The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume IV of IV

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11. The Maratha horseman

This article may conclude with one or two extracts to give an idea
of the way in which the Maratha soldiery took the field. Grant Duff
describes the troopers as follows:

"The Maratha horsemen are commonly dressed in a pair of light breeches
covering the knee, a turban which many of them fasten by passing a
fold of it under the chin, a frock of quilted cotton, and a cloth
round the waist, with which they generally gird on their swords in
preference to securing them with their belts. The horseman is armed
with a sword and shield; a proportion in each body carry matchlocks,
but the great national weapon is the spear, in the use of which and
the management of their horse they evince both grace and dexterity. The
spearmen have generally a sword, and sometimes a shield; but the latter
is unwieldy and only carried in case the spear should be broken. The
trained spearmen may always be known by their riding very long, the
ball of the toe touching the stirrup; some of the matchlockmen and
most of the Brahmans ride very short and ungracefully. The bridle
consists of a single headstall of cotton-rope, with a small but very
severe flexible bit"

12. Cavalry in the field

The following account of the Maratha cavalry is given in General
Hislop's _Summary of the Maratha and Pindari Campaigns_ of 1817-1819:

"The Marathas possess extraordinary skill in horsemanship, and so
intimate an acquaintance with their horses, that they can make their
animals do anything, even in full speed, in halting, wheeling, etc.;
they likewise use the spear with remarkable dexterity, sometimes in
full gallop, grasping their spears short and quickly sticking the
point in the ground; still holding the handles, they turn their horse
suddenly round it, thus performing on the point of a spear as on a
pivot the same circle round and round again. Their horses likewise
never leave the particular class or body to which they belong; so
that if the rider should be knocked off, away gallops the animal
after its fellows, never separating itself from the main body. Every
Maratha brings his own horse and his own arms with him to the field,
and possibly in the interest they possess in this private equipment we
shall find their usual shyness to expose themselves or even to make a
bold vigorous attack. But if armies or troops could be frightened by
appearances these horses of the Marathas would dishearten the bravest,
actually darkening the plains with their numbers and clouding the
horizon with dust for miles and miles around. A little fighting,
however, goes a great way with them, as with most others of the native
powers in India."

On this account the Marathas were called _razah-bazan_ or
lance-wielders. One Muhammadan historian says: "They so use the lance
that no cavalry can cope with them. Some 20,000 or 30,000 lances are
held up against their enemy so close together as not to leave a span
between their heads. If horsemen try to ride them down the points of
the spears are levelled at the assailants and they are unhorsed. While
cavalry are charging them they strike their lances against each
other and the noise so frightens the horses of the enemy that they
turn round and bolt." [219] The battle-cries of the Marathas were,
'_Har, Har Mahadeo_,' and '_Gopal, Gopal_.' [220]

13. Military administration

An interesting description of the internal administration of
the Maratha cavalry is contained in the letter on the Marathas by
Colonel Tone already quoted. But his account must refer to a period
of declining efficiency and cannot represent the military system at
its best:

"In the great scale of rank and eminence which is one peculiar feature
of Hindu institutions the Maratha holds a very inferior situation,
being just removed one degree above those castes which are considered
absolutely unclean. He is happily free from the rigorous observances
as regards food which fetter the actions of the higher castes. He can
eat of all kinds of food with the exception of beef; can dress his meal
at all times and seasons; can partake of all victuals dressed by any
caste superior to his own; washing and praying are not indispensable
in his order and may be practised or omitted at pleasure. The three
great tribes which compose the Maratha caste are the Kunbi or farmer,
the Dhangar or shepherd and the Goala or cowherd; to this original
cause may perhaps be ascribed that great simplicity of manner which
distinguishes the Maratha people. Homer mentions princesses going in
person to the fountain to wash their household linen. I can affirm
having seen the daughters of a prince who was able to bring an army
into the field much larger than the whole Greek confederacy, making
bread with their own hands and otherwise employed in the ordinary
business of domestic housewifery. I have seen one of the most powerful
chiefs of the Empire, after a day of action, assisting in kindling a
fire to keep himself warm during the night, and sitting on the ground
on a spread saddle-cloth dictating to his secretaries.

