Inauguration of ‘Meghdhara’ was held on 11.09.2011 at Bhuj, Kachchh (Capital of Kachchh District) under the kind presence of top Religious Head of Maheshwari Meghwar community – His Highness ‘Pir Saheb’. Inauguration was done by Hon’ble Collector of Kachchh, Shri M. Thennarson, IAS in the august presence of intellectual delegates from all the Talukas of Kachchh District and some representatives from Jamnagar and Ahmedabad as well. Besides, this programme was also telecasted live on our website due to which many wellwishers from North India, Mumbai, Rajkot and Karachi also became part of the function.

Meghdhara inauguration Program has also witnessed a rare combination of three ‘MEGH’s viz. Meghvarsha (Incessant rains), Meghdhara (Community newspaper) and His Highness ‘Pir Saheb’ (late Shree Meghji Nangsi Lalan expired on 21.09.2011)

Our viewers are aware that since February, 2010 onwards, we are clinging to unite our community belonging from Scheduled Caste Community under the banner ‘Akhil Kutch Maheshwari Vikas Seva Sangh’ (a Social/Charitable Trust bearing No.F/2167/Kutch and GUJ/1989/Kutch). In this endeavor, we have been successful in convincing elite and educated persons of Maheshwari Meghwal community to form a non-political organization for overall social, religious and educational development of the community. Our organization is lead by Dr. L.V. Fafal (Ph.D-Mathematics), a renowned academician working as Principal, B.Ed. College, Mundra. Our community is fortunate that Shri Mavjibhai Maheshwari, an President’s Award winner Teacher, renowned Gujarati writer and a columnist of Kutchmitra daily is devoting his services as Editor of Meghdhara.

Alongside, we have been able to convene Taluka Executive Committees in Mundra and Abdasa Talukas and formation of Executives in remaining Talukas of Kachchh is on the anvil.

Overall, this Meghdhara inauguration function was an historical event for entire Maheshwari community primarly for the reason that Meghdhara is our first community mouthpiece over the years. Meghdhara is all set to record all important happenings of the community and a sole platform to express views for the betterment of the community.

We once again thank all concern for supporting us since beginning. Our success is attributed to relentless efforts taken by result oriented youths and learned intellectuals of the community. In future also, we solicit your kind cooperation like before. Please become members of Meghdhara and suggest names & addresses of your friends and relatives for yearly subscription of Rs.100/- only.

Indian friends can send subscription amount via money order/DD at the following address:

Navin K. Bhoiya, Plot No.101, Sector No.7, Gandhidham, Kachchh-370201

Contact: +91 9913492945 /  Email:  meghdhara@maheshpanthi.net

On behalf of Office Bearers

Akhil Kachchh Maheshwari Vikas Seva Sangh

(popularly known as All India Maheshwari Youth Federation)

As you know, since 21.02.2010 we have been striving hard to form and establish a National Level Organization of Maheshwari-Meghwar community on a secular and non-political base. We are pleased to inform you that by the grace of Almighty Pujya Shree Dhani Matangdev, we are marching ahead in our endeavour slowly but steadily. We are in touch with influential people of our community and all of them have promised us for their support and help.

To begin with, we have launched MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN in all the places, wherever our people reside as we want to unite our community under one banner for doing social, religious, cultural and educational development activities in a phased manner. We are also pleased to inform you that our Federation is presently functioning under the able leadership of Dr. L.V. Fafal, Ph.D (Mathematics), who is also Principal of Government B.Ed. College, Mundra (Kutch). Dr. L.V. Fafal is the first and only person in our community who has been bestowed with a prestigious Ph.D. degree.

In the first phase, we are commencing our own media by initiating ‘Mouth-Piece’ (fortnightly newspaper) under the aegis of Shri Mavjibhai Maheshwari, a renowned Gujarati writer and academician.

For MYF membership, we have kept an annual membership fee of  Rs.100/- (Rupees Hundred only). Person of any age can become member of MYF. This annual membership fee of Rs.100/- is also considered as one year subscription amount of the proposed newspaper (Mouth piece). Our volunteers are spread in all the places for this devoted work. We have also launched this membership joining facility online.

We, therefore, request all our friends and well-wishers to join Maheshwari Youth Federation and strengthen our community.

With Kind Regards,
Maheshwari Youth Federation

MYF Membership form

આજના કમ્પુટરના યુગમાં જીવન ગાડી બહુજ રફતારથી દોડે છે. દરેક માણસ ભૌતિક સુખ સુવિધા મળવા ખાતર અથાક પ્રયાસ કરતો જણાય છે. આજે આર્થિક સંપન્ન વ્યક્તીનીજ બોલબાલા છે. એવામાં ધાર્મિક પુષ્ટ્ભુમીને કેન્દ્ર માં રાખી સામાજિક વિકાસની વાત કરવી કદાચ અતિશયોક્તિ ગણાય. આજના બદલાયેલા સમયમાં સામાન્ય માણસ માટે ધર્મ માત્ર પૂજા અર્ચનાનું એક માધ્યમ બની ગયું છે. ઈતિહાસમાં ડોકિયું કરીએ તો જણાશે કે જે તે ધર્મની બુનિયાદ કચડાયેલા વર્ગ સમૂહના આર્થિક, સામાજિક, રાજનૈતિક તેમજ સર્વાંગી વિકાસના પાયા પર રચાણી હતી. પરંતુ, આજની પરિસ્થિતિ એનાથી તદ્દન વિપરીત થઇ ગઈ છે.

વિશ્વના દરેક સ્વતંત્ર ધર્મમાં આવકનું ૧૦મુ ભાગ આપવાની પ્રથા છે. પ્રાચીન બેબીલોન, મિશ્ર, સીરિયા, અને ગ્રીસ માં ‘ટાઈથ’ અથવા ‘દસમું ભાગ’ આપવું એક પ્રબળ પ્રથા હતી. ક્લેમેન્ટ, જસ્ટિયન માર્ટીયર, સાઈપ્રિયન જેરોમ, હેરોડોટસ, ઝેનોફોન, જેવા વિદ્વાનોએ ઇસવી સન ની પહેલી સદીમાં પોતાના લખાણોમાં પ્રમાણિત કર્યું છે કે ‘ટાઈથ’ અથવા ‘દસમું ભાગ’ આપવાની પ્રથા ‘એપોસટોલીક’ કાળ થી અસ્તિત્વ માં છે (‘એપોસટોલીક’ કાળ એટલે કે જે સમય ભગવાન યીસુ ક્રીસ્ટે પોતાના પ્રથમ ૧૨ (બાર) અનુયાયીયોને ધર્મ પ્રચાર માટે મોકલ્યા એ સમય). ઇટલી સામ્રાજ્યના ઉતરાર્ધના સમયમાં, ત્યાંના ધાર્મિક મુખિયાને ‘ટાઈથ’ (tithe) આપવાની પ્રથા હતી. યહુદીયો અને ક્રીશચનોમાં ‘ટાઈથ’ એક પ્રચલીત પ્રથા હતી.

