Meena Indian Historical Review 2000 Sinha 29 43

RECONSTRUCTING IDENTITY AND SITUATING THEMSELVESIN HISTORY: A PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE MEENAS OF

JAIPUR LOCALITY*

Nandini Sinha

This short essay is based on oral traditions of the Meenas (the largest tribal community ofRajasthan)' of Jaipur locality recorded in the early nineteenth century bardic traditionsand Koormaviliisa Vamsavalzof the Kachhawaha royal family, NainsirtKhydt, rural recordsand exploration records. As far as oral traditions of Meenas are concerned, they are confinedto that part which narrates their history. Attempts that began in the early nineteenth centurycontinued to be reaffirmed through the twentieth century'. Meenas try and lend themselvesa respectable present by giving themselves a "glorious past". This essay consists of threesections. While the first section discusses importance of oral traditions as sources of history,elite perception ofMeenas from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries, the second sectionfocuses on general context of regional state formation in which construction of a "history",inventions and adaptations underlying these legends are discussed", and the third sectionhighlights the territorial process of state formation in medieval Jaipur to situate theKachhawaha-Meena relationship in the historical context. This section also focuses on thepolitical and economic importance of the Meenas for the early Kachhawaha state (sixteenthcentury) and marginalization of Meenas by the eighteenth century. In conclusion, we brieflyintroduce some important aspects of "Rajputization" of the Meenas of Jaipur and sum upthe results of the study.

I

Importance of oral tradition in reconstructing identity has been highlighted byhistorians and sociologists. For instance, one of the chief functions of oral traditions issocial protest against injustice, exploitation and oppression; it helps retrieve the image of

*This is a revised version of the paper presented at an international conference on "Cu+ture, Communicationand Power" organized by the Centre for Human Sciences, Embassy of France, New Delhi, and Department ofSociology, Jarnia Millia Islarnia, New Delhi. I am grateful to Bhairavi Prasad Sahu, Shereen Ratnagar,Biswamoy Pati, Kumkum Roy and the anonymous expert of ICHR for their insightful comments on thisessay.

"The term "tribal" is used here for the Meenas to describe them as an ethnic group. The author, at this point,would not like to go into the controversy of interrogating the use of "tribal" as a colonial category as it maydivert the focus of this essay.

2David Crystal, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia (Cambridge, New York, 1990), p. 649. Legend is defined asa vague term, either referring to stories of ancient heroes, saints or simply to fairy tales. It is usually, but nowalways, distinguished from myth, which deals with gods; and opposed to history, which is subject to criticaljudgement. .

at INDIAN INST OF MGMNT on January 26, 2015ihr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

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30 The Indian Historical Review

the community.' Since social protests have always to be contextualized, oral traditions havemostly been conceived as "invented"." Alan Dundes, while explaining his theory of"Nationalistic Inferiority Complexes and the Fabrication of Folklore" quotes instances ofScotland, Germany, Finland and twentieth century America, which undoubtedly had a needto invent traditions.' "These countries were suffering from a severe case of an inferioritycomplex and 'fokelore' apparently fills national psychic need, namely to assert one's nationalidentity, especially in time of crisis, and to instil pride in that identity". 6 But Indianexperience, whether bardic traditions of different communities or nationalism, questionssuch a perspective and, hence, calls for a critique of such generalizations. The opinion thatfolklore is always "fake" has also been questioned. In the context of making of identity,Madan Sarup observes, "The more recent view is that identity is fabricated, constructed, inprocess, and that we have to consider bothpsychologial and sociological factors. It cannotfully explain what most people experience. "7

Jan Vansina rightly points out that oral traditions are representations of the past in thepresent. 8 "One cannot deny either the past or the present in them. To attribute their wholecontent to the evanescent present as some sociologists do, is to mutilate tradition; it isreductionistic. To ignore the impact of the present as some historians have done, is equallyreductionistic. Traditions must always be understood as reflecting both past and present ina single breath. "9 Hence, "existing situations prompt explanations as to why they exist.Such explanations arise ex post facto and are, therefore, newly created messages" .10

Writing on tribals, David Hardiman, in his work on the Dangis of southern Gujarat,opines that it is wrong to believe in an absence of history among adivasis because it ishardly recorded. "The fact that they are known to have migrated from one area to another,and that they were in some cases a regionally dominant power -- all indicate that theirhistory is as full as that of the rulers whose deeds fill medieval ballads and chronicles" .11

Similarly, the history of Meenas has not only remained beyond records but they havealso been maligned. It is true that Persian chroniclers, like Ziyauddin Barani and Yahya binAhmad refer to the Mewatis or Meos and not the Meenas in their description of crimescommitted by the former around Delhi and Gurgaon-Alwar belt. For instance, Barani in hisTarikh-i-Firozshahi, describes the Meos of Mathura, Gurgaon, Alwar" and Bharatpur asdacoits who frequently attacked Delhi." Barani reports, "At night they were accustomed to

3Sahab Lal Srivastava, Folk Culture and Oral Tradition: A Comparative Study of Regions in Rajasthan andEastern Uttar Pradesh (New Delhi, 1974), pp. 280-82.4J.L. Fischer, "The Socio-psychological Analysis of Folk Tales", in Current Anthropology, Vol. 4, No.3(1963), p. 241. Also see Richard M. DOTson, "Current Folklore Theories" in Current Anthropology, Vol. 4,No.1, pp. 93-112.SEssays in Folkore Theory and Method (Madras, 1990), p. 38.6Ibid., p. 41."Identity, Culture and the Post Modern World (Edinburgh, 1996), p. 14.BOral Tradition As History (London, 1985), Preface, p. xii.9Ibid.'OIbid."The Coming of the Devi: Adivasi Assertion in Western India (Delhi, 1987), p. 12.12S ee Mohammed Azhar Ansari, ed., with an introduction by Javed Ashraf and Tasneem Ahmad, GeographicalGlimpses ofMedieval India, Vol. I (Delhi, 1989), pp. 95, 119. The Miwat or Mewat tract was located in Alwarregion.'3Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi's Hindi translation, Ad; Turk Kalin Bharat (Aligarh, 1956), pp. 163-64.



