Sikligar Community Once Made Weapons for Sikh Gurus, Today Viewed as Criminal

In the south of Madhya Pradesh, more than 40,000 people of the "Sikligar" community, a sub-caste of Sikhs, live in six districts of Barwani, Khargone, Dhar, Burhanpur, Khandwa and Indore. The people of this community have mastered making locks, keys, knives, knives, and tools made of iron, etc. Due to specific laws passed in 1959 and 1962 banning making and selling weapons without a license, this weapon-making community overnight became criminal in society's eyes, erasing its 350 years of history in practising the trade. Today, people of this community live in about 10 states, and society and media see them as criminals. To understand the issues of this community under strict police surveillance and unemployment, NewsClick visited Umrti village in the Barwani district on the Maharasthra border.