<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>BH&#256&#7788&#7770&#256S </TITLE>
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<p class="C1">&#65279BH&#256&#7788&#7770&#256S (the term <i>bh&#257&#7789r&#257</i> appears to be a diminutive of the Sanskrit <i>bha&#7789&#7789a</i>, a bard), an endogamous and tightly-knit group among the Sikhs with peddling and fortune-telling as their principal occupations. More than one story is current about their origin. However, the <i>Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257s</i> themselves trace it to B&#257b&#257 Cha&#7749g&#257 R&#257i of Sa&#7749gl&#257d&#299p (Ceylon), who was admitted as a disciple by Gur&#363 N&#257nak during his journey to the South. His name figures in the old text <i>Haq&#299qat R&#257h Muk&#257m R&#257je Shivan&#257bh K&#299</i>. Cha&#7749g&#257 R&#257i, himself a devout Sikh with a substantial following, added the suffix "Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257" to his name. His followers came to be known as Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257s. Cha&#7749g&#257 Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257 established Sikh <i>sa&#7749gats</i> in many parts. Since Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257s were mostly itinerant missionaries, they did not take to settled life. Having no time to learn and practise skilled occupations, they were eventually drawn into the peddling profession. Their mobility led to the scattering of the community in several parts of the country and beyond. They are concentrated now mainly in Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, Amritsar, Hoshi&#257rpur, Gurd&#257spur and Bha&#7789hi&#7751&#7693&#257 districts of the Punjab and in some cities outside the state such as Delhi and Calcutta. Several migrated to the United Kingdom where they retailed from door to door clothes, jewellery and other articles. Their success lay in their spirit of enterprise, price manipulation and extension of credit. They were the first to get a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> registered in 1953 in Manchester, and many of the total number of Sikh <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> in England are Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257 <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i>. With a view to retaining their identity and forging a common platform for the community, a Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257 conference convened in 1943 set up an All-India Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257 Union. The community in the Punjab comprises both Hindu Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257s and Sikh Bh&#257&#7789&#7771&#257s though the former are numerically much fewer than the latter.</p>
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BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Rose, H. A. , <i> A Glossary of the Castes and Tribes of the Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province </i>. Patiala, 1970<BR>
<li class="C1"> Mrigind, Makha&#7751 Si&#7749gh, <i>Itih&#257sak-Tribai&#7751&#299</i>. Patiala, 1977<BR>
</ol><p class="CONT">B. S. Nijjar<br></p><BR>
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