Bhil
Bhils of Sindh | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 17 Million (2011, census) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| India | 16,908,907 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 5,993,921 |
| Gujarat | 4,215,603 |
| Rajasthan | 4,100,264 |
| Maharastra | 2,588,658 |
| Karnataka | 6,204 |
| Tripura | 3,105 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 604 |
| Chhattisgarh | 547 |
| Pakistan (Sindh) | 1,200,000 to 1,700,000 (2020) |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Hindu • Christianity • Islam • Animism | |
Bhil or Bheel are various indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and in Sindh, Pakistan. Additionally they are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura. Though they now speak the Bhili language, an Indo-Aryan language, the aboriginal language that the Bhil originally spoke is lost. Bhils are divided into a number of endogamous territorial divisions, which in turn have a number of clans and lineages.
Bhils are listed as tribal people in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan—all in the western Deccan regions and central India—as well as in Bengal and Tripura in far-eastern India, on the border with Bangladesh. Many Bhils speak the dominant language of the region they reside in, such as Marathi, Gujarati or Bengali.