Meenas ofJaipur Locality 31

come prowling into the city of Delhi, giving all kinds of trouble and depriving people oftheir rest, and they plundered the country houses in the neighbourhood of the city. Theirdaring was carried to such an extent that the western gates of the city were shut at afternoonprayers and no one dared to leave it after that hour... In turn they were treated by theMohammedan rulers with the most merciless cruelty."!" On the other hand, Meenavdti orMeena territory is supposed to have comprised of the regions of Jaipur, Sawai Madhopurand Udaipur. 15 However, Meenas are also reported from the state of Bundi as early as theseventeenth century (see NainsirtKhyat) and "Mindesh'' also consisted of most of the easternpart of Rajasthan - Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli." Second, fluidity of ethnicpopulation in historic times does not make it an easy task to extricate the Meenas from theMewatis of eastern Rajasthan. Mayaram opines, "Now it is certainly possible, as suggestedearlier, that the Meos were a combination of many groups. Local populations must havebeen far more fluid than they are today. "17 Finally, this section does not deal with the problemof colonial construction of Meo-Meena equivalence but with the elite perception of suchethnic groups as those of Meos and Meenas. Having granted the distinction between Meosand Meenas, did the Rajasthani elite perceive the Meenas differently from the colonialrulers?

In Amarakdvyam, a seventeenth century Sanskrit text from the court ofMewar (southernRajasthan), the Meenas are clubbed together with Bhils as a violent social group. IS In otherwords, Meenas continued to be portrayed not only as an ethnic community along with othertribal population, but also as anti-social elements. Was there any change in the subsequentperiod? Their much maligned image remained intact till the nineteenth century. The imageof criminality of the Meos may have been constructed by the colonial administrators byequating Meenas with Meos through the story of the marriage of Darya Khan (Meo) andSasbadni Meena, but the inroads made into the livelihoods of pastoral and tribal groupswere not made by the colonial state for the first time. Mobilization of resources, extensionofagriculture, and strategic reasons necessitated inroads, however limited, by the pre-colonialstates in their regional contexts. Hence, Meenas were not treated much differently in thepre-colonial period. Whether influenced by the Persian chroniclers or economic interestsand Meo-Meena equivalence and criminality, of these mixed ethnic groups, colonial portrayalof the Meenas did not make any meaningful departure from seventeenth century royal recordsof Rajasthan. Lieutenant Colonel Locket, as early as 1831, observes the criminality of theMeenas of Kothputlee, Jaipur and Shekhawati. He writes, "The Meenas of Butteesee havepractised robbery as a profession from time immemorial, and in skill, dexterity and addressin their predatory calling and considerably inferior to no gang" .19 What Major Powlett recordsabout Meenas (possibly just not Meenas but gangs of mixed ethnic backgrounds) is nothing

14Citedin H.M. Elliot and John Dowson, History of India as Told by Its Historians, Vol. III (Allahabad, 1973),p. 103. Also see Wolseley Haig, The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (Delhi, 1958), pp. 72, 88.15Shail Mayaram, "Criminality or Community? Alternative Constructions of the Mev Narrative of Darya Khan",in Contributions to Indian Sociology (n.s.), Vol. XXV, No.1 (1991), p. 73.16S.H.M. Rizvi, Mina: The Ruling Tribe of Rajasthan (Delhi, 1987), p. 9.l'Shail Mayaram, op.cit., p. 67."Dev Kothari, ed, Ranachod Bhatt's Amarakavyam (Udaipur, 1985), p. 142, v.6.19Lt. Col. Locket (PA to Governor General), Narrative ofa Journey from Bhusawarin Bharatpur Terrority to Q

Part ofNorth Western States (Ajmer, 183l), p. 36.




but their plundering acts, arson and loot in the state of Mewat, city of Firozpur and theadjacent villages in the British territory. 20 D. Ibbetson in his Census Report of 1881(paragraph No. 582) observes: "The Meenas are the boldest of our criminal classes. Theirheadquarters so far as the Punjab is concerned are in the village of Shahjahanpur, attachedto the Gurgaon District but surrounded on all sides by Rajputana territory. There they untillately defied our police and even resisted them with armed force. Their enterprises are on alarge scale, and they are armed with small bows which do considerable execution. Theytravel great distances in gangs of from twelve to twenty men, practising robbery and dacoityeven as far as the Deccan" .21 Lieutenant Governor Sir Donald Macleod refers to the "heavyrobberies and dacoities (which had) long been rife ... in Hyderabad and elsewhere in theDakin... (and) almost invariably perpetrated by the Minas of Punjab and Jaipur", but providesno specific information of crimes committed."

In fact, the 26 per cent decrease in non-bailable offences in the Gurgaon Districtquestioned the very idea of surveillance since "the (non-bailable) crimes which they (Meenas)are said to be addicted to have not increased'r" according to Punjab Police Report 1868.Again, as mentioned in Bharatpur Police Report 1868, "we know the probabilities are thatbefore their (Meenas) return (from a thieving expedition) some deed of blood or torturewill be prepetrated ... though in justice to them it must be allowed that they rarely shedblood if it can be avoided, yet sooner they fail in the enterprise they are on, no scruple onthat score will stop them. Again the reason for their robbery is that it is their profession, forthe Meenas themselves claimed that God had decreed that their tribe should live byplunder. "24 The fall in the number ofMeenas convicted in Gurgaon was explained on accountof their predatory habits; that they rarely committed robberies locally, preferring to travellong distances to commit their crimes. Reference was also made to complaints receivedagainst Meenas from Jaipur, Bharatpur and Berar." Except in the case of Bharatpur, it didnot detail any significant increase in the activities of Meenas which could be related to thewithdrawal of the surveillance measure." The Political Agent of Jaipur reported that "theincreasing depredations of this class have been verbally complained of to me during thepast season throughout all the northern states of Rajpootana". 27

Meenas were finally declared a criminal tribe and covered under the Criminal TribeAct of 1871. 28 Although scholars suggest that the ChoukidartMeenas (dubbed as erstwhile

