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Mahishya

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Rani Rashmoni, is from Mahishya family, founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Calcutta

Mahishya, also spelled Mahisya, is a Bengali Hindu agrarian caste.The Mahishyas are general caste group and enjoy no reservation benefits.

The Mahishya today are regarded as dominant middle-caste group in Bengal.[1][2][3][4] They are traditionally found in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Odisha. Mahishyas are one of the predominant castes in West Bengal, especially in the southern districts of Howrah, Paschim Medinipur, Purba Medinipur, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Nadia.

Origin Myth

According to ancient texts like Manusmriti, the term Mahishya refers to one born to a Kshatriya father and a Vaishya mother, supposed to be engaged in the profession of astronomy or agriculture.[5][6]

History

The group now known as Mahishyas were originally considered Kaibarttas. Scholars appeared to differ on the rank of the Mahisyas in Bengal society at the end of the 19th century. Sankritist and antiquarian Rajendralal Mitra appeared to believe that Mahisyas were a caste of small farmers and could not afford forces of modernity such as school education. But Jogendranath Bhattacharya, who published a major book on castes and sects in Bengal in 1896, wrote that they were a fairly advanced caste, counting among them quasi-royal families in Midnapore and a large number of professionals including lawyers and university graduates. These advanced individuals, who were then known as Chashi Kaibartas, assumed the caste name Mahisya sometime during the late 1890s, probably in 1897.Mahisyas were, and are, probably the most diverse Bengali caste. They counted among their ranks individuals and families from all possible classes in terms of material conditions. There were the legendary rajas of Midnapore or major landed families such as Sasmals or the Rani Rashmoni household in Calcutta. On the other hand, Mahisyas had a substantial number of lawyers and industrialists too, such as the family of Alamohan Das and numerous modest entrepreneurs in the iron foundry sector in Howrah in the mid-20th century. Yet, a majority of them were probably small farmers, who had reclaimed brushwood lands in east Midnapore since the abolition of salt monopoly in the 1860s. At the same time, some of them worked as domestic help and agricultural labourers.Although many are still involved in traditional work in rural areas, within a generation Mahishyas gave up agriculture in large numbers in favour of engineering and skilled labour in the urbanised areas of Howrah and Kolkata. In Howrah, the Mahishyas are the most numerous and successful businesspeople. At the turn of the 20th century, much of the land and factories were owned by Kayasthas; but by 1967, the Mahisya community owned 67 percent of the engineering businesses in the district.[7]

Role in Independence Movement

Deshapran Birendranath Sasmal, the tallest Mahisya political leader, who had led the non-cooperation movement in Midnapore and had been a rival of Subhas Chandra Bose for the position of the Mayor of Calcutta during the 1920s.

By the 1940s, Mahisyas were the backbone of the Congress-led militant nationalist movement in Midnapore and south Bengal as a whole. As a matter of fact, a majority of leaders and foot soldiers of the Quit India movement in Midnapore were Mahisyas. They had set up a parallel government in Tamluk which ran for nearly two years. It had its own army, judiciary and finance department. Biplabi, the mouthpiece of the parallel national government in Midnapore, was later published in English. Copies of the original are still available at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library in Delhi. At the same time, some of the most devoted Gandhians in Bengal were Mahisyas, such as late Satish Chandra Samanta.

Social stigma

Although the financial, social, and political success of Mahishyas is notable, they have often been stigmatised due to their agrarian roots. Mahishyas have not been averse to manual labour (often considered demeaning by "higher castes");[7] for example, Birendranath Sasmal was refused the post of Chief Executive of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation by Chittaranjan Das on the grounds that his appointment would offend the Kayasthas of the city.[8] The job ultimately went to Subhas Chandra Bose.

Title/Surname

Following are the most common titles among the community: Singha, Adak, Santra, Bhowmik, Pramanik, Das, Sarkar, Roy, Majumdar, Biswas, Mallik, Mondal, Maity, Jana, Bera, Dhara, Giri, Manna, Dinda, Karak, etc.

Notable Mahishyas

Spirituality

Freedom Fighters

Industrialists

  • Alamohan Das, pioneering industrialist and founder of India Machinery Co., namesake of Dasnagar

Journalist

Sportspersons

Academics

Politicians

See also

References

  1. ^ Chatterjee, Partha (1997). The Present History of West Bengal: Essays in Political Criticism. Oxford University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-19-563945-2.
  2. ^ Nicholas, Ralph W (2003). Fruits of Worship: Practical Religion in Bengal. Orient Longman Ltd. p. 53. ISBN 978-8180280061.
  3. ^ A Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal" by Tathagata Roy.
  4. ^ Das, Pyari Mohan. The Mahishyas.
  5. ^ Agarwalla, Shyam. S. (1998). Religion and Caste Politics. Rawat Publications. p. 133.
  6. ^ Kumar, Sangeet (2005). Changing Role of the Caste System: A Critique. Jaipur, India: Rawat Publications. p. 48. ISBN 8170338816.
  7. ^ a b Lessinger, Johanna M. (1982). "The New Vaishyas". Economic Development and Cultural Change. 30 (4): 920–924. doi:10.1086/452603.
  8. ^ Maity, Sachindra (1975). Freedom Movement in Midnapore. Calcutta: Firma, K.L.
  9. ^ https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/west-bengal-assembly-polls-2021/story/mahisyas-and-the-new-caste-question-in-west-bengal-politics-1780517-2021-03-18
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