Ethnic group in western India
Ethnic group
Meena
1888 picture of Meenas
|
|
5 million
[1]
(
2011 Census
)
|
|
India
|
|
Mina
,
Hindi
,
Mewari
,
Marwari
,
Dhundari
,
Harauti
,
Mewati
,
Wagdi
,
Malvi
,
Bhili
etc.
[2]
[3]
|
|
Hinduism
(99.7%), others (0.14%)
[4]
|
|
•
Bhil
•
Parihar
•
Meo
|
Meena
(
pronounced
[miː?a]
) is a tribe from northern and western
India
which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the
Bhil
community.
[5]
[6]
It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a
spurious language
. Its name is also transliterated as
Meenanda
or
Mina
. They got the status of
Scheduled Tribe
by the
Government of India
in 1954.
[7]
Ethnography
The Meenas were originally a
nomadic tribe
.
[8]
[9]
They were described as a semi-wild and
hill tribe
similar to the
Bhils
.
[10]
But in the
British Raj
, for the fulfillment of its purpose by the
British Government
, they were described as a "criminal tribe" and listed according to the
Criminal Tribes Act
.
[11]
Presently they are described as
Scheduled Tribe
by the
Indian Government
.
[12]
Geography
Currently they are present in the states of
Rajasthan
,
Madhya Pradesh
,
Maharashtra
,
Uttar Pradesh
,
Punjab
and
Haryana
and the
Union Territory of Delhi
in
India
.
[12]
History
Origin
The Meenas claim a mythological descent from the
Matsya
avatar, or fish incarnation, of
Vishnu
.
[13]
They also claim to be descendants of the people of the Matsya Kingdom, which flourished in the 6th century B.C.
[14]
The historian Pramod Kumar notes that it is likely that the tribes living in the ancient Matsya kingdom were called Meena but it cannot be said with certainty that there is anything common between them and the modern Meenas. They are considered to be
adivasi
(aboriginal people).
[15]
Nandini Sinha Kapur, a historian who has studied early India, notes that the oral traditions of the Meenas were developed from the early 19th century AD in an attempt to reconstruct their identity. She says of this process, which continued throughout the 20th century, that "The Minas try to furnish themselves a respectable present by giving themselves a
glorious past
". In common with the people of countries such as
Finland
and
Scotland
, the Meenas found it necessary to invent tradition through oral accounts, one of the primary uses of which is recognised by both historians and sociologists as being "social protest against injustices, exploitation and oppression, a
raison d'etre
that helps to retrieve the image of a community." Kapur notes that the Meenas not merely lack a recorded history of their own but also have been depicted in a negative manner both by medieval
Persian
accounts and records of the colonial period. From medieval times through to the
British Raj
, references to the Meenas describe them as violent, plundering criminals and an anti-social ethnic
tribal
group.
[16]
According to Kapur, the Meenas also attempt
Rajputization
of themselves.
[17]
[18]
Rajput period
The Meenas ruled at certain places in Rajasthan until they were overpowered by invading
Rajputs
. After the end of their rule, the Meenas made forests and hills their shelter and started fighting to get back their kingdom. One such example was the
Kingdom of Amber
, Who had to face many wars to stop their struggle and later established peace by making treaty with conditionals.
[19]
[20]
From Meenas the
Bundi
was captured by Rao Dewa (A.D. 1342),
Dhundhar
by
Kachhwaha
Rajputs and Chopoli fell to the
Muslim
rulers.
Kota
,
Jhalawar
,
Karauli
and
Jalore
were the other areas of earlier Meena influence where they were forced to surrender ultimately.
[21]
British colonial period
The Raj colonial administration came into existence in 1858, following the
Indian Rebellion of 1857
which caused the government of Britain to decide that leaving colonial administration in the hands of the
East India Company
was a recipe for further discontent. In an attempt to create an orderly administration through a better understanding of the populace, the Raj authorities instituted various measures of classifying the people of India.
[22]
One such measure was the
Criminal Tribes Act
of 1871, under the provisions of which Meenas were placed in the first list of the Act in 1872 in
Patiala and East Punjab States Union
,
Rajasthan
and
Punjab
.
[23]
Another such measure was the
Habitual Criminals Act
of 1930, under whose provisions the Meenas were placed.
[24]
The community remained stigmatised for many years, notably by influential officials of the Raj such as
Herbert Hope Risley
and
Denzil Ibbetson
, and were sometimes categorised as
animists
and as a
hill tribe
similar to the
Bhils
.
[10]
The Meenas remained an officially designated
criminal tribe
until 1952, three years after the Act had been repealed. Mark Brown has examined the impact and issues of the Meena community during British rule and the change in their status from being a higher social group to a criminal tribe.
