Halwai

Halwai is an Indian caste whose traditional occupation was confectionery and sweet-making. The name is derived from the word Halwa plough. Balarama is the celebrated plougher so called Halwahi or Halwai, one of the pillars of agriculture along with livestock with whom Krishna is associated with. The plough is Balarama's weapon. In the Bhagavata Purana, he uses it to fight demons, dig a way for Yamuna river to come closer to Vrindavan and pull the entire capital of Hastinapura into the Ganges river. Baba Ganinath Govindji is the kul Guru (school) of Halwai caste. In parts of Uttar Pradesh, some believe that they have descended from a man by the name 'Bhalandan.' This Bhalandan came into being due to the will of the Hindu god Brahma. This individual married a woman named Marutwati. Their son was an individual who was named Vatsa Priti. One of the latter's descendants, an individual called Modan, took to making sweetmeats. The community set up its own association, the Kanyakubja Vaishya Halwai Mahasabha, which was established in Varanasi in the early part of the 1900s. The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Halwai as a subgroup within the broader social group of Madheshi Other Caste. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 83,869 people (0.3% of the population of Nepal) were Halwai. The frequency of Halwais by province was as follows: Madhesh Province (0.8%) Koshi Province (0.4%) Lumbini Province (0.3%) Bagmati Province (0.1%) Gandaki Province (0.0%) Karnali Province (0.0%) Sudurpashchim Province (0.0%) The frequency of Halwais was higher than national average (0.3%) in the following districts: Siraha (2.1%) Saptari (1.8%) Dhanusha (1.5%) Sunsari (1.1%) Mahottari (0.8%) Morang (0.8%) Kapilvastu (0.6%) Banke (0.5%) Parasi (0.5%) Sarlahi (0.5%) Rupandehi (0.