The Unspoken Truth about ‘Chapri’ and What It Tells Us About Indian Social Media Culture
(This article was co-written with Nihareeka Mhatre. Check out her blog here.)
‘Kya Chapri dikh raha hai ye’, is a phrase we have come across while doom-scrolling on Instagram. Usually, you will see this comment on oddly specific videos where there’s a person sporting bleach blond hair, heavily distressed jeans, or fake branded clothes.
Ever wondered why particularly this word is thrown around as an insult? Even though the word is used so casually and frequently these days, we are trying to understand what it means in today’s social media context.
We got curious and scoured the internet for answers. But we weren’t very happy with the shallow search results. So we thought why not attempt to answer it ourselves?
Our first Google search led us to a Reddit post about its casteist origins. Chapri refers to the Chapparband caste whose profession is to mend temporary roofs and huts.
But who were the Chapparband people? Why did their caste name become an insult?
The community has a list of origin stories, the most famous of them being that they originated from the Punjab region and helped the Mughals build huts during their invasion of the Deccan around 1677–88. When Bijapur went to the Maratha Peshwas in 1720, the Chapparbands formed a part of their army and continued to serve until the British took power in 1818. While a large number of them went back to their place of origin as they didn’t have enough work during this time, a few of them remained and found a new profession — ‘chaapna’ (making fake coins.) Due to this line of work, the British labeled them as born criminals, placing them in barbed wire settlements. Post-independence, they settled in the interiors of Karnataka and Maharashtra, mostly Solapur and Pune.
The reputation of the Chapparbands continued to be poor, and over decades we hypothesize that a shorter form of their caste name was used as a way to shame people. In a 2011 article about Puneri slang, ‘Chapri’ is defined as a person who has no standards.
According to Google Trends, this slur became mainstream in 2021.
We have reason to believe that Carry Minati may have something to do with this. In a roast video titled ‘Thara Bhai’ which has 65 million views, he uses this word carelessly throughout the video. Ironically, he has a Google Doc of disclaimers on every video stating that he doesn’t mean to hurt the sentiments of any caste or community.
But what exactly does it mean to be a Chapri?
We know that Chapri is a caste-based slur, but we are not surprised that it talks about class as well. To be a Chapri means that you usually belong to a lower socio-economic class and have an outdated sense of fashion, and the internet has run with this definition. Online you would find memes that play on this stereotype, like the ‘Chapri Starter Pack.’ Skinny bleached jeans, distressed and narrow on the ankles, bleached blond hair, fake branded clothing, a neon green KTM, and excessive use of social media filters. It was quite interesting to see the internet spit out these extremely specific signifiers.
There is a mob of social media accounts like Reptiles of Kurla and Emo Bois of India, that showcase these stereotypes by ironically reposting videos made by the group of people they consider Chapris. The videos are played for laughs and are something to be mocked.
This made us wonder about the people on the other side of this term. Are they aware of the negative connotations of Chapri?
We did some digging around the good old internet and found there are two camps. Some don’t consider themselves as Chapris, and resent the term as they don’t want to be perceived as someone belonging to a lower class or who is uncultured.
A recent interview with a hair dye brand owner says being called Chapri in the comments is very common for them. However, she says, “She and her employees have colored hair, and it's just a stereotype, and it's useless.” She does not want to be associated with a Chapri and justifies it by saying even though they have colored hair, unlike a Chapri, “They are earning well for themselves and have a good life going on.”
This means, according to her, one can’t be a Chapri because they’re well off.
As well as artists, decrying ‘Don’t call me a Chapri, the world is a fan of this Chapri’
However, over time there are those aspiring musicians who have decided to reclaim the term and wear it as a badge of honor. Artists such as Yolozo and Emiway Bantai are proud of their origins.
Take this verse from Emiway’s song Classy Chapri:
Ye bolte the slang meri nahi chalegi
Kyunki ye raste ki boli hai chhapri hai
Haq se aur Bantai ne laaye ye slang
Chhapega Bantai ka, milenga tere ko mein
Translation: They tell me this (Chapri) slang won’t work because this is a language of the streets. But your brother is proud to use this slang.
What does ‘Chapri’ say about society?
With the rise of YouTube videos and Instagram handles making fun of ‘Chapri’ content. We find it amusing that when people from lower classes do the same thing as those of us (i.e. make engaging reels), we react to it ironically.
Their original reels may have been made sincerely and with the intention of garnering fame. But these accounts poke fun at their well-meaning content. This signifies to us that the internet is divided by class. The likes and dislikes of the majority on the internet are considered as the status quo. Some of the videos made by people on the lower end of the spectrum deviate from the status quo and are considered a sort of spectacle for those on the higher side.
Additionally, the term ‘Chapri’ is a term to exclude those individuals from modern cultural discourse.
Social media promotes content where individuals are sharing their lives, having fun, going on trips, wearing the best clothes, etc. This inspires people from all backgrounds to emulate these reels and create ones of their own. Another motivation could be to get a chance to monetize their content. However, individuals from a lower socio-economic background with limited resources (money, clothing, equipment, skills), may create videos that are not up to the mark of those from the cream of the society. Due to the ‘amateurish’ production, they are considered cringey by the major voices on the internet and are labeled as ‘Chapris.’
Originally, people used to intentionally shun the caste from which the word has been derived. Over time, this word is now used to shun people from a lower class. The sting of this word remains. And that is the curse of evolving linguistics: to have a word stick around through generations and be used in subjugating different groups of people (in this case, it changed from a caste to a class issue.)
Unfortunately, if the word is reclaimed and used in a positive context, who’s to say that another word won’t pop up to replace it?
We will leave you with this Reddit thread that made us examine the nature of insults, and no matter what word we use the ghosts of casteism and class would be creeping behind us.
