Mīrdaha.—A subcaste of Dahāit, Khangār, and Nat. A section of Rāghuvansi. Name used for the mate of a gang of coolies.
Mīr-Dahāit.—Title of the Mīrdha caste.
Mīrdha.—A small caste found only in the Narsinghpur District. They are a branch of the Khangār or Dahāit caste of Saugor and Damoh. The names of their exogamous sections tally with those of the Khangārs, and they have the same story of their ancestors having been massacred at a fort in Orchha State and of one pregnant woman escaping and hiding under a kusum tree (Schleichera trijuga), which consequently they revere. Like Khangārs they regard Muhammadan eunuchs and Fakīrs (beggars) with special friendship, on the ground that it was a Fakīr who sheltered their ancestress when the rest of the caste were massacred by Rājpūts, and Fakīrs do not beg at their weddings. One explanation of the name is that this section of the caste were born from a Muhammadan father and a Dahāit woman, and hence were called Mir-Dahāits or Mīrdāha, Mir being a Muhammadan title. Mirdha is, however, as noted by Mr. Hira Lāl, the name of the head of the caste committee among the Dahāits; and in Hoshangābād he is a servant of the village proprietor and acts as assistant to the Kotwār or village watchman; he realises the rents from the tenants, and sometimes works as a night guard. In Gujarāt the name is said to be a corruption of mir-deh or ‘mason of the village.’[62] Here it is said that the Mīrdhas are held to be of part foreign, part Rājpūt origin, and were originally official spies of the Gujarāt sultans. They are now employed as messengers and constables, and therefore seem to be analogous to the same class of persons in the Central Provinces.
Mīrshikār.—Synonym of Pārdhi.
Misra or Misar.—A surname of Kanaujia, Jijhotia, Sarwaria and Uriya Brāhmans.
Mistri.—(Corruption of the English Mister.) A master carpenter or mate of a gang. Title of Barhai, Beldār and Lohār.
Mithia.—(A preparer of sweets.) Synonym of Halwai.
Mochi.—(A shoemaker.) A caste. Subcaste of Chamār.
Modh.—A subdivision of Khedāwāl or Gujarāti Brāhmans who take their name from Modhera, an ancient place in Gujarāt. A subcaste of Gujarāti Bania.
Modh-Ghaneli.—Subcaste of Teli in Gujarāt.