TheGandhila sometimes pronounced as Gandhil and Gandola, are aHinducaste found inNorth India. They havescheduled caste status inPunjab andHaryana.[1][2][3]
According to the traditions of the community, they descend from aRajput by the name of Sabal Singh. He was killed fighting in the forces of theSultanate of Delhi, and his family were driven out by his enemies. They were then forced to take menial jobs, such as rearing donkeys. The word Gandhila is said to mean a donkey rearer. The Gandhila are found mainly inAmbala District, and speakHaryanvi.[4] InUttar Pradesh, the Gandhila are found mainly inMeerut andMuzaffarnagar districts. They speakHindi with outsiders, but have their own dialect.[5] InPunjab, the Gandhila are found mainlyJalandhar andPatiala districts. The Punjab Gandhila trace their descent from two brothers, Sambal Singh and Ajit Mal, both of whom wereChauhanRajputs. On their defeat at the hand of theMughal EmperorBabar, the two brothers took an oath not to sleep on a bed or eat with silver utensils until the Mughals were defeated. They then fled to the jungle, where the Gandhila were helped by theBangali, another jungle nomad tribe. The Bangalis suggested that the Chauhans take up raising donkeys. The community thus became known asgadhewalas or donkey keepers, which was eventually corrupted to Gadhila. In theColonial period, Gandhila were listed under theCriminal Tribes Act, 1871, as being a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences."[6]
The Gandhila are strictlyendogamous, and prefer marrying close kin. They areHindus, but have no particular tribal deity. Their customs are similar to otherHindus.
The traditional occupation of the Gandhila is making brooms from palm leaves. However, a majority of the Gandhila are now day labourers, with many working in the construction industry. A small number have been given land as part of government schemes to settle the community. But these plots are extremely small, and most supplement their income by working as agricultural labourers. InUttar Pradesh, they were victims of a system known aschautha, which is a form of sharecropping, where they have to hand over a fourth of their produce to the landowner.
Most live in multi-caste villages, often working forJat orBrahmin patrons. They are an extremely marginalized community, suffering from severe poverty.[7][8]
InPunjab, the Gandhila speak their own language called Pasto, although most also speakPunjabi.[9]