Bhils

Bhil or Bheel

Bhil children in Madhya Pradesh
Regions with significant populations
India	16,908,907
Madhya Pradesh	5,993,921
Gujarat	4,215,603
Rajasthan	4,100,264
Maharastra	2,588,659
Karnataka	6,204
Tripura	3,105
Andhra Pradesh	604
Chattisgarh	547
Pakistan (Sindh)	382,000
Languages
Bhil languages, Marathi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Hindustani
Religion
Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, indigenous religions

Bhils or Bheel are primarily an Adivasi people of North West India. Bhils are also settled in the Tharparkar District of Sindh, Pakistan. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. According to Census, 2011, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India followed by Gond tribe.

Bhils are listed as Adivasi residents of the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan - all in the western Deccan regions and central India - as well as in Tripura in North-eastern India, on the border with Bangladesh. Bhils are divided into a number of endogamous territorial divisions, which in turn have a number of clans and lineages. Most Bhils now speak the language of the region they reside in, such as Marathi, Gujarati or a Hindustani dialect.

A universal aspect of Bhil villages is the dispersed pattern of settlement wherein there is no proper "village site" and homes are located far from but within hailing distance from the nearest neighbor. Traditionally headmen of Bhil villages are known by various titles, depending on region, such as Tadvi, Patel, Naik, Gameti, Rawat, Vasavo, and Mukhi.

In Azamgarh and Jaunpur, the Bhil are now mainly a community of settled farmers, with a significant minority who are landless agricultural labourers. A significant subsidiary occupation remains hunting and gathering. The Bhil are now largely Hindu, with Nirdhi following Islam, and few sub-groups in the Dangs following Christianity. They continue to worship tribal deities such as Mogra Deo and Sitla Matta.