Chuhra Explained

Caste Name:Chuhra
Caste Name In Local:चूहड़ा چُوہْڑا
Native Name:chuda
Jati:Harijan
Gotra:N/A
Religions:Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism
Country:India, Pakistan and Nepal
Lineage:Valmiki and Satakarni
Education Reservation:Yes
Status:Scheduled Caste category

Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Balmiki,[1] is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan.[2] [3] [4] Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India.[5] [6] [7] [8] Their traditional occupation is sweeping, a "polluting" occupation that caused them to be considered untouchables in the caste system.[9]

Originally following the Balmiki sect of Hinduism, many Chuhras converted to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity during the colonial era in India.[10] Today, Chuhras in Indian Punjab are largely followers of Sikhism.[11] A minority continue to follow Hinduism, which incorporates elements of Sikhism in its practices, as well as Christianity.[12] [13] In Pakistani Punjab 90–95% of its Christian population are Dalit Christians of the Chuhra caste; other Chuhras practice Islam or continue to follow Hinduism.[14] [15]

Etymology and history

The word "Chuhra" is derived from the word "Shudra", one of the varnas in Indian society.[16]

The Bhangis claim descent from Balmiki (also known as Lal Beg or Balashah), a Shudras who composed the Ramayana and who is worshipped as a Hindu patron saint by the Bhangis.[17] [18] The word Bhangi is derived from Bhanga which means broken. The Bhangi community claims that they were made to sweep the floor and do other menial jobs when they refused to convert into Islam during Mughal era.[19]

Originally following the Balmiki sect of Hinduism, many Chuhras converted to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity during the colonial era in India.[10] The faith practiced by the Lal Begi Chuhras came to syncretize elements of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. The Arya Samaj drew the majority to mainstream Hinduism while conversions similarly happened to Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism in the 19th and early 20th centuries.[20] [21]

In 1932 in colonial India, the Balmiki Sabha was created to advocate for the rights of the Chuhras. The Balmiki Sabha was applauded by the Indian National Congress in the mid-1940s for heralding its political message among the Chuhras.

[22]

By religion

In Hinduism

As with the Lal Begi, the majority of Hindu Chuhras belong to the Balmiki sect of Hinduism.[23] In the Baluchistan Province of colonial India, the majority of Chuhras in the 1931 Indian Census thus recorded themselves as "Hindu Balmiki".[24]

In Christianity

In colonial India, there were waves of conversions to Christianity among the Chuhra and Chamar between the 1870s and 1930s in the Punjab Province and United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.[25] The censuses of British India became increasingly confused regarding Chuhra Dalits' religious beliefs because the respondents were allowed to choose their designation. Jeffrey Cox says that in the 1920s and 1930s they described themselves variously as

In what is now Pakistan, the conversions to Christianity and consequent invention of a new identity were largely responsible for the name Chuhra becoming archaic. It is often considered pejorative and applied to almost all of the Christians in the country, whom John O'Brien describes as "descended from one tribe-caste of oppressed and excluded people".[26] The status of the Christian Chuhra as Dalit Christians continues to be "distinct feature of social discrimination" against them.[27]

In Islam

See main article: Caste system among South Asian Muslims. Chuhras who converted from Hinduism to Islam were known as Musalis.[14] [28] Despite placing great emphasis on social equality and brotherhood among all Muslims, early South Asian Muslims did not address the problem of untouchability for the Chuhras or Bhangis. As a result, only a very few members from this community ever embraced Islam, most converting to Christianity. Chuhras adopted the externals of Islam by keeping Muslim names, observing Ramadan and burial of the dead. However, they never underwent circumcision. Only a few cases of circumcision have ever been recorded for Chuhras or Bhangis and these were Chuhras who lived very near Jama Masjid. The Chuhras did not accept Mohammed as their prophet and also continued observing traditional Hindu festivals, such as Diwali, Rakhi and Holi. Just like their Hindu brethren they continued with their traditional caste work. In India the caste system was fully observed by Muslims. In the same way that Hindu Chuhras who were barred from entrance to temples in historical times, Muslim Chuhras are still today barred from entrance to mosques and never allowed to go past the outside steps to Muslim religious places. The Untouchability even extended after death; Chuhras were to bury their dead in separate graveyards away from other Muslims.[29]

In Sikhism

Chuhras who converted from Hinduism to Sikhism became known as Mazhabi Sikhs.[14] [30]

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census of India, the Balmikis formed 11.2 per cent of the Scheduled Caste population in Punjab[31] and were the second-most populous Scheduled Caste in Delhi National Capital Region.[32] [33]

