Chuhra

Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Balmiki, is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India. Their traditional occupation is sweeping, a "polluting" occupation that caused them to be considered untouchables in the caste system.

Originally following the Balmiki sect of Hinduism, many Chuhras converted to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity during the colonial era in India. Today, Chuhras in Indian Punjab are largely followers of Sikhism. A minority continue to follow Hinduism, which incorporates elements of Sikhism in its practices, as well as Christianity. In Pakistani Punjab 90–95% of its Christian population are Dalit Christians of the Chuhra caste; other Chuhras practice Islam or continue to follow Hinduism.

The word "Chuhra" is derived from the word "Shudra", one of the varnas in Indian society.

The Bhangis claim descent from Balmiki (also known as Lal Beg or Balashah), a Brahmin who composed the Ramayana and who is worshipped as a Hindu patron saint by the Bhangis. The word Bhangi is derived from Bhanga which means broken. The Bhangi community claims that they were made to sweep the floor and do other menial jobs when they refused to convert to Islam during the Mughal era.

There are many other different theories of their origin. Some scholars link the institutionalization of "sweeping and scavenging" as a profession in India to the rise of Muslim rule. The need to dispose of waste from secluded defecation areas, particularly for women observing purdah due to a lack of sanitation infrastructure, led to the employment of war captives for cleaning latrines, bucket privies, and removing night-soil. These freed captives, forbidden to integrate into the society, formed a distinct caste known as the Bhangis, who continued manual scavenging. Emperor Akbar later renamed this caste Mehtar(prince or leader), as noted by sociologist Bindeshwar Pathak in his 1999 work, Road to Freedom: A Sociological Study on Abolition of Scavenging in India. Another theory suggests the name "Mehtar" comes from the Sanskrit word "Meh," meaning "saturated." This connection is seen as fitting due to the caste's historical work with "night soil." (Sharma 1995). Some link it to the consumption of "bhang" (hemp), while others apply this derivation only to those scavengers who also worked with bamboo. Crooke (1896) and Zilliot (1970) connect the term to Sanskrit "Bhang" and a perceived drunken habit, but Mishra (1936) rejects this theory. The 1960 Malkani Committee noted that even untouchable Hindu castes who converted to Islam continued scavenging. Writer Gita Ramaswamy argues the view of the relation with Islam aligns with Hindutva narratives that blame Muslim rule for social ills, without acknowledging the pervasive role of caste in India.

Originally following the Balmiki sect of Hinduism, many Chuhras converted to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity during the colonial era in India. The faith practiced by the Lal Begi Chuhras came to syncretize elements of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. The Arya Samaj drew the majority to mainstream Hinduism while conversions similarly happened to Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1932 in colonial India, the Balmiki Sabha was created to advocate for the rights of the Chuhras. The Balmiki Sabha was applauded by the Indian National Congress in the mid-1940s for heralding its political message among the Chuhras.

As with the Lal Begi, the majority of Hindu Chuhras belong to the Balmiki sect of Hinduism. In the Baluchistan Province of colonial India, the majority of Chuhras in the 1931 Indian Census thus recorded themselves as "Hindu Balmiki".