Paid survey is an easy way to make money online without any technical knowledge. You have to register with the survey conducting companies. Depending on the country where you are living the availability of survey varies. Before proceeding we advise you to make a seperate email address only for this purpose. When you register you will be prompted to give the email address where you want to receive surveys in future. Make an email 'yourname.survey', so that you can use this email id only for this purpose. We recommends the following companies which are high paying for participating in surveys.
TOP LIST
1. AMERICAN CONSUMER OPINION
2. GLOBAL TEST MARKET SURVEYS
3. CORP SCAN
4. SURVEY SAVVY
5. TECH SAY
6. AW SURVEYS
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Shining Gems Of Bhagat Society
Prominent people
Despite the handicap of caste, but perhaps assisted by quotas, several Meghwal people have risen to high positions.Ms. Suman Bhagat rose to the level of Minister for Health and Medical Education in the government of Jammu and Kashmir. Mr.Chuni Lal Bhagat the first Megh Bhagat to be elected as Member of Punjab Legislative Assembly. He contested on Bharatiya Janata Party's ticket. Sneh Lata Kumar Bhagat was first direct IAS officer from Meghs in Punjab. She came into the limelight when she bagged two silver medals in swimming events during the All India Civil Services competition at Chennai. Ms Vimla Bhagat was the first Megh Bhagat lady to become Class-I officer in the Indian Administrative Services (Chairperson of the Himachel Pradesh Public Service Commission). Bhanwar Lal Meghwal became the education minister of Rajasthan. Surendar Valasai Meghwar is a famous journalist and Media coordinator of Media Cell, Bilawal House is the most prominent and influence man within the Meghwar community in Pakistan. He is the founder president of Scheduled Castes Federation of Pakistan (SCFP). Mangi Lal became a recipient of Vishvakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (1998) and Shram Sri Puraskar (2003) awards
Know Yourself
Meghwal
The Megh (Hindi:मेघ), Meghwal (Hindi:मेघवाल) or Meghwar (Hindi:मेघवार, Urdu:میگھواڑ, Sindhi:ميگھواڙ) people live primarily in northwest India with a small population in Pakistan. As of 2008, their total population was estimated at 2,807,000, of whom 2,760,000 lived in India. They speak Marwari (659,000), Hindi (663,000), Dogri (230,000), Punjabi (175,000) and various other regional languages. As a scheduled caste, their traditional occupations were weaving, tanning hides and leatherwork. Most are Hindu by religion, with Rishi Megh, Kabir, Ram Devji and Bankar Mataji their chief gods.
The Megh (Hindi:मेघ), Meghwal (Hindi:मेघवाल) or Meghwar (Hindi:मेघवार, Urdu:میگھواڑ, Sindhi:ميگھواڙ) people live primarily in northwest India with a small population in Pakistan. As of 2008, their total population was estimated at 2,807,000, of whom 2,760,000 lived in India. They speak Marwari (659,000), Hindi (663,000), Dogri (230,000), Punjabi (175,000) and various other regional languages. As a scheduled caste, their traditional occupations were weaving, tanning hides and leatherwork. Most are Hindu by religion, with Rishi Megh, Kabir, Ram Devji and Bankar Mataji their chief gods.
Origins
Alexander Cunningham in his 1871 book Archaeological Survey of India propounded that Meghs were Pre-Aryans who came to Punjab from Assyria and settled in Sapta Sindhu (the land of seven rivers). Under Aryan pressure, they may have migrated to the Maharashtra and Vindhyachal region during the Megalithic period (1400-1200 BCE).
They claim to have descended from Rishi Megh, a saint who had the power to bring rain from the clouds (Megh) through his prayer. The word Meghwar is derived from the Sanskrit word, megh, meaning clouds and rain, and war (Hindi: वार), meaning a group, son and child. (Sanskrit: वार:) Literally, then, the words Meghwal and Meghwar connote a people who belong to Megh lineage. It is also said that the Meghs lived in mountaineous regions of Jammu and Kashmir where lot of cloud activity is experienced. People living there were naturally given the name Megh (clouds). In folk lore told by Mirasis (traditional folk artists) Meghs are linked to Suryavansh to which Lord Rama belonged.
