Dhobi known in some places as Dhoba, Rajaka, a scheduled caste in India and the greater

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

whose traditional occupations are

washing Washing is a method of cleaning, usually with water and soap or detergent. Regularly washing and then rinsing both body and clothing is an essential part of good hygiene and health. Often people use soaps and detergents to assist in the emulsific ...

ironing Ironing is the use of an iron (appliance), iron, usually heated, to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of , depending on the fabric. Ironing works by loosening the bonds between the lon ...

, and agricultural labour. In 2017,

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

noted calling people ''dhobi'' was offensive.

Synonyms

Maharastra

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, the Dhobi are found throughout the state, and are also known as Parit. They speak Marathi among themselves, and

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 ...

with outsiders.

Tamil Nadu

Vannar belongs to the Valangai ("Right-hand caste faction"). Some of The Valangai comprised castes with an agricultural basis while the Idangai consisted of castes involved in manufacturing, Valangai, which was better organised politically In the Tirunelveli region, Thai deities (female deities) are worshipped in large numbers and are worshiped with a pedestal or trident. in states like

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, Vannars are still the priests of the Mariamman temple

Demographics

Dhobis in Nepal

The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Dhobi as a subgroup within the broader social group of

Madheshi Madheshi people () is a term used for several ethnic groups in Nepal living in the Terai region of Nepal. It has also been used as a political pejorative term by the Pahari people (Nepal), Pahari people of Nepal to refer to Nepalis with a no ...

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

s. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 109,079 people (0.4% of the population of Nepal) were Dhobi. The frequency of Dhobis by province was as follows: * Madhesh Province (1.2%) *

Lumbini Province Lumbini Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province in western Nepal. The country's Provinces of Nepal, third largest province in terms of area as well as List of Nepalese provinces by population, population, Lumbini is home to the World Herita ...

(0.9%) *

Bagmati Province Bagmati Province (, ''Bāgmatī pradēśa'') is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. Bagmati is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest province by area. It is bordered ...

(0.0%) *

Gandaki Province Gandaki Province ( ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southw ...

(0.0%) *

Koshi Province Koshi Province () is an autonomous Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal adopted by the Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015. It covers an area of , about 17.5% of the country's total area. With the industrial city of Biratnagar as its cap ...

(0.0%) * Karnali Province (0.0%) * Sudurpashchim Province (0.0%) The frequency of Dhobis was higher than national average (0.4%) in the following districts: * Kapilvastu (2.1%) * Rautahat (2.0%) * Rupandehi (2.0%) * Parasi (1.7%) * Parsa (1.4%) * Sarlahi (1.3%) * Bara (1.2%) * Banke (1.1%) * Mahottari (1.0%) *

Saptari Saptari (), is Located in the easternmost part of Madhesh Province, is one of the List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal. Its district headquarter is Rajbiraj. Saptari is an Terai#Outer Terai, Outer Terai district. This dist ...

(0.9%) *

Siraha Siraha ( Nepali: , ) is the headquarters and municipality of Siraha District, a part of Madhesh Province, Nepal. Siraha had a population of 28,442 according to the census of 2011. and a population of 82,531 as of 2015. The current population of Si ...

(0.9%) * Dhanusha (0.8%)

Notable people

* Ram Chander, recipient of

Mahavir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military Medal, decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced ...

during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 * Chintamoni Dhoba, ruler of Dhalbhum region and established capital at Ambikanagar * Gadge Maharaj, Marathi Hindu saint * Suryabanshi Suraj, Indian politician

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caste, Dhobi Indian castes Laundry Dalit communities Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Bihar Scheduled Castes of Rajasthan Scheduled Castes of Jharkhand Scheduled Castes of Odisha Scheduled Castes of Assam Scheduled Castes of Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Delhi Scheduled Castes of Uttarakhand Scheduled Castes of Mizoram Scheduled Castes of Meghalaya Other Backward Classes of Karnataka