Sansi people

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

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

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.Template:Full citation neededTemplate:Full citation needed

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

Sansi people in pre independence India.

History and origin

Template:Unsourced section 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. Their traditional occupations vary, from trading to farming.

History

During British rule in India they were placed under the Criminal Tribes Act 1871, hence stigmatized for a long time, after independence, however, they were denotified in 1952. 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.

Demographics

Sansi in Punjab by Districts (2011)

Districts	2011 India census
	Sansi Caste Population	%
Amritsar	19,237
Barnala	2,159
Bathinda	2,232
Faridkot	1,647
Fatehgarh Sahib	2,015
Firozpur	10,376
Gurdaspur	18,248
Hoshiarpur	2,731
Jalandhar	9,904
Kapurthala	2,056
Ludhiana	11,180
Mansa	1,131
Moga	1,382
Sri Muktsar Sahib	2,982
Patiala	5,743
Rupnagar	391
Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar	1600
Sangrur	7,701
Nawanshahr	1,952
Tarn Taran	17,534