The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Balmiki population, which was classified as a Scheduled Caste, as 1,319,241.[34]

The Balmikis represent 0.7 per cent in Andhra Pradesh and are mainly concentrated in Anantapur, Kurnool and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh.[35] They also built a temple of Valmiki in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.[36]

In the UK, the Council of Valmiki Sabhas UK was established to represent the Balmiki.[37] [38]

State, U.TPopulationPopulation %Notes
Bihar[39] 207,5490.199%Counted as Hari, Mehtar, Bhangi
Chandigarh[40] 82,6247.82%Counted as Mazhabi, Balmiki, Chura or Bhangi
Chhattisgarh[41] 19,0160.074%Counted as Bhangi, Mehtar, Balmiki, Lalbegi, Dharkar
NCT of Delhi[42] 577,2813.43 %Counted as Chuhra (Balmiki)
Gujarat[43] 439,4440.72%Counted as Bhangi, Mehtar, Olgana, Rukhi, Malkana, Halalkhor, Lalbegi, Balmiki, Korar, Zadmalli,Barwashia, Barwasia, Jamphoda, Zampada, Zampda, Rushi, Valmiki
Haryana[44] 1,079,6824.25%Counted as Balmiki, Chura, Bhangi, Mazhabi and Mazhabi Sikh
Himachal Pradesh[45] 35,1500.51%Counted as Balmiki, Bhangi, Chuhra, Chura, Chuhre and Mazhabi
Jharkhand[46] 58,2420.17%Counted as Hari, Mehtar, Bhangi
Karnataka[47] 5,2810.0086%Counted as Bhangi, Mehtar, Olgana, Rukhi, Malkana, Halalkhor, Lalbegi, Balmiki, Korar, Zadmalli
Madhya Pradesh[48] 365,7690.5%Counted as Bhangi, Mehtar, Balmik, Lalbegi, Dharkar
Maharashtra[49] 217,1660.19%Counted as Bhangi, Mehtar, Olgana, Rukhi, Malkana, Halalkhor, Lalbegi, Balmiki, Korar, Zadmalli, Hela
Punjab[50] 3,500,87412.61%Counted as Mazhabi, Mazhabi Sikh, Balmiki, Chuhra, Bhangi
Rajasthan[51] 625,0110.91%Counted as Majhabi, Bhangi, Chura, Mehtar, Olgana, Rukhi, Malkana, Halalkhor, Lalbegi, Balmiki, Valmiki, Korar, Zadmalli
Uttarakhand[52] 118,4211.17%Counted as Mazhabi and Balmiki
Uttar Pradesh[53] 1,319,2410.66%Counted as Balmiki

Sub-castes

The following are sub-castes of the Balmiki/Bhangi/Chuhra caste:[13]

