Tuesday, February 18th, 2025

Did the community of Monalisa of Maha Kumbh extract oil from crocodiles, did they hunt deer with leopards?


New Delhi: According to Mughal historian Abul Fazal’s book ‘Ain-e-Akbari’, there used to be Cheeta Pardhi or Pardi community in the court of Emperor Akbar. Also, there were 1,000 trained leopards in the palace, which used to run and hunt black deer. This is the same black deer, whose hunting is completely banned today. These Cheetah Pardhis used to be skilled hunters. his/her services were taken in the courts of Mughal emperors to catch the fastest leopards and train them in hunting. At that time, leopards were found in the country, which later became extinct from India. In media reports, Monalisa, who went viral in Mahakumbh, is also said to be from the same Pardhi community. Let us know the unique story of this community which came into discussion.

Monalisa of Khargone came to sell garlands

Beautiful eyed Monalisa alias Moni from Maheshwar, situated on the banks of Narmada in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh, had come to sell garlands in Mahakumbh. But, she went viral with her beauty. The Pardhi community to which she is said to belong is basically a Rajasthani Rajput, who has settled in many parts of the country including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh.

Cheetah Pardhi used to hunt for the Mughals

Mughal emperors and kings used to hunt blackbucks with leopards for their entertainment, because they were the only hunters capable of running and catching blackbucks. Cheetah Pardhi used to train these cheetahs. At the same time, Phaans Pardi were those Pardhis who used snares to trap deer.

Bull Pardhi makes a sound like a pheasant

As soon as children start understanding worldly matters, the first thing they start practicing is to make the exact call of a pheasant. Some make the pheasant sound directly from the mouth by contracting their lips, while some are expert in making such a sound with an instrument made of bamboo or plastic tube. This imitation is so similar to the real thing that even a pheasant in a distant forest responds to it by making the sky echo with its sharp and harsh call.

MahaKumbh2025

Now hunting is taught sitting on a bull

It is now morning in Pardhis and the child is sent on hunting. For this he/she rides a bull. Bull Pardhis are the only community in India that ride bulls like horses. The special thing is that these bulls are neither saddled nor have any reins on them. The way of sitting on them is also very awkward.

This is how Pardhi people train bulls, know

The calf is trained in its childhood to ride the bull. First the bull is made to walk with a sheet spread over its back and then in its place the bull is made accustomed to a thick mattress. This bull understands everything just by signals. he/she understands the rider’s words even without the whip.

Pheasant and bull are considered important assets

Of the total assets of bull farmers, the most important are the trained pheasants and this well-trained bull. If bull travelers do not have bulls, their nomadic life comes to a standstill. Bull Pardhi keeps wandering from here to there throughout his/her life with his/her entire household loaded on the bull. Under the cover of this bull, they come close to the herd of deer.

Monalisa of Mahakumbh

There are so many types of Pardhi or Pardi, know

  • Gosai Pardhi: Gosai Pardhis wear traditional clothes and look like sadhus wearing saffron clothes. They hunt deer.
  • Cheetah Pardhi: These people used to keep cheetah till a few hundred years ago, but now cheetah has become extinct from the border line of India. In such a situation, now only one class of Pardhis named Cheeta Pardhi is left. When cheetah was found in India, Cheetah Pardhi used to keep it as pet and train it in hunting.
  • Bhil Pardhi: They used to hunt with guns.
  • Langoti Pardhi: In this sub-caste, only loincloth is worn as clothing.
  • Taknkar and Takiya Pardhi: Pardhis are common hunters and hunters.
  • Monkey wala pardhi: Monkey dancing Pardhi.
  • Pardhi with bottle of oil: Pardhi who extracted crocodile oil in old times.
  • France Pardhi: Those who catch prey in nets.

Who declared tribals as criminals?

In 1932, Lieutenant General Sir George McMunn, a British military officer, in his/her book ‘The Underworld of India’ wrote about many tribal communities including the Pardis – they were extremely dirty, the filth of society and like animals grazing in a field. Are. In fact, the people McMunn was addressing in his/her book were those whom the British government had declared as ‘criminal tribes’ through the infamous ‘Criminal Tribes Act, 1871’.

When more than 150 tribes were declared criminals

This Act, made in 1871, was amended from time to time and gradually more than 150 tribes were declared criminals under it. The soldiers recruited into the police started being taught that these tribes have traditionally been criminal in nature. This Act was repealed on August 31, 1952 itself.

Some tribes are still paying the price

After 1952, the law considering these tribes as criminals changed, but the attitude of society and system towards them still remains the same. Especially Bavariya, Bhantu, Kanjar, Sansi, Chhara and Pardi are such tribes who are still paying the price of this ‘criminal’ imprint.

These incidents shook the entire country

In 2007, ten people of the Nat tribe were beaten to death by a mob in Vaishali district of Bihar on the accusation of being thieves. Similarly, in September 2007, houses of 350 families of Pardis were burnt to ashes in Chauthia village of Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.

The story of Maha Kumbh

Commission was formed for nomadic tribes

For almost 180 years, the country’s system has legally considered these tribes as born criminals. Due to this, gradually the identity of these tribes got established in the society as criminals. In the year 2005, the then government had constituted a National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes (NCDNT). The chairman of this commission was Balkrishna Renke. In 2008, the Renke Commission submitted its report to the government, in which the history of these tribes, their challenges in the present time and the ways to deal with them were discussed in detail.

What was the Renke Commission report?

According to the Renke Commission report, ‘Unfortunately, even after the abolition of the ‘Criminal Tribes Act’, these tribes are having to suffer its ill effects. Due to this evil perpetrated by the British, even today the society and the police look at these people with suspicion and hatred.

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