Dhobi

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For the caste that practices Islam, see Muslim Dhobi.

Carte-de-visite of a dhobi ironing (early 1870s)
A washerman in Tamil Nadu
Tamil washermen near Saidapet, Chennai, c. 1905

Dhobi (transl. 'washerman'), known in some places as Dhupi or Rajaka ('remover of dirt'), is a group of castes in India and the greater Indian subcontinent whose traditional occupations are washing and ironing clothes.[1][2]

They are a large community, distributed across northern, central, western and eastern India; as well as in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.[1][3] A majority of the community associate themselves with Hinduism.[3] Many religiously follow Sant Gadge (Gadge Maharaj), whose jayanti (birth anniversary) they celebrate every 23rd of February.

The word dhobi is derived from the Hindi word dhona, which means 'to wash'. As such, Dhobi communities in many areas today come under the status of schedule caste (sc).

Throughout India and south-central Asia, dhobi ghat is to refer to any laundry- or washing-place where many launderers or clothes-washers (either as ordinary people or professionals) wash clothes and other linen. The most notable of these is Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai.

Demographics[]

State/Territory Known as Description Status[4]
Andhra Pradesh Rajaka In Andhra Pradesh, the Rajakas do farming and agriculture, as well as washing, and ironing. However, there are many Rajakas in all sectors, such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, journalists, social services, IT, and politicians.[5] OBC
Assam Dhupi In 2001, Assam's Dhupi population was at 49,929, accounting for 2.7% of the total Scheduled Class (SC) population.[6] A high of 27.9% of this population was urban. The literacy rate among this group was 76%, above both the state figure (66.8%) and the aggregated national figure (54.7%) for SCs. SC
Bihar The Dhobi community in Bihar makes up around 18% of the state's total population, with maximum concentration in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Siwan, Purnia and East Champaran districts, respectively. Bihar's Dhobi community is included in Scheduled Caste from OBC Status due to socioeconomically low. Now, they are in all sectors, but mainly as government employers, doctors, IT engineers, social service, agriculture, farming and politicians. Among the numerically larger castes of SC, Dhobi have registered the highest overall literacy rate.[7] SC
Jharkhand SC
Madhya Pradesh In Madhya Pradesh, Dhobi are a Scheduled Class in the districts of Bhopal, Raisen, and Sehore.[4] SC and OBC elsewhere]
Manipur Dhupi SC
Meghalaya Dhupi SC
Mizoram Dhupi SC
Odisha Dhoba, Dhobi, Rajak, Rajaka Odisha has a significant population of Dhobi people in its coastal belt, i.e. eastern Odisha (Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Ganjam) and a smaller population in its central and western areas. They are included in Scheduled Caste list of Odisha.[8] SC
Rajasthan SC
Tripura Dhoba SC
Uttar Pradesh[9] The Dhobi population in the state has been classified as SC and OBC. OBC and SC
Uttarakhand SC
Delhi SC

Notable peoples[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Dhobi". People Groups of India. 9 January 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  2. ^ Channa, Subhadra Mitra. 1991. "Caste, 'Jati' and Enthnicity [sic]—Some Reflections Based on a Case Study of the Dhobis." Indian Anthropologist 21(2):39-55. JSTOR 41919653.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Dhobi (Hindu traditions) in India". Joshua Project. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b http://socialjustice.nic.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/Compendium-2016.pdf
  5. ^ "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). ncbc.nic.in.
  6. ^ "Assam - Data Highlights: The Scheduled Castes." 2001 Census of India. 2001.
  7. ^ http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_bihar.pdf
  8. ^ http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1766850/
  9. ^ "central list of OBCs Uttar Pradesh". National Commission for Backward Classes, India.

External links[]

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