id=mHPok4epvlIC&q=South+india |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Jean Alphonse |last=Bernard |title=From Raj to the Republic: A Political History of India, 1935–2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dP9tAAAAMAAJ |year=2001 |publisher=Har Anand Publications |page=37|isbn=9788124107669 }}</ref><ref name="isbn_978-0-521-22692-9 pages 27-28">{{cite book |first1=Tapan |last1=Raychaudhuri |first2=Irfan |last2=Habib |author-link2=Irfan Habib |first3=Dharma |last3=Kumar |title=The Cambridge Economic History of India: c.1200–c.1750 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-s8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA26 |year=1982 |publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive |isbn=978-0-521-22692-9 |pages=27–28}}</ref>
-==Reservation status==
+Hence Bunts along with other traditional land owning castes such as Vokkaligas, Reddys and Vellalars were categorised as Non Brahmin upper castes.<ref> {{Cite book |last=Rani |first=K. Suneetha |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Influence_of_English_on_Indian_Women_Wri.html?id=8RpBDwAAQBAJ |title=Influence of English on Indian Women Writers: Voices from Regional Languages |date=2017-10-31 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-93-81345-34-4 |language=en}} </ref><ref> {{Cite book |last=Bhagat-Ganguly |first=Varsha |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Land_Rights_in_India.html?id=7b29CwAAQBAJ |title=Land Rights in India: Policies, movements and challenges |date=2015-12-14 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-35402-4 |language=en}} </ref><ref> {{Cite book |last=Brien |first=Charmaine O' |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Penguin_Food_Guide_to_India.html?id=BGhBAgAAQBAJ |title=The Penguin Food Guide to India |date=2013-12-15 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-93-5118-575-8 |language=en}} </ref>
+==Reservation status==
 Bunts are categorized as [[Other Backward Class]] (OBC) by the Government of Karnataka at the state level.<ref name="Category III(B)">{{Cite web|url=https://bcw.karnataka.gov.in/storage/pdf-files/caste%20list.new.pdf|title=Backward Classes, Karnataka|page=2,15}}:p2."Candidates belonging to Category-ll(A),. 1(B), III(A), and III(B) shall be entitled to reservation in the manner specified in the new Comprehensive Creamy Layer policy";p15. Bunt/Bant is listed under III(B)</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://karepass.cgg.gov.in/CasteReport.do?actionParameter=CasteWise&castecat_code=5|title=Caste Report|year=2021|website= Karnataka ePASS(Electronic Payment and Application System of Scholars)|publisher=Department of Backward Classes Welfare, Government of Karnataka|access-date=6 March 2021|quote=}}</ref>
-They are not included in the Central List of OBCs of the state of Karnataka.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ncbc.nic.in/Writereaddata/cl/karnataka.pdf|title=PDF – National OBC list for Karnataka}}</ref> However their central status is contested as legal petitions have allowed members of the Bunt community to avail OBC reservation at the national level as '[[Nadavara|Nadavas]]'.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Ananya R Shetty vs The State Of Karnataka|reporter=WRIT PETITION NO.25977/2014 (GM-CC)|court=Karnataka High Court|date=11 June 2014|url=http://judgmenthck.kar.nic.in/judgmentsdsp/bitstream/123456789/1220/1/WP25977-14-11-06-2014.pdf|access-date=19 April 2021|quote=Hence, a direction is issued to respondent No.2 to reconsider the application of the petitioner seeking issue of OBC Certificate by keeping in view the observations as made by this Court and by perusing the documents furnished by the petitioner in respect of the application.}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Sri. Naveen Kushal Shetty vs The State Of Karnataka|reporter=WRIT PETITION NO.39894/2012 (GM-CC)|court=Karnataka High Court|date=10 October 2012|url=http://judgmenthck.kar.nic.in/judgments/bitstream/123456789/779388/1/WP39894-12-10-10-2012.pdf|access-date=20 May 2021|quote=Petitioner claims that he belongs to ‘Nadava’ community/caste. It finds place at Sl. No. 122 in the Central List of OBCs for the state of Karnataka. The Tahsildar rejected the petitioner's application by one line order stating that there is no option for bunts in OBCs list...The Tahsildar shall grant an opportunity to the petitioner to file additional documents, if he so desires and also personal hearing before passing order on the petitioner's application. The Tahsildar shall pass a speaking order and communicate the same to the petitioner immediately thereafter.}}</ref>
+Bunts are categorised as [[Forward caste|General Merit]] or Open category at the central level.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ncbc.nic.in/Writereaddata/cl/karnataka.pdf|title=PDF – National OBC list for Karnataka}}</ref> However 2 judicial cases were found, where one subdivision of the bunt community, who are categorised as Nadavas were allowed to avail OBC reservation at the national level as '[[Nadavara|Nadavas]]'.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Ananya R Shetty vs The State Of Karnataka|reporter=WRIT PETITION NO.25977/2014 (GM-CC)|court=Karnataka High Court|date=11 June 2014|url=http://judgmenthck.kar.nic.in/judgmentsdsp/bitstream/123456789/1220/1/WP25977-14-11-06-2014.pdf|access-date=19 April 2021|quote=Hence, a direction is issued to respondent No.2 to reconsider the application of the petitioner seeking issue of OBC Certificate by keeping in view the observations as made by this Court and by perusing the documents furnished by the petitioner in respect of the application.}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Sri. Naveen Kushal Shetty vs The State Of Karnataka|reporter=WRIT PETITION NO.39894/2012 (GM-CC)|court=Karnataka High Court|date=10 October 2012|url=http://judgmenthck.kar.nic.in/judgments/bitstream/123456789/779388/1/WP39894-12-10-10-2012.pdf|access-date=20 May 2021|quote=Petitioner claims that he belongs to ‘Nadava’ community/caste. It finds place at Sl. No. 122 in the Central List of OBCs for the state of Karnataka. The Tahsildar rejected the petitioner's application by one line order stating that there is no option for bunts in OBCs list...The Tahsildar shall grant an opportunity to the petitioner to file additional documents, if he so desires and also personal hearing before passing order on the petitioner's application. The Tahsildar shall pass a speaking order and communicate the same to the petitioner immediately thereafter.}}</ref>
 ==See also==