એવીજ રીતે દુનિયાના બધાજ સ્વતંત્ર ધર્મોમાં ‘ટાઈથ‘ નું સુચારુ પ્રચલન છે. આવકના દસમાં ભાગની પ્રથા જેને ઈસાઈ ધર્મ ‘ટાઈથ’ કહે છે, હિંદુ ધર્મમાં એને ’દસસ’ અથવા ‘દશમશા’ કહેવામાં આવે છે. બુદ્ધ ધર્મમાં એને ‘દશન’, સીખ્ખ ધર્મમાં ‘દસવન્દ’, ઇસ્લામ ધર્મમાં ‘ઉશર’ કહેવામાં આવે છે. સરવાળે આ ‘ટાઈથ’ અથવા ‘ દસમાં ભાગ’ ની જોગવાઈ નું મુખ્ય હેતુ ચરિત્ર નિર્માણ હતું, જેનું ઉદ્દેશ્ય સર્વોપરી ઈશ્વરને પોતાનાથી પેહલે મુકવાનું હતું.

નીઝારી ઈસમાઈલી ખોજા ધર્મમાં પણ આવકના ૧૦મું ભાગ આપવાની પ્રથા અમલમાં છે. તેઓ આ ધાર્મિક જોગવાઈને ‘દસોંદ‘ ના નામે સંબોધે છે. ઇસમાઇલી ધર્મના વડા ‘પ્રિન્સ આગાખાન’ પાસે દસોંધનું ભંડોળ રહે છે. તેયો પોતાને થતી આ દસોંધના ભંડોળ માંથી પોતાના જ્ઞાતિ બાંધવોને જરૂરત પ્રમાણે ધંદા રોજગાર, શિક્ષણ અને પૂર્ણ વિકાસ થવા પુરતી મદદ કરે છે. તેથીજ ઇસમાઇલી ભાઈયો દરેક શેત્રમાં સ્વનિર્ભર છે. તેમણે પોતાની સમાજ માટે પુરતું ઇન્ફ્રાસ્ટ્રકચર (માળખાકીય સુવિધાઓ) ઉભી કરી છે. એવીજ રીતે સ્વામીનારાયણ સંપ્રદાય પણ આવકના દસમાં ભાગની જોગવાઈ (ટાઈથ) થકીજ પોતાનું આગવું અસ્તિત્વ ધરાવે છે. તેયોના અક્ષરધામ મંદિરોના નિર્માણમાં કરોડો રૂપિયા ખર્ચાય છે, જે તેયો સમાજ બાંધવો પાસેથીજ મેળવે છે અને સમાજ કલ્યાણના દરેક કાર્ય સરળતાથી કરે છે. ઈસાઈ ધર્મ, સીખ્ખ ધર્મ પણ આવકના દસમાં ભાગની પ્રબળ જોગવાઈ થકીજ સ્વ:નિર્ભર છે. આથી સાબિત થાય છે કે દુનિયાના બધાજ સ્વતંત્ર ધર્મોમાં ‘ટાઈથ’ અથવા આવકનું દસમું ભાગ આપવાની એક મૌલિક અને તાર્કિક જોગવાઈ છે. આવકના આ ૧૦માં ભાગ થકી જે તે ધાર્મિક વડા પાસે ધન સંચય થાય છે, જેથી તેયો મોટા પાયે સામાજિક અને ધાર્મિક ગતીવીધીયોને સરળતાથી પાર પાડી શકે છે.

પૂજ્ય શ્રી મામૈદેવ ‘ગીનાન’ વાણીમાં આવકના ૧૦માં ભાગ આપવાની જોગવાઈને ખાસ્સું સમર્થન આપે છે. આ યોજનાને તેયો ‘દસોંદ’ કહે છે. પૂજ્ય શ્રી મામૈદેવનું આ વેદ એની સાબિતી પૂરી પડે છે:-

“ધરમ તણી દસોંદ ન કઢી, આરોગી અસુરી અન્ન,
અધર્મ મેં રે ઉતામણા, મામૈ ભણે માઈસરિયા, સે જીવ ગરી ગરક થીયંત”

આ વેદથી સ્પષ્ટ થાય છે કે શ્રી મામૈદેવ ત્રણ ચીજોની ચુસ્ત અમલબજાવણીની હિમાયત કરતા કહે છે કે જે લોકો ધર્મ પેટે દસોંધ એટલે કે આવકનું ૧૦મું ભાગ નથી રાખતા તથા જે લોકો આસુરી અન્ન ખાય છે અને અધર્મ કરવા આતુર રહે છે, તેઓ ગરી ને ગરક થાય છે મતલબ કે તેઓનું જીવન સાર્થક નથી બલકે મૃતપાય છે.

આવી પ્રબળ જોગવાઈ હોવા છતાં, બારમતી પંથમાં ‘દસોંધ’ નું ચલણ નહીવત છે. પૂર્વ કાળમાં મહેશ્વરી સમાજ અતિ પછાત હતી, એટલે કહી શકીએ કે ‘દસોંધ’ નું ચલણ અંશમાત્ર હતું. પરંતુ આજે મહેશ્વરી સમાજે ધારી પ્રગતિ કરી છે. લાખોપતિઓની સાથે સાથે કરોડપતિઓ પણ આજે આ સમાજમાં છે. મધ્યમ વર્ગની વાત કરીએ તો મધ્યમ વર્ગની જનસંખ્યા પણ ખાસ્સા પ્રમાણમાં છે. આવામાં જો ‘દસોંધ’ (આવકનું દસમું ભાગ) પ્રચલિત કરાય તો મહેશ્વરી સમાજ પણ સ્વનિર્ભર થઇ શકે છે. જેમાં લેશમાત્ર પણ શંકા નથી.

