Bhil

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
	Bhil languages; Marathi; Gujarati; Sindhi Bhil; Hindi; Bengali;
Religion
	Animism

Bhil or Bheel refer to various indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura.^[4] They speak various languages of Indo-Aryan origin, owing to language shift, collectively referred to as the Bhil languages.^[5] 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 now speak the dominant later language of the region they reside in, such as Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali or a Bhili language dialect.

^ "List of notified Scheduled Tribes" (PDF). Census India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
^ Bhil of Pakistan, Hussain Ghulam (2020) Bielefeld University https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343611243_Bhil_of_Pakistan#:~:text=Although%20official%20population%20figures%20are,million%20(as%20of%202020)
^ Gall, Timothy L.; Hobby, Jeneen, eds. (2009). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Vol. 3 (2, illustrated ed.). Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale. p. 131. ISBN 9781414448916. OCLC 1112785346. The name Bhil identifies various ethnic communities inhabiting the hills and forests of southern Rajasthan and neighboring areas of western India. Some scholars argue that "Bhil" comes from the Dravidian word for bow (billa or billu) and reflects the popularity of the bow and arrow as a weapon among these groups. The term is also used in a broader sense to refer to the aboriginal peoples of this region.
^ Statistical Profile of Scheduled Tribes in India (PDF). New Delhi: Ministry of Tribal Affairs. 2013. p. 10.