Chuhra

For the Islamic principle, see Shura.

Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Balmiki,^[1][2] is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan.^[3][4][5] 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.^[6][7][8][9] Their traditional occupation is sweeping, a "polluting" occupation that caused them to be considered untouchables in the caste system.^[10]

Chuhra
चूहड़ा چُوہْڑا
Jāti	Harijan
Gotra	N/A
Religions	Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism
Country	India, Pakistan and Nepal
Lineage	Valmiki and Satakarni
Status	Scheduled Caste category
Reservation (Education)	Yes

Originally following the Balmiki sect of Hinduism, many Chuhras converted to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity during the colonial era in India.^[11] Today, Churas in Indian Punjab are largely followers of Sikhism.^[12] A minority continue to follow Christianity, as well as Hinduism, which incorporates elements of Sikhism in its practices.^[12][13][1] 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][8][15][16]}

Etymology and history

 

The Chuhras claim descent from Balmiki, composer of the Ramayana.

The word "Chuhra" is derived from the word "Shudra", one of the varnas in Indian society.^[17]

The Bhangis claim descent from Balmiki (also known as Lal Beg or Balashah), a Brahmin who composed the Ramayana and who is worshipped as a Hindu patron saint by the Bhangis.^[18][19][20] 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.^[18]

Originally following the Balmiki sect of Hinduism, many Chuhras converted to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity during the colonial era in India.^[11]

In 1932 in colonial India, the Balmiki Sabha was created to advocate for the rights of the Chuhras.^[21] The Balmiki Sabha was applauded by the Indian National Congress in the mid-1940s for heralding its political message among the Chuhras.^[21]

In Pakistan, the word "Chuhra" became a slur directed against poorer people, especially menial workers whose jobs were reserved for Hindus, Christians, and religious minorities. The term later became a slur against religious minorities in general, especially Christians.^[22][23]

By religion

In Hinduism

Further information: Valmiki caste and Balmikism

As with the Lal Begi, the majority of Hindu Chuhras belong to the Balmiki sect of Hinduism.^[24] In the Baluchistan Province of colonial India, the majority of Chuhras in the 1931 Indian Census thus recorded themselves as "Hindu Balmiki".^[25]

In Christianity

Further information: Caste system among Indian Christians

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.^[26] 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

Chuhra, "Hindu" Chuhra, Musali (Muslim Chuhra), Mazhabi (Sikh Chuhra), Ad-Dharmi, Christian Chuhra, or simply Christian ... It is certain that a large majority of the 391,270 Indian Christians enumerated in Punjab were Chuhras - that is, the most stigmatized minority in the province.^[27]

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".^[28] The status of the Christian Chuhra as Dalit Christians continues to be "distinct feature of social discrimination" against them.^[14]

In Islam

Main article: Caste system among South Asian Muslims

Chuhras who converted from Hinduism to Islam were known as Musalis.^[15][29] 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. However Muslim chuhras are allowed to go to mosques. Even , Muslim chuhras lead the prayer in mosques and people of other castes follow them.there is no concept of untouchability is observed among Muslims.^[30]

In Sikhism

Chuhras who converted from Hinduism to Sikhism became known as Mazhabi Sikhs.^[15][31]

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census of India, the Balmikis formed 11.2 per cent of the Scheduled Caste population in Punjab^[32] and were the second-most populous Scheduled Caste in Delhi National Capital Region.^{[33] [34]}

The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Balmiki population, which was classified as a Scheduled Caste, as 1,319,241.^[35]

The Balmikis represent 0.7 per cent in Andhra Pradesh and are mainly concentrated in Anantapur, Kurnool and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh.^[36][37] They also built a temple of Valmiki in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.^[38] In Andhra Pradesh they are known as Boya Valmikis or Valmikis.^[39]

In the UK, the Council of Valmiki Sabhas UK was established to represent the Balmiki.^[40][41]

Sub-castes

The following are sub-castes of the Balmiki/Bhangi/Chuhra caste:^[1]