Geographical distribution
The Meghwal are from Marwar in Rajasthan. In the 1981 Census for Rajasthan, the combined population of people notified as Megh, Meghwal, Menghvar was 889,300. They also live in western Gujarat near the Pakistan border and in other parts of India such as Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. The Meghs are from Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh and known as Megh, Arya Megh and Bhagat. In some places they are known as Ganeshia, Meghbansi, Mihagh, Rakhesar, Rakhia, Rikhia, Rishia and other names. Some of the Mahashas also claim to be belonging to Meghs. After Partition of India in the year 1947, the Meghs who had become converts to the Hinduism, had to migrate to Indian territory.
In Pakistan the word Meghwar is used in place of Meghwal. As of 1991, the population of Meghs in Punjab (India) was estimated at 105,157. In 2000, about 226,600 Meghwar lived in Pakistan, principally in the Punjab northeast of the cities of Dadu and Nawabshah, and in Sindh, mostly in the Badin, Mirpur Khas, Tharparkar, and Umerkot districts.
Alexander Cunningham in his 1871 book Archaeological Survey of India propounded that Meghs were Pre-Aryans who came to Punjab from Assyria and settled in Sapta Sindhu (the land of seven rivers). Under Aryan pressure, they may have migrated to the Maharashtra and Vindhyachal region during the Megalithic period (1400-1200 BCE).
They claim to have descended from Rishi Megh, a saint who had the power to bring rain from the clouds (Megh) through his prayer. The word Meghwar is derived from the Sanskrit word, megh, meaning clouds and rain, and war (Hindi: वार), meaning a group, son and child. (Sanskrit: वार:) Literally, then, the words Meghwal and Meghwar connote a people who belong to Megh lineage. It is also said that the Meghs lived in mountaineous regions of Jammu and Kashmir where lot of cloud activity is experienced. People living there were naturally given the name Megh (clouds). In folk lore told by Mirasis (traditional folk artists) Meghs are linked to Suryavansh to which Lord Rama belonged.
Geographical distribution
The Meghwal are from Marwar in Rajasthan. In the 1981 Census for Rajasthan, the combined population of people notified as Megh, Meghwal, Menghvar was 889,300. They also live in western Gujarat near the Pakistan border and in other parts of India such as Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. The Meghs are from Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh and known as Megh, Arya Megh and Bhagat. In some places they are known as Ganeshia, Meghbansi, Mihagh, Rakhesar, Rakhia, Rikhia, Rishia and other names. Some of the Mahashas also claim to be belonging to Meghs. After Partition of India in the year 1947, the Meghs who had become converts to the Hinduism, had to migrate to Indian territory.
In Pakistan the word Meghwar is used in place of Meghwal. As of 1991, the population of Meghs in Punjab (India) was estimated at 105,157. In 2000, about 226,600 Meghwar lived in Pakistan, principally in the Punjab northeast of the cities of Dadu and Nawabshah, and in Sindh, mostly in the Badin, Mirpur Khas, Tharparkar, and Umerkot districts.
Caste status
Many of the Kashmiri Muslims settled in plains of erstwhile Punjab and Gujarat states who were weavers and like Meghs have descended from Brahmins. Rituals observed by Meghs match with that of Brahmins. The word Megh does not denote any particular work attached to this community as had been the case with many other communities. They have been categorized as other backward castes in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, etc. That is, they are among the castes of India that are specified in a schedule of the Indian constitution for special treatment to overcome disadvantages due to caste prejudice.Hindus do not treat them as Hindus the way they treat other castes within the Hindu fold. There is thinking in Meghs that they are counted as Hindus for political purpose.
Lifestyle
In the countryside of Rajasthan, many of the people of this community still reside in small hamlets of round, mud-brick huts painted on the outside with colourful geometric designs and decorated with detailed mirror inlays. In earlier days the main occupation of the Meghval community was agricultural labor, weaving, specially Khadi, leather working and woodcarving, and these are still the main occupations. The women are famous for their embroidery work and are master wool and cotton weavers.
Some of them have migrated from villages of Rajasthan to large cities such as Bombay. In a 1936 study by B.H. Mehta, the researcher noted that most had migrated to the city to escape from a wretched rural life, and felt that city conditions were an improvement despite their crowded and insanitary conditions. Increasing numbers of the Meghwal today are educated and are obtaining government jobs.In Punjab,especially in the cities like Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana a good number of them is engaged as workers in factories producing sports, hosiery, surgical and metal goods. Very few of them have their own business or a small scale industry. Tiny business and service units are their main support for livelihood. Many of them became petty agriculturists after successful implementation of land reforms in J&K.