[25]
Rebellion
In the 1840s, Meenas organized a huge movement in Jaipur under the leadership of Lakshminarayan Jharwal against the British rule, which was a Meena rebellion against the British government.
[26]
Recent history
Kumar Suresh Singh
notes that the Meenas have not abandoned their
customary laws
[27]
Meenas have better rights for women in many respects compared to many other Hindu castes.
[28]
Caste reservation
The Meena fall into the
Scheduled Tribe
category in the state of
Rajasthan
and the majority of them are classified as being Hindu,
[29]
but in
Madhya Pradesh
Meena are recognised as a Scheduled Tribe only in Sironj Tehsil,
Vidisha
, while in the other 44 districts of the state they are categorised as
Other Backward Classes
.
[30]
In Rajasthan, the Meena caste members oppose the entry of
Gurjars
into Scheduled Tribe fold, fearing that their own share of Scheduled Tribe reservation benefits will be eroded.
[31]
It is believed by media that the well-off Meena community enjoy a major share of ST reservation at the cost of other tribals.
[32]
[33]
Subdivisions
The Meenas themselves are also a sub-group of Bhils.
[34]
The Meena tribe is divided into several clans and sub-clans (
adakh
s), which are named after their ancestors. Some of the
adakh
s include Ariat, Ahari, Katara, Kalsua, Kharadi, Damore, Ghoghra, Dali, Doma, Nanama, Dadore, Manaut, Charpota, Mahinda, Rana, Damia, Dadia, Parmar, Phargi, Bamna, Khat, Hurat, Hela, Bhagora, and Wagat.
[15]
Bhil Meena
is another sub-division among the Meenas. As part of a
sanskritisation
process, some Bhils present themselves as Meenas, who hold a higher socio-economic status compared to the Bhil tribal people.
[35]
A sub-group known as "Ujwal Meena" (also "Ujala Meena" or "
Parihar
Meena") seek higher status, and claim to be Rajputs, thus distinguishing themselves from the Bhil Meenas. They follow vegetarianism, unlike other Meenas whom they designated as "Mailay Meena".
[36]
Other prevalent social groupings are Zamindar Meena and the Chaukidar Meena. The Zamindar Meena, comparatively well-off, are those who surrendered to powerful Rajput invaders and settled on the lands believe to be granted by the Rajputs. Those who did not surrender to Rajput rule and kept on waging guerrilla warfare are called the Chaukidar Meena.
[37]
Culture
There is a custom in the Meenas to perform
Pitra Tarpan
after taking a collective bath on the day of
Diwali
.
[38]
They adopt the culture of worshiping trees and plants in marriages, festivals and other ceremonies as per the
Dharadi
tradition.
[39]
They worship different family deities according to the gotra.
[40]
They celebrate
Meenesh Jayanti
on the third day of the
Chaitra
month's
Shukla paksha
.
[13]
Art
Mandana Paintings
are widely practiced by the women of the Meena tribe.
[41]
Demographics
According to the
2011 Census of India
, the Meenas have a total population of 5 million.
[42]
According to a report by
Hindustan Times
, the population of Meenas in
Rajasthan
is 7% of the state's population.
[43]
And according to the report of a
German
news television
Deutsche Welle
, the Meenas constitute 10% of the population of the state of Rajasthan.
[7]
Whereas according to a report by
BBC Hindi
, the population of Meenas is 14% of the state's population.
[44]
See also
References
- ^
Prakash, Ravi (18 November 2020).
"???? ?????????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ???, ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???"
(in Hindi).
Ranchi
:
BBC Hindi
. Retrieved
18 February
2022
.
- ^
The assignment of an ISO code [myi] for the Meena language was spurious (Hammarstrom (2015)
Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
). The code was retired in 2019.
- ^
"A Sociological Evaluation of the Major Government Schemes Meant for Promoting Education and Health among The Members of the Meena Tribe in Rajasthan"
(PDF)
.
- ^
"Meena in India"
.
Joshua Project
. Retrieved
3 September
2023
.
- ^
Sezgin, Yuksel (2011).
Human Rights and Legal Pluralism
.
LIT Verlag
Munster
. p. 41.
ISBN
9783643999054
.
Archived
from the original on 12 October 2014
. Retrieved
8 October
2014
.
- ^
Rath, Govinda Chandra (2013).
Emerging Trends in Indian Politics
. Taylor & Francis. p. 166.
ISBN
9781136198557
.
- ^
a
b
"???? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ?????? | DW | 12.02.2019"
.
Deutsche Welle
(in Hindi)
. Retrieved
12 May
2022
.
- ^
"Mina"
.
