The Scheduled Castes Constitute an Im- Portant Section of Indian Society
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
OCCUPATIONAL CHANGE AMONG MAHYAVANSHIS — A SCHEDULED CASTE* Y. A. PARMAR** The present article seeks to inquire an occupational change that has occurred in a Scheduled Caste of Surat city. It raises three questions; namely (a) What was the tradi tional occupation of Mahyavanshis? (b) What is their present occupation? (c) What forces helped them to abandon their traditional occupations and to take up new occupations? Traditionally they were known as Dheds and were doing unclean activities and their status was degraded. But due to certain Socio-cultural reasons they could abandon their tradi tional occupations and could enter into prestigious occupations. The change in occupation was possible because of their contacts with the Europeans, the Parsis, and the Muslims; establishment of steam industries; and the efforts of their caste organizations in raising their status from that of Dheds to Mahyavanshi. All these factors contributed in their social mobility. Dr. Y. A. Parmar is Reader in the Department of Sociology, South Gujarat Univer sity, Surat, Gujarat. The Scheduled Castes constitute an im to take up new occupations? To answer portant section of Indian Society. They these questions we are examining the acti were considered of low social status and vities of three generations of Mahyavanshi degraded because of their association with households. certain lowly activities such as skinning, tanning and sweeping roads and streets. I Background Traditionally each caste was associated The Scheduled Castes are divided into with a particular occupation. To abandon Castes and sub-castes. Instead of taking this occupation in pursuit of another was these castes and sub-castes separately for unthinkable. And this was true particularly enumeration, they have been organized with reference to Scheduled Castes who under various groups. In South Gujarat had very little opportunities in the selec region there are four major Scheduled tion of respectable and remunerative means Caste groups, namely, (1) Mahyavanshi, of livelihood. Their touch used to defile Dhed, Vankar or Maru Vankar, (2) Savarnas. The social and cultural disabi Bhambhi, Chamar, Chamadia, etc. (3) lities blocked their movement from one Bhangi, Mehtar, Rukhi, etc. and (4) Megh- occupation to another. But that has not val or Meghvar. Besides these groups there happened to all the Scheduled Castes. Cer are others such as Shenva, Chenva, Garoda tain castes, though traditionally they or Garo, Nadia or Hadi and Turi. Mahya carried low social status, have in modern vanshi, Dhed, Vankar or Maru Vankar is times, altered their position. Mahyavanshis the major Scheduled Caste group in South of South Gujarat region is an example of Gujarat region. Over 63 per cent of Sche this category. We, therefore, examine in duled Caste population in this region are this article the most menial aspect of of this group. The population of this group change i.e. occupation among Mahyavan is highest in Surat district with 66.52 per shis. We ask three questions: (a) What cent. In Surat district they number 37,314 was the traditional occupation of Mahya with 18,039 males and 19,275 females. vanshis? (b) What is their present occupa Their population in Chorasi taluka of tion? and (c) What forces helped them to which Surat city is a part is 15,822. That abandon their traditional occupations and means nearly a half of their population * This article is based on the authors Ph.D. thesis submitted to the South Gujarat Uni versity, Surat. **The author is grateful to S. P. Punalekar, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Studies, Surat for his comments on this article. 230 Y. A. PARMAR lives in one taluka alone i.e. Chorasi that the Mamlatdar of Olpad taluka of taluka. In Surat city the population of Surat district issued a circular in 1938 that Mahyavanshi, Dhed, Vankar or Maru Van- no Hindu Savarna should force the Dheds kar group according to 1971 census is to drag the dead animals from the village 8,154. In 1975 we undertook a census of (The Dandio, Weekly, 8-9-1938: 23). A Mahyavanshi community alone in Surat recent study conducted by I. P. Desai city. We could come across 961 Mahya (1976) on 'Untouchability in Rural Guja vanshi households with a population of rat' mentions that "in 13 (32 per cent) 6,225 (males 3,132 and females 3,093). villages out of 41, the Vankar or the Here we have not taken into account Dhed, Mahyavanshi do the unclean work of re Vankar or Maru Vankar. We have enume moving the dead animals and in three villa rated only those persons who claim them ges out of these they sell skins and bones." selves as Mahyavanshis. Those who live in Occupational position of the Dhed of Surat district, identify themselves