Chamar (or Jatav)
History
The Chamars are traditionally associated with leather work.
Ramnarayan Rawat posits that the association of the Chamar community with a traditional occupation of tanning was constructed, and that the Chamars were instead historically agriculturists.
The term chamar is used as a pejorative word for in general.
Movement for upward social mobility
Between the 1830s and the 1950s, the Chamars in the United Provinces, especially in the
Kanpur area, became prosperous as a result of their involvement in the British leather trade.
By the late 19th century, the Chamars began rewriting their caste histories, claiming Kshatriya descent. For example, around 1910, U.B.S. Raghuvanshi published Shri Chanvar Purana from Kanpur, claiming that the Chamars were originally a community of Kshatriya rulers. He claimed to have obtained this information from Chanvar Purana, an ancient Sanskrit-language text purportedly discovered by a sage in a Himalayan cave. According to Raghuvanshi's narrative, the god Vishnu once appeared in form of a Shudra before the community's ancient king Chamunda Rai. The king chastised Vishnu for reciting the Vedas, an act forbidden for a Shudra. The god then revealed his true self, and cursed his lineage to become Chamars, who would be lower in status than the Shudras. When the king apologized, the god declared that the Chamars will get an opportunity to rise again in the Kaliyuga after the appearance of a new sage (whom Raghuvanshi identifies as Ravidas).
A section of Chamars claimed Kshatriya status as , tracing their lineage to Krishna, and thus, associating them with the . Jatav Mahasabha, an association of Jatav men founded in 1917, published multiple pamphlets making such claims in the first half of the 20th century. The association discriminated against lower-status Chamars, such as the "Guliyas", who did not claim Kshatriya status.
In the first half of the early 20th century, the most influential Chamar leader was Swami Achutanand, who founded the anti-Brahmins Adi Hindu movement, and portrayed the lower castes as the original inhabitants of India, who had been enslaved by Aryan invaders.
Political rise
In the 1940s, the Indian National Congress promoted the Chamar politician
Jagjivan Ram to counteract the influence of B.R. Ambedkar; however, he remained an aberration in a party dominated by the upper castes. In the second half of the 20th century, the Ambedkarite Republican Party of India (RPI) in Uttar Pradesh remained dominated by Chamars/Jatavs, despite attempts by leaders such as B.P. Maurya to expand its base.
After the decline of the RPI in the 1970s, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) attracted Chamar voter base. It experienced electoral success under the leadership of the Chamar leaders Kanshi Ram and Mayawati; Mayawati who eventually became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Other Dalit communities, such as , complained of Chamar monopolisation of state benefits such as reservation. Several other Dalit castes, resenting the domination of Dalit politics by Chamars/Jatavs, came under the influence of the Sangh Parivar.
Nevertheless, with the rise of BSP in Uttar Pradesh, a collective solidarity and uniform Dalit identity was framed, which led to coming together of various antagonistic Dalit communities. In the past, Chamar had shared bitter relationship with the Pasis, another Dalit caste. The root cause of this bitter relationship was their roles in feudal society. The Pasis worked as lathail or stick wielders for the "Upper Caste" landlords and the later had compelled them in past to beat Chamars many a times. Under the unification drive of BSP, these rival castes came together for the cause of unity of Dalits under same political umbrella.
Social exploitation
In reference to villages of
Rohtas District and Bhojpur district of Bihar, prevalence of a practice was revealed, in which it was obligatory for the women of Chamar,
Musahar and
Paswan community to have sexual contacts with their
Rajput landlords. In order to keep their men in submissive position, these upper-caste landlords raped these Dalit women, and often implicate the male members of latter's family in false cases, when they refused sexual contacts with them. The other form of oppression which was inflicted on them was disallowing them to walk on the pathways and draw water from the wells, which belonged to
. The "pinching of breast" by the upper caste landlords and the undignified teasings were also common form of oppression. In the 1970s, the activism of peasant organizations like "Kisan Samiti" is said to have brought an end to these practices and subsequently the dignity was restored to the women of lower castes. The oppression however was not fully stopped as the friction between upper-caste landlords and the tillers continued. There are reports which indicates that the upper-caste landlords often took the help of Police in order to beat the women of Chamar caste and draw them out of their villages on the question of parity in wages.
