Process of Meos Conversion to Islam

PROCESS OF MEOS CONVERSION TO ISLAM

Aijaz Ahmad,

Lecturer in History,

YM.D. College Nuh,

Mewat, Haryana.

Meo, a brave, freedom-loving and warring community has had a glorious history from the ancient times. They could never be made to compromise by force or political diplomacy. That's why they were against any power or government which tried to over-power or impose their authority over this warring community. No doubt, in their so-called freedom struggle, they lost their men and money and sometimes their very existence faced the threat of being wiped out. It is also true that in their long history there have been very few leaders who gave them proper direction for upholding their honour, dignity and position. Most of their leader only took pride in their stiff opposition to the government in Delhi as their biggest and greatest achievement. It was mainly due to their illiteracy ms well as the negligence on the part of the government in Delhi that made them rebellious.1

In the ancient period they were known as Meds and their stronghold was Debal, a famous port of Sindh. They were engaged in agariculture and if we believe Elliot and Dowson, many of them were seafarers and pirates.2 After they embraced islam, they were called Meos.3 At present the area of Mewat is very small, and is distributed among different states like Haryana Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In Haryana, Mewat includes some parts of Gurgaon and Faridabad districts. In Rajasthan, it comprises of parts of Alwar and Bharatpur. In U.P., it includes some villages of Aligarh and Mathura Districts4 It must not be forgotten that the Meos were a warring community and troublesome to the British Government, that's why the government cunningly divided the area of Mewat into many parts controlled by various administrative authorities.

When we look at the geographical history of the Meos, we have to contend with a large number of traditional sayings and even many Meo scholars who claim that their geography consisted of many parts of Arabia, China, Central Asia and whole of india. But we can only give this aboriginal geographical claim as mere rhetoric and bragging with not an iota of truth about it. As the historical evidences prove the Meos can only traced during the ancient period in the region of Sindh in the form of Meds. Another major community that lived with them was the Jat community. They both were agriculturists in profession and also barbarian in nature. Their rulers were Brahman by caste.5 When did the Meos migrate to the Indian Arawali region (Koh Paya, according to Tabaqat-i-Nasiri) is not very clear. It also can not be said with certainty as to whether they originally inhabited this region. But a Meo scholar Maulana Habibur Rahman Khan claims the around second century A.D., a group of the Meds of Sindh entered Rajputana and settled around the Arawali range and this area came to be known as Med-pat and later on Mewat.6 In the light of all such opinions it can safely be concluded that the Meos' population around Arawali was also much older.

James Tod describes that the Mer or Med were a very ancient Hindu race.7 Habibur Rahman, by quoting Chachnama, claims that the Meds were followers of Buddhism.8 Another scholar, Shmdsuddin Shams tries to prove that the Meos formerly belonged to the Hindu race.9 But most of the old traditions agree with the opinion that before accepting Islam Meos followed the Buddhism. No doubt they claim themselves ms Rajputs and Kshatriyas by origin and they still follow their customs and traditions, but as far as religion is concerned, they followed the Buddhist cult. Because in Sindh, the original place of the Meos, the rulers and subjects followed the Buddhism. Chach (father of Dahir) the ruler if Brahmanabad was a Brahman but was very much under the influence of a Buddhist devotee Kirman.10 After Chach his brother Chander ascended the throne and patronized the Buddhist religion and monks and promulgated their doctrine.11 It was the trend at that time that when a king patronized and promulgated any religion the subjects also followed the same. From all this it becomes amply evident that the Meds of that region must leave followed the religion of their rulers.

The modern Mewat region (Arawali range) was also a stronghold of the Meos. Here the Meos might have practised both Hindu and Buddhist religions, as they still claim that they are from the Rajput origin. Minas and Jats of this region also practised the same customes.12 A11 this proves that Meds or Meos, Minas and Jats were of the same origin and they separated from each other for their social and political interests. Definitely the Meos of Mewat practised mostly Hindu religion but it also can not be ignored that the last ancient Indian emperor Harshvardhana was a follower of Buddhism and he might have left its impact on this region and some of the Meos might have followed this religion also. For the Meos it was clear that whatever religion they had practiced they did not forsake the customs and traditions of their forefathers. Actually the Meo community was an amphibious community which perhaps practiced both Buddhist and Hindu rituals.

Islam came in India along with Mohammed bin Qasim in 93H or 7 12 A.D. At this time the Khalifa was Walid bin Abdul Malik of Ummaiyad dynasty. This was the golden period of islam because at that time Islam not only spread in India but in Central Asia also. In Central Asia, Tartars and Turks were the most famous to accept Islam.13 While despatching Mohammad bin Qasim to Sindh, the governor of Khurasan Hajjaj bin Yousuf gave instructions that he would rule the Sindh leniently and have cordial relations with the subjects, and the preaching of Islam would also be one of his aim.14 Mohammed bin Qasim attacked Sindh, defeated and killed Dahir, the king of Sindh, and issued a letter to the chiefs of different parts of Sindh inviting them to make submission and embrace Islam. This letter got a favourable response and the minister of Dahir, Sisakar came to his side and became wazir of Mohammad bin Qasim. Mohammed bin Qasim told him all his secrets, always ask his advice and consulted him on all civil affairs of the government.15 His another trusted Indian follower Maula-i-lslam, Debli preached Islam in various parts of Sindh and got a favourable response.16

The rule of Mohammed bin Qasim was very lenient and the subjects (Meds and Jats) were given freedom to live in their houses in whatever manner they liked and worship their gods.17 But in 715-16 A.D. he was called back and charged of moral turpitude and put to death. Elliot and Dowson, by quoting Futuhul Baldan of Al-Biladury writes that