Anubhuti . . .

By Nikhil Nayak

Salutations to the river Narmada(Reva) who cradled the greatest of civilizations and mightiest of the empires. what Reva said (uvācha) is written here as a story.

Reva uvācha: Context

Fun fact: Long before the S S Rajamuli’s Amrendra Bahubali, Mahishmati on the banks of river Narmada was ruled by a powerful king Sahastrabahu –Arjuna (man with thousand arms).

He was fascinated by the tremendous power of celestial cow Kamdhenu, that was under the possession of Saptrishi Jamdagni and his wife Renuka. When the Rishi, his sons and students were out of the ashram, he ordered his troops to attack the Ashram and capture the kamdhenu along with her calf. When son of Renuka Lord Parashuram (incarnation of Lord Vishnu), got to know about this, he furiously stormed into the Mahishmati, carrying his terrible axe (Parashu or farsa) and challenged Arjuna. In an ensuing battle, Parashuram killed mighty Arjuna by cutting all his thousand arms along with all his army and recovered Kamdhenu. Arjuna’s sons avenged their father’s death by killing sage Jamdagni at his ashram. Parashuram noticed 21 scars on his father’s body and with full of grief and anger he swore to annihilate the entire Kshatriya race. Not only he slain every male member of Arjuna’s clan but also wiped out all existing kshatriyas from earth. Not once nor twice but 21 times. -Source: Vishnu Purana

Reva uvācha: Origins Of NEMA

Nema community believes that when the Kshatriya clan was facing the wrath of Lord Parashuram, at that time some 14 rishis protected 30 juvenile Kshatriya students from Parashuram and raised them into vaishya tradition. These juveniles were the descendants of Mithila king “Nimi”, from where the patronym “NEMA” believed to be originated. Nemas have 14 Gotras, each after the name of respective Rishis who once saved the life of their ancestors.

14 Gotras of Nema are as follows:

SN	Gotra	Rishi
1	Seth	Mordhwaj
2	Patwari	Kailrishi
3	Malak	Raghunandan
4	Bhoriya	Vasantan
5	Khira	Balanandan
6	Dyodiya	Shandilya
7	Chanderha	Santany,Tulsinandan
8	Dyodhar	Garg
9	Rawat	Nandan
10	Bhandari	Vijaynandan
11	Khaderha	Sanatnandan
12	Chousha	Shivnandan
13	Kirmania	Kaushal
14	Ooman	Vashishtha

Nema community is further divided into three sub categories, Bisa being the purest then Dasha and Pacha. However more or less all sub-castes have the same economic and cultural outlook. Being a vaishya, chief occupation of the community was business, trading and financing for many years.

Reva uvācha: Before Exodus

Today there won’t be any Nema in this planet, who wouldn’t have any single relative from Narsinghpur. Narsinghpur is the abode of Nemas for centuries. Narsinghpur is a fertile land in central India, prospered by the holy river Narmada, flowing from east to west and defended by the mighty mountain ranges of Vindhyachal from North and Satpura from southern end. One can ask if Nemas are connected to Narsinghpur since eternity. Answer is No. It was not long before the 14^th century, when Nema community started settling into this holy land. As per the elders in the community, before they migrated to central India, Nemas were settled in the region of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Still we can see a considerable Nema community’s presence in that region. A region mostly famous for different communities of merchants like Marwaries, Khandelwal, Maheshwari, Agrawals and Jains. It is believed that Nemas were as famous as other merchant classes, however not much is recorded about Nema community’s socio-economic stature at that time except a prevalent proverb “Where a sheep grazes or a Nema trades, what is there left for anybody else?”.

There are several reasons to the exodus of Nemas. Chief reason is Muslim invasions. Muslim kings of Delhi sultanate were invading the Rajputana for many years, after the fall of Chauhans in Northern India in 12^th C. In early 14^th C they invaded Gujarat and central India. Their destructive campaigns against Hindu kings went for the first time towards Deep South into the Indian peninsula. However they couldn’t establish themselves in south because of the rising powerful Vijaynagar Empire. At the same time, in central India Parmars of Malwa (Ujjain), Yadavas of Devgiri (Aurangaad), Chandels of Mahoba (Khajuraho), Kalchuries of Chedi (Jabalpur) were facing the constant Muslim invasions. Rather than uniting against the foreign intruders, they were fighting among themselves for survival and sooner declined. Vaghela-Solanki kings of Gujarat was so threatened by the invasions, they abandoned their capital Patan and fled to central and southern India. Baghel Kings of Rewa traces their origins from them. When the kings were suffering like this, one can imagine what the situation of common people was. In the era of constant raids and plunders, heavy taxation was imposed on the farmers and traders, which led to the infamous exodus of Nema community from Gujarat to Central India where the emerging Gond Kings were weaving the threads of peace, prosperity and stability.