ઉપર બતાવેલ ઐતિહાસિક તથ્યો પરથી સાબિત થાય છે કે ટાઈથ અથવા આવકના દસમાં ભાગ આપવાની પ્રથાથી સામાજિક ઉત્થાન સંભવ છે. આજ લક્ષ્યને કેન્દ્રમાં રાખી અખિલ ભારતીય મહેશ્વરી યુવા મહાસંઘ (All India Maheshwari Youth Federation) ની સ્થાપના થઇ છે, જે આવનારા સમયમાં ‘રાષ્ટ્રીય દસોંધ ટ્રસ્ટ‘ સ્થાપીને બારમતી પંથ ધર્મમાં દસોંધનું અમલીકરણ કરાવવા લોક જાગૃતિ અભિયાન આદરશે. ટ્રસટીયો તરીકે બધાજ ગામના પ્રમુખો અને સમાજના અગ્રણીયો રહેશે, જેયો દર બે વર્ષે બદલાશે. પૂજ્ય શ્રી મામૈદેવે ફકરાના વેદોમાં સ્પષ્ટ કહયું છે કે:-

“વડે વેર વધધા, નેન્ઢે થીંદા દોરી સંચાર,

શેઠ બદ્ધધા ભેઠ, કજા લસધી કુદીયેંજી,

ધર્મી વેટે હલી ન સગધો, જભરાયલજો જોર,

મામૈ ભણે માઈસરિયા, ધર્મી મુરુ મેળે મળધા”

પૂજ્ય શ્રી મામૈદેવની આગમવાણી ક્યારે ખોટી પડી નથી. ઈતર સમાજના વિધવાન લોકો પણ શ્રી મામૈદેવની આગમવાણીને સચોટ અનુસરે છે. આથી ઉપરના વેદમાં સ્પષ્ટ સંકેત છે કે સામાજિક નેતૃત્વ યુવાનોના હાથોમાં આવશે (નેન્ઢે થીંદા દોરી સંચાર) કારણકે મોટા લોકોમાં આપસી વૈમનસ્ય વધતું જાય છે. આવામાં જો અખિલ ભારતીય મહેશ્વરી યુવા મહાસંઘને ‘રાષ્ટ્રીય દસોંધ ટ્રસ્ટ‘ સ્થાપવામાં જીત મળશે તો એ ખરેખર મહેશ્વરી સમાજની જીત હશે. આવો આપણે બધા આ મહાન કાર્યમાં જોડાઈને અખિલ ભારતીય મહેશ્વરી યુવા મહાસંઘને એક શશક્ત સંગઠન બનાવીએ, જેથી રાષ્ટ્રીય દસોંધ ટ્રસ્ટની સ્થાપના ટૂંક સમયમાં થઇ શકે અને મહેશ્વરી સમાજ પણ બારમતી પંથ થકી સ્વનિર્ભર થઇ પોતાનું ઇન્ફ્રાસ્ટ્રકચર ઉભું કરી શકે.

આ મહાસંઘમાં જોડાવવા નીચે આપેલ નંબરો ઉપર સંપર્ક કરો:-

 Source: Bhavan’s Journal Vol. 52, No.18 & 19 (30^th April & 15^th May, 2006).

  Article written by: Prof. J. V. Naik

Renowned Scholar-Historian and Ex-Chairman, Indian History Congress

Prof J. V. Naik has written this article while he was Chairman of the prestigious Indian History Congress in 2006. Thus, this article is an authentic material endorsed by Indian History Congress.* 

Mahatma Jyotirao Phule (1827-1890) was the chief ideologue as well as the first most influential leader of the determined low caste protest movement in the 19^th century Maharashtra, and by the same token, the conscience keeper and the revolutionary spokesperson of the nameless, faceless, dumb millions of India. During this lifetime he did his best to infuse a new spirit in the dormant oppressed masses to fight for their rights, and thus, in many respects, he anticipated Mahatma Gandhi on the one hand, and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, on the other. His revolutionary ideas were the product of his deep reflection on social history of India from the ancient times, of his keen perception of the existing social reality, of his appreciation of the Western influences that came in the wake of British rule, of his own painful practical experience and of his preparedness to fight every form of injustice – all informed by a comprehending credo, resulting in an irresistible urge to create a new life and new society, on the basis of rationality and equality.

A careful historical inquiry into the development of Phule’s ideology reveals that, though he had always been a liberal-radical, in the first phase of his illustrious career his “liberalism was inclusive and not exclusive of the Brahmans”, and that his later day iconoclasm displaying a militant anti-Brahmin stance, was essentially a strong reaction to the collapse of the anti-caste movement, initiated by the Dadoba Pandurang Tarkhadkar (1814-1882) in the early 1840’s through a reform association called the Paramahana Sabha, due to the reactionary aspirations of the dominant upper caste Hindu orthodoxy to maintain the status quo.

There is also enough evidence to suggest that Phule’s utter disillusionment with the Prarthana Samaj of Bombay (1867) (counterpart of the Brahmo Samaj of Bengal), which emerged out of the ashes of the Paramahansa Sabha, may have substantially contributed to his growing conviction that emancipation of the Shudras¹ and Ati-Shudras² could be achieved only through the total annihilation of Brahmanical culture system that lay at the root of all social ills. Only a powerfully original mind can emancipate itself as completely as did Phule from the centuries old load of the tyranny of custom and tradition. For a proper appreciation of Phule’s ideology of universal humanism in a historical perspective, the main features of his social philosophy needs to be first noted:

First, Mahatma Phule, in leading the low caste protest, put himself outside Brahmanical culture system, and sought to create a counter-culture based on truth, justice and humanity.

Second, his fight was against Brahmanism and not Brahmins per se. He had a number of enlightened Brahmin friends such as Govande, Walvekar, Paranjape and others who shared his perception of the existing reality and helped him in his endeavors to secure social justice to the downtrodden.

Third, Mahatma Phule, as rightly pointed out by G.P. Deshpande, took “a remarkably modern and gendered view, which saw gender itself, not Varna, as the basis of oppression that women faced”. He did not categorize women on the basis of caste and creed; he “included all women in his notion of “Shudra-Ati-Shudra” and pleaded for equal and common rights for all men and women”. He was the first Indian to do so and, by the same token, to anticipate the U.N. Charter of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first article of which states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…”

Fourth            , as a Satya Shodhak or Truth Seeker, his sole concern was the human person, with value of truth as a sure guide for human conduct, the test of which lies in the promotion of human welfare, and not traditional values. He was a humanist who developed his own unique brand of radical humanism which did not exclude even God or Nirmik. Thus, as a rationalist, his position was akin to that of the founders of “Philosophical Rationalism” viz. Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz – as distinguished from empiricism of John Stuart Mill and Bertrand Russel.

