Mewasi
The Mewasi, or Mevasi, Mehwasi[1] refers to a system of land tenure held by Rajputs and Kolis in Kathiawar region of Gujarat. It has been described as being similar to the talukdari system.[2] Under Mughal administration, villages were classified based on their political stability, peaceful villages were categorised as rāsti while turbulent ones were categorised as mewasi. Mewasi villages were predominantly inhabited by Rajputs and Kolis. Mewasi villages were also termed as zamindari or talukdari by the Mughal administration.[3]
Kolis
[edit]In those days, Mewasi word was used to describe the unruly, turbulent and violent Kolis but during British Raj, Mewasi was used for Koli chieftains in rebellions against British rule as a hero.[4]
Koli Mewasis liked the independent rule of self so they always fought against their Rajas, Maharajas and other rulers. Koli Mewasis often plundered the villages to collect the revenue.[5]
In the fifteenth century, the early Sultans of Ahmedabad attempted to subjugate the Koli Mehwasis; but they were met with such a sturdy resistance from those chiefs, who were naturally helped by the wild nature of their Koli chiefs.[6]
The Rewakantha settlements were made during the regime of Sayajirao. these areas were constantly disturbed by the depredations of the Koli Mehwasis, and the maintenance of law and order in these areas became a challenge for Baroda government.[7]
The Barmuvada, Chhapra, Khumarwad were most notable Mewasi villages and their Koli chieftains were receiving Giras dues from Radhvanaj rulers.[8]
The British government always faced the trouble in Mehwasi areas and used the troops to collect the annual revenue.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Krishan, Shri (7 April 2005). Political Mobilization and Identity in Western India, 1934-47. New Delhi, India: SAGE Publishing India. ISBN 978-93-5280-307-1.
- ^ Bhatnagar, Rashmi Dube; Dube, Renu; Dube, Reena (1 February 2012). Female Infanticide in India: A Feminist Cultural History. New Delhi, India, Asia: State University of New York Press. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-7914-8385-5.
- ^ Shah, A. M. (2002). Exploring India's Rural Past: A Gujarat Village in the Early Nineteenth Century. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. p. 28-30. ISBN 978-0-19-565732-6.
- ^ Lobo, Lancy (1995). The Thakors of North Gujarat: A Caste in the Village and the Region. New Delhi, India: Hindustan Publishing Corporation. p. 200. ISBN 978-81-7075-035-2.
- ^ Dominance and State Power in Modern India: Decline of a Social Order (2nd ed.). New Delhi, India, Asia: Oxford University Press. 1989. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-19-562098-6.
- ^ Patel, Govindlal Dalsukhbhai (1954). The Indian Land Problem and Legislation. New Delhi, India: N. M. Tripathi. p. 78.
- ^ Kamerkar, Mani (1980). British Paramountcy: British-Baroda Relations, 1818-1848. New Delhi, India: Popular Prakashan. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-940500-75-4.
- ^ Shah 2002, p. 39.
- ^ Gidwani, Vinay Krishin (1996). Fluid Dynamics: An Essay on Canal Irrigation and the Processses of Agrarian Change in Matar Taluka (Gujarat). India. New Delhi, India: University of California, Berkeley. pp. 165–167.