Their staple diet includes rice, wheat and maize, and pulses such as moong, urad and channa. They are not vegetarian but eat egg, fish, chicken and mutton when available, although they abstain from pork, beef and buffalo meat. In Jammu, a Megh religious leader Bhagata Sadh (of Keran) lead a very big group of them to vegetarianism.
Women have low status in traditional Meghwal society. Marriages are arranged through negotiation between the families before puberty. After marriage, the wife moves to the husband's house, except for the period of childbirth. However, divorce is allowed, with the father retaining liability for the children and compensation paid to the wife. Meghs have a social evil in the form of a system called 'ex-communication' (Hindi:हुक्का पानी बंद करना) of persons they do not like. This is practiced even in the cases of trivial matters. It has further increased social hardships for their women.
Religion
Little is known of the early history of the Meghwal or their religion. There is evidence that in the 13th century CE many of the Meghwal became followers of the Nizari branch of Shia Islam, and that traces of Nazari belief remain in their ritual and myth. However, most of the Megh are now considered Hindu, although some follow other religions such as Islam or Christianity.
During the Medieval Hindu Renaissance, known as the Bhakti Era, Karta Ram Maharaj, a Meghwal from Rajasthan became the spiritual guru of Meghwals. During the 19th Century, it was said that the Meghs were generally Kabirpanthi, followers of Saint Satguru (Hindi:संत सत्गुरु) Kabir (1488 - 1512 AD), the founder of Sant Mat. Many Meghwal today follow Sant Mat, a loosely associated group of religious leaders whose teachings are distinguished by an inward, loving devotion to a divine principle, and by an egalitarianism opposed to the qualitative distinctions of the Hindu caste system, and to those between Hindus and Muslims. By the year 1910, around 36000 Meghs from Sialkot had become Arya Samajis. After realizing the trap they were in, they joined Ad Dharm society in the year 1925 which recognized Rishi Ravi Das, Kabir and Nam Dev (all legendary figures in low caste religious traditions) as their revered deities. Baba Faqir Chand, a radical sage of India and a guru of Radhasoami Mat, nominated Bhagat Munshi Ram to work as Satguru in his place. Bhagat belonged to Megh community. In Rajasthan their chief deity is Baba Ramdevji who is worshiped during the vedwa punam (August - September). Meghwal religious leader Swami Gokuldas claims that Ramdev was himself a Meghwal in his 1982 book Meghwal Itehas, which constructs a history of the Meghwal community in an attempt to gain respect and improve their social status. Daily offerings are made to Chamunda mata in the village temples. Bankar mata is worshiped at weddings. Dalibai is a Meghwal female deity who is worshiped along with Ramdev. In J&K, Punjab, Himachal and haryana states of India ancestor worship (a sort of Veneration of the dead :Hindi:श्राद्ध) is performed and annual worship at encampment (Hindi:डेरा, डेरी) is prevalent in Meghs of J&K. Some Meghwars worship Pir Pithoro, whose shrine is near Mirpur Khas in Pithoro village.
Arts
The Meghwal women in Rajasthan are renowned for their exuberantly detailed costumes and jewellery. Married women are often spotted wearing gold nose ring, earrings and neckpieces. They were given to the bride as a "bride wealth" dowry by her soon-to-be husband's mother. Nose rings and earrings are often decorated with precious stones of ruby, sapphire and emerald. The Meghwal women's embroidery is avidly sought after. Their work is distinguished by their primary use of red, which comes from a local pigment produced from crushed insects. The Meghwal women artisans of Thar desert in Sindh and Balochistan, and in Gujarat are considered master of the traditional embroidery and Ralli making. Exotic hand-embroidered items form part of dowry of Meghwal woman.
Many of the Kashmiri Muslims settled in plains of erstwhile Punjab and Gujarat states who were weavers and like Meghs have descended from Brahmins. Rituals observed by Meghs match with that of Brahmins. The word Megh does not denote any particular work attached to this community as had been the case with many other communities. They have been categorized as other backward castes in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, etc. That is, they are among the castes of India that are specified in a schedule of the Indian constitution for special treatment to overcome disadvantages due to caste prejudice.Hindus do not treat them as Hindus the way they treat other castes within the Hindu fold. There is thinking in Meghs that they are counted as Hindus for political purpose.
Lifestyle
In the countryside of Rajasthan, many of the people of this community still reside in small hamlets of round, mud-brick huts painted on the outside with colourful geometric designs and decorated with detailed mirror inlays. In earlier days the main occupation of the Meghval community was agricultural labor, weaving, specially Khadi, leather working and woodcarving, and these are still the main occupations. The women are famous for their embroidery work and are master wool and cotton weavers.