Fifth, for Phule, social justice was that which assures the dignity of the individual. His view of social justice was akin to “the respect-for-person view” associated with Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), the famed German Philosopher and his concept of “categorical imperative” which is radically different from Contract Theory of Justice associated with Hobbes, Rousseau, and, most recently, with John Rawls as also from the Utilitarian Theory of “greatest happiness of the greatest number” of Jerome Benthan.

Kant’s maxim enunciates the principle of respect for humanity: “the people must be treated as ends in themselves and never merely as means”. “It places in the people inalienable rights that cannot be contract away, need not be established by contract, and do not depend upon whether they increase the sum of happiness”. Later Mahatma Gandhi became the votary of ‘respect-for-person’ view of Social Justice; so did his follower, Martin Luther King, in the United States. And social revolt of Periyar Ramaswami Naicker (1879-1973) and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar emanated from the same view of social justice.

Lastly, and most importantly, in its concrete, Phule’s ideology as explained by Gail Omvedt, was based upon his “identification with the peasant masses and an attachment to revolutionary values of equality and rationality”. This inevitably led him to reinterpret Indian history and culture and develop his “non-Aryan Theory” with the concomitant theory of exploitation of the masses by the dominant class – the foreign Bhatt – Brahmans.

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule’s social philosophy rested on the twin principles of rationalism and humanism. In his fight against Brahmanic culture system, it is reasonable to suggest that Mahatma Phule in some ways anticipated the Gramscian concept of “dominant ideology”, of the idea of “hegemony”; and he was, though distant, the real originator of subaltern studies in this country.

Numerous social evils that were practiced in the name of religion got aggravated in Maharashtra under the degenerate Peshwa regime especially in its last phase, the various privileges enjoyed by the Brahmans simply for their being Brahmans, and governing Brahman elite exploited the lower classes. A heartrending description of the condition of the peasantry under the last Peshwa Bajirao-II is to be found in Phule’s writings. In his essay Ishara (“Warning”) Phule writes :-

“Not long ago, until the end of the regime of the last Arya Peshwa, Rao Baji, if a peasant committed a slight default in payment of land revenue, he was made to stand half-bent in the blazing sun, a big stone put on his back, and his wife was made to sit on it, and down in front of him was lighted a fire with chillies thrown on it. The ruler treated his subjects as animals. Their only use was to produce for the ruler and the men and women of his caste, food and clothing by toiling hard in the sun and the rain, and to keep them provided with their numerous luxuries….”

Mahatma Phule’s career falls into two distinct phases. In the first phase, which lasted till about mid-1860’s, he concentrated mainly on practical social work, and did not develop any distinct ideology of his own. Born in Mali³ community in 1827, he could complete his education in a Mission School only in 1847.

Among the early influences on him was Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man which has a living message, “It was man’s natural right to hold what views he pleased; and civil or rights could never abrogate natural rights, out of which alone they can arise”.

At an impressionable age, Phule had read biographies of George Washington and Chhatrapati Shivaji. And for a while he entertained the idea of becoming a freedom fighter, impressed as he was by the local revolts of Kolis and Ramoshis against the British rule. But, like most social reformers and the leaders of the Moderates, he eventually welcomed the British rule as “Divine Dispensation”, for he viewed it as God’s instrument to rescue the oppressed humanity from “the clutches of the Brahman demos”. So disgusted Phule was with the old social order that he ignored the dark side of British rule which some of his contemporaries like Bhaskar Pandurang Tarkhadkar (1816-1847) had thoroughly exposed and had asserted that there was no such thing as beneficent imperialism and that there cannot be anything altruistic about the colonial rule.

Phule had the first bitter taste of the inequities of the caste system when he was abused and insulted for joining a Brahman wedding procession in 1848. This painful personal experience as well as his acute awareness of the problems of females and untouchables turned him into a genuine social reformer. In his reform programme he gave priority to the education of women and Ati-Shudras. In 1848 he established the first school for Shudra-ati-Shudra girls, and two more such schools in 1851, against overwhelming odds.

In this his major collaborators, besides his noble wife Savitribai, were the Brahmins – Sadashiv Ballal Govande, Moro Vitthal Walvekar, Sakharam Yeshwant Paranjape – who shared his perception of the existing social reality. His educational activities, though highly appreciated by the authorities, incurred for him a terrible wrath not only of the orthodox Brahmans, but of his own community, so much so that his gentle father, under social pressure, had to ask him to leave home. Undeterred, he continued his social work: helped arrange a widow marriage in 1864, established a founding home for abandoned children in 1867, and in the following year, opened a small bathing tank near his house for the untouchables.

During this period he wrote just one book, a play entitled, Tritiya Ratna “The Third Eye”. Written in 1855, it remained unpublished during his lifetime. The book clearly showed his antipathy for the Brahmans for their ruthless exploitation of the ignorant and the superstitious peasants. Though it set a pattern for his later thought, he had not, at this point, completely abandoned his faith in the Brahmans’ seeing reason and mending the old social order.

He read Thomas Paine’s Age of Reason in which Paine had made the profession of his faith that: “I believe in the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow creatures happy”. This seems to have made a deep impact on Phule. Equally, and perhaps even more decisive influence in shaping Phule’s religious and social thought seems to be that Theodore Parker (1810-1860) a rebellious US Clergyman, social reformer and abolitionist. Parker passionately campaigned against every form of injustice and superstition and was against slavery and worked for its abolition throughout his life.

Phule, like Parker, makes social progress dependent upon a proper understanding of religion. His understanding of religion, as expounded in his Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak, shows a “healthy opposition to escapism, devotionalism, externalism, hypocrisy, formalism and selfishness in religious matters”. The dignity of man rests on his reason. Phule’s humanism, as that of Parker, was universal, claiming equal rights for all and excluding all discriminating distinctions. And it is significant that he DEDICATED his book Gulamgiri (Slavery) to “The Good People of the United States as a token of admiration for their Sublime Disinterested and Self-sacrificing Devotion,” in the cause of Negro Slavery; and with an earnest desire, that my countrymen may take their noble example as their guide in the emancipation of their Shudra brethren from the trammels of Brahmin thralldom”.

