The Panika are a

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 ...

community found in the Indian states of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. Traditionally they are weaver. They are also known as Panka and Panikar.

Etymology

They used to made Pankha(fan). Panika is mispronounced name of Pankha.

Official classification

The classification of the Panika under India's system of positive discrimination varies from one state to another. The entire community had been classified as a

Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

(ST) by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 1949 but in 1971 the

Government of Madhya Pradesh Government of Madhya Pradesh also known as the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 52 districts. It consists of an executive, ...

redesignated those in what was then that state's Chhattisgarh region as being an

Other Backward Class The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...

(OBC). The OBC designation was maintained when the independent Chhattisgarh state was created in 2001 and it remains thus , although as recently as 2013 politicians had promised to investigate whether they could be reclassified as an ST. In Madhya Pradesh, , they are categorised as an ST in some districts and as OBC in others. The varying reservation status has an effect when Panikas marry. A spokesman interviewed in 2013 noted that "If a girl comes to Chhattisgarh after marrying, she will have to loss her tribal credential. If a boy from Madhya Pradesh marries a girl from Chhattisgarh, she will get the recognition of a tribal."

References

{{reflist Scheduled Tribes of Madhya Pradesh Hindu communities Social groups of Chhattisgarh Social groups of Odisha Other Backward Classes