Rangrez or Rangaraju is an Indian caste, found in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, of India.
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Origin
Their mother tongue is Marathi. They are locally called Rangarajulu. They were called a family of rulers, since they called them raj,they are related to the Shivaji Maharaj (Maratha King).later they changed their work due to circumstances in coluring sarees. They are also known as Maratha Kshatriya, as samaj well known in the states they dwell. Bhavsar is an ancient community originating from the north western part of India, stretching towards the South Indian Territories. However this community is not enclosed by the Indian border, rather its members have been successfully flourishing in different countries. The main profession of this community was related to clothing and textiles. later they changed their work due to circumstances to Woodblock printing on textiles and saree printing. They are also known as Rangrez Kshatriya, a samaj well known in the states they dwell in. The main profession of this community was related to clothing and textiles. Kshatriyas are also known in some parts of Andhra Pradesh as "Rangaraju" by their profession of dyeing textiles, or "Rangaari" in Maharashtra and other parts.In Maharashtra Rangaari is sub caste of Maratha clan.This profession led the community members to travel long distances, crossing barriers and flourishing as successful businesspeople. As time passed, the community started adapting itself to the situations and needs of the time. Apart from the clothing industry, they started developing skills in other industrial activities. Today they comprise businesspeople and professionals working in industries from the clothing to medical and electrical to information technology.
History
According to the epic stories, the legendary Parshuram, who was said to be an avatar of Vishnu, had vowed vengeance against the kshatriyas (the community of warriors) and had wiped most of the kshatriyas off the earth. This scenario had worried two young princes Bhavsingh and Sarsingh from Saurashtra who had foreseen their dynasty meeting its end. The princes had been directed to appeal to the Hindu Goddess Hinglaj (Durga/Ambaji/Bhavani/Mataji/Kali) at the holy shrine situated on the banks of the Hingol River in Baluchistan near Sindh, now in Pakistan, where the Hindu Goddess assured protection of their dynasty by compelling Parshuram to leave them alone, on the condition that none from their community would confront Parshuram as he too was a son for her. The Bhavsar community was named after these two princes, Bhavsingh and Sarsingh.
As time passed, they gave up the duties of war and a few members from the community started developing skills in stitching and dyeing clothes. These skills enabled them to grow as professional artisans and in turn they became royal tailors and dress designers. These artisans had to travel a lot, as their skills were well known throughout the nation. This community was later called Rangaraju in the regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (in Maharashtra they are called Maratha Rangaari).