Roman Catholic Kshatriya

The Roman Catholic Kshatriya is a caste among the Goan and Mangalorean Catholics, of modern-day descendants of Goan Kshatriya and Vaishya converts to Roman Catholicism. They are known as Chardo in the Goan Catholic dialects of Konkani (Devanagari: चारड्डो), Charodi (Kannada: ಚರೋಡಿ; "Tsāroḍi") in the Mangalorean Catholic dialect of Konkani, and Chardó in Portuguese. They are an endogamous group and have traditionally avoided inter-marriage with Catholics of other castes.
Etymology.
The precise etymology of the word "Chardo" is unclear. The two most probable explanations are as follows:
Origins.
The Kshatriyas of Goa constituted the nobility and warrior class, and ranked second in the Hindu Varna system. Those involved in the trading profession were known as "Chattim", which was an occupational appellation common to Brahmins as well. The origins of a Christian caste can be traced back to the Christianisation of the Velhas Conquistas () that was undertaken by the Portuguese during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was during this period that the Jesuit, Franciscan and Dominican missionaries converted many Kshatriyas to Christianity. The caste appellation of "Chardo" eventually fell into disuse among the Hindu Kshatriyas, who began calling themselves "Maratha" (Konkan Marathas), to differentiate themselves from those Kshatriyas who had embraced Christianity. Another reason for the name change was because of the ascendancy of the Marathas in the political arena of the Maratha Confederacy. The Marathas and Vaishya Vanis who were among the last to convert, were incorporated into the "Chardo" caste.
The earliest known instance of Kshatriya conversions to Christianity took place in 1560, when 700 Kshatriyas were baptised "en masse" in Carambolim, Tiswadi. Their decision to embrace Christianity was made after deliberation of the village assembly, and came about as they were subjects of the Portuguese government. Another instance of a Kshatriya group seeking conversion to Christianity is mentioned in a letter of a Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis, dated 13 November 1560:
The "Charodis" form the second largest group in the Mangalorean Catholic community. In South Canara, many "Charodis" took up service in the army of the Keladi Nayakas, and came to constitute the bulk of the Christian soldiers in their army. The Lewis-Naik family of Kallianpur near Udupi, produced many distinguished soldiers and officers in the Keladi army. In recognition of their service, the Nayakas rewarded them with large tracts of land in Kallianpur. During the Indian independence struggle, "Chardos" were perceived by Indian nationalists to be more sympathetic to Indian nationalist leanings and less likely to be pro-Portuguese loyalists than "Bamonns". In his autobiography, Indian nationalist Eddie Pereira (himself of "Chardo" heritage) stated about the origins of the "Chardos":
The "Chardos" have traditionally been an endogamous group, and while they traditionally did not inter-marry or mingle with the low caste "Sudirs" (Konkani: Shudras), Mahars and Chamars, the statutes and norms of the Roman Catholic church restrained them from discriminating against the latter.