| Dom | |
|---|---|
| Religions | Hinduism |
| Languages | Bengali |
| Populated states | West Bengal |
| Population | 316,337 (2001 census) |
| Family names | Dom, Bansfor, Malik |
Doms are a Bengali Hindu caste found in large numbers in Birbhum, Bankura and other districts in the western fringe of the Indian state of West Bengal.[citation needed] Traditionally, Doms were basket-makers, cultivators, labourers and drummers; their wives serving as midwives.[citation needed]
The Doms were formerly classified as a criminal tribe under the Criminal Tribes Acts of the British Raj.[1][2]
Demographics
Doms numbered 316,337 at the 2001 census and were 1.7 percent of the scheduled caste population of West Bengal. The same census found overall 46.0 percent of Doms (aged 7 and up) were literate. Along gender lines, 58.9 percent of males and 32.6 percent of females were found by the census to be literate.[3]
References
- ↑ Bates, Crispin (1995). "Race, Caste and Tribe in Central India: the early origins of Indian anthropometry". In Robb, Peter (ed.). The Concept of Race in South Asia. Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-19-563767-0. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ↑ Gupta, Ganesh (2005). Padabi Abhidhan [Dictionary of Family Names] (in Bengali). Kolkata: Annapurna Prakashan. p. 52.
- ↑ "West Bengal, Census of India 2001, Data Highlights – The Scheduled Castes" (PDF). Office of the Registrar General, India. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
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