In
Gujarat, the Mochi caste is categorised as
OBC in Bakshi Panch. The Mochi are involved in the manufacture of leather shoes. The community has a traditional caste council, as is common among many
North Indian artisan communities. This caste council acts as an instrument of social control, by punishing those who contravene community norms. Each caste council is headed by a Chaudhary, a position that tends to be hereditary. The Mochi live in multi-caste villages, but occupy their own distinct quarters. The Mochi of
Haryana claim to have migrated from
Rajasthan, and are found mainly in the cantonment city of
Ambala. They still speak the
Braj Bhasha dialect. They are strictly endogamous, and practice clan exogamy. Their traditional occupation was shoe making, but with the spread of factory manufactured shoes it has declined. A large number are landless agricultural labourers, with a minority now taking up other professions. They are assigned as
scheduled caste and supported by affirmative action. ==Mochi of Punjab==