Mahar

History

The Mahars are considered to be the original inhabitants of Maharashtra. The community is also known as Kathiwale (Men with Sticks), Bumiputera (Sons of the Soil), and Mirasi (Landlords). Traditionally they have the role of defending village boundaries from outsiders, invading tribes, criminals, and thieves. The Kathiwale name represents their former duty as village administrators. They were also responsible for maintaining law and order throughout the villages as administrators. The Mahars have a long and proud tradition of bearing arms.

From the time of early Islamic rule, villages in Maharashtra were part of the Baluta system. In that system, different castes were assigned different roles, each with its own tasks and rights. The duties assigned to the Mahar in the Baluta system included being village watchmen, trackers of thieves, messengers, wall menders, adjudicators of boundary disputes, and suppliers of coarse cloth to the village. In return for these services, the village granted them a watan, or rights to a small piece of land to do their own cultivation. The watan also included a share of village produce. They also worked at times as agricultural labourers. However, the Mahar were socio-economically above most other untouchable groups because their traditional role had been important in the village administrative system. This had necessitated that they had at least a rudimentary education, and frequently brought them into contact with upper-caste Hindus. In the Baluta system, apart from many traditional duties mentioned above, the Mahar were assigned work of removing dead cattle from the village, they also started eating the meat from the cattle that had died naturally. This formed the basis for the caste being treated as untouchables. The Mahar community defends consumption of beef by saying the famines were the reason they started eating the beef.

Islamic Era

Under Islamic rule, the Mahar served as soldiers in various armies of the Deccan Sultanates, Bahmani Sultanate, and the Mughals. In 14th century, Mahar Bhakti saint Chokhamela, and many of his family members such as Karmamela, Banka, Nirmala, and Soyarabai became popular for their religious poetry called abhang.

Maratha era

Mahar served in various armies over several centuries. The Maratha king Shivaji Maharaj recruited a number of them into his army in the 17th century due to their loyalty and bravery. They served as guards in hill forts and as soldiers. The Mahar along with the Koli and Marathas defended the fort of Purandar from Dilerkhan's Mughal army in 1665.

British India

Under British rule, the Mahars became aware of the scope for social and political advancement. Their traditional role had been low-status but important in the village system.

Military role under the British

During the colonial period, large numbers of Mahars and Dhors were recruited for military duties by the East India Company and the British Raj. The Battle of Koregaon (1 January 1818) is commemorated by an obelisk known as the Koregaon pillar—which was erected at the site of the battle—and by a medal issued in 1851. The pillar featured on the Mahar Regiment crest until the Independence of India; it is inscribed with the names of 22 Mahars killed at the battle. The victory pillar serves as focal point of Mahar heroism.

The Mahar began their service to the East India company around 1750. 20-25% of the British Bombay Army was Mahar. Their conduct as soldiers was praised by many British officers. Mahars were a vital component of the British Marine Battalion. In the East India Company Army they participated in various wars including Second Anglo-Maratha War, Third Anglo-Maratha War, Second Anglo-Sikh War and Second Afghan War.

After the 1857 mutiny, the British decided to change their military recruitment policy. One report "emphasized that we cannot practically ignore it [the caste system], so long as the natives socially maintain it". This led to the discrimination against the Mahars, other low castes, and some Brahmin castes.

Mahar recruitment reached its nadir in the early 1890s when the British halted recruitment of Mahars in favour of "martial races", especially north-western communities. The Mahar community attempted to confront this block with a petition circulated among the Mahar, Chamar, and Mang former soldiers—all Marathi-speaking lower castes—but the movement was unable to organise and submit their petition. The attempt at a challenge had been spearheaded by Gopal Baba Walangkar, himself a Mahar and former soldier, but he found that Mahar military pensioners were unwilling to sign because they feared that they might lose their pensions. Thus, by the beginning of World War I, there were few Mahars left in the Army.

A Mahar regiment was created during World War I because of British desperation for additional troops but only lasted for a few years and. In 1941, the Mahar Regiment proper was created.

Jyotirao Phule

In 1873, Jyotirao Phule, the founder of Satyashodhak Samaj—which aimed to abolish religious slavery—organised Mahars. At that time, Mahars were not allowed to enter Hindu temples and were considered unclean. Even their entry into the shrines of Hindu gods was restricted. Their first conference was held in Mumbai in 1903.

Shahu of Kolhapur

Shahu, the ruler of the princely state of Kolhapur, abolished Mahar watan in 1918 and freed the Mahars in his territory from the slavery imposed by the society of the day. He also gave them all the human rights and equality that others enjoy.

B. R. Ambedkar

In the 20th century, top leader Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar organized the Mahars and created radical political awakening among them and inspired them to pay attention towards education. Before his death in 1956, Ambedkar, along with millions of his Mahar followers, converted to Buddhism as a protest against the caste discrimination of Hindus.

After Independence

Despite being the second largest community in Maharashtra after the Maratha, the Mahar community does not command influence in the upper levels of Maharashtra politics.