Dhobi known in some places as Dhoba or Rajaka, Madivala is a group of community in India and the greater Indian subcontinent whose traditional occupations are washing and ironing, Cultivator, agricultural workers. They are a large community, distributed across northern, central, western and eastern India; as well as in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. A majority of the community associate themselves with Hinduism. Many religiously follow Sant Gadge (Gadge Maharaj), whose jayanti (birth anniversary) they celebrate every 23 February. The word dhobi is derived from the Hindi word dhona, which means 'to wash'. As such, Dhobi communities in many areas today come under the status of Schedule Caste in many status, while Other Backward Class in other states and region. In 2017, Supreme Court of India noted calling people dhobi was offensive. Origins In mythology There is a tradition that they are descendants of the mythological hero Virabhadra,who was ordered by Shiva to wash the clothes of all men,as an expiation of the sin of putting many people to death in Dakshas Yaga,hence the South India dhobis are frequently called virabhadran Synonyms Rajasthan Dhobi or Dhoba,have derived the name from the Hindi word dhona which means to wash.They claim to have originated from Rajput.They are distributed all over the state.Their main concentration is in Ajmer district. They speak in Mewari and Hindi.and Devnagari script.The Dhobi are non-vegetarian,The community has twelve exogamous ataks clans Some of them are Chauhan,Marwara,Hilogia. Haryana The Dhobi of Haryana are said to have originated from Punjab and Rajasthan. They are scattered throughout the state.Like other Hindu communities,they are divided into clans called gotras. Some of the major gotras are the Chauhan, Shukravar, Rajoria, Tonwar, Panwar, Badera, Satmase, Akhasriya, Mahavar, Basvadiya and Sunaria. These clan names are also used as surnames. There main occupation remains washing of and drying of clothes. A small number of Dhobi are marginal farmers. Maharastra In Maharashtra, the Dhobi are found throughout the state, and are also known as Parit.They claim to have originally belonged to the Rajput community, and in particular the Chauhan clan.The Dhobi have been listed as an Other Backward Class.They speak Marathi among themselves,and Hindi with outsiders. The community are endogamous, and practice clan exogamy. There main clans in Maharashtra are the Abidkar, Bannolkar, Belwarkar, Chawhan, Chawlkar, Chewakar, Dhongde, Gaikwad, Ghousalkar, Harmekar, Hedulkar, Kalyankar, Kanekar, Kalatkar, Lad, Malekar, Nandgaonkar, Nane, Pawar, Pabrekar, Palkar, Purwarkar, Salekar, and Waskar.