Reva uvācha: After Exodus

Delhi Sultanate too declined over a century and disintegrated into smaller fragments due to the power struggles between different Muslim ruler dynasties. Early in the 15^th C, Gond Kingdoms were rising in central India, specifically in the Mahakaushal region of Madhya Pradesh, eastern part of Vidharbh region of Maharashtra and parts of Chhattisgarh. Rajgonds were the ruling class among the Gond tribes, who were earlier employed by the Kalachuri kings of Jabalpur. They ultimately replaced the weakened Kalachuris. From 14^th to 18^th C, the area was held by the four powerful Gond dynasties, Garha-Mandla kingdom (occupied the present day Narsinghpur, Sagar, Damoh, Seoni, Jabalpur, Mandla, Shahdol districts), Deogarh kingdom(occupied the present day Chhindwara and Nagpur districts), Chanda kingdom (occupied the present day Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Adilabad districts). However it was the Gond kingdom of Garh-Mandla, which attracted the Nemas to a greater extent. To consolidate their power into the region, Gond kings needed to enhance the revenues. They took two important measures. Firstly, they up-scaled deforestation to extend cultivable land and build tanks, canals and dams for irrigation. Secondly they encouraged cash crops, paddy and sugarcane cultivation and enforced gud (jaggery) production. Ever-since Nemas are being stereotyped for being honest, intellectual and hard working. The Gond kings not only gave shelter to the them but also invited them to settle and took part into the state affairs of their dominions of Narsinghpur, Sagar, Damoh, Seoni, Jabalpur, Mandla, Chindwara, Balaghat, Shahdol and Dindori. Imparted with good mearchant skills they soon took over charge related to export and import of raw and finished goods, and popularly named as Maalgujars in those days. They were also involved in Lagaan (tax) collection as well as in agriculture. Lands were granted to them to cultivate sugarcane and to produce jaggery out of it. Till the Second World War many of the Nema families were Maalgujars and producers of jaggery , including my paternal and maternal great grand parents, one was based in Narsinghpur and other was in Sagar. Being the business back bone in the region, sooner Nema supported the Gond Kings with the finances of the state and war time expenses.

India_in_1525_Joppen

Reva uvācha: Fate of Gond Kings of Garh-Mandla

47^th King of Garha-Mandla, Sangram Shah (1500-1541) had conquered 52 forts called Garh, to strengthen and spread the kingdom. The Chauragarh Fort (Chougan) in Narsinghpur was built by him, on the honor of conquering 52 forts. It was built to safeguard the royal treasury. Situated on the outer crest of Satpura tableland and embracing within its circle of defenses two hilltops, Chauragarh was less a fort than a large fortified camp. It defended the richest part of the possession of Garha-Mandala kings. The vast scale of the whole work, its numerous tanks and wells excavated at so unusual an elevation and the massive debris of its buildings, attest the lavish outlay incurred in its completion and the importance which was attached to it as a royal stronghold. The legendary warrior Queen Rani Durgavati was a Chandel Princess and the widow of Sangram Shah’s Son Dalpat Shah. She moved the capital of the state to Chauragarh, Narsinghpur and governed the kingdom for 15 years with great vigour and success on behalf of her minor son Vir Narayan. In 1564, Mughal viceroy of Akbar, Asaf Khan, invaded the Garh-Mandala territories. Rani initially repulsed the attacks, however in a fierce battle at Narrai near Jabalpur lost her life. Her son got severely wounded in the battle and taken to Chauragarh, where he died after a long siege by the Mughal army.

indynetwork_2020-03_60cd0739-3553-402b-924e-f533127bda35_42c2e27c_8b40_41b7_9816_09abc1e87426 (2) — Rani Durgavati gearing-up for the Battle of Narrai by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha c. 1954

