Panchal

Panchal or Panchal is a collective term for a variable range of artisanal Indian caste groups claiming themselves as Brahmins, although not generally acknowledged as such.

According to Louis Dumont, it is derived from the word panch, meaning five, and refers to communities that have traditionally worked as blacksmiths, carpenters, goldsmiths, stonemasons and coppersmith. These groups include the Lohars and Suthars of South India.^[1] David Mandelbaum noted that the name had been assumed by the blacksmiths, carpenters, coppersmiths, goldsmiths and stonemasons of South India as a means towards achieving social upliftment, calling themselves Panchala and claiming that they are Brahmins who descend from Vishwakarma. They do, however, believe that they are equal among themselves: they perceive distinctions between their various occupational groups.^[2]

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