• Borat^[42]
• Bhatti^[42]
• Boya Valmiki^[39]
• Chhapriband^[42]
• Dharival^[42]
• Gill^[42]
• Hansi^[42]
• Kandabari^[42]
• Khosar^[42]
• Ladhar^[42]
• Lal Begi^[43]
• Mattu^[42]
• Muslim Shaikh
• Rahmani
• Sahotra/Sotra^[42]
• Sindhu^[42]
• Untwal^[42]
• Valmikis^[39]

Use as an epithet

The location "Chuhra-Chamar" is a locution used derisively by some members of the Jat caste to refer to both Dalit castes, the Chuhra and Chamar.^[44][45]

See also

• Mazhabi Sikh
• Valmiki
• Chamar
• Dalit theology

References

1. Leslie, J. (2003). Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki. Ashgate Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 0754634302. 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).
2. Hunt, Sarah Beth (2014). Hindi schedule Literature and the Politics of Representation. Routledge. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-31755-952-8.
3. Robinson, Rowena; Kujur, Joseph Marianus (17 August 2010). Margins of Faith: Dalit and Tribal Christianity in India. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN 978-93-86042-93-4. The Chuhras and Bhangis are both Dalit castes, whose 'traditional occupation' has been sweeping.
4. Lynch, Owen M. (1990). Divine Passions: The Social Construction of Emotion in India. University of California Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-520-30467-3.
5. Sharma, Rana (1995). Bhangi, Scavenger in Indian Society: Marginality, Identity, and Politicization of the Community. M.D. Publications. p. 17. ISBN 978-8-18588-070-9.
6. Singh, K. S. (1998). India's Communities. Oxford University Press. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-19-563354-2. The Balmiki (SC) in Haryana are also known as Valmiki, Chuhra, Lal Begi or Khakrobe.
7. Webster, John C. B. (2002). Religion and Dalit Liberation: An Examination of Perspectives. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 76. ISBN 978-81-7304-327-7. Pauline Kolenda did field research among Chuhras in the village of Khalapur in north-western Uttar Pradesh shortly before Dr. Ambedkar died.
8. Phan, P.C. (2011). Christianities in Asia. John Wiley & Sons. p. 25. ISBN 978-1405160896. 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.
9. Srivastava, B. N. (1997). Manual Scavenging in India: A Disgrace to the Country. Concept Publishing Company. p. 28. ISBN 978-81-7022-639-0.
10. Bodley, J. H. (2011). Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, States, and the Global System (5th ed.). Rowman Altamira. p. 315.
11. Kling, David W. (5 May 2020). A History of Christian Conversion. Oxford University Press. p. 562. ISBN 978-0-19-991092-2. 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.
12. "Census" (PDF).
13. Mannion, Gerard (25 September 2008). Church and Religious 'Other'. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 87=88. ISBN 978-0-567-04726-7.
14. Singha, Sara; Ariel, Glucklich (23 April 2015). "Dalit Christians and Caste Consciousness in Pakistan". Retrieved 22 September 2020. 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.
15. Webster, John C. B. (2002). Religion and Dalit Liberation: An Examination of Perspectives. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 16. ISBN 978-81-7304-327-7. 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)...
16. Aqeel, Asif (1 November 2018). "'Untouchable' caste identity haunts Pakistani Christians like Asia Bibi". World Watch Monitor. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
17. Bahadur, Krishna Prakash (1977). Caste, Tribes & Culture of India. Ess Ess Publications. p. 10. The sweeper or scavenger caste of Punjab is called the Chuhra, a corruption of Sudra.
18. Narayan, Badri (7 November 2006). Women Heroes and Dalit Assertion in North India: Culture, Identity and Politics. SAGE Publications. p. 65. ISBN 9780761935377.
19. Kananaikil, Jose (1983). Scheduled Castes and the Struggle Against Inequality: Strategies to Empower the Marginalised. Indian Social Institute. p. 17.
20. Leslie, Julia (22 November 2017). Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-351-77299-0.
21. Singh, K. S. (1995). The Scheduled Castes. Oxford University Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-19-563742-7.
22. Khalid, Haroon. "The language curse: How proud community names have been reduced to insults in Pakistan". scroll.in. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
23. Chaudhry, Kamran. "Pakistani politician draws censure for Christian slur". UCA News. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
