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 (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

ritual ranking system known as

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 ...

. This community too observes untouchability in relationships with other low-status castes. The community are sometimes referred to as

Patel The Patel is an Indian surname or title, predominantly found in the state of Gujarat representing the community of land-owning farmers and later (with the British East India Company) businessmen, agriculturalists and merchants. Traditionally th ...

s. 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: ** Dysthymia, also known as pers ...

and communities were active in trying to change their caste name and elevate their social status to that of

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

. These included the

Khalpa The Bhambi Khalpa are a Hindu caste found in the state of Gujarat in India. They are a sub-group within the Bhambi community. The Khalpa have scheduled caste status. Origin The name Khalpa has been derived from the word khal, which is the G ...

, who wanted to be known as ''

Rohit Rohit (Devanagri: रोहित), ) is a given name, typically male, used among Indian people. It is also used in some parts of Nepal. It is mostly used by Jains, Hindus, and Sikhs. The word "rohit" signifies the color red. It is derived from ...

'', and the

Bhangi Chuhra 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 southern India. Their traditional occupatio ...

's desire to be known as ''Rishi'', as well as the Vankar claim to ''

Mahyavanshi Mahyavanshi are Rajput Caste system in India caste ] Historical revision The new nomenclature of ''Mahyavanshi'' was given to a large number of the Dhedh and Vankar Dalit castes in South Gujarat via a Government of India circular in 1939. This w ...

'' status. Of these, only the Mahyavanshi claim was successful in gaining official recognition from the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

administration. This success was limited to a part of the community in South Gujarat.

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

See also

References