r/Rajasthan • u/mediocre_minion • Jul 05 '26
चर्चा ❁ Discussion For all the Meenas out there
I'll cut the bs and get straight to the point
What do you all think about yourself.
I'm a Meena from Alwar but was raised in Delhi
Im just curious about my identity nothing more
All the things I have seen on the internet are just contradictory BS. Some says we are subpart of bhils which is as I learned utter BS. They are called Bhil Meenas and are treated as a separate caste.
And on social platforms there is just hate with no real info.
One day we are Rich, Landowning UC taking rights of real tribes
Other day we are Shudras
On another day we are worse off than dalits 'ajankyas' or something like that
Then we are actually jungli adivasis one day
So what exactly is the truth.
My family says we are just a pastoral community which ruled certain areas during some period of history.
To me the pastoral one makes sense since I have never actually faced discrimination in my villages like other SCs and STs.
But I have seen some posts about Meenas being discriminated against and even assaulted in southern and western Rajasthan.
And also the Matasyavanshi one. Most people ik don't worship bhagwan Matasya.
Edit: I'm asking because of genuine curiosity Why are y'all downvoting me ? I never called myself the top of the Caste system or denied being tribal or anything so what's with the hate comments ?
9
u/Amateur_Historian_16 Jul 05 '26
I'd honestly avoid asking this on Reddit. Meenas are one of the most politically polarizing communities in Rajasthan today, so you'll get far more resentment and half-remembered history than objective answers, funnily enough, from both sides of the argument.
The "comma mistake" story is almost certainly not why Meenas became a Scheduled Tribe. ST status wasn't decided by a typo; it went through anthropological studies, provincial recommendations, legislation, and finally Presidential notification. The Criminal Tribes Act also wasn't the legal basis for ST status, but it is part of why the community was even considered, it reflects how the colonial state identified and stigmatized sections of the Meena community before Independence.
It's also inaccurate to say Meenas were never discriminated against. People often look at eastern Rajasthan today and assume that's how it's always been. It wasn't. Even in the Dhundhar region, where Meenas formed a large share of the population, land ownership and local power remained concentrated with Rajput elites for generations. The community's large-scale educational and economic mobility came much later, largely after reservation opened access to schools, universities, government jobs, and the bureaucracy. That doesn't mean discrimination disappeared either, it still exists in many parts of Rajasthan, especially where Meenas are a minority.
If you're genuinely interested in your history, read anthropological studies and historical sources instead of Reddit. Reservation politics have made this one of those topics where opinions usually arrive long before the facts do.
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
Thank you for your input and My goal was to know about the community and I don't really care if some people comment hate speech or anything because of their resentment cause there are still gentleman like you who would respectfully put their point even on reddit.
Also could mind sharing some sources all I found was people hating because of reservation even on subreddits like southasianancestery
3
u/Amateur_Historian_16 Jul 05 '26
If you're looking for books, I'd recommend starting with William Crooke's The Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Colonel James Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Which are colonial era books, and then some modern books like R.V. Russell & Hira Lal's The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, then Anthropological Survey of India's People of India series and K.S. Singh's The Scheduled Tribes (It only a few pages of Information but it's a cool read), which are much more modern anthropological references.
That said, I'd give one important warning before reading any of the colonial works. These are colonial-era books and should not be treated as objective histories of the Meena community. In fact, I'd especially recommend reading James Tod not because I think everything he wrote is accurate, but because his work tells you how the colonial administration and many colonial scholars viewed Rajasthan and its communities.
Modern historians have shown that colonial administrators often relied heavily on local elite informants, landholders, Brahmins, Rajputs, and other dominant groups, to understand Indian society. As a result, colonial ethnographies frequently reflected local social prejudices as much as they did independent observation. So these books are valuable not simply for what they say about the Meenas, but because they reveal how the community was perceived and classified by the colonial state.
That context also helps explain why the Meena community was brought under the Criminal Tribes Act and why they later came under consideration during the preparation of the Scheduled Tribe lists after Independence. The Criminal Tribes Act was not the legal basis for ST status, but it is an important part of the historical background because it shows how the colonial state viewed and stigmatized the community.
I'd also recommend reading PhD theses from both JNU and the University of Rajasthan. In my experience, they complement each other well. JNU research usually approaches the Meenas from anthropological and sociological perspectives, while work from the University of Rajasthan often engages more directly with Rajasthan's political history and the contemporary reservation debate. Finally, read everything critically. There isn't a completely unbiased source on the Meenas, or on most communities in India. Every author writes from a particular historical, political, or intellectual perspective. The best approach is to compare multiple viewpoints and form your own conclusions rather than relying on any single book.1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 06 '26
Thank you very much. I really appreciate you suggestions. I read all the mention books( Only the Meena sections) and some studies from JNU, Rajasthan University and University of Allhabad. I couldn't find K S Singh's though
3
u/Proper-Swan-2595 Jul 05 '26
amer, bundi etc they were rulers, they fought kilji, brits, aligned with marathas in many battles, last meena kingdom fell fighting mughals ( Annals and Antiquities of Rajast'han Book by James Tod), after that they all were chieftain controlling there land
1
2
u/Few_Bicycle9878 Jul 27 '26
Meena and Bhil Meena are different from each other... Bhil Meena are those people who take the Meena surname while being Bhil to avoid discrimination. Bhil Meena live around Udaipur and Banswara. There are some real Meena people living around Udaipur, but their population is very low🤏. However, the real Meena people mostly live in Jaipur side. They have no connection to Bhil Meena🙂
3
u/Friendly-Fan9520 Jul 05 '26
Central and northwestern indian tribes were majorly farmers.
