Anavil Brahmins are a community of Brahmins who, despite not being numerically superior, are particularly dominant in the Surat and Valsad districts of south Gujarat, India, where they have been significant land-owners and have an influential role in politics. The Anavil are among the Brahmins communities who do not perform a priestly function.
They comprise two sub-groups, called the Desai and the Bhathela. The former acted as tax farmers during the era of the Mughal Empire, then as minor rulers and eventually underwent a process of sanskritisation that saw them conform more closely to the classical Brahmin practices, such as dowry marriage. The Bhathela still prefer the brideprice system for marriage.[1] The Desai are fewer in number but superior in traditional status.
The Anavil are among the Brahmins communities who do not perform a priestly function. They comprise two sub-groups, called the Desai and the Bhathela.
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