Meo (ethnic group)

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Meo
Elderly Meo people smoking hookah.png
Elderly Meo people smoking a hookah, a significant symbol of their culture.
Total population
270,000 ~ 600,000 (1984) [1]

Flag of India.svg India [1]

Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan [2]

Punjab:
Sindh:
Regions with significant populations
Haryana, Rajasthan
Languages
Mewati, Haryanvi, Kauravi, Rajasthani, Urdu
Religion
Star and Crescent.svg Islam

Meo (pronounced: mev or may-o) (also spelled Mayo or occasionally, Mewati) are a Muslim ethnic group originating from the Mewat region of north-western India. [3] [4] They largely prevalent in the Indian states of Rajasthan and Haryana and have a significant population in the Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan.

Contents

Origins and history

The term "Meo" semantically correlates with the historical region of Mewat. The term Mewati, in terms of use for ethnic classification, is also interchangeable with Meo. Although, not every Mewati is necessarily an ethnic Meo as the term is a general demonym for someone from Mewat.

The Khanzada Rajputs are often confused to be related to the Meos, they are in fact close to Gorwal gotra of Meos. The Khanzadas were considered distinct compared to the Meos, because Khanzada were ruling clan of Meos and they sided with Alwar king and British later for political reasons which was not acceptable by Meos, so Meos started considering Khanzadas as being not loyal to the community. From there developed enmity between this ruling clan of Meos and other Meos. This distinction is prevalent in the history of the region, where there was unclear class-divide between the Khanzadas of Mewat and the Meos, even until the British era. [5] [6] [7]

The earliest mention of the term Meo is in the 13th century in Persian records. [8] Meos consider their origins to be from the Kshatriyas, similar to the Rajputs. According to one theory of origin they were early Hindu Rajputs who converted to Islam between the 9th and 17th century, largely before and partly during the Delhi Sultanate period until as late as under the Mughal empire. [9] [10] [4] The conversion was majorly influenced by Sufi Movement and the conversions of Meo chieftains like Nahar singh(Nahar khan).

Over the centuries, they have maintained their age-old distinctive cultural identity. According to S. L. Sharma and R. N. Srivastava, Mughal persecution had little effect on the strengthening of their Islamic identity, but it reinforced their resistance to Mughal rule. [11] Though the general claim of Kshatriya descent may be true, some of them may be descendants of other castes who might have laid claim to this ancestry after converting to Islam to enhance their social standing. [12]

Before dividing Meos under 12 pals and 52 gotras, Meos were primarily known by their prominant Vansh names such as Tomars/ Tanwars/Tuars, Jadons, Pahats(Chauhans). There are several occasions in history where Meos can be seen referring each other by Vansh names like Tanwars or jadons and not merely by gotra names. While the kinship structure is closer to the system of the Jats, which is prevalent in the nearby regions of Haryana and Rajasthan. It thus seems possible that some Meos belonged to many different castes and not just to the Rajputs; [13] [14] [15] But this phenomenon is also seen in other castes and communities and is not limited to the Meos. [16]

Cultural connections

Meos speak Mewati, a language of the Indo-Aryan language family, [1] although in some areas the language dominance of Urdu and Hindi has seen Meos adopt these languages instead. [17]

Hindu inhabitants of Mewat, although belonging to the same Kshatriya castes to which the Meos belonged before conversion to Islam, are not called Meo. Thus the word Meo is both region-specific and religion-specific. According to many, Meos come from many Hindu clans who converted to Islam and amalgamated as the Meo community, however there is no solid basis for this claim. [14]

Meos profess Islam but the roots of their ethnic structure are in Hindu caste society. Meos share most of their culture with their Hindu counterparts from neighboring areas in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Like Hindus of the north, the Meo do not marry within their own gotras although Islam permits marriage with cousins. Solemnization of marriage among Meos was not complete without both nikah and saptapadi, although the latter has been mostly abandoned with the advent of Islam. [18] Some gotras of the Meos believe that they are direct descendants of Krishna and Rama. [4] [19]

Gotras

Meos were divided into three vansh (dynasties or lineages), thirteen pals (larger clans) and fifty-two gotras (clans) by RanaKaku Balot Meo in the 13th century. [20] [21] Meos have twelve pals including a thirteenth inferior pal. Meo claim to originate from the Kshatriyas, which the Rajputs originate from, hence why many clans are shared with them. [22]

Pals and Gotras

List of Pals

  • Ratwat
  • Dedwal
  • Lundawat
  • Balot
  • Nai
  • Poonglot
  • Dulot
  • Chhirkalot
  • Demrot
  • Kalisa
  • Sengal
  • Dhengal
  • Pahat(thirteenth inferior pal)
Table of Gotras
Agnivanshi clans Chandravanshi clans Surajvanshi clans