:!°R.V. Russell and H. Lal, Tribes and Castes ofthe Central Provinces ofIndia, Vol. IV (Netherlands, 1969), p.239.:!lIbid. Also see M.A. Sherring, Tribes and Castes ofRajasthan (Delhi, 1975), p. 78; B.L. Lohiya, Rajasthan kiJatian (Calcutta, 1954), pp. 242-43.:!:!Sanjay Nigam, "Disciplining and Policing the Criminals by Birth", Pt. 1, in Indian Economic and SocialHistory Review, Vol. 27, No.2 (1990), p. 134.2

3Report of the Administration ofCriminal Justice for 1868, paragraphs 12 and 13, Punjab Police Report 1868quoted in Sanjay Nigam, op.cit., p. 144, fn. 22.2

4Extracts of part of paras 101, 102, 104, 106 and 107 from Bharatpur Police Report for 1868 in GOI, Leg.Proceed, Nov. 1871, p. 57.2sIbid., p. 145, fn. 58.26Ibid., p. 145.27Ibid., p. 145., fn. 60.28Y.C. Shirnoga, The ex-Criminal Tribes of India (New Delhi, 1979), pp. 27-29; B.S. Bhargava, The CriminalTribes: A Socio-Economic Study of the Principal Criminal Tribes and Castes in Northern India (Lucknow,1949), p. 31.




"guerilla fighters", who possibly assaulted travellers and traders on the highways, in forestsand hills and later on employed as watchmen by ·the Jaipur state) and not the zimidar(zamindar) Meenas were ciassified as "criminal tribe", 29 yet the fact is that the Meenas ofJaipur at least till the fourth decade of the present century persistently complained aboutthe blanket coverage of the entire community by the Criminal Tribe Act of 1871. 30 "Thecaste was seen as unchanging and constant, an entity which was amenable to classificationand quantification" by the colonial administrators." What we, thus, see is colonialclassification strategy that reworked the inherited perception of Meenas while brandingthem as a "criminal tribe". In fact, as late as 1911, Meenas were being categorized as animistsand hill tribes along with Bhils, Bauries and Girasias" as well as cultivators-cumfreebooters."

Meenas of the state of Jaipur were no exception to the above portrayal. However, wediscuss a narrative that is placed much earlier than the branding of Meenas as "criminal" bythe colonial state between 1831 and 1871. An earlier claim to glorified "history" also supportsour contention that the pre-colonial perception of Meenas was not much different from thatof Meos. Hence, the history of the Meeans of Jaipur has to be analysed in the regionalcontext of the state of Jaipur. Therefore, the "history" of Meenas cannot be entirely attributedto colonial "inventions" as in the case of Zimbabwe." Besides Meenas, "Almost all of themajor adivasi jatis of the middle Indian region, stretching from Bengal in the east to Gujaratin the west, having during the past century made such collective efforts to change theirestablished way of life". 35 Hence, it would be inappropriate to refer to Alan Dundes' theoryof Nationalistic Inferiority Complexity" and instead, we should apply Eric Hobsbawm'sconcept of "invention of tradition":" to the "history" claimed by the Meenas of Jaipur in theearly nineteenth century -- an "invention' that arose out of a long experience. The contextwas Rajput state formation in Jaipur locality (anciently known as Dhundhar) as well asacquaintance with colonial representatives. Therefore, many claims that they made in theearly nineteenth century were definitely the results of their long experience of living withstate-society" as well as intruding state apparatus. But their experience was not necessarilythat of territorial loss and deprivation. It was not a mere sense of being "exploited" thatgave rise to a narrative history. The sum total of Meena-Kachhawaha interaction that seemsto have precipitated the construction of a particular self-image of at least the Meena chiefs

29K. Suresh Singh, People of India, Vol. XX (Anthropological Survey of India, New Delhi, 1966), p. 464."Balwant Singh, op.cit., pp. 266-70."Sanjay Nigam, op.cit., p.134. Also see Bernard S. Cohn, "Notes on the History of the Study of Indian Societyand Culture" in M. Singer and Bernard C. Cohn, ed, Structure and Change in Indian Society (Chicago, 1968),p.15.32Census of India, 1921, Vol XXIV, Rajputana; Ajmer-Merwara, Pt. 1, Report by B.J.L. Sharma (Calcutta,1923), pp. 95-96.33Herbert Risley, The People of India (2nd edition by W. Crooke) (Delhi, 1969), p. 308. See Mina.34Terence Ranger, "Invention of tribalism in Zimbabwe", Mambo Occasional Papers-- Socio-Economic SeriesNo. 19 (Gneru, Zimbabwe, 1985). I am greatful to Professor Shereen Ratnagar for presenting me with thisarticle.35David Hardiman, op.cit., pp. 5-6.36Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, ed, Invention of Tradition (Cambridge, 1983).371borrow this term from Professor B.D. Chattopadhyaya, who has used it in the context of early medival India.See his The Making ofEarly Medieval India (Delhi, 1994), p. 16.




of Jaipur can perhaps be explained both in terms of pre-nineteenth and early nineteenthcentury situations. But what is interesting to note is their appropriation and adaptation" ofa number of symbols, motifs and the structure of state-system".