Use as an epithet

The locution "Chuhra-Chamar" is used derisively by jatt caste to refer to both Dalit castes, the Chuhra and Chamar.[54] [55] [56] [57]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hunt, Sarah Beth . Hindi schedule Literature and the Politics of Representation . Routledge . 2014 . 978-1-31755-952-8 . 76.
  2. Book: Robinson . Rowena . Kujur . Joseph Marianus . 17 August 2010. Margins of Faith: Dalit and Tribal Christianity in India . SAGE Publishing India . 978-93-86042-93-4 . en . The Chuhras and Bhangis are both Dalit castes, whose 'traditional occupation' has been sweeping..
  3. Book: Lynch . Owen M. . Divine Passions: The Social Construction of Emotion in India . 1990 . . 978-0-520-30467-3 . 121 . en.
  4. Book: Sharma, Rana . 1995 . Bhangi, Scavenger in Indian Society: Marginality, Identity, and Politicization of the Community . M.D. Publications . 17 . 978-8-18588-070-9 .
  5. Book: Singh . K. S. . India's Communities . 1998 . . 978-0-19-563354-2 . 234 . English . The Balmiki (SC) in Haryana are also known as Valmiki, Chuhra, Lal Begi or Khakrobe..
  6. Book: Webster . John C. B. . Religion and Dalit Liberation: An Examination of Perspectives . 2002 . Manohar Publishers & Distributors . 978-81-7304-327-7 . 76 . English . Pauline Kolenda did field research among Chuhras in the village of Khalapur in north-western Uttar Pradesh shortly before Dr. Ambedkar died..
  7. Book: Phan, P.C. . 2011 . Christianities in Asia . John Wiley & Sons . 978-1405160896 . 25. For example, 90 to 95% of Pakistani Christians are Punjabi of the chuhra (dalit) group converted from Hinduism rather than from Islam or local religious systems..
  8. Book: Srivastava . B. N. . Manual Scavenging in India: A Disgrace to the Country . 1997 . Concept Publishing Company . 978-81-7022-639-0 . 28 . en.
  9. Book: Bodley, J. H. . 2011 . Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States, and the Global System . 5th . Rowman Altamira . 315.
  10. Book: Kling . David W. . A History of Christian Conversion . 5 May 2020 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-991092-2 . 562 . en . Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity represented viable alternatives for the Chuhras, siphoning off a sizable portion of the Hindu population. In 1901, 934,553 Chuhras were registered as Hindus; by 1931, that number had dwindled to about one-third (368,224 people). The socioeconomic factors that prompted some Chuhras to become Muslims or Sikhs propelled others into the Christian fold..
  11. Web site: Census.
  12. Book: Mannion . Gerard . Church and Religious 'Other' . 25 September 2008 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-0-567-04726-7 . 87=88 . English.
  13. Book: Leslie, J. . 2003 . Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki . Ashgate Publishing . 0754634302 . registration . 49. In a similar way, 'Chuhras' are often called 'Bhangi', especially in urban areas. ... Today, although not all 'Bhangis' worship Bhagwan Valmik, and by no means all Valmikis were originally called 'Bhangi', the two terms are often used interchangeably. ... 'Valmiki' is explained as 'the now usually preferred name for the Bhangi or community which follows the teachings of the saint Valmiki' (1998: xii, xvi)..
  14. Book: Webster . John C. B. . Religion and Dalit Liberation: An Examination of Perspectives . 2002 . Manohar Publishers & Distributors . 978-81-7304-327-7 . 16 . en . For one thing, there were a good number of Chuhra Muslims who were called Musallis and may or may not have been accepted by others as fellow Muslims. Similarly, Chuhra Sikhs were called Mazhabi Sikhs and were generally kept at a distance by other Sikhs, despite being quite scrupulous in their observances as well as giving up polluting work (carrying night soil) and habits (eating carrion)....
  15. Web site: Aqeel . Asif . 'Untouchable' caste identity haunts Pakistani Christians like Asia Bibi . World Watch Monitor . 3 October 2020 . en . 1 November 2018.
  16. Book: Bahadur . Krishna Prakash . Caste, Tribes & Culture of India . 1977 . Ess Ess Publications . 10 . en . The sweeper or scavenger caste of Punjab is called the Chuhra, a corruption of Sudra..
  17. Book: Kananaikil . Jose . Scheduled Castes and the Struggle Against Inequality: Strategies to Empower the Marginalised . 1983 . Indian Social Institute . 17 . en.
  18. Book: Leslie . Julia . Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki . 22 November 2017 . Routledge . 978-1-351-77299-0 . 51 . en.
  19. Book: Women Heroes and Dalit Assertion in North India: Culture, Identity and Politics . Narayan . Badri . 7 November 2006 . . 65 . 9780761935377 . en.
  20. Prashad . Vijay . September 1995 . The killing of Bala Shah and the birth of Valmiki: Hinduisation and the politics of religion . The Indian Economic & Social History Review . en . 32 . 3 . 287–325 . 10.1177/001946469503200301 . 0019-4646.
  21. Lee . Joel . 2014-01-01 . Lāl Beg Underground: the Passing of an "Untouchable" God . Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions: Forms, Practices and Meanings, edited by Knut A. Jacobsen, Mikael Aktor, Kristina Myrvold, pp. 143-162.
  22. Book: Singh . K. S. . The Scheduled Castes . 1995 . . 978-0-19-563742-7 . 109 . en.
  23. Book: Singh . K. S. . The Scheduled Castes . 1995 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-563742-7 . 380 . en. The Chuhras are divided into four religious orders, the Hindu - Balmiki or Lalbegi, the Muslim - Watal, the Sikh - Mazhabi and the Christian Chuhra..
  24. Book: Saberwal . Satish . Beyond the Village: Sociological Explorations . 1972 . Indian Institute of Advanced Study . en . In the same census, 3,152 Punjabis gave 'Balmiki' as their religion (Khan 1933, II : 277): their caste is not revealed, but Hutton (1933, I : 499) reporting on the same census shows Chuhras in Baluchistan returning themselves as “Hindu Balmiki”..
  25. Book: Frykenberg . Robert Eric . Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present . 26 June 2008 . . 978-0-19-826377-7 . 240 . en.
  26. Book: O'Brien, John . Church and Religious 'Other' . Gerard . Mannion . A & C Black . 2008 . 978-0-56703-286-7 . The Quest for Pakistani Christian Identity: A Narrative of Religious Other as Liberative Comparative Ecclesiology . 78–79 . https://books.google.com/books?id=K5BpAMxlgM4C&pg=PA78.