From 1869 onwards Phule entered upon a new phase which is characterized by a crusade against the Brahmanical cultural system. For this, he developed an ideology to unite and mobilize the masses for their own emancipation from the dominant class – the Brahmins. The ideology of his non-Brahmin movement was enunciated in three important books he wrote between 1869-73, namely, Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhonsale Yancha Pawada (1869), Brahmanache Kasab (1869), Gulamgiri (1873). Through his writings, he developed his theory of “Aryan – Non Aryan” conflict. This theory was central to his concept of exploitation of masses by the dominant class consisting of the Bhat – Brahmins who were non-Indians.

All his subsequent writings are variations of the same theme. In the year 1873, he launched the Satyashodhaka Samaj (Society of Truth-Seekers) to organize the Shudras with the object of liberating them from the religious and social domination of the Brahmins.

It is important to note that he was the first Indian to use the motto “Satyameva Jayate” on his letterhead which became the motto of Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic of India. Significantly, the labour movement in India was indeed an offshoot of Mahatma Phule’s Satyashodhak Samaj.

In his Ballad of Chhatrapati Shivaji, as rightly pointed out by Rosalind O’Hanlon, he gave a “startlingly new and overtly anti-Brahmin interpretation of Maharashtra’s history and culture”.

He gave a fresh interpretation of the word Kshatriya. Etymological the term “Kshatriya”, he said, is derived from the Marathi word Kshetra meaning a field or place, and he asserted that this term “originally denoted all those living peaceably together on the land before the arrival of the Brahmin invaders”.

He thus held that Shudras and Ati-Shudras are the descendants of the Kshatriyas of ancient India whose leader was the mythical King Bali.

These aborigines, who were all Kshatriyas, were suppressed by the Aryan invaders. He thus attempted to give a common Kshatriya identity to all the lower castes and “drew a parallel between Shivaji and the mythical King Bali as the leader of the lower castes against external oppressors”.

He completely demolished the theory of incarnation as also mythical (Purushsukta) theory of the origin of the four Varnas, and dubbed it as sheer chicanery on the part of the “Shameless” Brahmins.

In the Brahmanache Kasab (“Priestcraft Exposed”), which is a collection of ballads, he further elaborated on the ‘non-Aryan’ theory, and gave a vivid contemporary account of many pernicious customs, unmeaning ceremonies, rituals and rites fostered by the Brahmins to fleece the ignorant lower castes.

Gulamgiri is easily the most powerful book by Mahatma Phule. This together with his last work ‘Sarvajanik Satya Dharma’ nearly sums up his concerns and ideals. The English introduction which he wrote to Gulamgiri, is a master-piece. Here he uses the researches of European Scholars especially that of Dr. Pritchard, the ethnologist, to demonstrate “beyond a shadow of doubt that the Brahmins were not aborigines of India”. He narrates how the cunning Brahmins fabricated innumerable falsehoods “to dupe the minds of the ignorant and to rivet firmly on them the chains of perpetual bondage and slavery which their selfishness and cunning had forged”. He gives a heartrending account of the ruthless exploitation of the lower castes, especially the poor peasants during the degenerate Brahmanical rule in the latter part of the Maratha Kingdom.

Phule waged his ideological battle on two fronts: first he attempted to create a new collective identity for all Shudras and Ati-Shudras through his “non-Aryan” theory, through effective polemics, and by invoking folk-culture of Maharashtra for their emotional integration. Second, he sought to inform the British rulers that they had a providential task of liberating the Shudras, and they could achieve it, not by catering to the religious susceptibilities and administrative and political ambitions of the Brahmins, but by giving education and employment to the lower castes. This last point comes out brilliantly in his Sarvajaniksatyadharmapustak which is a comprehensive statement of his social, religious and moral ideas.

In conclusion, it needs to be stressed that until Phule’s appearance on the scene, the so-called nineteenth century Indian Renaissance was essentially an elitist affair and that it “suffered from a kind of original sin, detachment from the grassroots of Indian life”. Phule communicated with the common people entirely in their own idiom, language and spirit. He was the first to give expression to the misery and discontent that lay latent in the minds and hearts of the dumb millions. He raised his voice against every form of injustice. He ceaselessly worked for the moral and material improvement of the oppressed and the depressed. He blazed the trail in several vital spheres of national life.

He was the first in the country to start Schools for Shudra-Ati Shudra girls and to assert that women should have not been equal but even more rights than man. He was the FIRST SOCIAL ACTIVIST to show a deep concern for the condition of Indian agriculture production and the plight of the peasants; and his trusted lieutenant in the Satyashodhak Samaj, Narayan Meghaji Lokhande has been universally hailed as the father of the Indian Labour Movement.

His follower Tarabai Shinde, author of “Stree-Purusha Tulana (1822), is the first major feminist woman writer of India. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj drew inspiration from him in his noble work of the upliftment of the downtrodden. Like Mahatma Gandhi, Phule called his followers in the Satyashodhak Samaj to the contemplation of God as Truth. And, like Mahatma Gandhi, he was the friend of the poorest, the loneliest and the lost. He anticipated Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in his efforts to annihilate caste. In fact, he foreshadowed all the provisions made in the Indian Constitution to secure social justice to all his countrymen. His was Universal Humanism. He was a Mahatma in every sense of the term and deserves to be so venerated.

Footnotes:

1.   Shudras        :        Present day Other Backward Class (OBC) community.

2.   Ati-Shudras  :        Present day Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) communities.

3.   Mali                 :        Community falling under Shudra Varna i.e. Other Backward Class community.

*    The Indian History Congress was established in 1935, and from its inception has remained the largest academic and professional body of Indian historians, it has now over 9000 members. As defined by its constitution its primary object is the promotion and encouragement of the scientific study of Indian history. It holds annual sessions and publishes their proceedings mainly comprising research papers. It issues various publications, including monographs and collections of papers. It has sponsored the publication of a Comprehensive History of India, many volumes of which have been published. The Indian History Congress stands for collaboration with historians throughout the world, and promotes the study in India of the history of other countries.

