The Pardhis claim descent from the Rajputs. The criminal branding of the tribe goes back to 1871 after the British passed the "Criminal Tribes Act". About a hundred and fifty tribes were branded as criminal, and the police were given sweeping powers to arrest them and watch over their movements. T. V. Stephens, a British officer at that time quoted: "... people from time immemorial have been pursuing the caste system defined job-positions: weaving, carpentry and such were hereditary jobs. So there must have been hereditary criminals also who pursued their forefathers’ profession."