II

The foremost legend that constitutes their history is that of the Rajput treacheryand the Meena foster father. The "story" not only reasserts their jurisdiction over theterritory of Jaipur state but also links their past with the Kachhawaha ruling family.Dhola Rae, the founder of the Kachhawaha state, was brought up by the Meena king ofKhogaown (5 miles of modern Jaipur). Mother along with her son, the fugitive prince(Dhola Rae) had joined the Meena royal household as a cook. Being pleased with the superiorfood cooked by her, Meena king enquired about her and discovered the rank of the illustriousfugitive. Meena king adopted her as his sister, and Dhola Rae as his nephew. When DholaRae attained the age of fourteen, he was sent to the court of Delhi with the tribute fromKhogaown as the Meena representative. The young Kachhawaha prince remained there forfive years, where he conceived the idea of usurping his benefactor's authority. On the fatefulnight of Diwali, Dhola Rae along with his Rajput allies from Delhi, enslaved a number ofMeenas and took over the Meena country (Dhundhar)." Dhola Rae's son, Maidal Rae,captured Amber (the capital of the Kachhawaha state of Jaipur) from Susawata Meenas(Amber being the capital of their chief Rao Bhato, the head of the Meena confederation)."In fact, the story of Rajput treachery and tribal foster father has been popular throughoutthose tribal regions ofRajasthan where the process of regional state formation has crystallizedover a long period of time in the pre-colonial times. A similar plot can also be seen in thetraditions of the Bhils ofMewar (Southern Rajasthan)." The Meenas of Bundi, too, claimedthe treacherous killing of their ancestors by the Hada-Chauhans to establish the Hada powerin Bundi.43 It is important to note that the Meenas of Bundi had started narrating their"history" as early as the seventeenth century. The spread of the idea of treachery fromBundi to Jaipur between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries evidently became popularin the territory of the Meenas of Jaipur.

38James M. Freeman, Untouchable: An Indian Life History (London, 1979), p. 386. "Adaptations refer to thecontinuous adjustments or changes that a person makes during the span of a life-time". Also see David G.Mandelbaum, "The Study of Life History: Gandhi", in Current Anthropology, Vo. 14, No. 13 (June 1973),p. 193. Mandelbaum defines adaptation as a built-in process which enables a person to alter some of hisestablished patterns of behaviour to cope with new conditions to maintain continuity or self-image or simplysurvival. See also Adam Kuper, ed, Process and Form in Social Life: Selected Essays ofFredrick Barth, Vol. II(London-Boston, 1981), p.115. Perhaps the situation of the Meenas of Jaipur in the early nineteenth centurymay remind us of the Swat Pathans, who had been assimilated into the larger socio-political canvas of theplains in Afghanistan. The direction and rate of assimilation of the Pathans is analysed in terms of the opportunitysituation of Pathans settled in the plains, which have always been under the sway of centralized government.391 borrow this term from Professor Romila Thapar. See her "State Formation in Early India", InternationalSocial Science Journal, Vol. 32, Pt 4 (1980), pp. 655-59.4OColonel James Tod, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. III (New Delhi, 1971), pp. 1329-30.4IIbid., pp. 1331-32.42Nandini Sinha, "State and Tribe: A Study of the Bhils in the Historic Setting of Southern Rajasthan" in SocialScience Probings, Vol. X, Nos 1-4, pp. 55-67.43Manohar Singh Ranawat, ed., Muhnot Nainsi ka Khyat, Vol. 1 (Sitamau, 1987), pp. 117-20.




The above mentioned plot clearly reveals the attempt of Meenas to highlight the loss oftheir territorial rights and resources. But the Kachhawaha state had to integrate the Meenasettlements and Meena chiefs into its territorial and political units without driving themaway. The humiliation of military defeat had to be compensated by reminding themselvesof their pre-Kachhawaha supremacy in the locality. Hence, arose the idea of the Meenafoster father of the Rajput prince (Dhola Rae) implying Kachhawaha suppression of Meenachiefs. An element of struggle and military defeat can be clearly discerned in the treacherouskilling of the Meena foster father evoking popular sympathy. Reminiscences of Kachhawahasuccess due to their Mughal connections are also disguised in the story of Dhola Raeconspiring against Meenas with his Rajput allies at Delhi.

Other important aspect of the legend of Rajput treachery is the projection of theirclose links with the local royal house (resultant of interaction over a long period of stateformation) into the past. It is clearly an attempt to raise the status of their community inthe local society. In a society where Rajputs dominated the socio-political scenario, oldconnections with the royal house would undoubtedly enhance their prestige in the present.Jan Vansina observes a similar phenomenon in the kingdom of Kazembe (Zambia), where"the historical tradition of descent or local groups, apart from their stories of origin andfoundation, all featured kings along with a forebear of the group in question. Thus, thewhole historical perspective was shaped by the existing political structure. This situationobviously flows from the dynamics of social stratification. Any connection with royaltyreflects on the status of descent or local groups, especially if the anecdote recalls a servicerendered to the dynasty, or even more when descent from a king is claimed. Such anecdoteswent beyond these obviously flattering memories. "44 The Meenas of Jaipur measured thesocial significance of their history against the Kachhawaha royal family as standard ofreference.

We next examine the legend of Meena "kingdoms" and symbols of "royalty".Following their connection with the royal family, the Meenas obviously lay claims tothe pre-Kachhawaha kingdoms of the Meena sovereigns and their forts in Jaipurlocality. Colonel James Tod recorded the following legend, popular amongst theMeenas of Nain:

Bawan Kot, Chhappan durwaza,Myna murd, Naen ki Raja,Booroo raj Naen ko,Jub bhoos men bhutto mango."

General A. Cunningham of the Archaeological Survey of India translates it as "Therewere fifty-two forts and fifty-six gates to the Meena man, who was Nain's Raja. It was sorrytime for the realm ofNain, when they were glad to beg their share of chaff"." When A.C.L.Carlleye, Assistant to General Cunningham, visited the ancient temple at the deserted

"Jan Vansina, op.cit., p. 107.4SJames Tod, op.cit., p. 1333.