[ Consider the oppression of the lower castes in Bihar. In Bhojpur district of Bihar, the lower castes lived in utter poverty and were also subjected to social exploitation. Kalyan Mukherjee and Rajender Singh Yadav described that the oppression of the lower castes at the hands of the upper castes did not flow from numerical superiority, but rather from niches in the economic hierarchy apropos land ownership and the monopoly over labour. Further the culture of violence ensured that the Chamar or the Musahar never raise their heads in protest. Though begar was a thing of the past, the banihar worked often for nothing. Wearing a clean dhoti, remaining seated in the presence of the master, even on a cot outside his own hut, walking erect were taboo. When the evenings fell or in lonely stretches of field, the rape of his womenfolk by the landlord's lathieths and scions complete a picture of unbridled Bumihar, Rajput over lordship.]
Chamar Caste in different States of India
Ad-Dharmi
The
Ad-Dharmi is a Chamar caste sect in the state of Punjab, in
India and is an alternative term for the
Ravidasia religion, meaning Primal Spiritual Path.
The term Ad-Dharm came into popular usage in the early part of the 20th century, when many followers of Guru Ravidas converted to Sikhism and were severely discriminated against due to their low caste status (even though the Sikh religion is strictly against the caste system). Many of these converts stopped attending Sikh Gurdwaras controlled by Jat Sikhs and built their own shrines upon arrival in the UK, Canada, and Fiji Island.
Ad-Dharmis comprise 11.48% of the total of
Scheduled Caste communities in Punjab.
Ahirwar
The
Ahirwar, or
Aharwar are
Dalit members of a north Indian caste categorised among the
Scheduled Castes of Chamar. Predominantly are members of the Scheduled Castes with a higher population in
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh.
They are present, for example, in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Dhusia
Dhusia is a caste in India, associated with Chamars, Ghusiya, Jhusia or
Jatav.
They are found in
Uttar Pradesh,
and elsewhere.
Most of the Dhusia in Punjab and Haryana migrated from Pakistan after the partition of India. In Punjab, they are mainly found in Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar and Jalandhar cities. They are inspired by B. R. Ambedkar to adopt the Rao
Jatav
Jatav (also known as
Jatava,
Jatan,
Jatua,
Jhusia,
Jatia,
Jatiya) is an Indian
Dalit community that is a sub-caste of the Chamar caste,
who are classified as a
Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of positive discrimination.
According to the 2011 Census of India, the Jatav community of Uttar Pradesh comprised 54% of that state's total 22,496,047 Scheduled Caste population.
Ravidassia/Ramdasia
Ravidassia is sect of Chamar Sikhs from Punjab who worship Guru Ravidass
and
Ramdasia were historically a
Sikh,
Hindu sub-group that originated from the caste of leather tanners and shoemakers known as Chamar.
Both the words Ramdasia and Ravidasia are also used inter changeably while these also have regional context. In Puadh and Malwa, largely Ramdasia is used while Ravidasia is predominantly used in Doaba.
Chamar Diaspora
The Chamar diaspora consists of different subcastes who have emigrated from the different states of British India, as well as modern India, to other countries and regions of the world, as well as their descendants.
Apart from the Indian subcontinent, there is a large and well-established community of Chamars throughout different continents of the world, including Malaysia, Canada, Singapore, Caribbean, USA and UK, where they have established themselves as a trade diaspora.
Mauritius
Ravived is a caste that is mainly found among Hindus in Mauritius.
The origin of this caste lay in an Indian caste named Chamar
This same caste is referred to as
Ravidassia outside Mauritius, and this terminology is very seldom used in Mauritius.
In the ship records on which Indian laborers migrated to Mauritius, around ten percent of the boarded people mentioned their caste as Chamar. After the establishment of caste hierarchies in Mauritius, the Chamar community families turned to the religious songs of Kabir and Ravidass for their own religious outlet. Slowly, they started adopting religious-sounding names from these devotional songs.
Oceania
There is a sizeable population of
Ravidassia in
Oceania too. Ravidassia Chamars from Doaba established the second gurdwara in the Oceania region in Nasinu on Fiji Island in 1939.
A Classical Study by W.H. Briggs in his book Punjabis in New Zealand, Briggs penned down the precise number of Ravidassias in New Zealand during the very first wave of immigration.
