Group: | Sarki |
Native Name: | सार्की/मिजार |
Native Name Lang: | nepali |
Regions: | Himalayas Nepal Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars Bhutan |
Region1: | Nepal |
Pop1: | 452,229 (1.5% of Nepal's population)[1] |
Langs: | Nepali, Thakali some also speak Gurung |
Rels: | Hinduism 95.46% (2011), Christianity 4.34% (2011)[2] |
Related: | indigenous people, Damai, Badi, Kami, Gandarbha/Gaine |
Sarki/Mijar (Nepali: सार्की) is an occupational caste in Nepal. They are found in the region of the Himalayas, Nepal, across the hills of Darjeeling & Kalimpong and in Terai area of Dooars. They are experts in playing their musical instrument "Madal" and performing dance in a group which is also called “Khayali Marooni”. According to the 2021 Nepal census, Sarki makes up 1.55% of Nepal's population (452,229 people).[3] Sarki are referred to in the Nepali and Thakali languages.[4]
Due to many caste-based discriminations in Nepal, the government of Nepal legally abolished the caste system and criminalized any caste-based discrimination, including "untouchability" (the ostracism of a specific caste) - in the year 1963 A.D.[5] With Nepal's step towards freedom and equality, Nepal, previously ruled by a Hindu monarchy, was a Hindu nation which has now become a secular state,[6] and on 28 May 2008, it was declared a republic,[7] ending it as a Hindu Kingdom[8]
The 1854 Nepalese Muluki Ain (Legal Code) categorized Sarki as a category.[9] Sarki is categorized under "Hill Dalit" among the 9 broad social groups, along with Damai, Badi, Kami and Gaine by the Government of Nepal.[10]
At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 374,816 people (1.4% of the population of Nepal) were Sarki.[11] The frequency of Sarki by province was as follows:
The frequency of Sarki was higher than national average (1.4%) in the following districts:
The Nepali language spoken by Khas Arya is their mother tongue. They also speak Gurung .