Even after the victory, Mughals were not successful in establishing themselves in the region, probably due to the zero support from the local chieftains and traders. In no time, Chandar Shah Brother of Dalpat Shah, was recognized as a king of the region by Emperor Akbar, by the cession of 10 districts which afterwards constituted the principality of Bhopal. That is why Narsinghpur does not appear to have been ever an integral part of the Mughal Empire, as no part of it is included in the list of provinces(Subah) and governments (Sarkar) given in the Ain-i-Akbari (biography of Akbar). In 1610, Bundela Raja Jujhar singh of Orchha invaded the Grah-Mandla territories. King Prem Narayan, grandson of Chandar Shah, took refuge in Chauragarh fort of Narsinghpur, where he was closely besieged for months. On his death by treachery, the fort fell and all the other garrisons of Garh-Mandla followed its example. Prem Narayan’s successor, Hirdey Shah, however repulsed the Bundelas and re-established his power by the aid of the Mughal chief of Bhopal. He had to cede 300 villages to Bhopal chief in return. In later half of the 17th Century Bundela King Chhatrasal, deprived the Garh-Mandla of large territory of Sagar and Damoh. From this time the fortunes of the Garh-Mandla kingdom gradually declined.

chauragarh — Ruins of Fort of Chauragarh, Narsinghpur. P.c. Partika.com

Reva uvācha: Rise of Marathas

At the same time in Deccan, Marathas were establishing themselves as force to reckon with under the command of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Even 27 years after the death of Shivaji, Marathas continued to harass the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb till his last breath in 1707 and wouldn’t allow the Mughals to establish themselves in Deccan. While Aurangzeb in Deccan weekend his empire by overburdening his treasury and resources on the campaigns against the Marathas, his empire started disintegrating and many Subahs like Rajputana, Awadh, Bengal, Gujarat, Malwa, Hyderabad carved their autonomy. 18^th C belonged to Marathas, it witnessed the unprecedented rise of the Maratha Empire. Chhatrapati Shahuji, Grandson of Shivaji and his Peshwas uprooted Mughals and build an empire out of a kingdom. Armies of the Peshwas and his commanders marched across the subcontinent in all directions and crossed Narmada, Chambal, Yamuna and Indus under Shindia-Holkar in the northern India, Gaikwad-Pawar in western India and Bhosales crossed Mahanadi till cuttack in the east and Godavari and Kaveri in the Deep South. From the Attock in Peshawar to Thanjavur in Tamilnadu all the autonomous states accepted the Maratha suzerainty and became their vassals. Mughal King of Delhi was now on Maratha payroll.

Reva uvācha: Under Marathas

In 1729, Maratha Peshwa Bajirao advanced into Bundelkhand, to assist the Bundela King Chhatrasal against the Mughals. After defeating the Mughals, Peshawa was rewarded with the Subha of Sagar and Damoh by King Chhatrasal and got his daughter mastani marry to him. In 1742, Son of Bajirao, Peshwa Nanasahib invaded the Garh-Mandla territories and extracted tribute and thus Narsinghpur became a Maratha dependency. Nahar Shah the last king of Garh-Mandla’s Gond dynasty revolted against the Marathas of Sagar in 1781. He had taken refuse at the fort of Chauragarh where he was defeated and imprisoned. After 1781 administration of Garh-Mandla and Narsingpur directly passed into the hands of Marathas. They recruited locals for administration, tax collection and military services. Lowest rant in the Maratha military services was Peak (Soldier). Head of the unit of infantry consisting of 10 peaks was a Nayak. Next was Hawaldar, head of 5 Nayaks and then came the Jumladar, head of 5 Hawaldars. It is evident that many Nema families opted for the patronym Nayak, as they qualified to serve in the regular Maratha army. The qualification round was quite interesting. Each contender for the position should be a known personality in the locality and had to prepare their bulls for the bull fight in a two months time frame . The victorious was awarded with the title Nayak. In 1785, Maratha Bhonsale rulers of Nagpur Raja Mudhoji Bhonsale, obtained the cession of Garh-Mandla including Narsinghpur, Jabalpur and Mandla; from the Pune court of Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao in return for a payment of 27 lakhs. Since then till 1818 Bhosale rules of Nagpur ruled over the Garh-Mandla pricipality.

