Origin The Meenas claim a mythological descent from the
Matsya avatar, or fish incarnation, of
Vishnu. They also claim to be descendants of the people of the Matsya Kingdom, which flourished in the 6th century B.C. The historian Pramod Kumar notes that it is likely that the tribes living in the ancient Matsya kingdom were called Meena but it cannot be said with certainty that there is anything common between them and the modern Meenas. They are considered to be
adivasi (aboriginal people). According to Kapur, the Meenas also attempt
Rajputization of themselves.
Rajput period The Meenas ruled at certain places in Rajasthan until they were overpowered by the invading
Rajputs. After the end of their rule, the Meenas made forests and hills their sanctuary and started fighting to reclaim their kingdom. One such example was the
Kingdom of Amber, Who had to face many wars to stop their struggle and later established peace by making treaty with conditionals. From Meenas the
Bundi was captured by Rao Dewa (A.D. 1342),
Dhundhar by
Kachhwaha Rajputs and Chopoli by the
Muslim rulers.
Kota,
Jhalawar,
Karauli and
Jalore were the other areas of earlier Meena influence where they were forced to surrender ultimately.
British colonial period The Raj colonial administration came into existence in 1858, following the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 which caused the government of Britain to decide that leaving colonial administration in the hands of the
East India Company was a recipe for further discontent. In an attempt to create an orderly administration through a better understanding of the populace, the Raj authorities instituted various measures of classifying the people of India. One such measure was the
Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, under the provisions of which Meenas were placed in the first list of the Act in 1872 in
Patiala and East Punjab States Union,
Rajasthan and
Punjab. Another such measure was the
Habitual Criminals Act of 1930, under whose provisions the Meenas were placed. The community remained stigmatised for many years, notably by influential officials of the Raj such as
Herbert Hope Risley and
Denzil Ibbetson, and were sometimes categorised as
animists and as a
hill tribe similar to the
Bhils.
Rebellion In the 1840s, Meenas organized a huge movement in Jaipur under the leadership of Lakshminarayan Jharwal against the British rule, which was a Meena rebellion against the British government.
Recent history Kumar Suresh Singh notes that the Meenas have not abandoned their
customary laws Meenas have better rights for women in many respects compared to many other Hindu castes.
Caste reservation The Meena fall into the
Scheduled Tribe category in the state of
Rajasthan and the majority of them are classified as being Hindu, but in
Madhya Pradesh Meena are recognised as a Scheduled Tribe only in Sironj Tehsil,
Vidisha, while in the other 44 districts of the state they are categorised as
Other Backward Classes. In Rajasthan, the Meena caste members oppose the entry of
Gurjars into Scheduled Tribe fold, fearing that their own share of Scheduled Tribe reservation benefits will be eroded. It is believed by media that the well-off Meena community enjoy a major share of ST reservation at the cost of other tribals. == Subdivisions ==