The Khatik is a caste found in the Indian subcontinent, mainly modern-day India, Pakistan and Nepal.^[2]

The Khatik community has historically been a community of butchers, but they have occupied other occupations like tanners, fruit sellers and day labour. Their population is mixed between Hindus and Muslims. Like other Dalit communities, they were compelled to stay outside the settlements of caste Hindus in Dalit Bastis, which were not given many amenities. During the 19th centuries, Khatiks, like many other groups, often worked as migrant labourers on British government projects around the United Provinces. Although most were still very poor, some managed to find a niche in selling bristles to brush-makers in Europe and elsewhere. In the late Colonial period of Kanpur, there were several Khatik-owned firms in this business. Other business related to the butchery and tanning of animals continued in homes and businesses, often run by women. These bastis were looked down upon by high society, so several colonial laws were passed in 1929 which shut down home factories of leather and other products which were associated with the spread of disease. Attempts were also made by upper castes to 'clean' these bastis with soap and other materials.^[3][4]

Often when the police entered a Khatik basti to disrupt or otherwise impede the livelihoods of one subgroup of the community, the rest would respond. For instance in Varanasi in 1931, police launched an operation against fruit and vegetable sellers and other occupations in the khatik basti. The day labourers also from that basti would strike and refuse to unload goods near railway stations. Several Khatik Congress leaders like Shivmangal Ram Vaidh and Shivlal organised strikes and protests among Khatik fruit and vegetable vendors against exploitation by big traders and businessmen. Khatik day labourers would mobilise under the Adi-Hindu Sabha against begaar (forced labour) system which was prevalent at the time. Often Khatik labourers would make holes in grain bags used by businessmen who cheated them of daily wages and collect the spilt grain for free. In the 1950s, the Khatiks were originally left off the Scheduled Caste list and launched a mass movement to be added. When the Kalekar Commission came to Dalit bastis in Kanpur, Allahabad and other places in UP, the Khatiks opened their tanneries and their houses so the commission could see how they smelled. Often the elite newspapers would label their bastis as suarbaade (pig pens) as Vartman did in 1943 in Kanpur.^[3]

Some Khatiks also got enough education to become thekedars themselves, who would interceded on behalf of their fellows in the basti. They became leaders who replaced the old caste Panchayats and built temples and gurudwaras for the community. For instance a thekedar Bihari Lal Mistri and his sons were influential in Kanpur. They built a gurudwara and place of worship for the Sant Shivnarayan sect which was popular among Dalits in Uttar Pradesh at the time. When this movement was assimilated into the Adi-Hindu movement, the place continued to serve as a meeting point and spiritual centre for the community. Unlike other Dalit communities, Khatiks had no interest in attempting to Sanskritize themselves, only changing their surname to Sonkar.^[4]

While many Khatiks maintained a large distance from Hinduism, some Khatiks embraced reformist Hindu ideologies. The ideology of Hindutva in particular began to penetrate parts of Khatik society and led to their distancing from Muslims, often because of their association with pigs, despite living close by each other. So in 1992 during the riots in Kanpur, a Khatik named Kala Bachcha who had political influence and had become a BJP councillor organised rioting against Muslims. His son Rahul Bachha Sonkar is a BJP MLA from Bilhaur. Today the Khatik-Muslim mixed areas are still known as communal hotspots today.^[4] Today Hindu outfits are attempting to bring in Khatiks as 'Hindu butchers', as opposed to the Muslim butchers who produce Halal meat, to convince Hindus to boycott Halal, supported by several Khatik BJP leaders.^[5]

• Pinky Sonkar of Smile Pinki (2008) American documentary film directed by Megan Mylan^[6][7] which won the 81st Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).
• Heeralal Samariya Ex IAS & Ex Chief Commissioner of the Central Information Commission^[8][9]
• Narsingrao Suryawanshi (born 1952), Indian politician from Bidar
• Amar Singh Khatik, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh
• Banshi Lal Khatik, Member of Legislative Assembly, Rajsamand, Rajasthan
• Harishankar Khatik, Member of Legislative Assembly, Jatara
• Ramesh Prasad Khatik, Member of Legislative Assembly, Karera, Madhya Pradesh
• Shakuntala Khatik, Member of Legislative Assembly
• Uma Devi Khatik, Member of Legislative Assembly, Hatta, Madhya Pradesh
• Virendra Kumar Khatik, Protem Speaker, 7 times, Member of Parliament, Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh
• Manoj Rajoria Ex MP from Karauli-Dholpur, Rajasthan
• Babulal Nagar Ex Minister Government of Rajasthan. Ex MLA, Dudu in Jaipur, Rajasthan ^[10]
• Dinesh Khatik, Member of 17th Legislative Assembly, Hastinapur, Uttar Pradesh
• Atul Khatik, former MLA, Hastinapur
• Munshilal Khatik, State cabinet minister, Madhya Pradesh.
• Uttamchand Khatik former MLA
• Shankar Lal Khatik former MP, Sagar
• Ganeshram Khatik, former MLA,
• Kamta Prasad Khatik, MLA, Kolaras
• Omprakash Khatik, 3 times MLA, Kolaras
• Dariyav Khatik, former MLA, Jhajjar

The etymology of the word Khatik comes from Sanskrit word khattka or kautik meaning butcher or hunter.^{[citation needed]}

Most of the modern-day Khatiks are Hindus.

Khatiks are identified as Scheduled Caste in Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Schedule Caste in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi.^[2]