24. Singh, K. S. (1995). The Scheduled Castes. Oxford University Press. p. 380. ISBN 978-0-19-563742-7. The Chuhras are divided into four religious orders, the Hindu - Balmiki or Lalbegi, the Muslim - Watal , the Sikh - Mazhabi and the Christian Chuhra.
25. Saberwal, Satish (1972). Beyond the Village: Sociological Explorations. Indian Institute of Advanced Study. 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".
26. Frykenberg, Robert Eric (26 June 2008). Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-19-826377-7.
27. Cox, Jeffrey (2002). Imperial Fault Lines: Christianity and Colonial Power in India, 1818-1940. Stanford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-80474-318-1.
28. O'Brien, John (2008). "The Quest for Pakistani Christian Identity: A Narrative of Religious Other as Liberative Comparative Ecclesiology". In Mannion, Gerard (ed.). Church and Religious 'Other'. A & C Black. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-0-56703-286-7.
29. Julius, Qaiser (30 September 2017). 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. Langham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78368-329-1. 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).
30. Sharma, Rana (1995). Bhangi, Scavenger in Indian Society: Marginality, Identity, and Politicization of the Community. M.D. Publications. p. 128. ISBN 978-8-18588-070-9.
31. Sikhism, Its Philosophy and History. Institute of Sikh Studies. 1997. p. 335. ISBN 978-81-85815-03-9.
32. "Punjab: Data Highlights: The Scheduled Castes" (PDF). Census I. 2001. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
33. "Delhi: Data Highlights: The Scheduled Castes" (PDF). Census India. 2001. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
34. Leslie, J.(2003) Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki. Ashgate publishing. ISBN 0754634302
35. "A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
36. Caste,Class and Social Articulation in Andhra Pradesh:Mapping Differential Regional Trajectories (PDF), Osmania University
37. J. Sreenath; S. H. Ahmad (1989). All India anthropometric survey: analysis of data. South Zone. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 37.
38. Mohammad, Afsar (December 2013). The Festival of Pirs: Popular Islam and Shared Devotion in South India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199997596.
39. Virendra Kumar (1975). Committees and Commissions in India, 1947-73: 1979 (2 v.). Concept Publishing Company. p. 42. ISBN 9788170225089.
40. Jacobs, Stephen (2010). Hinduism Today: An Introduction. A & C Black.
41. "Memorandum submitted by Central Valmiki Sabha International (UK)". United Kingdom Parliament. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
42. Singh, Kumar Suresh (1995). The Scheduled Castes, Volume 10. Oxford University Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780195637427. Ibbetson (1916) records several Chuhra tribes (divisions), namely Sahotra, Gill, Mattu, Kharu, Kaliyana, Ladhar, Sindhu, Chhapriband, Untwal, Kandabari, Hansi, Khosar, Borat and Dharival.
43. Harding, Christopher (18 September 2008). Religious Transformation in South Asia: The Meanings of Conversion in Colonial Punjab. Oxford University Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-19-954822-4.
44. Leslie, Julia (22 November 2017). Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions: Hinduism and the Case of Valmiki. Routledge. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-351-77299-0. 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.
45. Kaur, Naunidhi (21 May 2004). "Social boycotts, segregation". Frontline. Retrieved 1 October 2020. The term chuhra-chamar (scavenger and tanner) is freely employed by landlords belonging to the Jat community to refer to Dalits.

Further reading

• Harding, Christopher (2008). Religious Transformation in South Asia : The Meanings of Conversion in Colonial Punjab: The Meanings of Conversion in Colonial Punjab. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19156-333-1.
• Kumar, Ashutosh, ed. (2012). Rethinking State Politics in India: Regions Within Regions. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-13670-400-0.
• Kuortti, Joel; Valmīki, Omaprakasa (2003). Joothan: A Dalit's Life. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-8-18560-463-3.
• Mukherjee, Mridula (2004). Peasants in India's Non-Violent Revolution: Practice and Theory. SAGE. ISBN 978-0-76199-686-6.
• Shyamlal (1992). The Bhangi: A Sweeper Caste, Its Socio-economic Portraits : with Special Reference to Jodhpur City. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-8-17154-550-6.
• Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E., eds. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19969-930-8.