The Marwari or Marwadi are an Indian ethnic group that originate from the Rajasthan region of India. Their language, also called Marwari, comes under the umbrella of Rajasthani languages, which is part of the Western Zone of Indo-Aryan languages.
Marwari’ is an umbrella term to classify both Hindus and Jains. The Marwaris originate from Eastern Rajasthan and the term was used as an ethnographic classification in the 1901 census. It described a trader from Rajputana and included primary groups like Agarwals, Maheswaris, Oswals, and Seraogis. It later included other Rajasthani trading castes like Khandelwals and Porwals. Most Marwaris do not come from the district of Marwar but the generic use of Marwar could be a reference to the older Marwar kingdom.
It was during the colonial period that the heterogeneous Marwaris came to form a community under the colonial state. Anne Hardgrove’s study, Community and Public Culture, credits their rise as a trading class as facilitated by the changing nature of the colonial economy, commercialisation of agriculture, changing land policies, and the payment of regular tax. The Marwaris as a caste group were able to build a credit and trading network across a large part of colonial India through marriage and kinship ties.
But the history of migration of this trading community from Rajasthan is dated back to the end of the 17th century and Marwaris served as bankers and financiers to the Mughals. The name of Jagat Seth, infamous for his role in the British victory over Siraj-ud-dawla at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, was actually a Mughal title which meant banker of the world.
‘Marwari’, the ethnic label is subjective and often used as a slur that defines the businessmen as the ‘outsider’, the ‘other’ who is swindling you, as they do not share community ties of language and local identity. Many Marwaris themselves consider the term a pejorative and instead, choose to identify themselves by their sub-caste. The criticisms of Marwaris and their economic activities are comparable to what minority trading groups historically have faced elsewhere in the world.
We all have our own experience of ‘knowing’ Marwaris. The essential/stereotypical features are their association with commerce, a network of relatives and cousins on all important trading routes to the metropolis, fluently speaking the local language as well as their native tongue, despite the ‘exile’ from home and regular visits to the home. The Marwaris do not integrate and are perceived to have maintained their distinctiveness and links to ‘home’ despite living in different parts of India for a long period.
Marwari traders have historically been migratory in habit. The possible causes of this trait include the proximity of their homeland to the major Ganges – Yamuna trade route; movement to escape famine; and the encouragement given to them by various rulers of northern India who saw advantages in having their skills in banking and finance.
The pattern of Marwari migration became increasingly divergent following the decline in wars between Rajput kingdoms, which the Marwaris had helped to finance, and the decreasing influence of the community over the North Indian caravan trading routes that resulted from the British establishing themselves in the region. The changed focus of migration was also encouraged by the British establishment of new trading routes and centres, as well as by the declining political significance of the Rajput courts whose famed conspicuous consumption had been supported by Marwari money.
The community welcomed the relative safety that the British presence offered, as well as the commercial and legal frameworks that they provided and which were more favourable to Marwari activities than the systems prevalent during the earlier period of Mughal and Rajput rule.
In 1956, the All-India Marwari Federation opposed a linguistic organisation of states whilst buying up regional language newspapers in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.Today, they control many of the country’s largest media groups.
The community’s control of the Indian economy declined following the country’s 1991 economic reforms. From a peak of controlling 24 per cent in 1990, it had fallen to less than 2 per cent in 2000. This reflects the growth of new industries outside of commodities trading and primary production. The figure for year “2000” is considered to be lower than the position in 1939, when the community first began its resurgence.
LANGUAGE:
Marwari, or Marrubhasha, as it is referred to by Marwaris, is the traditional, historical, language of the Marwari ethnicity. The Marwari language is closely related to the Rajasthani language. The latter evolved from the Old Gujarati (also called Old Western Rajasthani, Gujjar Bhakha or Maru-Gurjar), language spoken by the people in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
CULTURE:
Marwaris have been known for a tightly-knit social solidarity, described by Selig Harrison in 1960 as “indissoluble under the impact of the strongest regional solvents”.The perception held of their culture by other communities is ambivalent at best. Hardgrove notes that they are “known across India for their success in business and industry , and often despised and severely criticised by other Indians for their alleged corruption and social conservatism”.
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