The Chamars Of Haryana as study in the 20th century

Abstract

The present study focuses on the Chamars of Haryana in the twentieth century.The Chamar caste is one of the major caste among the Scheduled Castes in Haryana. Nowadays, they enjoy a better position in society, and upward social mobility is clearly visible among them. They are more inclined towards education and are more aware of their rights. They are also following the great leaders and reformers belonging to the Chamar caste such as Guru Ravidas, and Babasaheb Ambedkar. They are separating themselves from the caste Hindus and creating a separate identity. However, the caste system is still very rigid in Haryana, especially in the villages. Many cases of atrocities could be seen over the years and clashes takes place between the upper caste and Dalit community. The Chamars in Haryana are aware of the reservation policy. However, they are not getting jobs fairly because of the bias, lack of education and inadequate qualification. However, among the Scheduled Castes, the Chamars are occupying maximum jobs in government service, and are also mainly employed as teachers. In politics, Dalits do not have a strong hold in Haryana as their population is less and the state is dominated by the upper castes such as Jats, Bishnois, as is clearly visible in the politics of Haryana. State politics is influenced by casteism. Main parties having a strong hold in Haryana are INLD, BJP, and Congress. BSP has to work hard to gain power in the state. However, out of all the Scheduled Castes in the state, Chamars are most active in politics. The state government is also introducing many schemes with the help of central government in order to improve the condition of Dalits. However, the Chamars still continued to be a marginalized section of society. A case study was conducted in the Ambala district of Haryana to correlate the work.