Pardhi Community, History, Language, Beliefs

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Pardhi Community Latest News

Forest rights activists and lawyers across the country expressed their concern over the recent MP government order calling for extensive search and surveillance of nomadic tribes, including the Pardhi community, which is classified as a scheduled tribe.

About Pardhi Community

Pardhis are a nomadic community that, since the time of the Mughal emperors, have been hired to help in shikar (hunting), whether it was for sport for the British or for the royal kitchens of the ‘zamindars’ (landowners).
They reside mainly in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and also in small pockets of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
The word pardhi comes from paradh, which means hunter in the Marathi language.
In 1871, the Pardhis were among the tribes notified as “hereditary and habitual criminals” under the colonial-era Criminal Tribes Act.
After independence, the Indian government “denotified” these communities in 1952.
Occupation: Though the major occupation of the Pardhi tribes is hunting and gathering, some have taken up diverse occupations like cultivation and some other occupations following the traditions of most of the tribes of the country.
Language:
- The main language of the Pardhi tribes is their local dialect, which is of the same name.
- Many of them also speak a dialect of the Gujarati language.
- In the northern parts of the country, they speak a combination of Hindi and Marwari.
Beliefs:
- Though they are officially Hindu,most of the Pardhi practice ethnic religions.
- They are firm believers in the spirit world and its influence on the physical world.