Shimpi is an umbrella term for the
Indian caste
The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mug ...
traditionally involved in the business of clothing and tailoring.
Saint Namdev of the Bhakti movement is revered as the patron of the community.
Occupation
The traditional occupation of the community is tailoring or cloth printing. They are referred to as "''Shimpi''" in
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
or "''Chimpi''" in
Hindi.
Government classification
The Shimpi are included in the central list of
Other Backward Classes (OBC) by the government of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
.
Varna
As per
Christian Lee Novetzke, the other communities consider them to be of the
Shudra varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
in the
Hindu caste system
The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mug ...
; however, followers of
Namdev who belong to the Shimpi community commonly claim to be of
Kshatriya origin.
Notables
*
Namdev - revered 14th-century saint of the
Bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6th centur ...
and
Varkari sect
*
Chandrakant Mandare
Chandrakant Mandhare ( mr, चंद्रकांत मांडरे, (13 August 1913 – 17 February 2001) was a well-known Marathi Film actor and an artist. He played different roles in Marathi films and devoted his life to art. He was a ...
- Marathi actor
*
Shashikala - Indian actress
*
Wamanrao Mahadik - First
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena ( IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a right-wing to far-right Marathi regionalist and Hindu ultranationalist political party in India founded in 1966 by cartoonist Bal Thackeray. Originally emerging from nativist movements in Bom ...
legislator in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
References
Social groups of Maharashtra
{{Social groups of Maharashtra