Shimpi is an umbrella term for the

Indian caste The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, espec ...

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 people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

or "''Chimpi''" in

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 ...

Government classification

The Shimpi are included in the central list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) by the government of

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 ...

Varna

Shimpis are classified as being of

Kshatriya 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 ...

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 ...

in the

Hindu caste system The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, espec ...

Notables

Namdev Namdev (Pronunciation: aːmdeʋ, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, ) was a Marathi Vaishnava saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, Medieval India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He was as a devo ...

- 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 Bhakti, devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6t ...

and

Varkari Warkari ( ; Marathi: ; Pronunciation: ; Meaning: 'The one who performs the ''Wari) is a sampradaya (religious movement) within the bhakti spiritual tradition of Hinduism, geographically associated with the Indian state of Maharashtra. Wark ...

sect * Chandrakant Mandare - Marathi actor *

Shashikala Shashikala Saigal (née Jawalkar; 4 August 1932 – 4 April 2021), better known by her first name, was an Indian film and television actress, who played supporting roles in hundreds of Bollywood films beginning in the 1940s. Early years Shas ...

- Indian actress * Wamanrao Mahadik - First

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...

legislator in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly

References

Social groups of Maharashtra {{Social groups of Maharashtra