about INDIAN ROMA

Chharanagar comprises of houses and shops. There are small shops where people sell goods and services.

people earning their money through making liquor, which sell to other person who come from other parts of the city. None are from Chharanagar.

There is also a library at Chharanagar; about two thousand books are stored here. Bhantu student and youngsters run this library with helping from BHASHA RESEARCH CENTRE of Dr. Ganesh Devy of Baroda and activist Mallika sarabhai of Ahmedabad.

there are 1500 houses in Chharanagar of Bhantu; about 15,000 Bhantu live in Ahmedabad of which 10,000 to 12,000 Bhantu’s reside at Chharanagar. Chharanagar is said to be circa 25 square kilometres. There are three areas in Ahmedabad where the Bhantu -Chharas live.

There are lack of basic need like toilets outside, without a tap. Everywhere there is mud and garbage. lack of municipal facilities, absence of street lights, proper drainage, water system, good roads and the lack of a common plot to celebrate festivals, stage drama performances and hold other cultural activities.

History for Recognition

Many aspects contribute to the making of the Bhantu identity. Often, these factors are interrelated. One of the most important and often recurring aspects is the history of the Bhantu community. The history of the Bhantus is oral in form. Their history is usually told by their elders to the younger Bhantus.

“In India, there are 191 communities that are listed as Denotified Communities. The Denotified Communities or the Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNT), is a concept that has grown from the history of India. The Bhantu community is one of the 191 communities in the list. Our community lives in different parts of India. Their nomenclatures in various states are different. In Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, the Bhantus are known as Sansis. In Rajasthan, they are known as Sansi, Kanjar and Nat. In Maharashtra, they are known as Kanjarbhat, Kanjars and Chharas. In Gujarat, they are known as Chhara, Sansi and Adodiya. In South India, they are also known as Kanjarbhat. The historians did not note the origin of the DNT communities and more particularly, the history of the Bhantu community. Many of these communities trace their origins during the period of the Moghuls.

The Moghuls reigned over India from 1527 to 1757. Their empire was massive, covering at its height, almost the entire subcontinent. “Their major task was to baptise India. Some communities fled into the jungle, one of which was the community of the Bhantus. Some historians have noted that Maharana Pratap, the emperor of Rajasthan, fought the war with the Moghuls in early 1500 and thereafter fled into the jungle. His marshals included many of the denotified communities, more particularly, the Bhantus. Thus along with Maharana Pratap, they too found themselves living in the jungle. As they were supporters of Maharana Pratap, after his fall they did not find any mentor, emperor or head and so their group disintegrated. The Moghul emperor was fighting every day and it was dangerous for the community to come out openly in the villages or towns, as either they would be killed or converted into the Muslim sect by the Moghuls. Therefore they remained in the jungle. And that is why they ‘cohabited’ with some tribal villages.

Historically, this may have been the turning point for these communities. They lived in jungles and for their livelihood they would come out at night and rob some of the towns, cities or villages. They came to be known as decoys. They gradually became dreaded criminals in that period, just like gladiators. They ate raw meat and could fight singly with four men. They were a very brave people. If they ever returned to the village or town, they had to submit themselves to the Moghul emperor who would have them assassinated. So they had two options. They could surrender themselves to the emperor or fight. They opted to fight. And so they remained in the jungle.

at that time many of the DNTs, and especially the Chhara and Sansis communities, were helpful in looting the treasury of the Moghuls. However, no authentic history notes these events. this has been one of the greatest mistakes on the part of our historians. We believe that history should be rewritten and include our history as it was transmitted orally. The Chharas and Sansis did not wish to be converted to the Muslim sect. They did not want to be assassinated by the Moghul emperors either. And above all, they did not want to support the Moghul emperor. After the fall of the Moghul regime, the British came to India and in 1857, the first revolt against the British Empire took place. Once again, the Chharas were very useful in helping the revolutionaries and freedom fighters in moving from one place to another because traditionally, these fighting communities were nomadic. They did not settle in one place. They moved from one place to another. They would stay for a particular period outside the village or town, so that the village people or the police would not trouble them. When they learnt that a theft had been reported to the local administration, they would leave the place and move on.

They kept donkeys, dogs and goats. Dogs were their guards. Goats provided them with milk and meat. Donkeys were meant for transporting goods from one place to the other. This provided them with livelihood as in those times, there were no automobiles. These were a kind of indigenous transportation systems that prevailed in the country. They became very helpful to the revolutionaries and freedom fighters, because they knew the movements of the police force. The freedom fighters utilised these nomads as their shelter and at times, as their cover. The British noticed the acumen of these communities and targeted 191 such communities who were nomads. By a single stroke of the pen, they prepared a notification in the form of the Criminal Tribes Act. In this way all these communities came to be labelled as the ‘Criminal Tribes’.

Criminal Tribes Act means As all these communities were stigmatised as criminal tribes, they had to report at the police station twice a day, once in the morning and again, at night. They could not move freely, though they were said to be free people. During the night, if one member of the denotified community was found wandering, he would be arrested and punished. There was no awareness among the DNTs. The Chharas also adjusted to the new norms. It became customary for the denotified communities to report at the police station. The police forced their will upon all men, women and children. People would be detained at their will and would be released after twenty four or even forty eight hours. On occasions, they would not be released for several days. They were placed behind bars for no fault of theirs; without having committed any crime. Even women and children were barred from moving about freely. There are many instances when women delivered a child in the prison cell. Many Chharas were born and brought up in jail. The prison became a home for the community and a person belonging to the Chhara community who had not visited jail for a crime could not qualify to marry a girl.

That is how criminality was embedded into the customs of the Chharas by the administration. There were times when people who beat the police, people who looted the articles from the marketplace, people who attacked the villagers at night, were said to be brave. The police would arrest them and send them to jail. Having been in jail and after completing their sentence, when they would return home, people would call them brave. This was not good for the community. We understand this now but it became a popular practise in those days. Historians ought to have noticed that these customs had become widespread due to the fault of the administration. It was not the custom of the nomads to commit crimes. They began to do so because of the conditions imposed on them. It was because of the superimposed conditions, I should say, that these practices became customs.”