Sansi is a

nomadic tribe Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In the twentieth century, ...

, originally located in the

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

area of northwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, but expelled in the 13th century by

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

invaders and now spread to states of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

as well as scattered throughout India. They are often confused with other ethnic groups called Sansi, as Sansi is a widespread name in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

History and origin

The Sansis were considered the most prominent criminal tribe in Punjab, with an estimated population of 25,800 in 1912. The British believed other tribes, such as the Baurias and Harnis, were offshoots of the Sansis, who claimed to have originated from Rajput ancestry. Despite acknowledging their ancestry, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

constantly emphasised the Sansis' "degraded" status through stereotypical descriptions. . Their religion, primarily a form of Hinduism, was considered primitive, mixed, and debased. After the

criminal tribes act Since the 1870s, various pieces of colonialism, colonial legislation in India during British Raj, British rule were collectively called the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA). This criminalised entire communities by designating them as habitual criminals ...

was imposed, the Sansi were labelled down to a very pitiful position.

Language

Their language is

Sansiboli The Sansi language, ''Sansiboli'', or Bhilki, is a highly endangered language, endangered Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language of the List of Central Indo-Aryan languages, Central group. The language is spoken by the nomadic Sansi (nomadic ...

, or Bhilki too that is a highly

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east of the Indus river in Ba ...

of the Central group, total speakers in India 60,000 (2002) and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

20,000.Ethnologue.com: Ethnologue report for Sansi
/ref>
/ref> Their traditional occupations vary, from trading to farming.

History

During

British rule in India 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 ...

they were placed under the

Criminal Tribes Act Since the 1870s, various pieces of colonialism, colonial legislation in India during British Raj, British rule were collectively called the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA). This criminalised entire communities by designating them as habitual criminals ...

1871, hence stigmatized for a long time,Punjab - Police and Jails
''

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

'', 1908, v. 20, ''p. 363.'' after independence, however, they were denotified in 1952.Bania Arrested for Spying
by Dilip D'Souza. '' Rediff.com'', 18 January 2003 As the Sansiya, they were recorded in

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 ...

in the 2011 Census of India. There they were a Scheduled Caste, with a population of 5689.

Demographics

References

{{reflist Indian castes Social groups of Rajasthan Social groups of Punjab, India Social groups of Haryana Ethnic groups in India Scheduled Castes of Haryana Punjabi tribes Denotified tribes of India Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh Rajputs Rajput clans Scheduled Tribes of Rajasthan

History and origin

Language

History

Demographics

Further reading

References