The generational occupation of the Dhangars has been to live off the earth. As pastoralists ("shepherds and cowherds, blanket- and wool-weavers, butchers and farmers"), they make their way through mountains and forests, living like nomads.

Since schools and jobs don't follow them on foot, they've remained economically backward and socially aloof. For the last few decades, they have been demanding inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) group. They make up nine per cent of Maharashtra's population (roughly a crore), and are currently included as a Vimukt Jati and Nomadic Tribe. Ahead of the elections in 2014, the BJP had promised them ST status; and in 2015, asked the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to prepare a report on the same. That report, after combing through 324 villages and interviewing 20,000 people, was finally submitted last week, and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that it was "not hostile to the [community's] demand."