46General A. Cunningham, Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey ofIndia, Vol. VI (Report ofA Tour InEastern Rajputana in 1871-72 and 1872-73). (Varanasi, 1966), p. 112.




township of Nain in 1871-72, priest repeated a similar saying implying Meena claim to thecontrol of fifty-six forts:

Chappan Kot, bawan darwazaJa men rahe Nai ka Raje

"There were fifty-six forts and fifty-two gates, where the Raja of Nai did hold hisstate" .47 Hence, Meenas claimed their proprietorship over the kingdom through control ofthe forts. To this, Meenas added the demand of restoration of the symbols of "royalty".They narrate that in the beginnings of Kachhawaha intrusion, Meenas presented the Rajputstate with a charter of demands, including restoration of courtly symbols, such as nakaras,chatras (royal umbrella), pa.taka (a resounding slap), palkT(palanquin; sedan chair), chhari(sceptre), chdmar (fly-whisk), etc., which had been seized by the Kachhawaha," This charteralso demanded that neither the Meena kingdoms (Raje) should pass away without theirpermission nor jagirs be distributed without their consent. 49

What is clearly evident from the above account is that Meenas adopted the concept of"kingdom", and courtly standards from the local Rajput state while the concept of jagirs(estates created by states and distributed to chiefs) seems to have been influenced by thepolitical systems of Rajput and Mughal states. In fact, some of the themes of the tribal folksongs are also known to have been influenced by the advent of the Mughals or Britishers inRajasthan. For instance, the Bhils of Mewar invoke the deities and pray for the victory ofthe Maharanas (the Rajput rulers of Mewar), against the Pzirbia rllja (the kings from theeast) implying the onslaughts of either the Mughals or the Britishers in Rajasthan." Hence,popular sayings and archaeological and historical sources point towards Meena chiefdoms(much less organized than kingdoms) and not formally organized kingdoms on the patternof "state-system".

The strange number of fifty-two forts with fifty-six gates is more formulaic than actualnumbers, such as chauriisi ot eighty-four. However, reference to forts and gates mean thestrongholds or the fortified places along with the hill-passes controlled by the Meena chiefsof Jaipur region. Cunningham's report also testifies to the above fact for Nain was evidentlysituated within the gorge of a mountain torrent (Aravallis) near the bed of a small andpartly dry river, with broken hillocks and ravines at the mouth of the gorge." What remainedat the archaeological site ofNain at the time of Cunningham's visit, were parts of dilapidatedroofless walls and fortifications, the so-called place of the Meena "Kings" of Nain." It isalready noted that the Kachhawaha state never recognized the Meena chiefs as equivalentto the rest of Rajput chiefs. The fact that the Meenas were always organized into chiefdomsis also evident from the tweleve states of the Meena chiefs claimed as the "states" listed bytheir famous bard, Govind Ram Rana of village Bhoniawala (District Jaipur)."

47General A. Cunningham, op.cit., p. 111.48S.H.M. Rizvi, op.cit., p. 28.49lbid.

sOGiridharilaI Sharma, Rajasthan Bhil Geet (first edition), Vol. 2 (Udaipur, n.d.), pp. 115-20.slAnnual Report ofArchaeological Survey of India, op.cit., pp. 109-10.s2Ibid., p. 11.~3Balwant Singh, op.cit., pp. 208-9.




Hence, magnification of small chieftainships into ancient kingdoms was once againappropriation of state-system to highlight their political importance in the locality. Similarly,monopoly over jagir is claimed as a part of imagining themselves as equivalent to theRajput chiefs of the Kachhawaha state. Although it is assumed that the state settled some ofthe Meena chiefs as zamidars (conferred localities on those who kept the line of combatopen) much after they were suppressed militarily," they were actually confirmed in theirown settlements.

The final aspect that we would consider in this section is again a demand listed intheir famous charter of the twelfth century. Meenas are stated to have asked for theirmonopoly in the following areas of state services: army, treasury, armoury and accountsof income and expenditure. It is already noted that Meena chiefs had been utilized by theKachhawaha state in areas of security, guarding royal treasury, jewelleries and palace.ss

Interestingly, reference to accounts of income and expenditure could be of "recent" originand, perhaps, colonial (East India Company's settlement with the state of Jaipur). Theirimportance in control of strategic routes and passes is also evident from the fact thatGhatarani (queen of the passes) has been one of their chief deities. Hence, Meenasappropriated those areas of state administration for themselves in which they had beenutilized. It is indeed interesting that the court bard of the Kachhawaha Chandkavi, in hisKoormaviliisa (history and genealogy of the Kachhawaha dynasty of Jaipur) which wascomposed between 1854 and 1857, portrays the Meenas in a derogatory fashion. Thework eulogizes Kachhawaha prince Kokila, who defeated the drunken Meenas andconstructed forts in their territory at Macheri, Khoh and Main (Nain"}." Chandkaviassociates the Bargujars of Dausa with Dhola Rae. 57 He never mentions the Meenas in thelife of Dhola Rae. Such royal response in the mid-nineteenth century was possibly areaction to the emerging Meena traditions."

III

The fact that all the Meenas of Jaipur locality were not actually displaced and pushedinto the interior is evident from the location of the twelve pals (twelve settlements of theMeena chiefs) in the heart of erstwhile Jaipur state." They are mostly concentrated in theJamua Ramgarh tehsil/" The possibility that the Kachhawahas might have faced an initialdifficulty in controlling the Jamua Ramgarh locality is apparent from the royal appropriation

S4S.H.M. Rizvi, op.cit., p. 30.sSJames Tod, op.cit., p. 1430.

s6Girija Shankar Sharma and Satyanarayan Swami, ed., Chand Kavi's Koormavilds (Rajasthan State Archives,Bikaner, 1991), p. 30, vv. 27-32.s'lbid., pp. 17-25.

s81n a different context, for a functional analysis of Sthalapurdhps like Chidambarammdhdtmya, see HermanKulke, "Functional Interpretation of a South Indian Mahatmya: The Legend of Hiranyavarman and the Life ofthe Cola King Kluottunga I" in his Kings and Cults: State Formation and Legitimation in India and SoutheastAsia (Delhi, 1993), pp. 192-207.s9Balwant Singh, op.cit., pp. 208-9.6OIbid.




of the local cult of Jamua mara as the presiding deity of the Kachhawaha dynasty." It issignificant to note from the royal records that the cult of Budwai mdtii which was linked toMeena rulers at Maunch was renamed as Jamua mala after the fall of the Meenas." Aninscription, located at Jamua Ramgarh dated in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir (A.D.1534), records the construction of a fort, well and garden at Ramgarh by Kachhawaha ruler,Raja Man Singh." Construction of a fort may indicate royal attempts to control the Meenasat Jamua Ramgarh. Predominance of Me en as in the core area of Jaipur state is also evidentfrom symbolic but early royal acknowledgement of their local importance as the Meenachief of Kalikoh had the right to put tikii of sovereignty by drawing the blood from histoe." Similar rituals are known to have been performed by the Bhil chiefs at the coronationceremonies of the Guhila kings of Mewar."

