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.Template:Citation needed Traditionally, Doms were basket-makers, cultivators, labourers and drummers; their wives serving as midwives.Template: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
- ↑ The Concept of Race in South Asia{{#if:Bates|, Bates}. Oxford University Press(1995). ISBN 978-0-19-563767-0
- ↑ Padabi Abhidhan{{#if:Gupta|, Gupta}. Annapurna Prakashan(2005)
- ↑ West Bengal, Census of India 2001, Data Highlights – The Scheduled Castes. Office of the Registrar General, India. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
Template:Bengali Hindu people Template:Scheduled Castes in West Bengal