Maheshwari, also spelledMaheshvari, is aHinducaste of India, originally from what is now the state ofRajasthan.[1] Their traditional occupation is that of commerce and as such they form part of the widerBania occupation-based community that also includes castes such as theKhandelwals,Oswals andAgrawals. The Banias of Rajasthan are often known asMarwaris, and are also known asMahajans, a term which community members prefer becauseBania can have negative connotations and imply a lower social position than that which they believe themselves to hold.[2][3] There is a community ofMeghwar people in the state ofGujarat who also sometimes use theMaheshwari name but these people areDalits, unrelated to the Banias, and adopt the name to signify their devotion to the god Shiv.[4]
The Maheshwaris claim aRajput ancestry.[5]K. K. Birla, an industrialist whose family has its origins in the Maheshwari caste,[a] recounted a traditional story of origin for the community. This states that 72 groups from theKshatriyavarna in what is now Rajasthan decided in the 8th century to abandon their traditional role in favour of being members of theVaishya varna. Inspired to do this by their devotion toShiva, another name for whom isMahesh, they adopted the nameMaheshwari and thus established the 72 distinct family lines that exist within the small, tight-knit Maheshwari community to this day.[7][b] Those lines, known askhaps, traditionally practiceexogamy in marriage and mostlyVaishnavism in religion.[9]
There is a variant myth of origin, recorded by Sivkaran Ramratan Darak in 1923 and subsequently referred to by modern scholars such as Lawrence Babb. In this version, a prince was supported by 72 Rajputs in disrupting a sacrifice being made by some sages, who retaliated by cursing them such that they were turned to stone. It was Shiva who freed them from the curse, restoring them to life and thus inspiring their devotion.[10]
The arrival of colonial trade with theBritish encouraged Marwari people of Rajasthan to expand their business interests and geographical influence.[11] Maheshwaris were among the Marwari merchants who moved to theDeccan Plateau in the early 19th century, where theopium trade was prominent;[12] they were present as bankers inHyderabad State by 1850;[9] and in the last quarter of the century emerged as a significant group in the cotton trade ofBombay.[11] In the 20th century, some Maheshwari , Tharu families, such as theBirlas, used the accumulated wealth from their traditional occupations to become prominent industrialists and entrepreneurs.[3]
References
Notes
^The Birla family were outcaste by the community in 1922 when one of their number broke the caste marriage rules.[6]
^The move from Kshatriya to Vaishya status may well have been involuntary. The success of invading Muslim forces in pre-medieval Rajasthan forced many indigenous traditional martial groups to either convert to Islam or adopt what was perceived to be a lower social standing in order to survive.[8]
Citations
^Hardgrove, Anne (August 1999). "Sati Worship and Marwari Public Identity in India".The Journal of Asian Studies.58 (3):723–752.doi:10.2307/2659117.JSTOR2659117.
^Debnath, Debashis (1995). "Hierarchies Within Hierarchy: Some Observations on Caste System in Rajasthan".Indian Anthropologist.25 (1):23–30.JSTOR41919761.
^Devra, G. S. L. (2003). "Political Wilderness and Social Dismemberment - Varhas: A Forgotten Clan of North-West India (Pre-Medieval Period)".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.64:216–232.JSTOR44145463.
^Babb, Lawrence A. (2002). "Violence and construction of trading-caste identity". In Babb, Lawrence A.; Joshi, Varsha; Meister, Michael W. (eds.).Multiple histories: culture and society in the study of Rajasthan. Rawat. p. 22.ISBN978-8-17033-720-1.
^abCalangutcar, Archana (2012). "Marwaris in the Cotton Trade of Mumbai: Collaboration and Conflict (circa: 1850-1950".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.73:658–667.JSTOR44156261.
^Moorthi, Sulochana Krishna (2001). "Imperial Trade and 'Indigenous Mercantile World' in Western India with Special Reference to Opium".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.62:436–441.JSTOR44155786.
Further reading
Devra, G. S. L. (1997). "Land Control and Agrarian Mercantile Classes in Western Rajasthan c. 1650-1700".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.58:371–381.JSTOR44143928.
Pache, Veronique (1998). "Marriage Fairs among Maheshwaris: A New Matrimonial Strategy".Economic and Political Weekly.33 (17):970–975.JSTOR4406701.
