Doms

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. Traditionally, Doms were basket-makers, cultivators, labourers and drummers; their wives serving as midwives.

Not to be confused with Dom people.

This article is about the Bengali Hindu caste. For the singular "Dom" of the plural "Doms", see Dom. For other uses, see DOMS.
Dom
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesBengali
Populated statesWest Bengal
Population316,337 (2001 census)
Family namesDom, Bansfor, Malik

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
  1. 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.
  2. Gupta, Ganesh (2005). Padabi Abhidhan [Dictionary of Family Names] (in Bengali). Kolkata: Annapurna Prakashan. p. 52.
  3. "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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