Maratha

2004, D. L. Sheth, Ram Manohar Lohia on Caste in Indian Politics, [extracts from 1996, Lokayan Bulletin], Ghanshyam Shah (editor), Caste and Democratic Politics in India, Wimbledon Publishing Company (Anthem Press), page 81, The Marathas are a peculiar caste of Maharashtra, who claim to be Kshatriyas but are more like the cultivator-Sudras of north India.

2004, Kumar Suresh Singh (general editor), B. V. Bhanu, et al. (editors), People of India: Maharashtra, Volume 30, Part 2, Anthropological Survey of India, Popular Prakashan, page 1434, The Maratha are a numerically dominant caste in Maharashtra. As said earlier, Maratha is not a caste but a caste cluster, the main component[s] of which are the Marathas proper and the Kunbis or Kulwadis. […] The Maratha speak mainly Marathi, the language of the region.

2023, Sangita Govindrao Ghar, Marathas Contribution in Deccan Plateau, Lulu, page 1, The first major threat to Moghul imperial power came from a Hindu tribal confederacy known as the Marathas. Located in the mountainous regions of the Deccan, the Marathas were mainly drawn from the lowest caste of society, but they became a powerfully militant community under their ruler, King Sivaji, who died in 1680.