:Sansi people

File:Portrait of three unknown people of the Sansi tribe of Lahore with a water pipe, ca.1862–72.png

Sansi is a nomadic tribe, originally located in the Rajasthan area of northwestern India, but expelled in the 13th century by Muslim invaders and now spread to states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab as well as scattered throughout India. They are often confused with other ethnic groups called Sansi, as Sansi is a widespread name in South Asia.Tribes of India By T. Baldizzone, Local Colour Ltd{{full citation needed|date=April 2018}}Journal of Social Research By Council of Social and Cultural Research (Bihar, India), Ranchi University Dept. of Anthropology{{full citation needed|date=April 2018}}{{cite book|author=Nalwa, V.|title= Ranjit Singh—monarch mystique|year=2022|publisher= Hari Singh Nalwa Foundation Trust|isbn=978-81-910526-1-9|page=10}}

File:Sanseeas, vagrants, of no particular creed, Delhi (NYPL b13409080-1125434).jpg

History and origin

The Sansis were considered the most prominent criminal tribe in Punjab, with an estimated population of 25,800 in 1912. The British believed other tribes, such as the Baurias and Harnis, were offshoots of the Sansis, who claimed to have originated from Rajput ancestry. Despite acknowledging their ancestry, the British constantly emphasised the Sansis' "degraded" status through stereotypical descriptions. . Their religion, primarily a form of Hinduism, was considered primitive, mixed, and debased. After the criminal tribes act was imposed, the Sansi were labelled down to a very pitiful position.

Language

Their language is Sansiboli, or Bhilki too that is a highly endangered Indo-Aryan language of the Central group, total speakers in India 60,000 (2002) and Pakistan 20,000.{{Cite web |last=Parekh |first=Rauf |date=2018-01-02 |title=Some endangered Pakistani languages |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1380191 |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ssi Ethnologue.com: Ethnologue report for Sansi][http://www.languageinindia.com/dec2002/sansi.html Language in India: Endangered Language: A Case Study of Sansiboli] Their traditional occupations vary, from trading to farming.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

History

During British rule in India they were placed under the Criminal Tribes Act 1871, hence stigmatized for a long time,[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V20_369.gif Punjab - Police and Jails] The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908, v. 20, p. 363. after independence, however, they were denotified in 1952.[http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jan/18dilip.htm Bania Arrested for Spying] by Dilip D'Souza. Rediff.com, 18 January 2003

As the Sansiya, they were recorded in Uttar Pradesh in the 2011 Census of India. There they were a Scheduled Caste, with a population of 5689.{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/SC_ST/PCA-A10/SC-0900-PCA-A-10-ddw.xlsx |title= A-10 Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix - Uttar Pradesh |publisher=Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |accessdate=2017-02-06}}

Demographics

class="wikitable collapsible sortable" \|+ Sansi in Punjab by Districts (2011){{cite web \|title=A-10 Appendix: District wise scheduled caste population (Appendix) \|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/data/census-tables \|access-date=8 May 2024}}
rowspan="2" \|Districts ! colspan="2" \|2011 India census
Sansi Caste Population !{{Abbr\|%\|percentage}}
Amritsar \| 19,237 \| {{Percentage \| 19,237\| 2,490,891\| 2 }}
Barnala \| 2,159 \| {{Percentage \| 2,159\| 596,294\| 2 }}
Bathinda \| 2,232 \| {{Percentage \| 2,232\| 1,388,859\| 2 }}
Faridkot \| 1,647 \| {{Percentage \| 1,647\| 618,008\| 2 }}
Fatehgarh Sahib \| 2,015 \| {{Percentage \| 2,015\| 599,814\| 2 }}
Firozpur \| 10,376 \| {{Percentage \| 10,376\| 2,029,074\| 2 }}
Gurdaspur \| 18,248 \| {{Percentage \| 18,248 \| 2,299,026\| 2 }}
Hoshiarpur \| 2,731 \| {{Percentage \| 2,731\| 1,582,793\| 2 }}
Jalandhar \| 9,904 \| {{Percentage \| 9,904\| 2,181,753\| 2 }}
Kapurthala \| 2,056 \| {{Percentage \| 2,056\| 817,668\| 2 }}
Ludhiana \| 11,180 \| {{Percentage \| 11,180 \| 3,487,882\| 2 }}
Mansa \| 1,131 \| {{Percentage \| 1,131\| 768,808\| 2 }}
Moga \| 1,382 \| {{Percentage \| 1,382\| 992,289\| 2 }}
Sri Muktsar Sahib \| 2,982 \| {{Percentage \| 2,982\| 902,702\| 2 }}
Patiala \| 5,743 \| {{Percentage \| 5,743\| 1,892,282\| 2 }}
Rupnagar \| 391 \| {{Percentage \| 391 \| 683,349\| 2 }}
Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar \| 1600 \| {{Percentage \| 1600\| 986,147\| 2 }}
Sangrur \| 7,701 \| {{Percentage \| 7,701\| 1,203,153\| 2 }}
Nawanshahr \| 1,952 \| {{Percentage \| 1,952\| 614,362\| 2 }}
Tarn Taran \| 17,534 \| {{Percentage \| 17,534\| 1,120,070\| 2 }}

class="wikitable collapsible sortable"

|+ Sansi in Punjab by Districts (2011){{cite web |title=A-10 Appendix: District wise scheduled caste population (Appendix) |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/data/census-tables |access-date=8 May 2024}}

rowspan="2" |Districts

! colspan="2" |2011 India census

Sansi Caste Population

!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}

Amritsar

| 19,237

| {{Percentage | 19,237| 2,490,891| 2 }}

Barnala

| 2,159

| {{Percentage | 2,159| 596,294| 2 }}

Bathinda

| 2,232