"The chief military force of the Marathas consists in their cavalry,
which may be divided into four distinct classes: First the Khasi
Pagah or household forces of the prince; these are always a fine
well-appointed body, the horses excellent, being the property of the
Sirkar, who gives a monthly allowance to each trooper of the value
of about eight rupees. The second class are the cavalry furnished by
the Silladars, [221] who contract to supply a certain number of horse
on specified terms, generally about Rs. 35 a month, including the
trooper's pay. The third and most numerous description are volunteers,
who join the camp bringing with them their own horse and accoutrements;
their pay is generally from Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 a month in proportion to
the value of their horse. There is a fourth kind of native cavalry
called Pindaris, who are mere marauders, serve without any pay and
subsist but by plunder, a fourth part of which they give to the Sirkar;
but these are so very licentious a body that they are not employed
but in one or two of the Maratha services.

"The troops collected in this manner are under no discipline whatever
and engage for no specific period, but quit the army whenever they
please; with the exception of furnishing a picquet while in camp,
they do no duty but in the day of battle.

"The Maratha cavalry is always irregularly and badly paid; the
household troops scarcely ever receive money, but are furnished with
a daily allowance of coarse flour and some other ingredients from the
bazar which just enable them to exist. The Silladar is very nearly as
badly situated. In his arrangements with the State he has allotted
to him a certain proportion of jungle where he pastures his cattle;
here he and his family reside, and his sole occupation when not on
actual service is increasing his Pagah or troop by breeding out of his
mares, of which the Maratha cavalry almost entirely consist. There
are no people in the world who understand the method of rearing and
multiplying the breed of cattle equal to the Marathas. It is by no
means uncommon for a Silladar to enter a service with one mare and
in a few years be able to muster a very respectable Pagah. They have
many methods of rendering the animal prolific; they back their colts
much earlier than we do and they are consequently more valuable as
they come sooner on the effective strength.

"When called upon for actual service the Silladar is obliged to give
muster. Upon this occasion it is always necessary that the Brahman
who takes it should have a bribe; and indeed the Hazri, as the muster
is termed, is of such a nature that it could not pass by any fair or
honourable means. Not only any despicable _tattus_ are substituted
in the place of horses but animals are borrowed to fill up the
complement. Heel-ropes and grain-bags are produced as belonging to
cattle supposed to be at grass; in short every mode is practised to
impose on the Sirkar, which in turn reimburses itself by irregular and
bad payments; for it is always considered if the Silladars receive
six months' arrears out of the year that they are exceedingly well
paid. The Volunteers who join the camp are still worse situated, as
they have no collective force, and money is very seldom given in a
Maratha State without being extorted. In one word, the native cavalry
are the worst-paid body of troops in the world. But there is another
grand error in this mode of raising troops which is productive of the
worst effects. Every man in a Maratha camp is totally independent; he
is the proprietor of the horse he rides, which he is never inclined to
risk, since without it he can get no service. This single circumstance
destroys all enterprise and spirit in the soldier, whose sole business,
instead of being desirous of distinguishing himself, is to keep out
of the way of danger; for notwithstanding every horseman on entering
a service has a certain value put upon his horse, yet should he lose
it even in action he never receives any compensation or at least none
proportioned to his loss. If at any time a Silladar is disgusted with
the service he can go away without meeting any molestation even though
in the face of an enemy. In fact the pay is in general so shamefully
irregular that a man is justified in resorting to any measure, however
apparently unbecoming, to attain it. It is also another very curious
circumstance attending this service that many great Silladars have
troops in the pay of two or three chiefs at the same time, who are
frequently at open war with each other.

14. Sitting Dharna

"To recover an arrear of pay there is but one known mode which is
universally adopted in all native services, the Mughal as well as the
Maratha; this is called Dharna, [222] which consists in putting the
debtor, be he who he will, into a state of restraint or imprisonment,
until satisfaction be given or the money actually obtained. Any person
in the Sirkar's service has a right to demand his pay of the Prince
or his minister, and to sit in Dharna if it be not given; nor will
he meet with the least hindrance in doing so; for none would obey
an order that interfered with the Dharna, as it is a common cause;
nor does the soldier incur the slightest charge of mutiny for his
conduct, or suffer in the smallest manner in the opinion of his
Chief, so universal is the custom. The Dharna is sometimes carried
to very violent lengths and may either be executed on the Prince or
his minister indifferently, with the same effect; as the Chief always
makes it a point of honour not to eat or drink while his Diwan is in
duress; sometimes the Dharna lasts for many days, during which time
the party upon whom it is exercised is not suffered to eat or drink
or wash or pray, or in short is not permitted to move from the spot
where he sits, which is frequently bare-headed in the sun, until the
money or security be given; so general is this mode of recovery that
I suppose the Maratha Chiefs may be said to be nearly one-half of
their time in a state of Dharna.