(5 total)

Pawar descendants (3 total) Chauhan descendants (10 total) Tomar descendants (18 total) Jadaun descendants (16 total)
KhokkarChaurasiaKangar (Kanga)Nai (Bhamdawat)Dehangal
MalikJamaliyaTanwar (Mangaria-Surohiya)ChhokarSengal (Badgujar)
Pawar (Mewal)JonwalBilyanaBhatiKalisa (Pahat)
ChauhanRatawatVeerGodh
KalsiaSukeda-SukheraBhablaGomal
Kanwaliya (Kamaaliya)GehlotJhangala
Mark (Mandar)KarkatiyaSilania
PahatLamkharaKholdar (Untwaal)
SapoliaNanglotSodola
SaugunMatyavatDulot
SagadawatChhirkalot
JatlawatBhegot
Balot (Bugla)Naharwad
KatariaDemrot (Boridha)
BodhiyanPoonglot (Sekhawat)
Ludawat or BaghodiaGorwal (Khanzada)
Majilawat-Jhelawat-Kadawat, Dhatawat-Lalawat

Marriage and kinship customs

Meos generally do not follow the Muslim law of inheritance and so among them, like various other communities in the region, custom makes a younger cousin marry the widow of the deceased by a simple Nikah ceremony. [23]

Geography and demography

Post-independence change

Despite pressure to do so from the regional princely states of Alwar and Bharatpur, ruled by Gorwal Khanzadas, the Meo Rajput community decided not to migrate to Pakistan during the Partition of India. [20] During 1947, Meo were displaced from Alwar and Bharatpur districts and there was significant loss of life in intercommunal violence. [19] : 191  The population of Meos drastically decreased in Alwarand and Bharatpur. [19] : 191  However, many old mosques from pre-independence era are still present there.

In 1947, Mahatma Gandhi visited Ghasera, a village in present-day Nuh district to urge the Muslims living there not to leave, calling the Meos "Iss desh ki reed ki haddi" or 'the backbone of the country', India. Due to this, the people of Ghasera still celebrate Mewat Day. [24] [25]

Although on the whole the community did not migrate, there were a number of gotras of the Meos who, on an individual basis, did decide to relocate to Pakistan during partition. They were mostly settled in Pakistani districts of Sialkot, Lahore, Karachi, Narowal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Multan, Haiderabad and Kasur, among others. [20]

According to the 2023 Pakistani census, there are around 1.1 million Mewati speakers in Pakistan, predominantly in the Punjab and also in Sindh province. [26] While the estimated population of Meos is over 2 million. [27]

Legacy

Resisting Regimes is the first political anthropological and social-historical study detailing the Meos. [28]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Resisting Regimes</i> 1997 book by Shail Mayaram