  27. Web site: Singha . Sara . Ariel . Glucklich . Dalit Christians and Caste Consciousness in Pakistan . 22 September 2020 . en . 23 April 2015 . This study explores caste discrimination in Pakistan against untouchable (Dalit) converts to Christianity. During the nineteenth century in India, many Dalits converted to Christianity to escape caste persecution. In the 1870s in Punjab, a mass movement to Protestant Christianity flourished among the Dalit Chuhra caste. The Chuhras were the largest menial caste in Punjab and engaged in degrading occupations including sweeping and sanitation work. By the 1930s, almost the entire Chuhra caste converted to Protestant Christianity. In 1947, during the partition of India, the majority of Chuhra converts in Punjab became part of the Protestant community in Pakistan. After Partition, many uneducated Chuhras were confined to menial jobs in the sanitation industry. Today, the stigma of Dalit ancestry is a distinct feature of social discrimination against Chuhra Christians in Pakistan..
  28. Book: Julius . Qaiser . Ahmadi and Christian Socio-Political Responses to Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws: A Comparison, Contrast and Critique with Special Reference to the Christian Church in Pakistan . 30 September 2017 . Langham Publishing . 978-1-78368-329-1 . en. Likewise, Chuhras were not accepted fully in Islam by their Muslim co-religionists: they were distinguished as musalis (little Muslims) despite the fact that Islam proclaims equality (Q.49:13)..
  29. Book: Sharma, Rana . 1995 . Bhangi, Scavenger in Indian Society: Marginality, Identity, and Politicization of the Community . M.D. Publications . 128 . 978-8-18588-070-9 .
  30. Book: Sikhism, Its Philosophy and History . 1997 . Institute of Sikh Studies . 978-81-85815-03-9 . 335 . en.
  31. Web site: Punjab: Data Highlights: The Scheduled Castes . Census I . 2001. 2015-01-05.
  32. Web site: Delhi: Data Highlights: The Scheduled Castes . 2001 . Census India. 2015-01-05 . 1.
  33. Leslie, J.(2003) Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki. Ashgate publishing.
  34. Web site: A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh . Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India . 2017-02-04.
  35. Book: All India anthropometric survey: analysis of data. South Zone. J. Sreenath. S. H. Ahmad. Anthropological Survey of India. 1989. 37.
  36. Book: Mohammad, Afsar. The Festival of Pirs: Popular Islam and Shared Devotion in South India. December 2013. Oxford University Press. 9780199997596.
  37. Book: Jacobs, Stephen . 2010 . Hinduism Today: An Introduction . A & C Black.
  38. Web site: Memorandum submitted by Central Valmiki Sabha International (UK). United Kingdom Parliament. 12 November 2009. 19 May 2015.
  39. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Bihar - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2115 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  40. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Chandigarh - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2109 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  41. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Chhattisgarh - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2125 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  42. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, NCT of Delhi - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2112 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  43. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Gujarat - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2127 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  44. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Haryana - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2111 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  45. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Himachal Pradesh - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2107 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  46. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Jharkhand - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2123 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  47. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Karnataka - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2132 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  48. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Madhya Pradesh - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2126 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  49. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Maharashtra - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2130 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  50. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Punjab - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2108 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  51. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Rajasthan - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2113 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  52. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Uttarakhand - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2110 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  53. SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, Uttar Pradesh - 2011 (2021) India. Available at: https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/2114 (Accessed: 17 August 2024).
  54. Book: Leslie . Julia . Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki . 22 November 2017 . Routledge . 978-1-351-77299-0 . 69 . English . As a result, whatever their chosen religion, Panjabi dalits are invariably defined by caste: either they are grouped together as 'untouchable' (or by a similarly demeaning label, such as 'Chuhra-Chamar') or they are marginalized as a sub-category of the religious tradition in question, such as 'Achut' ('untouchable') Hindu or 'Mazhabi' Sikh..
  55. Web site: Kaur . Naunidhi . Social boycotts, segregation. . 1 October 2020 . English . 21 May 2004 . The term chuhra-chamar (scavenger and tanner) is freely employed by landlords belonging to the Jat community to refer to Dalits..
  56. Web site: Khalid . Haroon . The language curse: How proud community names have been reduced to insults in Pakistan . scroll.in . 28 September 2021.
  57. Web site: Chaudhry . Kamran . Pakistani politician draws censure for Christian slur . UCA News . 28 September 2021.

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