Some of them have migrated from villages of Rajasthan to large cities such as Bombay. In a 1936 study by B.H. Mehta, the researcher noted that most had migrated to the city to escape from a wretched rural life, and felt that city conditions were an improvement despite their crowded and insanitary conditions. Increasing numbers of the Meghwal today are educated and are obtaining government jobs.In Punjab,especially in the cities like Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana a good number of them is engaged as workers in factories producing sports, hosiery, surgical and metal goods. Very few of them have their own business or a small scale industry. Tiny business and service units are their main support for livelihood. Many of them became petty agriculturists after successful implementation of land reforms in J&K.
Their staple diet includes rice, wheat and maize, and pulses such as moong, urad and channa. They are not vegetarian but eat egg, fish, chicken and mutton when available, although they abstain from pork, beef and buffalo meat. In Jammu, a Megh religious leader Bhagata Sadh (of Keran) lead a very big group of them to vegetarianism.
Women have low status in traditional Meghwal society. Marriages are arranged through negotiation between the families before puberty. After marriage, the wife moves to the husband's house, except for the period of childbirth. However, divorce is allowed, with the father retaining liability for the children and compensation paid to the wife. Meghs have a social evil in the form of a system called 'ex-communication' (Hindi:हुक्का पानी बंद करना) of persons they do not like. This is practiced even in the cases of trivial matters. It has further increased social hardships for their women.
Religion
Little is known of the early history of the Meghwal or their religion. There is evidence that in the 13th century CE many of the Meghwal became followers of the Nizari branch of Shia Islam, and that traces of Nazari belief remain in their ritual and myth. However, most of the Megh are now considered Hindu, although some follow other religions such as Islam or Christianity.
During the Medieval Hindu Renaissance, known as the Bhakti Era, Karta Ram Maharaj, a Meghwal from Rajasthan became the spiritual guru of Meghwals. During the 19th Century, it was said that the Meghs were generally Kabirpanthi, followers of Saint Satguru (Hindi:संत सत्गुरु) Kabir (1488 - 1512 AD), the founder of Sant Mat. Many Meghwal today follow Sant Mat, a loosely associated group of religious leaders whose teachings are distinguished by an inward, loving devotion to a divine principle, and by an egalitarianism opposed to the qualitative distinctions of the Hindu caste system, and to those between Hindus and Muslims. By the year 1910, around 36000 Meghs from Sialkot had become Arya Samajis. After realizing the trap they were in, they joined Ad Dharm society in the year 1925 which recognized Rishi Ravi Das, Kabir and Nam Dev (all legendary figures in low caste religious traditions) as their revered deities. Baba Faqir Chand, a radical sage of India and a guru of Radhasoami Mat, nominated Bhagat Munshi Ram to work as Satguru in his place. Bhagat belonged to Megh community. In Rajasthan their chief deity is Baba Ramdevji who is worshiped during the vedwa punam (August - September). Meghwal religious leader Swami Gokuldas claims that Ramdev was himself a Meghwal in his 1982 book Meghwal Itehas, which constructs a history of the Meghwal community in an attempt to gain respect and improve their social status. Daily offerings are made to Chamunda mata in the village temples. Bankar mata is worshiped at weddings. Dalibai is a Meghwal female deity who is worshiped along with Ramdev. In J&K, Punjab, Himachal and haryana states of India ancestor worship (a sort of Veneration of the dead :Hindi:श्राद्ध) is performed and annual worship at encampment (Hindi:डेरा, डेरी) is prevalent in Meghs of J&K. Some Meghwars worship Pir Pithoro, whose shrine is near Mirpur Khas in Pithoro village.
Arts
The Meghwal women in Rajasthan are renowned for their exuberantly detailed costumes and jewellery. Married women are often spotted wearing gold nose ring, earrings and neckpieces. They were given to the bride as a "bride wealth" dowry by her soon-to-be husband's mother. Nose rings and earrings are often decorated with precious stones of ruby, sapphire and emerald. The Meghwal women's embroidery is avidly sought after. Their work is distinguished by their primary use of red, which comes from a local pigment produced from crushed insects. The Meghwal women artisans of Thar desert in Sindh and Balochistan, and in Gujarat are considered master of the traditional embroidery and Ralli making. Exotic hand-embroidered items form part of dowry of Meghwal woman.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)