The chikara is a bowed stringed musical instrument from India used to play Indian folk music.

It is used by the tribal people of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The chikara is a simple spike fiddle played, similarly to the sarangi or sarinda, by sliding fingernails on the strings rather than pressing them to touch the fingerboard.

[1] It has 3 strings, two horse hair and one steel,[2] in 3 courses and is tuned C, F, G. The term "chikara" is often used ambiguously to describe a variety of unrelated folk fiddles of northern India.

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