- ^
The Culture of India
. The Rosen Publishing Group. 15 August 2010. p. 36.
ISBN
9781615301492
.
- ^
a
b
Kapur, Nandini Sinha (2007).
"The Minas: Seeking a Place in History"
. In Bel, Bernard (ed.).
The Social and the Symbolic
. Sage. p. 131.
ISBN
978-0-76193-446-2
.
- ^
"Crime, Liberalism and Empire: Governing the Mina Tribe of Northern India"
.
- ^
a
b
"List of notified Scheduled Tribes"
(PDF)
. Census India. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 7 November 2013
. Retrieved
18 February
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Kapur, Nandini Sinha (2000). "Reconstructing Identities and Situating Themselves in History : A Preliminary Note on the Meenas of Jaipur Locality".
Indian Historical Review
.
27
(1): 29?43.
doi
:
10.1177/037698360002700103
.
S2CID
141602938
.
the entire community claims descent from the Matsya (fish) incarnation of Vishnu
- ^
Pati, Rabindra Nath; Dash, Jagannatha (2002).
Tribal and Indigenous People of India: Problems and Prospects
. APH Publishing. p. 12.
ISBN
978-8-17648-322-3
.
- ^
a
b
Kumar, Pramod (1984).
Folk Icons and Rituals in Tribal Life
. Abhinav. pp. 3?4.
ISBN
978-8-17017-185-0
.
- ^
Kapur, Nandini Sinha (2007).
"The Minas: Seeking a Place in History"
. In Bel, Bernard (ed.).
The Social and the Symbolic
. Sage. pp. 129?131.
ISBN
9780761934462
.
- ^
Kapur, Nandini Sinha (2007).
"Minas Seeking a Place in History"
. In Bel, Bernard; Brouwer, Jan; Das, Biswajit; Parthasarathi, Vibodh; Poitevin, Guy (eds.).
The Social and the Symbolic: Volume II
.
Sage
. pp. 129?146.
ISBN
978-8132101178
.
- ^
Kothiyal, Tanuja (14 March 2016).
Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert
. Cambridge University Press. p. 265.
ISBN
978-1-107-08031-7
.
from gradual transformation of mobile pastoral and tribal groups into landed sedentary ones. The process of settlement involved both control over mobile resources through raids, battles and trade as well as channelizing of these resources into agrarian expansion. Kinship structures as well as marital and martial alliances were instrumental in this transformation. ... In the colonial ethnographic accounts rather than referring to Rajputs as having emerged from other communities, Bhils, Mers, Minas, Gujars, Jats, Raikas, all lay a claim to a Rajput past from where they claim to have 'fallen'. Historical processes, however, suggest just the opposite.
- ^
Ramusack, Barbara N. (8 January 2004).
The Indian Princes and their States
. Cambridge University Press. p. 19.
ISBN
9781139449083
.
- ^
Rima Hooja (2006).
A history of Rajasthan
. Rupa & Co. p. 396.
ISBN
9788129108906
.
OCLC
80362053
.
- ^
Meena, Madan (2021).
"Rulers, Criminals and Denotified Tribe: A Historical Journey of the Meenas"
.
Tribe-British Relations in India
. Springer Nature. pp. 275?290.
doi
:
10.1007/978-981-16-3424-6_17
.
ISBN
978-981-16-3423-9
.
S2CID
240554356
.
- ^
Naithani, Sadhana (2006).
In quest of Indian folktales: Pandit Ram Gharib Chaube and William Crooke
. Indiana University Press.
ISBN
978-0-253-34544-8
. Retrieved
15 April
2013
.
- ^
"Caught in nostalgia: Artist Madan Meena's work inspired from 'The Thirsty Crow'
"
.
- ^
Danver, Steven L. (2015).
Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues
.
Routledge
. p. 550.
ISBN
9781317464006
.
- ^
Brown, Mark (2004). "Crime, Liberalism and Empire: Governing the Mina Tribe of Northern India".
Social and Legal Studies
.
13
(2): 191?218.
doi
:
10.1177/0964663904042551
.
S2CID
143535325
.
- ^
Bajrange, Dakxinkumar; Gandee, Sarah; Gould, William (2019).
"Settling the Citizen, Settling the Nomad: 'Habitual offenders', rebellion, and civic consciousness in western India, 1938?1952"
(PDF)
.
Modern Asian Studies
.
54
(2): 337?383.
doi
:
10.1017/S0026749X18000136
.
S2CID
56335179
.
- ^
Singh, K. S.
(1993).
Tribal Ethnography, Customary Law, and Change
. Concept Publishing Company. p. 300.
ISBN
9788170224716
.