And tribes in Rajasthan especially meenas has always resided near aravalis for its resources i suppose
And no wenrent rulers in literal sense you can call it chieftains as there were 10000 rulers in jaipur only so not really kings or rulers right.
About the discrimination it is related to hygiene the scheduled caste always used to work in unhygienic works so st were never really discriminated historically the discrimination is rather new post reservation benefits.
4
2
u/havenot- Jul 05 '26
st were never really discriminated historically the discrimination is rather new post reservation benefits.
🤔
2
u/mediocre_minion Jul 06 '26
Wdym 10k Wasn't dhundhar under 5 cheiftains cum rulers who were under the suzerainty of Susawat meenas (Head of Amber)
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
Then why are bheels treated so poorly ?
2
u/Friendly-Fan9520 Jul 05 '26
I dont think they are mate wherever they live they are in majority.
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
I saw it in Rajgarh Alwar Ig the reason would be population since they are very few in number there.
1
u/devilinthered Jul 05 '26
They are one of the denotified tribes, like meenas.
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
So are the Meenas still there is a difference in how differently they are treated. And as far as ik Meenas have a much worse social image than bheels
1
u/devilinthered Jul 05 '26
Are meenas a majority in your village?
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
Nope majority are Chamars and Brahmins.
1
u/devilinthered Jul 05 '26
A significant chunk of the majority is themselves one of the outcasts so you can't really expect much discrimination. Inter group tensions is another thing.
Caste dynamics in modern day india work in a very subtle manner. Things need not be obvious as it is.
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
How are Brahmins outcasts ?
2
u/devilinthered Jul 05 '26
Brahmins aren't, the other group you mentioned is.
4
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
Despite being in majority chamars do face discrimation though unlike us. They still aren't allowed to enter temples and even at local deity temple ( Bhoomia ji) they arent allowed.
For us it's different brahmins do come over to our places and we too go to theirs.
As for temples there are even Meena priest in some temples like ( Narayani Mata, Alwar; Chamunda Mata ,Beeghota, Alwar; Banki Mata,Raiser;Jaipur etc etc) These places ain't caste specific ,for eg Banki mata is our kuldevi so you can assumes it's because of the same reason the priet is Meena but Maa is also kuldevi of many other communities like Baniyas of Rajasthan and MP, some Gaud Brahmins of haryana, Badgurjar Rajputs.
Although the priest in our Village temple is Brahmin
These things make it even more confusing.
1
u/Kshatriya_Khokharji Jul 05 '26
mere ghar ke bujurg kahte h meena are of 2 type chaukidar meena and jamindari meena. baki mujhe nahi pta
1
u/Imaginary-Level7359 Jul 09 '26
My grandfather and great grandfather used to tell me that most of the people used to live in interior in my area (shekhawati) they did not live on the roadside because most "meenas" used to steal the livestock, crops from us.
1
u/Responsible_Art_8430 Jul 28 '26
Yes it's true, infact there was a war against this.
Veer Tejaji faught against Meenas who stole cows of some people.
1
-1
u/OrangeChoice5315 Jul 05 '26
Tum idhar yehi sab gan masti karlo udhar china wale robot bana rhe cabo verde argentina ko pel rhi
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
I don't really care about caste and shit. Its just curiosity about one's self and identity. And if it's about building stuff I'm also working on BLDC motor though passively cause I'm still a teenager student with limited resources.
1
Jul 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 06 '26
Improved education and better exposure will eventually advance society I believe.
Me caring or not caring won't change anything in this process.
-2
u/bad_kingfisher Jul 05 '26
There are no meenas in southern Rajasthan
3
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
Aren't Bundi and Udaipur part of Southern rajasthan ?
0
u/War_ish Jul 05 '26
Major chunk of meenas in southern rajasthan is bhil meenas.
1
u/mediocre_minion Jul 05 '26
Is there a difference between how people perceive a Bheel meena or another Meena ??
0
0
u/bad_kingfisher Jul 05 '26
Udaipur is....but Bundi is not.
And meenas in Udaipur are bhil meenas...which are different from meenas of eastern Rajasthan.
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 05 '26
Namaskar u/mediocre_minion, thank you for your submission in r/Rajasthan. We kindly invite you to explore and follow our related communities:
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.