Information AboutMarwaris |
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Marwaris are an Elite group of Indo-Aryan people from Marwar region of Rajasthan in India . Tradionally, they are known to speak the Marwari Language . The region Marwar includes western part of Rajasthan that includes the great Thar Desert . The word Marwar is considered to be derived from Sanskrit word ''Maruwat'', the meaning of ''maru'' being 'desert'. Others believe that word ''Marwar'' is made up of ''Mar'' from alternate name of Jaisalmer and last part ''war'' of Mewar . The development of the fresco paintings on Haveli s in Shekhawati region is linked with the history of the Marwaris. The influential business community people from Shekhawati region are also known as Marwaris. The Shekhawati region has produced large number of Marwaris who are leading the economy of India . India's richest industrialists of the century, such as the Birlas , Piramals , Bajaj , Singhania , Poddar , Modi , Rungta , Ruias , Khetans , Mittal s, are Marwaris. Historically, Marwaris belong to the ancient Vedic Kshatriya community. During the middle and late Mughal period they started diversifying from their warrior culture into other occupations such as commerce, finance and industrial manufacturing. Their strong belief in traditional Rajasthani culture continues to this day. Some people even from Haryana and Malwa region are included in Marwaris. THE COMMUNITY Marwaris refer to a community of Entrepreneur s who originally belonged to Rajasthan , particularly, regions of Marwar and Jodhpur ; and certain other adjoining areas. The community of Marwaris originally belonged to certain specific pioneer Social Group s, which included Agarwals , Maheshwari s, Oswal s, Khandelwal s and Porwal s. Over a period of time, other persons and social groups who belonged to the geographical regions, with same culture and ethnicity, also became part of the Marwari Diaspora .Marwaris diversfied and now can be found at many places all over india and world too.these families love to live together in a large group in places they have settled.good example consists of marwaris in burrabazar area in calcutta famous as bussiness community. RAJASTHANI V/S MARWARI Rajashthani word is derived from name of a state of independent India , i.e RAJASTHAN. Any resident of Rajasthan is called Rajasthani (from region point of view). Where as Marwari is the word derived from the word MARWAR ( which after independence become a part of Rajashthan state). So, residents of Marwar region are basically Marwaris. Hence, All Marwaris are Rajasthanis but all Rajasthanis are not Marwaris. RELIGION Marwaris are predominantly Hindu , nonetheless, a large number are also Jain . This hardly poses a problem, as Marwari Hindus and Jains mingle and intermarry without any reservations. CASTE There is some debate as to which caste or varna in the Hindu hierarchical system Marwaris fall into. Vanya, or trading and commerce, is the most common designator for Marwaris, but Rajput/Kshatriya status crops up frequently, especially as there is much evidence to suggest many Rajputs gave up the way of the sword and adopted new professions as traders, merchants, and businessmen, eventually intermarrying and blending in with Marwaris of other backgrounds. Again, this only serves to underscore the absolute futility and obsolecense of the caste system, though it unfortunately remains relevant and obvious in modern India despite significant efforts to the contrary. LANGUAGE Marwari is also a language belonging to the Sanskritic subgroup, of the Indo-Aryan branch, of the Indo-European language family. Marwari, or Marrubhasha, as it is referred to by Marwaris, is the traditional, historical, language of the Marwari ethnicity. Though many Marwaris today cannot speak Marwari, and have adopted other Indian languages, primarily Hindi, and English, many still speak a smattering of Marwari, and large numbers, especially in Rajasthan, still converse fluently in Marwari. DIASPORA Marwaris spread to many regions of India, and even to neighboring countries, as they expanded their business and trade networks. In many locales, Marwari immigrants over time (and, usually involving many generations) adopted, or blended into, the regional culture. For example, in Punjab, Marwaris adopted Punjabi, in Gujurat, Gujurati, and so forth. The socioeconomic and sociocultural functions and interactions of the Marwari community bear a striking resemblance to that of the Jewish trading communities of the Mediterranean and Europe. DEMOGRAPHICS As the Marwaris constitute several social groups and are dispersed through out India and across the globe, conclusive estimates about their number are not available. Regional estimates of their number have sometimes been made, and an estimate indicate that their number “never reached above 200 thousand at any stage of their presence in Bengal.” HISTORY Although marwari origins are shrouded in mystery, most historians agree that marwaris originally belonged to the aryan aristocracy. While Agrawal s trace their origins to Maharaja Agrasen , the