- ^
Kishwar, Madhu (13 August 1994). "Codified Hindu Law: Myth and Reality".
Economic and Political Weekly
.
29
(33): 2145?2161.
JSTOR
4401625
.
- ^
Sezgin, Yuksel (2011).
Human Rights and Legal Pluralism
. LIT Verlag Munster. p. 41.
ISBN
978-3-64399-905-4
. Retrieved
8 October
2014
.
- ^
Patel, Mahendra Lal (1997).
Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects
. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 35.
ISBN
978-8-17533-029-0
. Retrieved
8 October
2014
.
- ^
Satyanarayana (2010).
Ethics: Theory and Practice
. Pearson Education India. p. 96.
ISBN
978-8-13172-947-2
.
- ^
"How Meenas got the ST status"
.
The Economic Times
. 31 May 2007.
- ^
"Flip side of the Jat agitation in Haryana"
.
India Today
. 9 March 2012.
- ^
Sezgin, Yuksel (2011).
Human Rights and Legal Pluralism
. LIT Verlag Munster.
ISBN
9783643999054
.
- ^
Majhi, Anita Srivastava (2010).
Tribal Culture, Continuity, and Change: A Study of Bhils in Rajasthan
. Mittal. p. 127.
ISBN
978-8-18324-298-1
.
- ^
Sodh, Jiwan (1999).
A Study of Bundi School of Painting
. Abhinav. p. 31.
ISBN
978-8-17017-347-2
.
- ^
Mann, Rann Singh; Mann, K. (1989).
Tribal Cultures and Change
. Mittal Publications. p. 18.
- ^
Das, Jayasree; Chakraborty, Sudipta (2021).
"Scope of dark tourism as a revival strategy for the industry"
(PDF)
.
Business Studies
.
XLII
(1 & 2).
- ^
Meena, Ram (5 May 2020).
"Sociolinguistic Study of Meena / Mina Tribe In comparison to other Tribes of Rajasthan"
. pp. 45?58.
- ^
Danver, Steven L. (10 March 2015).
Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues
. Routledge. p. 550.
ISBN
9781317464006
.
- ^
Meena, Madan
(2009).
Nurturing Walls: Animal Paintings by Meena Women
. Tara Books.
ISBN
978-8-18-621168-7
.
- ^
"Will the tribals get their separate religion code, Jharkhand's proposal is now with the Modi government"
.
BBC
.
- ^
"In Rajasthan, tribal body acts as family court for ST couples"
.
Hindustan Times
.
- ^
"??????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ???? ??????"
.
BBC
(in Hindi). June 2007
. Retrieved
12 May
2022
.
Further reading
- Adak, Dipak Kumar.
Demography and health profile of the tribals: a study of M.P
. Anmol Publications.
- Brown, Mark (2003).
"Ethnology and Colonial Administration in Nineteenth-Century British India: The Question of Native Crime and Criminality"
.
The British Journal for the History of Science
.
36
(2): 201?219.
doi
:
10.1017/S0007087403005004
.
JSTOR
4028233
.
- Bajrange, Dakxinkumar; Gandee, Sarah; Gould, William (2019).
"Settling the Citizen, Settling the Nomad: 'Habitual offenders', rebellion, and civic consciousness in western India, 1938?1952"
.
Modern Asian Studies
.
54
(2): 337?383.
doi
:
10.1017/S0026749X18000136
.
S2CID
56335179
.
- Piliavsky, Anastasia (2015).
"The "Criminal Tribe" in India before the British"
.
Comparative Studies in Society and History
.
57
(2): 323?354.
doi
:
10.1017/S0010417515000055
.
JSTOR
43908348
.
S2CID
144894079
.
- Sharma, Sohan Lal (2008).
Emerging Tribal Identity: A Study of Minas of Rajasthan
. Rawat Publications.
ISBN
9788131602386
.
JSTOR
23620676
.
- Channa, V.C. (2008). "Development in Meena Villages: A Case Study".
Indian Anthropologist
.
38
(1): 33?42.
JSTOR
41920055
.
- Meena, Madan (2021).
"Rulers, Criminals and Denotified Tribe: A Historical Journey of the Meenas"
.
Tribe-British Relations in India
. Springer Nature. pp. 275?290.
doi
:
10.1007/978-981-16-3424-6_17
.
ISBN
978-981-16-3423-9
.
S2CID
240554356
.
|
---|
Hindu and Jain communities
| Agricultural communities
| |
---|
Mercantile communities
| |
---|
Artisan communities
| |
---|
Genealogist communities
| |
---|
Priest communities
| |
---|
Tribal communities
| |
---|
|
---|
Muslim communities
|
|
---|