Mewat: What is the geography and history of Mewat area, why the Muslims here have Hindu names, know everything
Communal violence took place on July 31 and August 1 in Nuh district of Haryana. The incidents of violence were not limited to Mewat but also reached its neighboring districts Palwal and Gurgram. Six people, including two policemen, lost their lives in separate incidents.
The history of Mewat area is very old. This area has been discussed since the Mughal period till the freedom struggle. So it is important to know what is Mewat after all? What is its geography? What are the demographics here? What is the history of the area?
What is Mewat after all?
Geographically, Mewat is a hilly region, in which the ancient Matsya-country and Sursen are part. Talking about the present era, this area is formed by combining the modern southern part of Haryana and north-eastern Rajasthan. In ancient times, its boundaries roughly included Deeg, Alwar and Dholpur in Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Rewari, Palwal and Gurgaon in Haryana and parts of Mathura districts in Uttar Pradesh. Many hills of Aravalli mountain range come in Mewat.
Nuh, which has just come into the limelight, is one of the 22 districts of Haryana. Before 2016, this district was known as Mewat. Mewat district came into existence in 2005. On 4 April 2005, the district was carved out as Mewat district by taking the areas of Gurgaon district and Hathin block of Faridabad district. However, Hathin sub-division was transferred to the new district of Palwal in 2008. When Gurgaon was renamed Gurugram in 2016, the name of its neighboring district Mewat was also changed to Nuh.
Presently Nuh area is spread over 1507 sq km. 10.89 lakh people live in 443 villages and five small towns of Nuh, this area is the most backward area of Haryana. The district consists of five tehsils, one sub-tehsil and five blocks.
Mewat district is bounded by Gurugram in the north, Palwal in the east and Alwar district of Rajasthan in the south and west and its borders also touch Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. Some areas of Mewat district also touch Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh near Bichhor village and Nai village of Punhana tehsil. Along with this, the district is not too far from the country’s capital Delhi. Its farthest point is 145 km from the national capital.
What are the population statistics in Mewat?
Mewat had a population of 10,89,263 in 2011, of which male and female were 5,71,162 and 5,18,101 respectively. As of 2001 India census, Mewat had a population of 7,89,750 of which males were 4,15,947 and remaining 3,73,803 were females.
The population density of the district in 2011 was 729 inhabitants per square kilometer. Its population growth rate in the decade 2001-2011 was 37.94 percent. It has a sex ratio of 906 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 56.1 percent. Mewat has a very low literacy rate, especially in the case of women. The literacy rate for Muslim women in Mewat is just between 1.76% to 2.13% which is the lowest in the country.
Talking about social classification in the area, maximum number of Meo Muslims live here. According to statistics, the Muslim population in the district is 8,62,647 (79.20%). It is followed by Hindus 2,21,846 (20.37%), Jains 1,453 (0.13%), Christians 11,35 (0.11%), Sikhs 592 (0.05%) and Buddhists 516 (0.05%).
What is the history of Mewat?
Mewat is a historically important region located to the south of Delhi, which derives its name from its inhabitants, the Meos. Mewat, the land of Meos, owes its origin to its tribal inhabitants, the Meos tribals. This region has been known as a distinct ethnic and socio-cultural region.
The Meos trace their roots to the early Aryan invasion of northern India and call themselves Kshatriyas. They have largely preserved their social and cultural traits unlike other tribes of the surrounding areas.
During the rule of the Tughlaq dynasty in the 14th century AD, these people converted to Islam but till date, they have retained their age-old distinct ethno-cultural identity. This is the reason that even the dress of the Muslims here is different from the common Muslims. Local Muslim names are still like Hindu names. Neeraj Khan, who was killed in the violence, belonged to a Muslim family. His father’s name is Chiranji Lal and uncle’s name is Latur Khan. Not only this, his brother’s name is Sunil. Historically, this region has been extremely turbulent and has been a victim of repeated invasions and plunders throughout the post-Vedic period.
Leave a Reply