as 'Surti Northern and Southern Gujarat vary con Mahyavanshi'. In past they were identified siderably. In Ahmedabad and Kheda dis with different names such as Dheds, or tricts with a large population of Bhangis Vankar or Vethias. and the demand for a class of field labourers, the Dheds were employed as II Traditional Occupations of private rather than public servants by the Mahyavanshis landholding dominant households of Pati- Traditionally untouchables were asso dars. They were considered higher than ciated with unclean activities. These activi Chamars. However, they had to drag away ties were: removing of the dead cattle and occasionally the bodies of the dead cattle. skinning them; removing of the dead cats That apart they were never called upon to and dogs; and sweeping of the latrines, sweep or do other unclean work like skin streets and roads. Even to-day the un ning and tanning. They did not point out touchable castes perform some of these boundary marks. A few of them used to functions in the villages, towns and cities. hold rent free land and only to a limited There is a widespread belief that Dheds, extent were they village servants. Each Mahyavanshis or Vankars which is the lar family was said to be connected with the gest Scheduled Caste group in Gujarat house of some landholders, mostly Patidars. did not perform in the past any of these They worked as agricultural labourers or unclean activities. However, the evidence is domestic servants doing all sorts of work that if there are no other untouchable castes connected with farm or households of their to perform these activities, the Mahyavan masters. In return they used to receive daily shis perform them (Desai, 1976: 140). The allowance of buttermilk. And occasionally activity of removing and skinning dead they used to get the carcasses of the cattle animals like cows, oxen and buffaloes in of their landlords. Northern Gujarat was performed by the South of Narbada where Bhangis were Dheds. The Bhangis used to remove and scarcer and where Kaliparaj or Adi- skin dead sheep, goats, dogs and cats. If vasis (whose population was large enough) a Dhed was found touching a dead dog, worked as hereditary servants, the Dheds he was put out of caste (Gazetteer, Bom were found employed as public servants. bay Presidency, 1901:340). In the villages In many cases the whole burden of menial of South Gujarat region they were asked work of the village; i.e. the sweeping, guid to drag the dead animals. It is on record ing, and load carrying was done by the OCCUPATIONAL CHANGE AMONG MAHYAVANSHIS 231 Dheds. They held rent free agricultural of nineteenth century, a large number of lands, and like the Bhangis of North Dheds of South Gujarat had already Gujarat, went round the village in the even changed over to artisan status from that of ing to collect leftover food. In the larger socially and ritually low occupation of towns they worked as scavengers and night- menial work. Handloom weaving had soilmen. And so many Dheds had sunk become their full time occupation. But with to as low a level as Bhangis (Gazetteer, the establishment of steam powered weav Bombay Presidency, 1901). Besides doing ing mills in Bombay and which technique cultivation on a small piece of land they later spread throughout the manufacturing undertook lowely activities such as carry towns of Gujarat, the hand-operated weav ing nightsoil and tanning hides (Gazetteer, ing activity among Mahyavanshis declined. Bombay Presidency, 1901:16). As they Their cloth could not compete with the had to do Vetha (i.e. carrying the baggage power-loom cloth. Besides this, Mahya of all travellers from the village to the vanshis were also engaged in agricultural road, working as village scavengers, as labour in the villages of South Gujarat watchmen and also conveying letters from region. Thus the Mahyavanshi were engag the public functionaries and head-man to ed in both clean as well as unclean activi the next village and also carrying other ties in the past. The unclean activities valuables on the road to their destination which they continued to carry out were in the village they were identified as low in social status. Such occupation 'Vethias' in South Gujarat region. carried no social prestige whatsoever and because of this their position was not sub Over and above this they were also stantially different from other Scheduled found doing other lowly activities. During Castes. They belonged to low social stra the early part of night they used to go tum occupationally. with a basket full of 'datan' (small thin fresh stick of babul tree used as tooth ' The data were collected through a census brush) to Savarna's houses. They used to survey of 961 Mahyavanshi households give them 'datan' and in return they used residing in Surat city. These Mahyavanshi to get leftover food from them.