15. Occupation
The principal occupations of the Mahārs are the weaving of coarse country cloth and general labour. They formerly spun their own yarn, and their fabrics were preferred by the cultivators for their durability. But practically all thread is now bought from the mills; and the weaving industry is also in a depressed condition. Many Mahārs have now taken to working in the mills, and earn better wages than they could at home. In Bombay a number of them are employed as police-constables.[27] They are usually the village watchmen of the Marātha Districts, and in this capacity were remunerated by contributions of grain from the tenants, the hides and flesh of animals dying in the village, and plots of rent-free land. For these have now been substituted in the Central Provinces a cash payment fixed by Government. In Berār the corresponding official is known as the Kāmdār Mahār. Mr. Kitts writes of him:[28] As fourth balutedār on the village establishment the Mahār holds a post of great importance to himself and convenience to the village. To the patel (headman), patwāri and big men of the village, he acts often as a personal servant and errand-runner; for a smaller cultivator he will also at times carry a torch or act as escort. He had formerly to clean the horses of travellers, and was also obliged, if required, to carry their baggage.[29] For the services which he thus renders as pāndhewār the Mahār receives from the cultivators certain grain-dues. When the cut juāri is lying in the field the Mahārs go round and beg for a measure of the ears (bhīk payāli). But the regular payment is made when the grain has been threshed. Another duty performed by the Mahār is the removal of the carcases of dead animals. The flesh is eaten and the skin retained as wage for the work. The patel and his relatives, however, usually claim to have the skins of their own animals returned; and in some places where half the agriculturists of the village claim kinship with the patel, the Mahārs feel and resent the loss. A third duty is the opening of grain-pits, the noxious gas from which sometimes produces asphyxia. For this the Mahārs receive the tainted grain. They also get the clothes from a corpse which is laid on the pyre, and the pieces of the burnt wood which remain when the body has been consumed. Recent observations in the Nāgpur country show that the position of the Mahārs is improving. In Nāgpur it is stated:[30] “Looked down upon as outcastes by the Hindus they are hampered by no sense of dignity or family prejudice. They are fond of drink, but are also hard workers. They turn their hands to anything and everything, but the great majority are agricultural labourers. At present the rural Mahār is in the background. If there is only one well in the village he may not use it, but has to get his water where he can. His sons are consigned to a corner in the village school, and the schoolmaster, if not superior to caste prejudices, discourages their attendance. Nevertheless, Mahārs will not remain for years downtrodden in this fashion, and are already pushing themselves up from this state of degradation. In some places they have combined to dig wells, and in Nāgpur have opened a school for members of their own community. Occasionally a Mahār is the most prosperous man in the village. Several of them are moneylenders in a small way, and a few are mālguzārs.” Similarly in Bhandāra Mr. Napier writes that a new class of small creditors has arisen from the Mahār caste. These people have given up drinking, and lead an abstemious life, wishing to raise themselves in social estimation. Twenty or more village kotwārs were found to be carrying on moneylending transactions on a small scale, and in addition many of the Mahārs in towns were exceedingly well off.
[1] This derivation is also negatived by the fact that the name Mahāratta was known in the third century B.C., or long before the Rāstrakūtas became prominent.
[2] Bombay Gazetteer; Gujarāt Hindus, p. 338.
[3] Ibbetson, Punjab Census Report (1881).
[4] Bombay Gazetteer, l.c. text and footnote by R. v. J. S. Taylor.
[5] Kitts’ Berār Census Report (1881), p. 143.
[6] See article on Panwār Rājpūt.
[7] Berār Census Report (1881), p. 144.
[8] Kitts’ Berār Census Report p. 144.
[9] Described in the articles on Kurmi and Kunbi.
[10] Loc. cit.
[11] Bombay Gazetteer, Gujarāt Hindus, loc. cit.
[12] In Berār for ten days—Kitts’ Berār Census Report, l.c.
[13] 3rd Baisākh (April) Sudi, commencement of agricultural year.
[14] Berār Census Report, l.c.
[15] Berār Census Report, l.c.
[16] Bombay Gazetteer, Gujarat Hindus.
[17] It was formerly suggested that the fact of the Mahars being the chief worshippers at the shrines of Sheikh Farīd indicated that the places themselves had been previously held sacred, and had been annexed by the Muhammadan priests; and the legend of the giant, who might represent the demonolatry of the aboriginal faith, being slain by the saint might be a parable, so to say, expressing this process. But in view of the way in which the Mehtars worship Musalmān saints, it seems quite likely that the Mahārs might do so for the same reason, that is, because Islām partly frees them from the utter degradation imposed by Hinduism. Both views may have some truth. As regards the legends themselves, it is highly improbable that Sheikh Farid, a well-known saint of northern India, can ever have been within several hundred miles of either of the places with which they connect him.
[18] From Mr. C. Brown’s notes.
[19] C.P. Police Gazette.
[20] Kitts, l.c.
[21] Ibidem.
[22] Stated by Mr. C. Brown.
[23] Vol. ii. p. 237.
[24] Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xii. p. 175.
[25] Rev. A. Taylor in Bombay Gazetteer, Gujarāt Hindus, p. 341 f.
[26] The following passage is taken from Forbes, Rāsmāla, i. p. 112.
[27] Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xi p. 73.
[28] Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xi. p. 73.
[29] Grant Duff; History of the Marāthas, vol. i. p. 24.
[30] Nāgpur Settlement Report (1899), p. 29.