Chamar
Chamar ( "tanner"), also known as Chamari/Camari/Charmkar/Charmkari, is a community in India, Pakistan and Nepal. They are a Dalit group, being traditionally considered outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. They are found mainly in the northern states, such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and in Nepal at least north to the Himalayas.
Ram Narayan Rawat posits that this association of Chamars with tanning was constructed, and that the Chamars were historically agriculturists.[1]
Demographics
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Punjab
The most politically and socially influential[citation needed] Chamars are from the state of Punjab, where they form 11% of the population (2.8 million), with Dalits comprising 27% of the population. In the Punjab they are divided into various groups, such as Ad-Dharm, Ravidasi, Ramdasia,[18] and Chamar.
In Malwa most Chamars turned to Sikhism, whereas in Doaba most of them did not opt for Sikhism. In Majha they are called Ramdasia and Ravidasia, in Doaba they are called Adi Dharmi. They are highly concentrated in the Doaba, and the Malwa region of Punjab, where they form over 25% of the population.[citation needed]
Haryana
The total Chamar population in Haryana was 2,079,132 in 2001, being about 9% of the population.[19] Most Chamars in the districts of Hisar, Jind, Panipat, Karnal, Sonepat, Rohtak, Kaithal, Gurgaon, Faridabad,are Jatav Chamars who largely follow Ravidasia sect.[citation needed]
Uttar Pradesh
Most Chamars reside in Western Uttar Pradesh are known as Jatav.[citation needed] Total Chamar population in this state is almost 20 million and form 13-14% of the population.[5] In this state, the political party of Chamars Bahujan Samaj Party has its political base and this has led to Bahujan Samaj Party to win the state elections and chief minister post by Mayawati four times since 1990.[citation needed]
Rajasthan
Chamars in Rajasthan can only be identified in the districts adjoining to the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The districts of Bikaner, Shriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Bharatpur and Dhaulpur are inhabited by Chamars. In the districts of Bharatpur, Dhaulpur and parts of Alwar (adjoining to Bharatpur) they are known as Jatav. Raigar (leather tanners) and Mochi (shoe makers) are other two castes related to the leather profession.[citation needed]
Himachal Pradesh
The Chamars are the second largest SC caste in the state after the Kori. Chamars are mainly found in the following districts: Kangra, Mandi and Una.
Religion
After the destruction of Buddhism in India, Chamars became a religion-less community and followed naturism and nirankari panths.[20] In post-independence era of India(time after 1947), Chamars community has been forged as a part of Hindu religion by Hindu group because of compulsion of politics in democratic India. The long term foreign rules by Mughals and British meant that their condition declined over a period of time. This especially peaked with British rule who practiced divide and rule and preferentially allotted seats in education sector and agricultural lands to other castes while ignoring Chamars. In military too, they were excluded. But, Indian cultural revivalists starting from the 15th century preached emancipation of the Chamars. It ultimately culminated in the new Constitution of India; formulated by Dr B.R.Ambedkar. It was hugely supported by most Hindu leaders and reservations in large numbers were provided. Gradually numerous Chamars en masse increased their standard of living. So much so that many Muslim authors in the past few decades have lamented that their standard of living in India is far below that of even Chamars. It is symbolic of how much change has occurred since independence. Many Chamars have also joined other religious groups such as the Ravidasi, Arya Samaj. Others joined deras such as Nirankari & Radhaswami.
