{{Short description|Indian caste}} {{pp-protect|small=yes}} {{needs more citations|date=November 2020}} thumb|A Dhedh man from Baroda State, 1911. {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=April 2019}} 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 caste system referred to as varna. This community observes the concept of untouchability in relationships with other low-status castes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dimensions of Social Life: Essays in Honor of David G. Mandelbaum |editor-first=Paul |editor-last=Hockings |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1987 |isbn=978-3-11084-685-0 |pages=495, 498 |first=A. M. |last=Shah |authorlink=A. M. Shah |chapter=Untouchability, the Untouchables and Social Change in Gujarat |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERQp5YCXiWsC&pg=PA495}}</ref> The community are sometimes referred to as ''vankars''.<ref name="yagnik"/><ref name="shah">{{cite book |title=Dimensions of Social Life: Essays in Honor of David G. Mandelbaum |editor-first=Paul |editor-last=Hockings |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1987 |isbn=978-3-11084-685-0 |page=502 |first=A. M. |last=Shah |authorlink=A. M. Shah |chapter=Untouchability, the Untouchables and Social Change in Gujarat |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERQp5YCXiWsC&pg=PA502}}</ref>
In the 1930s-40s, many depressed classes and communities attempted to change their caste and elevate their social status to that of the Rajputs, a noble class of warriors (''kshatriyas''). These included the Khalpa, who wanted to be known as ''Rohit'', and the Bhangi's desire to be known as ''Rishi'', as well as the Vankar claim to ''Mahyavanshi'' status. Of these, only the Mahyavanshi claim was successful in gaining official recognition from the colonial administration of the British Raj.<ref name="yagnik">{{cite book |editor-first=Takashi |editor-last=Shinoda |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZNfS7mikMoC&pg=PA27 |title=The Other Gujarat |first=Achyut |last=Yagnik |chapter=Search for Dalit Self Identity in Gujarat |page=27 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |year=2002 |isbn=978-8-17154-874-3}}</ref> This success was limited to a part of the community in South Gujarat.<ref name="shah"/>
In 1909, the Dhedh Sabha was established in Ahmedabad to abolish the practices of drinking alcohol, eating meat, and eating the leftovers of higher castes at social functions. Breman notes these efforts generally had little effect.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Breman |first=Jan |title=The Making and Unmaking of an Industrial Working Class: Sliding Down the Labour Hierarchy in Ahmedabad, India |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2004 |pages=36}}</ref>
In Charotar, Dheds were formerly weavers whose livelihoods were ruined by the introduction of mill-cloth. According to Pocock, the Dheds were considered untouchable because their cloth was treated with bone size. The majority of Charotar Dhedhs are Catholic Christians (due to missionary activity) and a minority who remain Hindus. Both consider themselves superior to Chamars and Bhangis.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pocock |first=David |title=Kanbi and Patidar: A Study of the Patidar Community of Gujarat |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1972 |location=Oxford |pages=39-40}}</ref>
The term ''dhedh'' as a form of address is considered derogatory, and is punishable under the Atrocities Act, 1989 as a form of casteist abuse.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-04-08 |title=Casteist slurs on Dalits in textbook |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/casteist-slurs-on-dalits-in-textbook/articleshow/2933784.cms |access-date=2024-03-18 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>
==See also== *Makanji Kuber Makwana
==References==
{{Reflist}}{{India-ethno-stub}} Category:Dalit communities Category:Scheduled Castes of Haryana Category:Scheduled Castes of Delhi Category:Scheduled Castes of Gujarat Category:Scheduled Castes of Rajasthan Category:Scheduled Castes of Madhya Pradesh Category:Scheduled Castes of Chhattisgarh Category:Weaving communities of South Asia