United Kingdom
Chamar community from
Punjab started immigrating from Punjab to Britain in 1950, and according to a book named 'Sikhs in Britain: An Annotated Bibliography' published in 1987, the population of the Ravidassia community in the West Midlands was around 30,000 during that period.
As of 2021, it is estimated that the Ravidasia population in Britain is around 70,000.
Occupations
Chamars transitioning from tanning and leathercraft to the weaving profession adopt the identity of
Julaha Chamar, aspiring to be acknowledged as Julahas by other communities. According to R. K. Pruthi, this change reflects a desire to distance themselves from the perceived degradation associated with leatherwork.
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. It was converted to the 1st Battalion and later disbanded shortly after World War II ended. The Regiment, with one year of service, received three
and three
It fought in the Battle of Kohima.
In 2011, several politicians demanded that it be revived.
Demographics
Chamar caste population in different states of India as per the 2011 census of India
|
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 4,900,048 | 4.7% | Counted along Rabidas, Rohidas, Chamar, Charamakar |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 59,957 | 5.68% | Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamars, Ramdasi, Ravidasi, Raigar and Jatia |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 2,318,964 | 9.07% | Counted as Chamar, Satnami, Ahirwar, Raidas, Rohidas, Jatav, Bhambi and Surjyabanshi |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 1,075,569 | 6.4 % | Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Jatav, Chamars, Ramdasia, Ravidasi, Raigar and Jatia |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 1,032,128 | 1.7% | Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamar, Bhambi, Asadaru, Chambhar, Haralaya, Rohidas, Rohit, Samgar |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 2,429,137 | 9.58% | Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Jatav, Chamars, Ramdasia, Ravidasi, Raigar and Jatia |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 458,838 | 6.68% | Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamars, Ramdasia, Raigar and Jatia |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 212,032 | 1.72% | Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamars, Ramdasia, Rohidas |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 1,008,507 | 3.05% | Counted as Chamar, Mochi |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 605,486 | 1% | Counted as Rohidas, Rohit, Samgar, Haralaya, Chambhar, Chamar, Bhambi |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 5,368,217 | 7.39% | Counted as Chamar, Jatav, Bairwa, Bhambi, Rohidas, Raidas, Ahirwar,Satnami, Ramnami, Surjyabanshi |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 1,411,072 | 1.25% | Counted as Rohidas, Chamar, Chambhar, Bhambi, Satnami, Ramnami, Haralaya, Rohit, Samagar, Bhambi |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 3,095,324 | 11.15% | During the 2011 census in Punjab, 1017192 people were counted as addharmi in a separate caste cluster, which is another term for Ravidassias. |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 2,491,551 | 3.63% | Counted along with other caste synonyms such as Chamars, Bhambi, Ramdasia, Ravidasi, Raigar, Haralaya, Chambhar and Jatia |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 548,813 | 5.44% | Counted as Chamar, Jatava, Dhusia, Jhusia |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 22,496,047 | 11.25% | Counted as Chamar, Jatava, Dhusia, Jhusia |
|
(Accessed: 2 September 2024). | 1,039,591 | 1.13% | Counted as Chamar, Rabidas, Charamakar, Rishi |
|
Caste reservation
Chamar is classified as a scheduled caste in India. It is largely believed that among the scheduled castes, Chamar benefitted more from the caste reservation system as compared to other Dalit castes due to larger political representation of the group.
Chamars in Nepal
The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Chamar as a subgroup within the broader social group of
Madheshi people .
[ Population Monograph of Nepal, Volume II] At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 335,893 people (1.3% of the population of Nepal) were Chamar. The frequency of Chamars by province was as follows:
The frequency of Chamars was higher than national average (1.3%) in the following districts:
Notable people
-
Guru Ravidass, was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement during the 15th to 16th century CE.
-
Mayawati, leader of Bahujan Samaj Party and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
-
Mohan Lal Kureel was a British Indian Army officer who served in The Chamar Regiment and later an Indian National Congress politician in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
-
Jagjivan Ram, former Deputy Prime Minister of India
-
Kanshi Ram (1934–2006), founder of Bahujan Samaj Party and mentor of Mayawati Kumari
-
Navneet Kaur Rana - Former Actress and Former Member of Parliament
-
Ashok Tanwar - Former Member Parliament
See also
Bibliography
Further reading