Several aspects of Meghwar history and history of its literature are so shrouded into mist that we cannot differentiate the porous border of the historical events and the mythological beliefs where the Pauranic references have been diffused into the historical facts. So is the case with the great Meghwar personalities who lived historical lives in the mediaeval history of Indian Subcontinent.  We encounter difficulties when the identity of Megh Rikh, Megh Dharu, Megh Mahya or Meghwar itself is questioned. In this article we will try to understand the historical identity of Megh Rikh and Megh Dharu. There is common belief that Megh Rikh was the prime ancestor of Meghwar. In the Meghwar traditional literature and oral stories he is considered as the most revered personality among all the Meghwars alike. Meghwar consider themselves as the descendents of this great saint. It is also said that he got divine knowledge directly from God Shiva and handed down to his son named Megh Dharu who later endowed it to the Meghwar Jati or Meghwar community. Literally, Megh means Rain and Rikh is a local Rajasthani or Kutchhi dialect meaning Rishi. Both the terms Megh and Rishi have come from Sanskrit language. As described, Megh means ‘rain’ but in the mythological context the term is usually attributed to the ‘Rain god’¹. While another term Rikh, an abrogated form of the original Sanskrit term Rishi, which in the Hindu religious customs is referred to an ascetic or a seer. A Rishi is an ancient religious person who was often involved into the religious practices at a secluded place in the jungle or on the mountain. It has been noticed that the term Rikh in its local form was found or became famous first time into the Meghwar traditions and has now become an identity of this community. Similarly the term Rikhesar is also known which means the ‘Chief Rikh’ or ‘Chief Rishi’. It is probable that this terminology might have been used for Megh Rikh also.

The Meghwars belonging to different panths and religious orders have their own versions about the origin of Megh Rikh however a similarity lies in the deep to all the versions of the tradition. In the Megh Mahatamaya² it is said that God Shiva uttered the Agama Nigama to Megh Rikh who handed down them to his son Megh Dharu. Megh Dharu endowed the divine words to the Meghwar Jati or members of Meghwar community for their religious life. Barmati traditional literature also tells that ‘Megh Rikh had directly descended from the Hindu god Brahma’.³ An eminent anthropologist Dr Dominique-Sila Khan⁴ who has done considerable research on Meghwar people and their different beliefs also expounds on this term in an explicit manner. She also traces the famous tradition about the origin of Meghwar Jati and points out that the members of Meghwar were previously known by this name and still the name is repeated in their religious texts as honorified name of ancestors of Meghwar Jati.

Generally the name Meghwar is composed of two words Megh meaning ‘Rain’ and War meaning one who wards off or stops’ hence ‘one who wards off or stops the rain. Numerous historical texts about the origin of Meghwars of Sindh, Kutchh, Gujarat and Rajasthan where members of this community live, mention the versions of the same tradition. For instance, Rose states that ‘The Meghwal claim descent from Megh-rikh who was created by Narain’.⁵ Enthoven states that ‘the one who stops or wards off rain is called Meghwal’.⁶ Mohsin Ali Mohsin tells about Meghwar that ‘Megh means rain + War means to fall it!’.⁷ But the question is who was Megh Rikh and when and where he lived? Some Meghwar traditions claim that Megh Rikh lived thousands of years ago. A hardcore Meghwar tradition states that Megh Rikh was Rikhesar or Rishi. In this regard, the tradition goes in such a way that:

‘In the Sat Yuga, a group of Rikhesars were engaged in the worship of god Shiva.  Feared by their continuous worship, all the gods in the heaven gathered to determine to stop the worship. The god Vishnu in the guise of a Brahman along with a mysterious cow (Kavli Gaw) ascended on the earth and appeared before those Rikhesars. The god Vishnu asked them if they would care his cow for some time, however the god allowed them to drink its milk as much as they wanted. Everyday Rikhesars drank delicious milk from that mysterious cow. One day they thought that its milk is so delicious how much would be tasty its meat. Overwhelmed by that thought, they cut the cow and ate its meat. When Vishnu returned after few days, he could not find his cow and suspected that the Rikhesars had eaten it. Vishnu demanded his cow but Rikhesars lied that they did not know about it. At the same time, the parts the cow began to make sounds from their abdomens. By knowing this, Vishnu became furious, he cursed to the Rikhesars that they would be deserted into jungles for up to three yugas, but however in the fourth Kali Yuga their sin would be removed and be liberated when Matang Dev would come as an Incarnation of God Mahesh.’⁸ In this tradition it is however not known that who was Megh Rikh among that group of Rikhesars? Whatever the matter be, this is a mythological story and even Puranas do not support it. The most significant point in this tradition lies in the fact that Matang Dev is believed as the Tenth Incarnation of God Mahesh (Shiv).

Another Meghwar tradition seems more relevant and is often recounted in such a way that: ‘A certain Rishi named Ekal Shringi (who had grown one horn on his head) was busy in the deep meditation. All the year he remained in that condition but his meditation came to an interruption when it rained on the earth. He determined to stop the rain forever. Thus he captured the Twelve Meghs (the gods of Rain) and tied them into his horn. By this he could succeed in stopping the rain and the next year there was no rain on the earth. This situation created severe drought and due to scarcity of water the people and the animals began to die. Cultivation had completely destroyed. The people who survived went to the gods and vowed them to save their lives from the tyranny of Ekal Shringi. All gods and goddesses appealed to god Shiva to end the miseries of the human beings and got them relief by freeing the Twelve Meghs from the bondage of the tyrant. God Shiva agreed the request he took a guise of a mendicant and came into the   colony of the low caste people where a person named Megh Dharu was living along with his wife and one daughter. It was the same Megh Dharu who was the son of great Megh Rikh. Megh Dharu like his father was truthful and honest. He had always spoken truth and had nothing done wrong in his entire life. Megh Mahatamaya tells that the Megh Rikh was a scion of a certain Parmar king. His previous name was Megh Singh but he sought protection and became a disciple into the hermit of the rishi Dadhichi after an attack on his own country, he came to be known as Megh Rikh’.⁹ The further detail can be seen in my Ph.D. thesis where I have described all traditions and their historical analysis.