15. The infantry

"In the various Maratha services there are very little more than a
bare majority who are Marathas by caste, and very few instances occur
of their ever entering into the infantry at all. The sepoys in the pay
of the different princes are recruited in Hindustan, and principally
of the Rajput and Purbia caste; these are perhaps the finest race of
men in the world for figure and appearance; of lofty stature, strong,
graceful and athletic; of acute feelings, high military pride, quick,
apprehensive, brave, prudent and economic; at the same time it must be
confessed they are impatient of discipline, and naturally inclined to
mutiny. They are mere soldiers of fortune and serve only for their
pay. There are also a great number of Musalmans who serve in the
different Maratha armies, some of whom have very great commands.

16. Character of the Maratha armies

"The Maratha cavalry at times make very long and rapid marches, in
which they do not suffer themselves to be interrupted by the monsoon or
any violence of weather. In very pressing exigencies it is incredible
the fatigue a Maratha horseman will endure; frequently many days pass
without his enjoying one regular meal, but he depends entirely for
subsistence on the different corn-fields through which the army passes:
a few heads of juari, which he chafes in his hands while on horseback,
will serve him for the day; his horse subsists on the same fare, and
with the addition of opium, which the Marathas frequently administer
to their cattle, is enabled to perform incredible marches."

The above analysis of the Maratha troops indicates that their real
character was that of freebooting cavalry, largely of the same type
as, though no doubt greatly superior in tone and discipline to the
Pindaris. Like them they lived by plundering the country. "The
Marathas," Elphinstone remarked, "are excellent foragers. Every
morning at daybreak long lines of men on small horses and ponies
are seen issuing from their camps in all directions, who return
before night loaded with fodder for the cattle, with firewood torn
down from houses, and grain dug up from the pits where it had been
concealed by the villagers; while other detachments go to a distance
for some days and collect proportionately larger supplies of the same
kind." [223] They could thus dispense with a commissariat, and being
nearly all mounted were able to make extraordinarily long marches,
and consequently to carry out effectively surprise attacks and when
repulsed to escape injury in the retreat. Even at Panipat where their
largest regular force took the field under Sadasheo Rao Bhao, he had
70,000 regular and irregular cavalry and only 15,000 infantry, of whom
9000 were hired sepoys under a Muhammadan leader. The Marathas were at
their best in attacking the slow-moving and effeminate Mughal armies,
while during their period of national ascendancy under the Peshwa
there was no strong military power in India which could oppose their
forays. When they were by the skill of their opponents at length
brought to a set battle, their fighting qualities usually proved
to be distinctly poor. At Panipat they lost the day by a sudden
panic and flight after Ibrahim Khan Gardi had obtained for them a
decided advantage; while at Argaon and Assaye their performances
were contemptible. After the recovery from Panipat and the rise of
the independent Maratha states, the assistance of European officers
was invoked to discipline and train the soldiery. [224]

Mehtar

[_Bibliography_: Mr. R. Greeven's _Knights of the Broom, Benares_
1894 (pamphlet); Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Bhangi; Sir
H. Risley's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Hari; Sir E. Maclagan's _Punjab
Census Report_, 1891 (Sweeper Sects); Sir D. Ibbetson's _Punjab Census
Report_, 1881 (art. Chuhra); _Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarat_,
Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam.]

List of Paragraphs

1. _Introductory notice_.
2. _Caste subdivisions_.
3. _Social organisation_.
4. _Caste punishments_.
5. _Admission of outsiders_.
6. _Marriage customs_.
7. _Disposal of the dead_.
8. _Devices for procuring children_.
9. _Divination of sex_.
10. _Childbirth_.
11. _Treatment of the mother_.
12. _Protecting the lives of children_.
13. _Infantile diseases_.
14. _Religion. Valmiki_.
15. _Lalbeg_.
16. _Adoption of foreign religions_.
17. _Social status_.
18. _Occupation_.
19. _Occupation_ (_continued_).

