Ahir

The Ahir Yadav is a historical tribe of kshatriyas and Farmers of India and Nepal. The term Ahir is a Prakrit form of the Sanskrit word Abhira meaning fearless. Sanskrit scholars such as Panini and Chanakya say that Ahirs follow the Bhagavata sect of Hindu religion. The Ahir (Yadav) community is given representation in government jobs and educational institutes as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The Abhira (Ahir) Kshatriyas were named Gope when they protected the cows, and Gopal when they tended and grazed the cows. 23 In the period (from 500 B.C. to 1 B.C.) when the Pali language was prevalent in India, the word 'Gopal was modified to 'Goal' and by further modification it took the form of Gwal. This has been aptly described by an unknown poet 24 in a verse that" due to rearing cattle, the Yadav are called ' Gope', and after being called' Gopal', they are called' Gwal.
Origin.
The origin of the Ahir is controversial, but prominent view among Indian historian agree Indo-Aryan origin of Ahirs and recognised as Yadavs.