Mahar

For other uses, see Mahar (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Mahar (tribe) or Mahar (Uttarakhand).

Mahar
"A Mahar woman", a watercolour by M. V. Dhurandhar, 1928
Total population
10 million[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Maharashtra8,006,060
Madhyapradesh819,416
Chhattisgarh245,220
Karnataka66,068
West Bengal34,793 [note 1]
Gujarat28,417
Odisha21,304
Andhrapradesh (including Telangana)12,872
Goa8,536
Rajasthan1,980
Assam1,822
Dadra and Nagar Haveli224
Daman and Diu110
Languages
Marathi, Konkani, Varhadi dialect, Ahirani, Hindi, Chhattisgarhi, English
Religion
Majority:
Buddhism
Minority:
Hinduism & Christianity

Mahar (in Marathi महार) is one of the dominant caste found in Maharashtra. They were considered as untouchables or low caste. Majority of this community is found in Vidharbha region and neighbouring areas.[11][12]

They are considered as the original inhabitants of Maharashtra (The early settlers of Maharashtra). Their primary work was to safe guard the borders of the village, to take away the carcasses of animals outside the village. These carcasses were infact their major source of food. They also worked as village watchmen; tracking the thieves, arresting them, etc.

Majority of Mahars converted to Buddhism in response of injustice of the caste practices within Brahmanism. It is said that, their stratum lowered during the Peshwa Rule, due to their habit of meat eating and having illegitimate relationships with brahmin women. Thus, the practice of untouchability began and continued for generations. It was the primary reason for most of the Mahar community to follow Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in embracing Buddhism and re establishing it in the middle of the 20th century.[13][14] They are the direct descendants of the ancient rulers of Maharratha ( ancient name of Maharashtra), who ruled majority of the Maharashtra and some parts of the other states. Also, they were known as Nagvanshi Buddhists during the Mauryan Dynasty and Satvahana Dynasty. Scholars estimated that, "Mahar" name originated as "Mahari" i.e., "Maha + Ari" which means Biggest enemy. "Mahari" name was used by Pushyamitra Shunga for the warriors who fought him 21 times. [15]

  1. ^ Gait, E. A (1902). Census Of India 1901. Vol. V. A (lower Probinces Of Bengal And Their Leudatoties). Part. 2 (Imperial Tables). Bengal Secretariat Press.
  2. ^ a b c "4. West Bengal". ESTIMATED POPULATION BY CASTES, 1951 (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI. 1954. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 April 2023.
  3. ^ Dutch, R. A. (1942). CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 (Bengal) (PDF). Vol. IV. Caste tables - Appendix. p. 5.
  4. ^ a b Gupta, J. Datta (1953). CENSUS OF INDIA 1961 (West Bengal & Sikkim) (PDF). Vol. XVI. Tables on Scheduled Castes. p. 54.
  5. ^ Ghosh, Bhaskar. CENSUS OF INDIA –1971, SERIES-22 (WEST BENGAL) (PDF). PART II-C (i) SOCIAL AND CULTURAL TABLES (Tables C-VII and C-VIII). Director of census operation, West Bengal. p. 147.
  6. ^ a b Singh, K. S. (1993). The Scheduled Castes. Anthropological Survey of India. pp. 839–841. ISBN 978-0-19-563254-5.
  7. ^ Banthia, R. K. (2000). CENSUS' OF INDIA 1991, SERIES-26, WEST BENGAL PART-VIII(I) (PDF). Vol. 1. SPECIAL TABLES ON SCHEDULED CASTES. Director of Census Operations, West Bengal. p. 12.
  8. ^ "SC-14: Scheduled caste population by religious community, West Bengal - 2001". censusindia.gov.in (xls). Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  9. ^ "A-10: Individual scheduled caste primary census abstract (PCA) data – West Bengal". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  10. ^ Mitra, A. (1953). The Tribes and Castes of West Bengal, Land and Land Revenue Department - Census 1951 (PDF). p. 107.
  11. ^ "State wise list of Scheduled Castes updated up to 26-10-2017". MSJE, Government of India. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  12. ^ Fred Clothey (2007). Religion in India: A Historical Introduction. Psychology Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-415-94023-8.
  13. ^ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2005). "The 'Solution' of Conversion". Dr Ambedkar and Untouchability: Analysing and Fighting Caste. Orient Blackswan Publisher. pp. 119–131. ISBN 8178241560.
  14. ^ Zelliot, Eleanor (1978). "Religion and Legitimation in the Mahar Movement". In Smith, Bardwell L. (ed.). Religion and the Legitimation of Power in South Asia. Leiden: Brill. pp. 88–90. ISBN 9004056742.
  15. ^ Phule, Mahatma Jyotiba. Gulaamgiri.


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