Marathi People - Ethnonym

Ethnonym

The term 'Marathi people' is derived from the language commonly spoken by this ethnicity, i.e. Marathi.

The term Great Maratha or its plural Marathe was used between the 17th and 19th centuries, coinciding with the existence of the Maratha Empire. However, at the beginning of 20th century, due to the efforts of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, the peasant Indo-Aryan Kshatriya Marathi class called Kunbi started using the word Maratha to describe themselves. The current usage of the term Maratha applies mainly to the former Indo-Aryan Kshatriya Kunbi caste as well as the 96 clan upper caste Maratha group and not to the wider Marathi community.

The English-origin term 'Maharashtrian' is derived from the Indian state of Maharashtra, the origin of the Marathi people. It is often wrongly used interchangeably with 'Marathi'. Actually the term 'Marathi' refers the original resident of Maharashtra state (with all its culture, language & History) where as 'Maharashtrian' simply means people or residents of Maharashtra, which also includes the huge number of people who have migrated to Maharashtra from other regions of India, who may or may not observe the authentic culture and language.

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