The Chunvalia,[1] or Chuvalia,[2] Chunwalia[3] is a subcaste of the Koli caste, found in the Indian state of Gujarat.

[11] During the reign of Gujarat Sultanate, the Chunvalia Kolis, under their chief or petty ruler, were viewed as "the most turbulent caste" and plundered the villages inhabited by Muslims.

In the 19th century, as their land holdings and access to livelihoods decreased, they troubled the British Raj; it viewed their activities as antisocial.

So Chuvalia Koli chiefs attacked and plundered the villages and created a disturbance in territories under the control of the British Raj.

These accounts relate how, led by their chiefs, Thakardas or Girasias, they lived in villages protected by impassable thorn fences from where they levied contributions from the surrounding districts.

Such designations, categorising entire social groups as they did, resulted from the scientific racism of the day, with its related erroneous theories of biological determinism, along with political considerations of colonial rule.