The Dhedh are a menial worker and weaving caste of India. Historically, other Hindu communities considered them to be an untouchable group, outside the

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 system referred to as

varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

. This community observes the concept of

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

in relationships with other low-status castes. The community are sometimes referred to as ''vankars''. In the 1930s-40s, many

depressed classes Depression may refer to: Mental health * Depression (mood), a state of low mood and aversion to activity * Mood disorders characterized by depression are commonly referred to as simply ''depression'', including: ** Major depressive disorder, al ...

and communities attempted to change their caste and elevate their social status to that of the

Rajputs Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

, a noble class of warriors (''

kshatriyas Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

''). These included the

Khalpa The Bhambi Khalpa are a caste found in the state of Gujarat in India. They are a sub-group within the Bhambi community. The Khalpa have scheduled caste status.They are not part of the vedic "Hindu Varna System." They are following teaching of gre ...

, who wanted to be known as ''

Rohit Rohit Sharma (born 1987) is an Indian cricketer. Rohit may also refer to: *Rohit (name), an Indian male given name **Rohit (actor), an Indian actor *Rohit (caste), a caste in India See also *Rohit Sharma (disambiguation) Rohit Sharma (born 1987) ...

'', and the

Bhangi Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Balmiki, is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. 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 south ...

's desire to be known as ''Rishi'', as well as the Vankar claim to '' Mahyavanshi'' status. Of these, only the Mahyavanshi claim was successful in gaining official recognition from the colonial administration of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. This success was limited to a part of the community in South Gujarat. In 1909, the Dhedh Sabha was established in Ahmedabad to abolish the practices of drinking alcohol, eating meat, and eating the leftovers of higher castes at social functions. Breman notes these efforts generally had little effect. In

Charotar Kheda District, known as Kaira District during British rule, is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. It is part of the region known as Charotar, consisting of Kheda and Anand districts. Kheda was an administrative ...

, Dheds were formerly weavers whose livelihoods were ruined by the introduction of mill-cloth. According to Pocock, the Dheds were considered untouchable because their cloth was treated with bone size. The majority of Charotar Dhedhs are

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

(due to missionary activity) and a minority who remain

Hindus 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 ...

. Both consider themselves superior to

Chamars Chamar (or Jatav) is a community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action that originated from the group of trade persons who were involved in leather tanning and shoemaking. They are found throughout ...

and Bhangis. The term ''dhedh'' as a form of address is considered

derogatory A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility ...

, and is punishable under the Atrocities Act, 1989 as a form of casteist abuse.

References

{{India-ethno-stub Dalit communities Scheduled Castes of Haryana Scheduled Castes of Delhi Scheduled Castes of Gujarat Scheduled Castes of Rajasthan Scheduled Castes of Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Chhattisgarh Weaving communities of South Asia