1. Introductory notice

_Mehtar, Bhangi, Hari, [225] Dom, Lalbegi._--The caste of sweepers and
scavengers. In 1911 persons returning themselves as Mehtar, Bhangi
and Dom were separately classified, and the total of all three was
only 30,000. In this Province they generally confine themselves to
their hereditary occupation of scavenging, and are rarely met with
outside the towns and large villages. In most localities the supply
of sweepers does not meet the demand. The case is quite different in
northern India, where the sweeper castes--the Chuhra in the Punjab, the
Bhangi in the United Provinces and the Dom in Bengal--are all of them
of great numerical strength. With these castes only a small proportion
are employed on scavengers' work and the rest are labourers like
the Chamars and Mahars of the Central Provinces. The present sweeper
caste is made up of diverse elements, and the name Mehtar, generally
applied to it, is a title meaning a prince or leader. Its application
to the caste, the most abject and despised in the Hindu community,
is perhaps partly ironical; but all the low castes have honorific
titles, which are used as a method of address either from ordinary
politeness or by those requiring some service, on the principle, as
the Hindus say, that you may call an ass your uncle if you want him to
do something for you. The regular caste of sweepers in northern India
are the Bhangis, whose name is derived by Mr. Crooke from the Sanskrit
_bhanga,_ hemp, in allusion to the drunken habits of the caste. In
support of this derivation he advances the Beria custom of calling
their leaders Bhangi or hemp-drinker as a title of honour. [226] In
Mr. Greeven's account also, Lalbeg, the patron saint of the sweepers,
is described as intoxicated with the hemp drug on two occasions. [227]
Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam suggests [228] that Bhangia means broken, and
is applied to the sweepers because they split bamboos. In Kaira,
he states, the regular trade of the Bhangias is the plaiting of
baskets and other articles of split bamboo, and in that part of
Gujarat if a Koli is asked to split a bamboo he will say, 'Am I to
do Bhangia's work?' The derivation from the hemp-plant is, however,
the more probable. In the Punjab, sweepers are known as Chuhra, and
this, name has been derived from their business of collecting and
sweeping up scraps (_chura-jharna_) Similarly, in Bombay they are
known as Olganas or scrap-eaters. The Bengal name Hari is supposed
to come from _haddi_, a bone; the Hari is the bone-gatherer, and was
familiar to early settlers of Calcutta under the quaint designation
of the 'harry-wench,' [229] In the Central Provinces sections of the
Ghasia, Mahar and Dom castes will do sweepers' work, and are therefore
amalgamated with the Mehtars. The caste is thus of mixed constitution,
and also forms a refuge for persons expelled from their own societies
for social offences. But though called by different names, the
sweeper community in most provinces appears to have the same stock of
traditions and legends. The name of Mehtar is now generally employed,
and has therefore been taken as the designation of the caste.

2. Caste subdivisions

Mr. Greeven gives seven main subdivisions, of which the Lalbegis or
the followers of Lalbeg, the patron saint of sweepers, are the most
important. The Rawats appear to be an aristocratic subdivision of the
Lalbegis, their name being a corruption of the Sanskrit Rajputra,
a prince. The Shaikh Mehtars are the only real Muhammadan branch,
for though the Lalbegis worship a Musalman saint they remain
Hindus. The Haris or bone-gatherers, as already stated, are the
sweepers of Bengal. The Helas may either be those who carry baskets
of sweepings, or may derive their name from _hela_, a cry; and in
that case they are so called as performing the office of town-criers,
a function which the Bhangi usually still discharges in northern India
[230]. The other subcastes in his list are the Dhanuks or bowmen and
the Bansphors or cleavers of bamboos. In the Central Provinces the
Shaikh Mehtars belong principally to Nagpur, and another subcaste,
the Makhia, is also found in the Maratha Districts and in Berar; those
branches of the Ghasia and Dom castes who consent to do scavengers'
work now form separate subcastes of Mehtars in the same locality,
and another group are called Narnolia, being said to take their name
from a place called Narnol in the Punjab. The Lalbegis are often
considered here as Muhammadans rather than Hindus, and bury their
dead. In Saugor the sweepers are said to be divided into Lalbegis or
Muhammadans and Doms or Hindus. The Lalbegi, Dom or Dumar and the
Hela are the principal subcastes of the north of the Province, and
Chuhra Mehtars are found in Chhattisgarh. Each subcaste is divided
into a number of exogamous sections named after plants and animals.

