Mirdha caste is last name of many people in Indian subcontinent. Mirdha caste definition is A small caste found only in the Narsinghpur District. They are a branch of the Khangar or Dahait caste of Saugor and Damoh. The names of their exogamous sections tally with those of the Khangars and they have the same story of their ancestors having been massacred at a fort in Orchha State and of one pregnant woman escaping and hiding under a kusum tree (Schleichera trijuga) which consequently they revere. Like Khangars they regard Muhammadan eunuchs and Fakirs (beggars) with special friendship on the ground that it was a Fakir who sheltered their ancestress when the rest of the caste were massacred by Rajputs and Fakirs do not beg at their weddings. One explanation of the name is that this section of the caste were born from a Muhammadan father and a Dahait woman and hence were called Mir-Dahaits or Mirdaha Mir being a Muhammadan title. Mirdha is however as noted by Mr. Hira Lal the name of the head of the caste committee among the Dahaits; and in Hoshangabad he is a servant of the village proprietor and acts as assistant to the Kotwar or village watchman; he realises the rents from the tenants and sometimes works as a night guard. In Gujarat the name is said to be a corruption of mir-deh or mason of the village.62 Here it is said that the Mirdhas are held to be of part foreign part Rajput origin and were originally official spies of the Gujarat sultans. They are now employed as messengers and constables and therefore seem to be analogous to the same class of persons in the Central Provinces.. Mirdha caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Mirdha caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Mirdha caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Mirdha caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many foreginers and followers of Abrahmic religions criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
Secondly I have seen Abrahmic religions especially Muslims and Christians claiming that they have no caste system – It is an utter lie. All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Mirdha caste is also known as Mirdha Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don’t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.
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