Shiva brought him to the place where Ekal Shringi was lost into meditation. Shiva told Megh Dharu to take a handful dust from under his own feet and threw it on the horn of Ekal Shringi. As soon as he did so, the horn cracked and the Twelve Meghs were freed from the bondage. They instantly returned to the sky at their original place. Afterwards there was no drought and no scarcity of water or food on the earth.’¹⁰

However Baghvant states in such a way that ‘god Shiva asked from him three things: Roti, Beti and Langoti i.e. bread, a daughter and a piece of cloth which he immediately provided to the man about whose identity he did not know. Being pleased of his generosity and honesty, god Shiva appeared into his divine form only to show that he was his god, Shiva.’¹¹

In the fourteenth century A.D. the king Ra Navghan (S.-/A.D. 1235?)¹² who ruled the famous state of Junagadh, as the Barmati Panth sources in a Ginan, traces a tradition that ‘Ra Navghan was informed by one of his royal astrologers called Barot¹³ that a twelve years long drought is alarming at the doors of his country and he must be prepared for it. The king was influenced by the prediction and ordered his men not to carry any one the water from the country’s reservoirs. He employed there guards to check this. Near to a water tank, there was a colony of the low caste people who were followers of the great spiritual guide Shree Mamai Dev. The spiritual guru had been staying in the colony in order to preach his followers. In the morning, the followers told that the king had imposed order not to take a single drop of water from the water tank, due to which they could not maintain the purity.’¹⁴

‘Mamai Dev determined to meet with Ra Navghan and removed his apprehensions based on false prediction of the royal astrologers. Ra Navghan had already in contact with Mamai Dev and was familiar with the miraculous power of the guru of the low castes. When Mamai Dev reached at the court, he offered him a high seat and asked if he wanted to say something. Mamai Dev told him that his imposition on the supply of water and food reservoirs is not appropriate. He called him to open water and food to the public because there is no drought at all instead of it there would be a heavy rain. This time the king was under the influence of the royal astrologer and was not seemed to be agreed with the Mamai Dev’s prediction. Mamai Dev left the palace. He worshipped at a place near a village Dhandhosan and then mounted on the Girnar’s top hill where he initiated hard practices to please God to make it rain on Junagadh. In very melodious tone, Mamai Dev uttered Ginans and called the Meghs, the rainy clouds. Suddenly, the clouds began to gather over Junagadh and heavy rain began to fill whole of the city. The rain continued to fall for up to three days. King feared that if Mamai Dev would not stop uttering the divine song, the rain would continue to fall and the whole city would be submerged in the flood. So he along with his guards and Meghwars mounted on Girnar and began to call for the mercy of the spiritual guide to bring an end that heavy rain.’¹⁵

‘Mamai Dev however told that the rain could be halted only when his beard will be submerged by the rain water. Then, one of his followers moved forward and took some rainy water into a vessel and submerged his beard with it. Mamai Dev was pleased of this pretty trick as the condition had been fulfilled and as it was done by his own follower so Mamai Dev ordered to Meghs to return to their original place and as such rain came to a halt.’ This whole narration can been found in Megh Vinti¹⁶ of the Barmati Panth sacred scripture. For the first time, the title was bestowed as Meghwar to the Barmati followers by Mamai Dev himself.

The above historical event states that how the name Meghwar came into existence and that it is not only a name but a title to the followers of Barmati Panth. It is also known that the title Meghwar was coined into the times of Mamai Dev who frequently used it in his own Ginans.

From the above three examples we evaluate that mythological stories about Megh Rikh and Megh Dharu are the only depictions of the historical event which is attached with Shree Mamai Dev’s miraculous event mentioned above as about him a number of historical events may be confirmed from the history. Mamai Dev lived between the second half of the thirteenth century A.D. and the first half of the fourteenth century A.D.¹⁷ He was the great grandson of Matang Dev (11th century A.D.),¹⁸  grand son of Lurang Dev (12^th century A.D.)¹⁹ and son of Matai Dev (13^th century A.D.)²⁰ He was the fourth spiritual guide of Maheshvari Meghwars – the followers of Barmati Panth. Thus it is now clear that the name Meghwar as previously supposed to be the ancient at least before the time of Mamai Dev is not correct. Rather from the different religious as well as historical evidences it may be established that the title Meghwar came into existence in the time of Mamai Dev. It is right that in the Ginans the word Meghwar has often been used with the narration of Shree Dhani Matang Dev, for instance, the Ginans Megh Vinti²¹, Guru Vaso²², Punje Purkhe Ji Vagat²³. etc but it should be kept in mind that mostly these Ginans were composed by Mamai Dev in whose time the name Meghwar had come into existence and he therefore used the Meghwar title for followers of Matang Dev as well.

The identities of Megh Rikh and Megh Dharu will continue to be mysterious and hardly we can find any clue about their origin in history until we see their traditions in the Meghwar historical personalities which we have tried above. The inhibition of Megh Dharu, the son of Megh Rikh, as the weaver and his life as the low caste in the downtrodden colony helps to compare him with the low caste follower of Matang Dev or Mamai Dev. As we know that weaving was the main profession in which Meghwar people excelled to highest degree. An eminent anthropologist Dr Dominique Sila Khan²⁴ informs that Matang Dev is also regarded as Matang Rikh in Rajasthan in except of the fact that Maheshvari Meghwars consider Matang Dev as their spiritual father (Dada) while Mahya vanshis²⁵ call Megh Rikh as Megh Matang also.

    References:

^1.Malsi Ladha Baghvant. (1991).   Matang Puran ane Meghwar samaj ni utpati. (Matang Puran and Origins of Meghwar society). Kutchh: Printed by Jatashankar Baghvant. p.131. Please see also Unpublished Manuscript. Shree Mamai Dev. See also Unpublished Manuscript. Shree Mamai Dev. Ginan:Megh Vinti. Sur: Sindhoro. Total 7 verses. 14th century A.D. Originally written in Shastri Bhasha. Copied by Kheraj Velji Thonthya in Gujarati script under the same title of the Ginan. 1957. Note Book No.3; p.68. The Ginans of Barmati Panth. Personal collection. Also see Note Book  No.3. p.145.

^2.Jeevannathji Sadanand Nathaji. (n.d.). Shri Megh Mahatamaya: Meghwar Sant Bhakto na Jivan no tunk parichaya. Narmadateerath Brighu Rishi Ashram Niwasi Maharaj Shri Jeevan Nathji Sadanand Nathji.pp.143-158. It is also called Shiv Sarodha Gyan.

^3.Versi R. Lalan, Matang Smriti. Printed by Ramji Mangliya. Mahesh Panthi Sahitya Prakashan. Gandhidham (Kutchh). 2004, p1.

^4.See Dominique-Sila Khan, Conversions and Shifting Identities: Ramdev Pir and Ismailis in Rajasthan, 1997, Manohar Publishing Co. Delhi.

^5.H.A.Rose. A Glosssary of the tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier. Nirmal Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.1997.p.148.

^6.R.E. Enthoven. The tribes and Castes of Bombay, Vol-III.1922. Bombay Govt. Central Library, Rept. Vol-III, 1975, Cosmo Publications, Delhi, pp.43-52.

