Chhimba are variously described as a

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

community and a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

clan of India. Their traditional occupation in the

Samba district Samba district is an administrative district in the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kash ...

of India was dying and hand-printing

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

fabric. It was probably some of these people who moved to areas of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

, where they created a somewhat different style of printing cloth that was much favoured by the Gaddi people of the region.

References

{{reflist Sikh communities Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir Social groups of Himachal Pradesh Textile industry of India Artisans