Professor Anu Rao explores the differences between subcastes such as the untouchable mahars and, Ambedkar's community, chamars.Chamars were an untouchable caste found in many regions of India, which is no doubt why Dr. Ambedkar used them as an example. In the Imperial Gazetteer, they are considered a 'functional caste' of leatherworkers; in this and other contexts, the Imperial Gazetteer contains a number of references to them. Here, for example, the Imperial Gazetteer notes the presence of Chamars in Ahmednagar district in Gujarat, along with Mahars, the untouchable caste to which Dr. Ambedkar himself belonged.
Annotation by: Pritchett