Bondili caste is surname of many people in southern India. Bondili caste meaning is In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Bondilis are said to derive their name from Bundelkund. They claim to be Rajputs, but appear to have degenerated. The Sivaites of this sect are said to bury their dead, while the Vishnavaites burn. In the Kadri taluk of Cuddapah all are said to bury. The custom in this respect appears to differ in different localities. Besides Siva and Vishnu worship, three of the eight authorities who give particulars of this section agree that they worship village deities as well. All state that remarriage of widows is not permitted. They are generally cultivators, peons, or the body-guards of Zemindars. The Bondilis of the North Arcot district are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart82 as being foreigners from Bundelkund, from which fact their name originates, and of various Vaisya and Sudra castes; the former having the termination Lala to their names, and the latter that of Ram. Many of the Sudra Bondilis, [258]however, improperly take the title Singh, and say they are Kshatriyas, that is, Rajputs. The Vaisya Bondilis are few in number, and only found in Vellore, Chittoor and Arni, where they are usually money-lenders. The Sudras are mostly sepoys, constables, or revenue peons. Some say that they are not even Sudras, but the descendants of Rajputs by women of the country, and probably many of them are such. All are very particular with respect to eating with an other professed Bondili, and refuse to do so unless they are quite certain that he is of their class. In their marriage customs they resemble the Rajputs.
I am informed that one section of the Bondilis is named Toli, in reference to their being workers in leather. There is, at Venkatagiri, a street called Toli mitta, or Toli quarters, and, in former days, the inhabitants thereof were not allowed to enter the temples.
In the Census Report, 1901, Guvalo, or traders from Sambalpur, is returned as a sub-caste of Bondili.
Bondili caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Bondili caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Bondili caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Bondili caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Bondili caste is also known as Bondili Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don?t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.