_Rajjhar, Rajbhar, Lajjhar._--A caste of farmservants found in the
northern Districts. In 1911 they numbered about 8000 persons in the
Central Provinces, being returned principally from the Districts
of the Satpura plateau. The names Rajjhar and Rajbhar appear to be
applied indiscriminately to the same caste, who are an offshoot of
the great Bhar tribe of northern India. The original name appears
to have been Raj Bhar, which signifies a landowning Bhar, like
Raj-Gond, Raj-Korku and so on. In Mandla all the members of the
caste were shown as Rajbhar in 1891, and Rajjhar in 1901, and the
two names seem to be used interchangeably in other Districts in the
same manner. Some section or family names, such as Bamhania, Patela,
Barhele and others, are common to people calling themselves Rajjhar
and Rajbhar. But, though practically the same caste, the Rajjhars
seem, in some localities, to be more backward and primitive than the
Rajbhars. This is also the case in Berar, where they are commonly
known as Lajjhar and are said to be akin to the Gonds. A Gond will
there take food from a Lajjhar, but not a Lajjhar from a Gond. They
are more Hinduised than the Gonds and have prohibited the killing or
injuring of cows by some caste penalties. [458]