Ravidassia Chamars
Chamars from the leatherworking community are usually referred to as Ravidassia after Guru Ravidas, a 14th Century guru, and himself a Dalit Chamar. Conversion of Hindu Chamars to Ravidassia accelerated towards the end of the nineteenth century, due to the rise of the Adi Dharm mission, launched in 1903 for the restoration and propagation of Guru Ravidass teachings, including the removal of caste distinctions. The number of Chamars who declared Ravidassia as their religion increased from 100,014 in 1881 to 155,717 in 1931. In 2009, the Ravidassia religion formally broke from Sikhism, following the assassination of a Ravidassi clergymen by Sikh extremists at a temple in Vienna, Austria.[21]
Julaha or Ramdasia Chamar
A portion of the Chamar are weavers, and identify themselves as Julaha Chamar or Ramdasia; R. K. Pruthi suggests this is in preparation for a move to be considered simply Julaha in the future, for having abandoned "degrading" leatherwork for more prestigious weaving.[22]
Military
Sikh Light Infantry
The Sikh Chamar Ramdasia[23] has a history of military service and are heavily represented in the Sikh Light Infantry.[citation needed]
Chamar Regiment
The 1st Chamar Regiment was an infantry regiment formed by the British during World War II. Officially, it was created on 1 March 1943, as the 27th Battalion 2nd Punjab Regiment was converted.[24] The Chamar Regiment which was involved in the Pacific War Japanese front and was awarded the Battle Honor of Kohima for theirs distinguished role in the Battle of Kohima.[25] The Regiment was disbanded in 1946.[26] Recently, several politicians have demanded that The Chamar Regiment be revived.[26]
Notable Chamars
- Kanshi Ram (1934–2006), founder of Bahujan Samaj Party and mentor of Mayawati Kumari[27]
- Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986), first Labour Minister of India, former Defence Minister of India, former Deputy Prime Minister of India and father of Meira Kumar[28]
- Mayawati, Leader of B.S.P, Chief Minister of U.P.[29]
- Chamkila, Punjabi Singer,[30]
- Mohinder Singh Kaypee M.P Jalandhar[31][32]
- Meira Kumar, Speaker of Indian Parliament[33][34]
See also
References
- ^ Ram "Aspirations of Chamars in North India". The Hindu. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
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{{cite web}}
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- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_delhi.pdf
- ^ a b http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_chandigarh.pdf
- ^ http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_chhattisgarh.pdf
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_haryana.pdf
- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_himachal.pdf
- ^ http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_jk.pdf
- ^ http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_jharkhand.pdf
- ^ http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_madhya_pradesh.pdf
- ^ http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_maha.pdf
- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_punjab.pdf
- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_rajasthan.pdf
- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_up.pdf
- ^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_uttaranchal.pdf
- ^ kumar, raj (2003). Essays on Dalits. India: Discovery Publishing House. p. 234. ISBN 81-7141-708-6.
- ^ http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_Haryana.pdf
- ^ Rawat, Ramnarayan S. (2011). Reconsidering Untouchability: Chamars and Dalit History in North India. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253222626.}}
- ^ Knut A. Jacobsen; Kristina Myrvold (1 November 2011). Sikhs in Europe: Migration, Identities and Representations. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 290–. ISBN 978-1-4094-2434-5. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ Indian caste system - R.K. Pruthi - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal/v19_1/2-NeeruSharma19_1.pdf
- ^ "Orders of Battle - 27/2 Punjab Regiment [British Commonwealth]". ordersofbattle.com. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "The Battle of Kohima" (PDF).
- ^ a b "RJD man Raghuvansh calls for reviving Chamar Regiment". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "I will be the best PM and Mayawati is my chosen heir". Indian Express. 2 May 2003.
...I am a chamar from Punjab...
- ^ "I will be the best PM and Mayawati is my chosen heir". Indian Express. 2 May 2003.
...Jagjivan Ram, a chamar leader...
- ^ "A Chamar will be my successor: Mayawati". The Hindu.
- ^ "Amar Singh Chamkila". Retrieved 14 January 2013.
{{cite web}}
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{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Congress's dalit card turning against established dalit leaders of Doaba region". Retrieved 14 January 2013.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Tytler's party list calls India's Speaker a Chamar". Retrieved 14 January 2013.
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Further reading
- Briggs, George W. (1920). The Religious Life of India - The Chamars. Calcutta: Association Press. ISBN 1-4067-5762-4.
- Schmalz, Mathew N. (2004). "A Bibliographic Essay on Hindu and Christian Dalit Religiosity". Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies. 17: 55–65.
- Use dmy dates from January 2011
- Dalit communities
- Hindu communities
- Punjabi tribes
- Social groups of Bihar
- Social groups of Haryana
- Social groups of India
- Social groups of Uttar Pradesh
- Social groups of Punjab, India
- Social groups of Rajasthan
- Social groups of Delhi
- Scheduled Castes of Haryana
- Leatherworking castes