Dharkar
The Dharkar are a Hindu caste found in North India, and those in Uttar Pradesh have scheduled caste status .[1]
Origin
The word dharkar comes from the Hindi words dhar meaning rope and kar meaning manufacturer, denoting their occupation which was making fire Arms, Baskets and Agriculture .[2] The Dharkar are found mainly in Basti, Gorakhpur,Gonda, Lucknow, Deoria, Banaras, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Patna, District and other parts of India Like Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bangal and Uttrakhand. A small number are also found in the districts of Azamgarh, Allahabad, Gonda and Gorakhpur. The Dharkar speaks Hindi Awadhi Bhojpuri dialect of .[1]
Present circumstances
The Dharkar are strictly endogamous community, and are divided into four sub-groups, the Benbansi and Kharush. These groups are hierarchical in nature, with the Benbansi considering themselves superiors to the other groups. They belong to King Benu and King Karush Kshatriya.
The Dharkar are having their own land, and are involved mainly in the manufacturing of Fire Arms baskets and mats. A great number are now employed as agricultural labourers. Each of their settlement contains an informal caste council, known as a biradari panchayat. The panchayat acts as instrument of social control, dealing with issues such as divorce and adultery.[1] .Nowadays they are very strong and they are highly educated, they are into Medical, Engineering, Scientiest, Actor, Writer, Plotician etc.