Chandravanshi King of the Mahabharat era, others such as Maheshwaris clearly have their origins among the Suryavanshi clans of Indo-Aryans. This is supported by the evidence that even their present surnames emerged from the Rajput surnames of yore. For instance one of the more well known surnames, that of Birlas is said to be derived from one of the Suryavanshi Knight named Beharsingh Ji who belonged to Parmar clan. Another example is Toshniwal, which is derived from TejSingh Ji, who is said to be another Suryavanshi Knight belonging to Chauhan clan. It is not known how they assumed the vocation of trade and commerce and the various mythological origins related to marwaris have not helped either. The conundrum is much like that of vedas and vedic origins, where names of places in the mythological accounts match with places in modern day rajasthan and surrounding regions. For instance the Birla family, a noted industrial clan in India, have built a memorial near Loh-garl (the pond of Iron) which is mentioned in a mythical account of Maheshwari origins. But other than that nothing much has been brought to light. However, just like Rajput aristocracy, marwaris are well-known for their aristocratic tastes and their devotion and fondness towards rajasthani culture as well as their patronage in building magnificent mansions and forts with rich artistic landscape. The earliest account at the moment begins from the time of Mughal empire. Since the time of the Mughal Period ( 16th Century - 19th Centuries ), particularly from the time of Akbar ( 1542 - 1605 ), Marwari entrepreneurs have been moving out of their homeland of Marwar and Rajasthan, and adjoining regions, to different parts of Undivided India . The first waves migration took place during the Mughal period, and a number of Marwaris moved to the eastern parts of India, currently comprising the Indian states of West Bengal , Bihar , Orissa , and Jharkhand ; and Bangladesh . During the period of the Nawabs of Bengal, Marwaris exhibited their intelligence, business astuteness and acumen, and controlled the minting and the banking. Jagath Seth who controlled the finances of Murshidabad Darbar was an Oswal, one of several sub-groups of Marwaris. The business houses of Gopal Das and Banarasi Das, also Oswal Marwaris, undertook large scale commercial and banking activities. Several Marwaris, after permanenet settlement was introduced by the British Raj , acquired large estates, in eastern part of India, particularly in Bengal . They included Dulalachand Singh, (alias Dulsing), a Porwal Marwari, who had acquired several Zamindari s around Dhaka , currently the capital of Bangladesh, as also in Bakarganj, Patuakhali, and Comilla , all places currently part of Bangladesh. These Zamindaris were managed and co-owned with khwajas of Dhaka. Dulalchand Singh family also emerged as a business tycoon controlling jute trade. After India’s First War Of Independence ( 1857 - 58 ), when social and political disturbances have subsided, another wave of large scale migration of Marwaris took place, and during the remaining period of 19th Century , a number of Marwari business houses, small and big, had emerged. The Marwari community controlled all the major business activities of a large geographical areas of the eastern parts of the Indian Subcontinent . With a sizeable presence in present day Myanmar and Bangladesh, they controlled major trading and commercial activities in the regions currently comprising the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand. They also had almost complete control of indigenous banking, finance and hundi. They took the hundi business to areas where the system was unknown, which included Chittagong , Khulna , Naogaon , Mymensingh , and Arakan . They competed successfully in these areas with Chettiar s who were located in the region for long. The terms Marwari and Agrawals are used interchangeably most of the times. It is difficult to explain which originated from what, but it is believed that when Maharaja Agrasen assumed the traders tradition, the marwaris were the only warriors left of that lineage. Later, it is believed that even they turned into traders. FAMOUS AND INFLUENTIAL MARWARIS
MARWARI HOUSES Some of the famous and prominent Marwaris trading, commercial, and industrial houses are as under: Aggarwal , Bagari , Baid , Bajaj , Bansal , Banthia , Bharatia , Bhut , Bhuwalka , Bindal , Birla , Chamaria , Daga , Dalamia , Dhanuka , Dudavewala , Gadia , Gangh , Ganeriwal , Gadodia , Garg , Garodia , Goyal , Goyanaka , Gupta , Jaipuria , Jaju , Jalan , Jhajharia , Jhanwar , Jhunjhunuwala , Jindal , Kankaria , Kanodia , Kansal , Kejariwal , Khandelwal , Khemka , Khetan , Kothari , Lakhotia , Lohia , Malani , Malpani , Mittal , Modi (surname) , Moda (surname) , Mohanka , Mohata , Mokati , Murarka , Nevatia , Oswal , Parasrampuria , Patodia , Patwa , Poddar , Puranmalka , Ruia , Rungata , Rupramka , Sabu , Saraf Saravagi , Sekhsaria , Singhania , Singhi , Sodani , Somani , Surana , Tantiya , Taparia , Tayal , Todi , Trivedi FURTHER READING
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