A long gap in the genealogical traditions of the Kachhawaha dynasty between the earlyeleventh and the late fifteenth centuries" and the fact that the early Kachhawaha inscriptionsdated in the sixteenth century begin the royal genealogy only with Raja Prthviraja, whosucceeded to the throne of Amber in A.D. 1502,~7 attest to the initial difficulties posed bythe local Rajput chiefs, such as the Bargujars ofDausa (about 30 miles east of Jaipur)," theKachhawahas do not emerge into history of Dhundhar before the Mughal Emperor Akbar'sreign. It is only the later traditions from the court of Jaipur, which refer to Raja Isha Singh's(ruler ofGwalior) son, Raja Durlabhraja, who conquered the territories of Dhundhar (ancientname of Jaipur region) from Meenas and established his kingdom there." Such laterroyal claims are not all surprising in view of the long drawn out negotiations and militaryengagements with the local Meenas. Besides the core area, the Kachhawaha state foundit equally impossible to administer routes of communication and trade through the forestswithout cooperation from Meenas. Dynastic traditions record that Raja Dhola Rae (A.D.1006-1036) routed Meenas completely and restored order and security as the latter wasobstructing trade and peace in the locality. 70

Although it is claimed that the Jaipur state settled twelve Meena chiefs as zamidars bygranting plots of land and noted that they performed some duties for the Kachhawaha state

61James Tod, op.cit., p. 1331; Kaviraj Shyamaldas, Vir Vinod, Vol. II, Pt II (New D.elhi, 1976), pp. 1263-68.Kaviraj quoting official Khyats refers to Kachwaha prince Dhola Rae and Kankila's (Dhola Rae's son) inroadsinto the Meena country ofMaunch and their killing with the blessings of goddess Jamua mata, implying recurringcontrol of the Meenas. The Khyats also mention conquest of Amber from the Susawat Meenas, their resettlementin villages and employment as guards of the royal place and royal treasury. The Meenas, besides Siva, mainlyworship cult of goddesses such as Ahrahi devi, Pafica mcHa, Jamua dev~ Gandol devT, etc. See Balwant Singh,op.cit., pp. 145-46. The process of adoption of the local and/or tribal deities by the local dynasties in theprocess of state formation have been shown in the case of early medieval and medieval Orissa. See A. Eschmann,H. Kulke and G.C. Tripathi, The Cult ofJagannath and Regional Traditions in Orissa (New Delhi, 1976).62Kachhawahon kii Prdcheen Itihds (City Palace, Pothikhana, Jaipur), quoted in Balwant Singh, op.cit., p. 150.63R.N. Prasad, Raja Man Singh ofAmber (Calcutta, 1966), p. 16. The orginal Sanskrit text of this inscription ispublished here.64James Tod, op.cit., p. 129.6sNandini Sinha, op.cit., p. 58.66See Genealogical table in Jaipur State Archives quoted in R.N. Prasad, op.cit., p. 16.67lbid.68James Tod, op.cit., p. 1331.69Kaviraj Shyamaldas, op.cit., p. 1268.7°R.N. Prasad, op.cit., p. 1.




while the lawless elements were settled as choukidars or watchmen in the villages," all theevidences discussed above do not necessarily suggest a peaceful settlement. On the contrary,it is the close kinsmen of the Kachhawaha royal family, who obtained bhomlbhum rights(allodial proprietorship) called watan-zamidars in the country of the Meenas for havingsubjugated the latter. 72 Thus, Kachhawaha chiefs were settled in the villages of Meenas forthe latter had to be repeatedly controlled. These Rajput chiefs also found good cultivatorsin the Meenas" and hence began the process of mobilization of resources from Meenasettlements. Consequently, this process culminated in actual incorporation of some of theMeena chiefs and headmen into state administration. From choukidari ofvillages to guardingof the royal jewellery treasures and royal palace are known to have been performed by thelocal Meenas."

However, what was not granted to the Meenas of Jaipur region was social statusequivalent to their initial importance to the Kachhawaha state in the medieval period. Noneof the important inscriptional records of the Kachhawaha dynasty refers to the Meenachiefs." A similar situation for the Bhils can be seen in medieval Mewar and Vagod wherethe Bhil residents of villages were being merely termed as an ethnic entity and Bhil womenwere being derogatorily mentioned."

Secondly, the problem should also be viewed in the historical context of the Kachhawahastate. Nature of evidences on the Meenas from the mid-sixteenth century onwards offers aclue to the changing situation in the Meena-Kachhawaha relationship. Hence, it becomesimperative to examine the evidences from the eighteenth century, exactly the period priorto claims of the Meenas of Jaipur to a "history" of their own. Evidences, undoubtedly, pointtowards a decline in the importance of the Meenas for the Kachhawaha state. Although,casual reference to Meenas in royal records would seem to give the impression that theMeenas were being ignored as they were socially despised, a comparison of the evidencesquoted for the pre-sixteenth and sixteenth century with that of the eighteenth century islikely to point out the actual historicity of the process.

Eighteenth century Kachhawaha records referred to Meena households very casually.In a partly coloured drawing of the town of Baswa on a paper dated eighteenth century,unlike the step wells and gardens of the Rajputs, the location of Meena habitat is beingmentioned with a passing reference." In the plan of the route ofa canal from river Sarbhavati,the habitat of the Meenas is similarly mentioned." In another plan of the route of this canal,"Tadau Meenan Ko" (habitat of Meenas) is mentioned." In a coloured sketch of the area