3. Social organisation

In Benares each subdivision, Mr. Greeven states, has an elaborate
and quasi-military organisation. Thus the Lalbegi sweepers have eight
companies or _berhas_, consisting of the sweepers working in different
localities; these are the Sadar, or those employed by private residents
in cantonments; the Kali Paltan, who serve the Bengal Infantry; the
Lal Kurti, or Red-coats, who are employed by the British Infantry;
the Teshan (station), or those engaged at the three railway stations
of the town; the Shahar, or those of the city; the Ramnagar, taking
their name from the residence of the Maharaja of Benares, whom they
serve; the Kothiwal, or Bungalow men, who belong to residents in
the civil lines; and lastly the Genereli, who are the descendants
of sweepers employed at the military headquarters when Benares was
commanded by a General of Division. This special organisation is
obviously copied from that of the garrison and is not found in other
localities, but deserves mention for its own interest. All the eight
companies are commanded by a Brigadier, the local head of the caste,
whose office is now almost hereditary; his principal duty is to give
two dinners to the whole caste on election, with sweetmeats to the
value of fourteen rupees. Each company has four officers--a Jamadar
or president, a Munsif or spokesman, a Chaudhari or treasurer and
a Naib or summoner. These offices are also practically hereditary,
if the candidate entitled by birth can afford to give a dinner to the
whole subcaste and a turban to each President of a company. All the
other members of the company are designated as Sipahis or soldiers. A
caste dispute is first considered by the inferior officers of each
company, who report their view to the President; he confers with
the other Presidents, and when an agreement has been reached the
sentence is formally confirmed by the Brigadier. When any dispute
arises, the aggrieved party, depositing a process-fee of a rupee and
a quarter, addresses the officers of his company. Unless the question
is so trivial that it can be settled without caste punishments, the
President fixes a time and place, of which notice is given to the
messengers of the other companies; each of these receives a fee of
one and a quarter annas and informs all the Sipahis in his company.

4. Caste punishments

Only worthy members of the caste, Mr. Greeven continues, are allowed
to sit on the tribal matting and smoke the tribal pipe (huqqa). The
proceedings begin with the outspreading (usually symbolic) of
a carpet and the smoking of a water-pipe handed in turn to each
clansman. For this purpose the members sit on the carpet in three
lines, the officers in front and the private soldiers behind. The
parties and their witnesses are heard and examined, and a decision
is pronounced. The punishments imposed consist of fines, compulsory
dinners and expulsion from the caste; expulsion being inflicted for
failure to comply with an order of fine or entertainment. The formal
method of outcasting consists in seating the culprit on the ground
and drawing the tribal mat over his head, from which the turban is
removed; after this the messengers of the eight companies inflict a
few taps with slippers and birch brooms. It is alleged that unfaithful
women were formerly tied naked to trees and flogged with birch brooms,
but that owing to the fatal results that occasionally followed such
punishment, as in the case of the five kicks among Chamars (tanners)
and the scourging with the clothes line which used to prevail among
Dhobis (washer men), the caste has now found it expedient to abandon
these practices. When an outcaste is readmitted on submission,
whether by paying a fine or giving a dinner, he is seated apart
from the tribal mat and does penance by holding his ears with his
hands and confessing his offence. A new huqqa, which he supplies,
is carried round by the messenger, and a few whiffs are taken by
all the officers and Sipahis in turn. The messenger repeats to the
culprit the council's order, and informs him that should he again
offend his punishment will be doubled. With this warning he hands
him the water-pipe, and after smoking this the offender is admitted
to the carpet and all is forgotten in a banquet at his expense.

5. Admission of outsiders

The sweepers will freely admit outsiders into their community, and the
caste forms a refuge for persons expelled from their own societies
for sexual or moral offences. Various methods are employed for the
initiation of a neophyte; in some places he, or more frequently she,
is beaten with a broom made of wood taken from a bier, and has to give
a feast to the caste; in others a slight wound is made in his body and
the blood of another sweeper is allowed to flow on to it so that they
mix; and a glass of sherbet and sugar, known as the cup of nectar,
is prepared by the priest and all the members of the committee put
their fingers into it, after which it is given to the candidate to
drink; or he has to drink water mixed with cowdung into which the
caste-people have dipped their little fingers, and a lock of his
hair is cut off. Or he fasts all day at the shrine of Lalbeg and
in the evening drinks sherbet after burning incense at the shrine;
and gives three feasts, the first on the bank of a tank, the second
in his courtyard and the third in his house, representing his gradual
purification for membership; at this last he puts a little water into
every man's cup and receives from him a piece of bread, and so becomes
a fully qualified caste-man. Owing to this reinforcement from higher
castes, and perhaps also to their flesh diet, the sweepers are not
infrequently taller and stronger as well as lighter in colour than
the average Hindu.