The Bansphor are a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

found in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das page 172 to 176 Manohar Publications

Origin

The community get their name from the

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

words ''bans'', meaning bamboo and ''phorna'' which means to split. They are a community that were traditionally involved in the manufacture of bamboo items for household usage. According to traditions, they are one of the seven sub-groups of the Dom community. Their own traditions refer to a Bans Rajah, a prince who said to have ruled in the

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

region, from whom the community descend. They are found throughout Uttar Pradesh, with special concentrations in the districts of

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. This city is on the banks of river Ganges is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. His ...

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the public administration, administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Sain ...

and

Pilibhit Pilibhit () is a city and a municipal board in Pilibhit district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Pilibhit is the north-easternmost district of Bareilly division, situated in the Rohilkhand region of the sub- Himalayan Plateau ...

in western Uttar Pradesh, and

Sitapur Sitapur is a city and a municipal board in Sitapur district in the States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located 90 kilometres north of state capital, Lucknow. The traditional origin for the name is said to be by ...

Kheri Kheri is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Lakhimpur Kheri district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. History According to the 1908 British publication "The Imperial Gazetteer of India"(volume: XV): '' . H. Butler, Settlement Report (1901) ...

Hardoi Hardoi is a city and municipal board in Hardoi district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Hardoi district. It is also known as Prahalad Nagari. Hardoi is about 110 km from the state capital Lucknow ...

, Pratapgarh and

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

in Awadh, and

Mirzapur Mirzapur () is a city in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is known for its carpets and brassware industries, and the tradition of kajari and birha music. Straddled by the Kaimur extension of Vindhya mountains, it served as the headquarters of t ...

and Lalitpur in southern Uttar Pradesh. The western Bansphor speak

Khari boli Kauravi (, ), also known as Khaṛībolī, is a dialect of Hindustani descended from Shauraseni Prakrit that is mainly spoken in northwestern Uttar Pradesh, outside of Delhi. Modern Hindi and Urdu are two standard registers of Hindustani, ...

, while those in Awadh speak

Awadhi Awadhi may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Awadh or Oudh region in Uttar Pradesh, northern India ** Awadhi people, ethnic group of India *** Awadhi language Awadhi, also known as Audhi, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging ...

. A section of the Bansphor in Saharanpur and

Moradabad Moradabad () is an industrial city, commissionerate, and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Del ...

have converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and now form a distinct community of Muslim Bansphor.

Present circumstances

The Bansphor practice strict community endogamy, as well as clan exogamy, which a common practice among most

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

n Hindus. Their clans are called

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

s, the main ones being the Mahawati, Chamkel, Gaushal, Samudra, Nahar, Kalai and Saraiha. Marriages do not occur with the Muslim Bansphor community. The Bansphor live in multi-caste villages, but occupy their own distinct quarters. Each of their settlement contains an informal caste council, known as a panchayat. The panchayat is headed by a pradhan, a position which is heredity. In addition, there is an overarching panchayat of between three and four villages, which headed by a chaudhary. The panchayat resolves any intra-community dispute, as well as acting an instrument of social control. They are Hindus, except for the now-distinct community of Muslim Bansphor, and have

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

as their tribal deity. The Bansphor are still involved in their traditional occupation, which is the manufacture of bamboo furniture. These are then sold at the local market. A significant number of Bansphor are agricultural labourers, while other often migrating to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

to work as daily wage labourers. Like other scheduled caste communities, they live an extremely marginal economic existence. The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Bansphor population as 59,804.

References

{{reflist Dom in India Shudra castes Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Rajasthan Scheduled Castes of Chhattisgarh Scheduled Castes of West Bengal Scheduled Castes of Assam Scheduled Castes of Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Bihar Scheduled Castes of Jharkhand