71Jadunath Sarkar, A History ofJaipur c. 1503-1938 (revised and edited by Raghbir Singh) (Jaipur, 1984), pp.11-12; Mehakama Khas file No. 2763 Revenue (6-Jagir), 1937, quoted in Balwant Singh, op.cit., p. 157.nDilbagh Singh, The State. Landlords and Peasants: Rajasthan in the 18th Century (Delhi, 1990), pp. 42.43.73Jadunath Sarkar, op.cit., pp. 12-13; Dilbagh Singh, op.cit., p. 21.7~James Tod, op.cit., p. 1430; Jadunath Sarkar, op.cit., pp. 11-12; Kaviraj Shyamaldas, op.cit., p. 1263.7sFor instance, sec some of the texts of the Kachwaha inscriptions of Raja Man Singh's reign in R.N. Prasad,op.cit., pp. 14-16.76Nandini Sinha, op.cit., p.65. Also see Mala Copper Plates of A.D. 1286, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XXII,p. 195; Chittaur stone inscription of the thirteenth century in Collection of Prakrit and Sankarit Inscriptions(Bhavnagar, n.d.), p. 74.77Gopal Narayan Bahura and Chandramani Singh, Catalogue ofHistorical Documents in Kapad Dwara, Jaipur,Pte II, Maps and Plans (Jaipur, 1990), p. 18.71Ibid., p. 115, Meenan kii Vasa.79lbid., Inscription No. 244.




between Bhao Sagar and Jhotwara, the habitat of Meenas is again casually mentioned." Inthe map of Nahari-Kii-Ndkii the Meenas are being referred 'to as an entirely separate socialgroup, for the inscription mentions that the white rocks at this locality figure in the traditionsof the Meenas which claim that tigers came here to pay respect. 81 Hence, what is clearlyevident is that by the eighteenth century, the Meena localities in the core area of the stategot totally incorporated into the growing towns and villages. Second, the right to anoint theKachhawaha prince at the coronation ceremony had already fallen into abeyance after theMughals started anointing Kachhawaha princes with paste of sandalwood.82 It is significantthat when Meenas were being ignored, ascendancy of social groups, such as the Jats, wasbeing noted in the royal records. The making of an official.map of the land of the Jats andits siege by the Kachhawaha state" speaks for gradual emergence of the Jats. It is importantto note that when the Jats and Sikhs were assigned seats in darbar (royal court), no Meenachief was granted a similar status."

However, the Meenas of Jaipur did not perceive themselves through the eyes of thecontemporary Rajput society. If one set of evidences shows that they had been incorporatedinto the socio-political fabric of rural life, Meenas perceived themselves as per their actualstatus. For instance, in chithis (applications) to the amil Pargana of Sawai Jaipur, datedA.D. 1731, complaining about the dispute over ownership of patti land and agriculturalland in village Nagrivas between Har Ram Meena, Patel of the said village and one HathilaMeena, Har Ram Meena put his official designation of Pate1.85 Har Ram Meena, ultimatleyhad to approach state officials in implementing the decision of the Panchayat." Disputesover mortgage of land of village Vilana in Pargana Liasot, between a Brahmana and aMeena resident is also reported in the eighteenth century records of Jaipur state. Theserecords amply prove the status of some of the Meenas, who were important functionariesin the local administration. Elsewhere in Eastern Rajasthan (Bhura), arzdashts (documentswritten and maintained by the' officials frequenting the villages) mention Meena zamidarsalong with the Gujars in the late seventeenth century. 87 It was precisely at this juncture,around the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century, that the Meenasof Jaipur laid a claim to an elaborate "history" of their own. Nainsi records the traditions ofthe Meenas of Bundi in the seventeenth century. We have already noted that the Meenachiefs of Bundi had started claiming an elaborate history for themselves in which theyclaimed territorial proprietorship prior to the Hada-Chauhan power in Bundi. Claim tomatrimonial proposals with the Brahmanas in the past point towards clamour for socialrespectability by the Meena chiefs." The evidence from the Nainsi Khyiit points towardsemergence of such traditions at least amongst the elite of the Meenas of south-eastern

8°Ibid., p. 133, Vadodyo Meenan ko.81Gopal Narayan Bahura and Chandrarnani Singh, op.cit., p. 31.82Jadunath Sarkar, A History ofJaipur c. 1503-1938 (revised and edited by Raghubir Singh) (Jaipur, 1984), p. 12.83Ibid., p. 26, Map No. 91.84Gopalnarayan Bahura, ed., Krishnadatta Kavi's Pratap Prakash (City Museum, Jaipur, 1983), p, 6.8sQuoted in Dilbagh Singh, op.cit., p. 189.86Ibid.87R.P. Rana, "A Dominant Class in Upheaval: The Zamindars ofa North Indian Region", Indian Economic andSocial History Review, Vol. 24, No.4 (1987), p. 409.88Manohar Singh Ranawat, ed., Muhnot Nainsi ki Khyiu, op.cit., pp. 117-18.




Rajasthan by the seventeenth century period. Hence, claims to their predominance in thelocality in the pre-Rajput period had already developed. The "history" that came to benarrated in the early nineteenth century was a further step in the same direction. Incentivefor making of a "history" of the Meenas at this point came from the declining politicalstatus of the state of Jaipur as well as the intruding colonial apparatus. Recurring Marathadepredations in the eighteenth century, increasing pressures to pay a huge tribute to theEast India Company and revolts by the Shekhavati contingents undoubtedly dented theprestige of the Kachhawaha royal family. 89

As a concluding note to the above study, some more important issues can be mentioned.Two such important areas would be caste-formations and origin claims made by Meenasin the subsequent period, highlighting the process of "Rajputization" .90 First, the entirecommunity claims descent from the Matsya (fish) incarnation of Vi~~u.91 This claimcontinued to be supported in the post-independence era with the organization of some ofthe Eastern Rajasthan principalities, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli and chiefship ofNeemrana into "Matsya Union" on 18 March 1948. 92Their famous social reformer MuniMagan Sagar is known to have compiled Meen Purana (Meen is synonym of Matsya) , inthe fourth decade of the present century,93 lending further credibility to their claim to theancient Matsyas. The claim to Matsya avtdr has an interesting dimension--its recent origincan be seen from the fact that the Meenas do not take fish but fail to explain its ritualimportance." Their claim to Matsya avata-r reminds us of their attempt at comparingtheir origin-myth with that of the local royal dynasty. The Kachhawahas, claim origin fromthe Kurma avatar (tortoise incarnation) of Vi~I!u.95 Another version of their history thatdates back to 500 B.C. claims the Meenas as the subjects of a Maurya king, Mauryadhwajof Dausa" with his capital town at Moreda. This version too is a legend that supportstheir claim to antiquity and a "civilized past" .