Marathas were a cosmopolitan brand and definitely not associated only with the Marathi people from Maharashtra, where civil and military administration comprising of different communities like Brahmins, Jats, Rajputs and Pathans as well. During the reign of Marathas though short-lived but country not only witnessed the cultural independence but also the socio-economic upliftment. Populace was not overburdened with taxes as it was in the time of Mughals. The city of Narsinghpur that we see today was earlier called as Gadariya kheda. A temple of Lord Narsimha was constructed by a Jat sardar of Marathas and thus principality around Gadariya Kedas became Narsinghpur. Maratha cultivator community of kumbhi (modern Kunbis) poured into the region and mingled with other communities. Nemas adopted the Pola festival from that community which was originally based in Vidarbha and sothern Chhattisgarh. A festival wherein farmers used to decorate their bulls and oxen in reverence of their services. Being exporter of goods across the states, Nemas had tangaas pulled by horses, so they started decorating their horses, as a part of Pola ritual.

IMG-20200416-WA0021 — Decorated cattle during festival, painting by Priyanka Nayak Kothe

Reva uvācha: Dusk under British

In the beginning of the 19^th C Maratha Confederacy’s hold on the subcontinent was weakened because of the poor central leadership and rising frictions among the powerful Chiefs like Shindia, Holkar and Bhonsale. In 1818, Third Anglo-Maratha war, Peshwa Bajirao 2^nd was decisively defeated and exiled to a place called Bithoor near Kanpur by the British East India Company. On the similar note Bhosale Raja Appa Sahib of Nagpur was defeated by the British at the battle of Sitabaldi and lost a large portion of their territories (including Narsinghpur, Jabalpur, Mandla) to EIC under the subsidiary alliance treaty. Kanderao , Maratha killedar of Fort Chauragarh, Narsinghpur initially resisted the British but within a month surrendered on 13^th May 1818. As British did with other Indian forts specifically in Maharashtra, they completely dismantled the Chauragarh fort by continuously bombarding it for several days. So that it couldn’t be used against them by anyone in future. The newly acquired territories were called as Agency of Saugor and Nerbudda Territories. In 1835 the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories were incorporated into the newly-formed North-Western Provinces. An era of darkness, an era of continuous exploitation, an era of drought and hunger began with the commencement of British rule. Under the burden of heavy taxation by English, Narsinghpur populace revolted. Once at the time of Bundela Rising of 1842 supported by Shindia of Gwalior; then again in 1857 during Gadar Sepoy Mutiny supported by a local gond chief Delan Shah, however with no great success. Within an year British crushed the struggle and succeeded in establishing their rule. In 1861 the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories were merged with the Central Provinces. With the discovery of the Mohpani coal field, near Gadarwara in Narsinghpur, locals lost their ancestral lands. Around 1870 Narsinghpur station was build with huge public expenditure, which was least helpful for natives and served British interest of transporting coal and iron ore to England via port of Bombay and Calcutta. Freight tariffs for native merchants were three times as compared to the charges levied on British agencies and third class compartments with wooden benches were too costlier for general populace. Heavy duties were imposed by the British on the manufacturing of finished goods like edible oil, textiles, jaggery. Raw materials like cotton, mustard, soybean and sugarcane were extracted as a part of revenue (Lagaan) and transported abroad. At the end Populace was forced to buy the English finished products at higher prices. The District Narsinghpur was severely affected by the famines of both 1897 and 1900. The fortune of Narsinghpur and Nemas started degrading due to this and finally declined during Second World War.

Reva uvācha: Dawn of Independence

After the establishment of Indian National Congress in the year 1885, Narsinghpur district had shown unprecedented urge towards freedom. Among the notable freedom fighters of Narshinghpur district were Gayadutt, Manik Chand Kochar, Choudhary Shankar Lal, Thakur Niranjan Singh and Sri Shyam Sunder Narayan Musharan. The district of Narsinghpur was amalgamated into Hoshangabad in the year 1932. During the Quit India movement at Chichli town of Narsinghpur in the year 1942, freedom fighters like Mansharam & Gauradevi lost their lives during Police firing. Thousands of revolutionaries faced the atrocities of British rule & gave an example of strong devotion for the country. When country got Independence on 15th August 1947, a new era started in this district. After 9 years of Independence, when states were reorganized on the basis of languages, Narsinghpur, once again became district. Since 1st November 1956, Narsinghpur district moving towards progress & prosperity in its full existence and so does the Nemas across the Globe.

Jai Hind!

Sources and References:

Cornelia Dimmitt (2012). Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas. Temple University Press. pp. 82–85. ISBN978-1-4399-0464-0.

Narsinghpur District Gazetteer, Published in 1905; based on the reports by sir Charles Grant in 1866, Mr. De Brett in 1896 and Mr Hira lal, Assitant Superintendent of gazetteer, Chapter 2^nd, page 20-40, 543-569.