The Kanbi are a large endogamous caste living in the Kheda District of Gujarat State, India. They are the most numerous of the high castes (e.g., Brahman, Bania, and Patidar) in this district. The name "Kanbi" is said to be derived from katumbi (householder). In 1931 the caste name was changed from Kanbi to Patidar in recognition of an elevation in overall caste status. The information in this summary has been drawn from David F. Pocock's 1972 study of the Patidar in Gujarat. The Kanbi call their homeland Charotar (the pleasant land). The area is a flat alluvial plain of some 65 square kilometers within the Kheda District of Gujarat. In 1971 the Kheda District had a total population of slightly under 2 million. The lingua franca of this region is Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language.
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