ABSTRACT
The Yadavs are divided into three main vanshs: the Yaduvanshi, the Nandavanshi and the Goallavanshi. Today, the boundaries of Yadav subdivisions in Mathura town are quite blurred. Younger generations increasingly understand their community as a kin community or as a large descent group with a common ancestor and describe themselves as Krishnavanshi Yadavs. This chapter explores how in Ahir Para the idea of democracy has directly and indirectly contributed to important social transformations. The delegitimisation of hierarchical relations which had transformed local patterns of authority and allowed the political mobilisation of the subaltern castes has also helped the Yadavs (and other castes) to redefine their kinship and transformed their diversified communities into united and more numerous blocs which then have become more competitive in the electoral democratic arena. Although inter-vansh marriage alliances are still a minority amongst the Mathura Yadav community, they are not a taboo and are theoretically and empirically accepted.