Resisting Regimes: Myth, Memory, and the Shaping of a Muslim Identity is a political anthropological account and social history detailing the Meo, an ethnic group native to the Mewat region in north-western India—the birthplace of Tablighi Jamaat. Authored by Shail Mayaram and published by Oxford University Press in 1997, this work is recognized as the first in its genre. Through a combination of archival research and fieldwork, the book scrutinizes the intricate processes of state formation and the evolution of ethnic identity within a dynamic milieu marked by nationalist fervor, ritual sovereignty, pan-Indian and global movements, tensions between Hindu and Muslim organizations, and instances of genocidal violence in the princely states of Alwar and Bharatpur during the twentieth century. The narrative develops through the lens of the Meo oral tradition. The author argues for a liminal identity for the Meos, incorporating elements of Hindu, tantric, and Islamic beliefs. Over time, historical events catalyzed an Islamization process within the Meo community, particularly influenced by the presence of Tablighi Jama'at. This book is an integral component of the author's broader project focused on Meo oral traditions in eastern Rajasthan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kukreja, Reena (2020), "Meo Muslim, Mev, Mewati Muslim", Database of Religious History, University of British Columbia, doi:10.14288/1.0394975, S2CID   238914736
  2. ↑ Meo, Shahabuddin Khan (2011). History of Mewat–An Outline. Khan Foundation for Education and Research. Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan. Vol. 48, no. 1. Department of History, Quaik-e Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. ISSN   0034-5431. PDF file
  3. ↑ Naqvi, Saba (30 March 2016). "Meet the Muslims who consider themselves descendants of Arjuna". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Ghosh, Paramita (16 September 2016). "What you should know about the Meo Muslims of Mewat". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Brief History of the District". Census of India 2011 - Haryana - Series 07 - Part XII A - District Census Handbook, Mewat (PDF) (2011 ed.). Mewat: Directorate of Census Operations, Haryana. p. 7. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Bhardwaj, Suraj Bhan (2017). "The making of a region in medieval India: Mewat from 13th to 18th centuries". Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. 8 (2): 131. doi:10.5958/2321-5828.2017.00019.5. ISSN   0975-6795.
  7. ↑ Ahmed, Aijaz (July 2023). "Role of Meos in Independence Movement of India" (PDF). International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews. 4: 2726–2732.
  8. ↑ BALACHANDRAN, P. K. (22 August 2023). "Why The Meos of Mewat Have Aroused Right Wing Ire". www.thecitizen.in. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  9. ↑ Mathur, Malati (2006). "The Mewati Mahabharata: Pandun Ka Kaba". In Trikha, Pradeep (ed.). Textuality and inter-textuality in the Mahabharata: Myth, meaning and metamorphosis. Sarup & Sons. p. 84. ISBN   9788176256919.
  10. ↑ Chauhan, Abha (2004). "Custom, Religion and Social Change Among the Meos of Mewat". In Gupta, Surendra K. (ed.). Emerging Social Science Concerns: Festschrift in Honour of Professor Yogesh Atal. Concept Publishing. p. 365. ISBN   9788180690983.
  11. ↑ Eaton, Richard M. (1993). The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204-1760. Berkeley, California, USA: University of California Press. p. 55. ISBN   9780520205079 . Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Parry, Jonathan P. (1978). Caste and Kinship in Kangra (First ed.). Routledge. p. 133. ISBN   978-1138862036.
  13. ↑ Aggarwal, Partap C. (1978). "Caste hierarchy in a Meo village of Rajasthan". In Imtiaz Ahmad (ed.). Caste and social stratification among Muslims in India (2nd revised and enlarged ed.). New Delhi: South Asia Books. pp. 141–158. ISBN   9780836400502.
  14. 1 2 Prasad, Jitendra (2003). "Plural ethnic group characteristics: The nature of identity formation in Haryana". Guru Nanak Journal of Sociology. 24 (2): 1–21. ISSN   0970-0242 . Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  15. ↑ Mayaram, Shail (2003). "Antistate: The Pāl Polity". Against History, Against State: Counterperspectives from the Margins. Columbia University Press. pp. 49–73. ISBN   978-0-231-12730-1. p. 57: The Meo kinship structure is closer to the Jat system prevalent in Punjab and Rajasthan where the subcaste comprises segmented exogamous intermarrying gots rather than to the Muslim system in which women are retained within the descent group.
  16. ↑ Mayer, Adrian C. (1998). Caste and Kinship in Central India. Psychology Press. pp. 161–163. ISBN   978-0-415-17567-8.
  17. ↑ Ahmad, Aijaz (July 2021). History of Mewat. p. 23. ISBN   978-81-933914-2-6.
  18. ↑ Chauhan, Abha (2003). "Kinship Principles and the Pattern of Marriage Alliance: The Meos of Mewat". Sociological Bulletin. 52 (1): 71–90. doi:10.1177/0038022920030104. ISSN   0038-0229. JSTOR   23620302.
  19. 1 2 3 Mayaram, Shail (1997). Resisting regimes: Myth, memory, and the shaping of a Muslim identity. Delhi Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195639551.
  20. 1 2 3 Sardar Azeemullah Khan Meo. Meo Rajput . Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  21. ↑ Ahmad, Aijaz (April 2001). "Origin of the Meos: An assessment". The Punjab Past and Present. 32 (1): 39–44. ISBN   81-7380-878-3. Serial No. 63.
  22. ↑ "How Meos Shape Their Identity". 4 March 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. ↑ Hashim Amir Ali; Mohammad Rafiq Khan; Om Prakash Kumar (1970). The Meos of Mewat: Old neighbours of New Delhi. Oxford & IBH Pub. Co. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  24. ↑ "Photos: 71 years after independence, Gandhi Gram Ghasera battles neglect". Hindustan Times. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  25. ↑ Bordia, Radhika (30 January 2019). "Why the Meo Muslims in Mewat remember Mahatma Gandhi in December every year". Scroll.in. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  26. ↑ "POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE, SEX AND RURAL/ URBAN" (PDF). www.pbs.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  27. ↑ Guru Nanak Journal of Sociology. Sociology Department, Guru Nanak Dev University. 2003.
  28. ↑ Robinson, Rowena (1999). "Book reviews and notices : SHAIL MAYARAM, Resisting regimes: Myth, memory and the shaping of a Muslim identity". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 33 (1–2): 463. doi:10.1177/006996679903300141. ISSN   0069-9667.

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