Bhil or Bheel refer to the various indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura.

Bhils are listed as tribal people in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan—all in the western Deccan regions and central India—as well as in Bengal and Tripura in far-eastern India, on the border with Bangladesh.

Some scholars suggest that the term Bhil is derived from the word billa or billu which means bow in the Dravidian lexis.

The term Bhil is used to refer to "various ethnic communities" living in the forests and hills of Rajasthan's southern parts and surrounding regions of western India, highlighting the "popularity of the bow and arrow as a weapon among these groups".

[4] According to John Samuel, as per legendary and historical records, the Bhil tribals controlled large parts of Gujarat from 11th to 15th century before the Rajputs conquered the territories from these locals.

Susan Abraham notes that many of the tribes characterised as criminal under the Act had earlier rebelled against the East India Company and participated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

She claims that the British colonial government legislated the Act in 1871 in the wake of these autochthonic tribes' proclivity for rebellion.

[9] According to Ram Pande, in 1881, the Bhils protested against "the census classification, prohibition on alcohol manufacture, establishment of police and customs, and the ban on the killing of witches".

Pande suggests that because of his long-term Brahminical Hinduism missionary work among the tribe, Govind was able to stop them consuming meat and alcohol, and to pressurise the state for the formation of village councils which could administer their own affairs and for barring forced labour.

In 1917, Mewar State's Girasias joined the Bhils in the struggle to get the petty taxes and forced labour quashed, and to get the land revenues decreased.

Taking note of these protests, the jagirdars of Mewar had called on a British political agent to suppress the mutiny.

Tejawat's thoughts drew followers from the Bhils and Girasias of the Danta, Idar, Palanpur and Sirohi regions of Gujarat; and he "became a notorious offender against the state".

[citation needed] A large number of Bhils live in the neighbouring states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

On festive occasions, various special preparation from the dish rich, i.e. maize, wheat, barley, malt and rice.

[citation needed] During some festivals there are a number of tribal fairs held at different places of districts.

Women dance at birth celebrations, marriage functions and on a few festivals in traditional Bhili style accompanied by a drum beat.

Musical instruments include the Harmonium, Sarangi, Kundi, Bansuri, Apang, Khajria, Tabla, Jhanjh, Mandal and Thali.

[35] In 2023, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA leader Chaitar Vasava raised demand for separate state of Bhil Pradesh.