The process of Rajputization seems to have been more significant amongst the Meenasthan the Bhils for claims to Rajput castes is more widespread amongst the Meenas. Originstories of most of these castes are undoubtedly concocted. Some of the instances arelisted below:

(1) Mer Panwar-Like Chauhans, some Panwar{Paramar) Rajputs settled in the Olinavillages and the children of such marriages came to be known as Mer Panwars.

(2) Mer Gehlots (with sub-castes Godhat, Bhondak, Bhilat, Bhailot)-Descended fromGehlot Rajputs and Mer-Meena woman in ancient times.

(3) Joharwals-Descended from marriage between Nahrawat Rajputs and Meena women.

89R.K. Saxena, Maratha Relations with Major States ofRajputana (A.D. 1761-1818) (New Delhi, 1973). Chs 2,5, 7, 8, 9; H.C. Batra, The Relations of Jaipur State with East India Company: 1803-1858 (Delhi-Jullundur,1958), pp. 106-111; A.C. Banerjee, The Rajput States and British Paramountcy (New Delhi-Allahabad, 1980),pp. 99-156; S.C. Misra, Sindhia-Holkar Rivalry in Rajasthan (Delhi, 1981).90S urajit Sinha, "State Formation and Rajput Myth in Tribal Central India", in Man in India, Vol. 42, No.1(1962), pp. 36-80. For the Bhils, see Nandini Sinha, op.cit.9IS.H.M. Rizvi, op.cit., p. 9.92Ibid.93Ibid., p. 15~Ibid., p. 16.9SV.S. Bhatnagar, Life and Times of Sawai Jai Singh: 1688-17'43 (Delhi, 1974), pp. 1-4.96Ibid., p. 28.




(4) Bodwals-Descended from one Sopal Rajput and a woman named Rama Dai,daughter of Bhodia Meena of Narwal caste.

(5) Gehnawats-Descended from marriage between Rajput ruler Neemrana's sonGehrawat and daughter of Tula Ram Meena of Mehad sub-caste."

(6) Bargujar Meenas-s-Iksvaku Prince Ramachandra's son Lav Kumar--his decendantslater came to be known as Bargujars and one of his 17 sons was Nadob."

(7) Kachhawaha Meenas-Kush's (Rama's son) decendants known as Kachhawahassub-castes MandaI, Singhal and Gobinga Meenas. It is significant that theyappropriate the origin claims of the Kachhawaha dynasty of Amber. 99

(8) Sangats-Descended from marriage between Nihar Rawat and a Meena woman.Eva, Balji, Goya and Bishna Meena Devatwala, Baljiwat, Soosia and BanswatMeenas belong to this group.'?"

(9) Parihars (Priitiharsj-s-Their origin is traced from a Rajput ruler of Mundore(Jodhpur) and they spread throughout Jalore, Jodhpur, Bundi, north-east of Mewarand sub-castes of Taj, Motus, Murgal and Marwat in Jaipur district. ]01 The skillwith which their bards Jaega/Dholi/Dhom (genealogists)!" have compiled thegenealogies in nineteenth-twentieth centuries also point towards the influence ofthe caste society.

IV

We began our enquiry by observing that "history" has remained popular amongst thetribal population in their bid to attain social mobility and construct a new identity. Ourassumption is proved by the fact that the biggest conference of the Meenas, Matsya Sammelanof April 1944 in Jaipur (attended by the Meenas from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh andUttar Pradesh) openly condemned the Criminal Tribe ACt.103 It resulted in the meeting ofthe Meenas of Jhar (Jaipur district) in 1961, which passed the resolution that a seriousproject be undertaken to compile the ancient and contemporary history of the Meenas. ]04

However, the tribal perception does not originte from the so-called "exploitation" of themarginal groups. Evidently, the Meenas played a significant role in the early period ofKachhawaha state formation. Gradually, as the Rajput state came to control the JaipurRamgarh locality, and Jaipur-Delhi routes were secured, Meenas were no longer politicallyimportant. Meanwhile, a section amongst Meenas (possibly the chiefs and a few more) hademerged as an integral part of the local rural elite in the Kachhawaha state by the seventeentheighteenth century. At the same time, the image of the invincibility of the Rajput power

97Balwant Singh, op.cit., pp. 57-60.98Ibid., p. 60.99Balwant Singh, op.cit., p. 68.looIbid., pp. 60-61.tOtJaipur State Judicial File No. 087, 1904.I02Colonel James Tod, Vol. I, op.cit., p. 89.H)3S.H.M. Rizvi, op.cit., p. 89.10

4Ibid ., p. 90.IOsShail Mayaramvop.cit., p. 69. Mev leaders still feel that their occupation was chori and dakaiti.




declined as the state of Jaipur faced a politico-military and economic crisis in the latter halfof the eighteenth century. Claims of the Meenas of Jaipur to a respectable "history" of theirown were made precisely at this juncture. It is this newly emerging leadership that gets thestory of treachery and a "glorious past" told to a larger audience to retrieve their image. Butit is equally important to note that whether they were Meenas of Jaipur in the late eighteenthearly nineteenth century or the Meenas of Bundi in the seventeenth century, they adoptedand invented a "history" and a "new identity" of their own with reference to the regionalstates and their systems.

Finally, social historians should perhaps see the active role of the Meenas to "invent" ahistory instead of a passive acceptance of the powerful ideological onslaughts of thebrahmanical system. What is important to note is that the nature of attempts at reconstructingidentity by the Meenas of Jaipur is different from those of the Meo, for Meo's conception ofthe self and the world has been influenced by the idea of their being a criminal tribe.



Meena Indian Historical Review 2000 Sinha 29 43

Documents

oral traditions of meenas

meenas of jaipur

marginalization of meenas

importance of oral traditions

meenas ofjaipur locality

sources of history

iimportance of oral

new delhi