^7.Tarikh-e-Alam. Printed by the author, Sanghar (Sindh),1991,p.204.

^8.ibid. Baghvant,1991, pp.22-26.

^9.ibid. Baghvant. P.14.

^10.ibid. Jivannathji. n.d. pp.14-19.

^11.ibid. Baghvant. P.42.

^12.James Burgess. Antiquities of Kutch and Kathiawar, Sindhi Adabi Board, 1991. p.165. Hyderabad. According to the dynastic table of the kings of Junagadh given by James Burgess, he might be Ra Mahipal II (Sam.1421/A.D. 1371) who existed in the time of Mamai Dev.

^13.A traditional genealogist who used to keep register to note down a family’s lineage and important facts.

^14.ibid. Baghvant. 1991. p.122.

^15.ibid. Baghvant. p.133.

^16.See note 1.

^17.Mohan Devraj Thontya. PhD Thesis titled History and Culture of Meghwar: From the earliest times to the modern age submitted in July 2009 at the University of Karachi for award of degree. p.177.

^18.Thontya. ibid. p.180.

^19.ibid. p.182.

^20.ibid. p.182.

^21.See above note 16.

^22.See above note 16.

^23.Unpublished Manuscript. Shree Mamai Dev. Ginan:Panje Purkhe Ji Vagat. Sur Sindhoro. Total 5 verses+Vel. 14th century A.D. Originally written in Shastri Bhasha. Copied by Kheraj Velji Thonthya in Gujarati script under the same title of the Ginan. 1957. Note Book No.4; pp.14-16. The Ginans of Barmati Panth. Personal collection.

^24.See Dominique-Sila Khan. ibid.

^25.See Jivannathji. ibid. p.94.

• There should be good number of followers (in lakhs) of a particular sect.
• It should have Religious Holy Book like Bible, Kuran, Guru Grant Sahib, etc.
• It should contain religious governing system/structure.

All these qualities are readily available in our Barmati Panth, which are enumerated as under:-

• Firstly we have universal population of more than 4 lakhs believers of Barmati Panth.
• Secondly, our Genan (shastra) can be easily compiled into a Holy Book as like Tripitak (Buddhishm), Guru Granth Sahib (Sikkhism), etc.
• Thirdly, our Barmati Panth already has religious structure of ‘Barmati Panth’ being highest revered position. In other words, our religion is Panth centric and not person centric. Religious Pooja of Barai can be performed by any Auva (Harmaisar) irrespective of caste and creed. Thus, our complete faith rests on performing Barmati Panth Pooja and not priest. As regards religious governance, our Panth also possess mandatory provision of Religious Head post of ‘Pir Auva’, who is the supreme commander of our Barmati Panth. Further, provision of 2^nd Command i.e. ‘Adh Pir’ and 3^rd Command i.e. ‘Paa Pir’ is also imbibed in our Panth.

All the above three qualities empowers us to claim our sect as World Religion. However, getting just World Religion certification alone will not serve any purpose. Religion should be on the solid foundation of generating huge monetary funds for its social, religious and charitable activities. This concept of generating huge funds for religion contains in donating 10^th part of one’s income. Long ago, people of all major religions understood this tax concept and accorded their consent for donating tenth part of income as a compulsory contribution for governing the religious rule.

Almost every religion prescribes donating 10th part of income. Christianity calls it ‘Tithe’, Hinduism calls it ‘Dashamamsha’, Buddhism calls it ‘Dashans’, Judaism calls it ‘Ma’aher’, Islam calls it ‘Ushr or Zakat’. Sikkhism adopted this religious tax concept of keeping one-tenth of one’s income for spiritual purposes namely, ‘Dasvand’, which was initiated by their last revered Guru Gobind Singh (10th religious Guru of Sikkhism). Similarly, Barmati Panth also contains this fundamental religious fund collecting concept called ‘Dasond’. Interestingly, Ismaili Khojas calls this 10th part donation as ‘Dasond’ as well.

In Barmati Panth, visionary Lord Mamaidev has also prescribed this great provision of contributing 10^th part income donation in ‘Adharmi Jivenji Vagat’, which is reproduced as under:-

“DHARAM TANI DASOND Na RAKHE, AAROGIYE ASOORO ANN,
ADHARAM ME RE UTAAMNA, MAMAI BHANE MAISRIYA- SE JIV GHARI GHARAK THIYANT”.

Shockingly, despite this great provision of generating huge funds in Barmati Panth, no such implementation of Dasond (10^th part income donation) had been put into practice in real sense. Due to ignorance we are lacking behind in generating this tax for religious governance.

In this scenario, acquiring mere World Religion certification will not change living conditions of its followers. Prior to acquiring World Religion certification, we have to evolve a system where every Maheshwari must contribute atleast Rs.500/- per annum. For this, our AIMYF (Maheshwari Youth Federation) has one Agenda of forming “National Dasond Trust”, wherein “Pir Saheb” would be made as Ex-Officio Chairman of this trust and trustees comprising of various Samaj Presidents, reputed Auvas, Meghwars, Women, Nangsipotra, Maaraj, Government employees, etc. will be given place in this trust. Every two years there will be rotation of Trustees except Chairman (Pir Saheb). As soon as, we are able to implement this system of Dasond, which already have approval of great Mamaidev, we will work for acquiring World Religion Certification and by that time our Dasond Trust would have acquired crores of Rupees to the tune of more than Rs.10 crores annually (Rs.500 X 200000). Out of this total yearly contribution, 10% of its annual collection will be donated to ‘Pir Saheb’, ‘Adh Pir’ and ‘Paa Pir’ every year. Remaining 90% funds would be spent for developmental work of our society like constructing Schools, Colleges, Community Halls, interest free loans to needy persons, etc.

Imagine friends, this is the need of the hour, every religion is strongly implementing this income generating provision but we have still not implemented this concept only due to long ignorance. Now, time has ripe when Alakhdev is showing us way to transform our Barmati Panth into a World Religion, undoubtedly which possesses all the qualities of becoming one of the most powerful religions of the world, which indeed is on the threshold of becoming a world religion. I request all of you to please propagate this Dasond implementation message with your friends and relatives. This Dasond Trust will comprise people both from India and Pakistan.

Long live Barmati Panth, long live Maheshwari Youth Federation.

Jay Dhani Matang

Navin K. Bhoiya

(Your friend in Mission)