Mahyavanshi

Mahyavanshi are a caste of India, who were originally Mayavat Rajputs who started a successful movement in the early 20th Century to establish their identity as a branch of Mayavat Rulers.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Historical revision

The new nomenclature of Mahyavanshi was given to them via a Government of India circular in the year 1939, due largely to the efforts of K. M. Munshi, then Home Minister of Bombay and Dr. Purshottam Solanki, representative of Depressed Classes of Gujarat, who stressed that Mahyavanshis are indeed descendants of ancient rulers and hence also alternately identified as Mayavat Rulers.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Later on in year 1968, via a Government of India circular, the mahyavanshi's of Daman, were also given the status of Mahyavanshi after the Indian annexation of Daman from the Portuguese.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

A prominent figure in re-writing the history of Mahyavanshis was Makanji Kuber Makwana, who wrote several works on the ancient history of Mahyavnashi and linking them with the Mayavat Rajputs (a branch of Parmara clan), and started the new social movement to "regain" their Rajput and Kshatriya status, which has been successful.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The reason behind Mahyavanshi success to gain Kshatriya status was that they were able to mobilize public opinion and procured support for their cause from both from British and Indian leaders and historical research books on their community published by Makanji Kuber Makwana, which strengthened their case.^[4]

Dr. Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, then the Home Minister of Bombay State, in a 1931 lecture delivered in Kasavji Hall in Bombay stressed that the Mahyavanshi were the descendents of the Hattiavanshi King Arjuna, arguing that it was because of the slaughter of Parsuram they were relegated to a lower caste.^[4][5][7] Also Purshottam Solanki, representative of Depressed Classes of Gujarat in a speech given in Bombay Legislative Council, vehemently stressed that Mahars were martial races and their occupation was military too in past. He further said, thau were not drags of society but have been rulers of Gujarat and other areas of India in past and were descendants of Kshatriya or Rajput clans and should therefore be legitimized as a Kshatriya clan.^[4]

Others involved in this affirming this identity were Garibdasji Ramdasji and other Mahants of Ramanandi sect, Phakir Jeevan Mevasi, besides several of their community leaders spread across Bombay State (present day Maharashtra and Gujarat), Sindh ( Karachi and Raban ), Portuguese India ( Nani and Moti Daman ) and also from South Africa, where their population was living in cities like Johannesburg and Pretoria, who in unison impressed upon the government for revision of their social status.^[4]

Published works

The historical research books on Mahayavanshi were mainly published in first decade of 20th century; all written in Gujarati, which dwelt upon the ancient history of Mahayavanhis were originally Mayavat Rajputs and should be recognized as Mahyavanshis. These books helped them get the Rajput status:^{[2][4] [6]}

Some of these works include Makanji Kuber Makwana's Mayavat Rajput Prakash (1908) (A light on Mayavat Rajputs), Mahyavanshi no Itihas (1910) (History of Mahyavanshi), Mayavat Rajputoday (1911) (The rise of Mayavat Rajput) and Mahyavanshi Atle Shu? (1911) (Who is a Mahyavanshi?), as well as Phakir Jeevan Mevashi's Mayavat Ranshingu arthat Khudarano Karta.

Subdivisions

The Mahyavanshis are primarily divided into exogamous clans like - Aatekar Pardinar, Danania, Kantharia, Barodia, joravia ,umravia ,kanodia , Chaseia, Surti, Kosadia, Khanvanshi,kosambia Parmar, Rana, Rathod, Gohel, Makwana,Mistry, Solanki and Vaghela.,^[1] Hadiyol, Ramodadiwala

Customs

Many Mahyavanshi customs are Rajput in origin:^[7] They have following customs in their caste, which point towards that they are of Rajput origin:-^[7][8]

• They worship Mata or Devi and always have a 'Kuldevi'.
• They used to sacrifice a goat in times of calamity. This has now been replaced by offering food.
• Under the head of the dead body, they keep a knife.
• When a married person dies his wife wears her best clothes and performs aarti of her dead husband
• Each Mahyavanshi irrespective of his sects worships Devi and offer coconut, loban, and agarbatti. On Dussera day they do a pooja and replace the old coconut with the new one.
• Before marriage, as among Rajputs, the Devi pooja is essential among the Mahyavanshis and even today they rigidly follow this practice.^[8]

Distribution

The community members are mainly located in mainly in regions of Gujarat and Daman apart from some population found in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

In Maharashtra the community is found in places like Dahanu, Gholvad, Bordi, Girgaon, Palghar, Udava, Uparet, Karanjgaon. Many from Gujarat / Maharashtra got settled all across in Mumbai

In Gujarat, the mainly the population is centered on districts of Ahmedabad, Navsari, Chikhali, Parcholla, Umbergam, Bharuch, Vadodara, Kamrej, Valsad, Surat, Rajkot, etc.^[4]

References