Meena

Minas

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'être 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]

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]

A Meena of Jajurh

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]

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]

Meena

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]

Meenas, Hindoos of low caste

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 that the well-off Meena community enjoy a major share of ST reservation at the cost of other tribals.[32][33]

Mandana Paintings are widely practiced by the women of the Meena tribe.[41]