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File:Nepal Prithvi Narayan Shah.jpg
The Chhetri (Kshatriya, Khas) are one of the largest ethnic/caste group in modern Nepal making up 23.5% of the country's population.
They are predominantly Hindus and are believed to be Indo-Aryan. The word "Chhetri" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Kshatriya" which is a name for the warrior caste. In Hindu caste hierarchy Kshatriya's rank 2nd after the priestly Brahman caste. Nepal's royal family belongs to the Thakuri-subcaste of the Chhetri cast. Chetri's are the culturally, politically, and socially dominant ethnic/caste group in Nepal.
Before Nepal was united as a nation over 300 years ago, smaller kingdoms in the region were ruled by kings of various ethnic and caste groups. However, this notion has fundamental flaws and lacks historical as well as ethnographical evidence, thus it is severely disputable among the scholars of the Nepalese history. Modern Anthropologists believe majority of chhetris are descendents of Khas people, and some are product of the union between the khas males and indigenous ethnic females(Prof Dor Bahadur Bista).According to Prof Surya Mani Adhikari, present Chhetris are descendents of Khasas or Khas who were Indo-Iranian Aryans mountain dwellers.They had an empire which included Kasmir,Part of Tibet and West Nepal(Karnali region).
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