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{{Short description|Ethnic group in western India}}
{{about|the Meena tribe of India}}
{{pp-protect|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox Ethnic group
| group = Meena
| image = EMuseumPlus (2).jpg
| image_caption = 1888 picture of Meenas
| image_alt =
| image_size =
| total = 5 million
| total_ref = <ref name=BBC>{{cite news |first=Ravi |last=Prakash |title=क्या आदिवासियों को मिल पाएगा उनका अलग धर्म कोड, झारखंड का प्रस्ताव अब मोदी सरकार के पास|url=https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india-54975388|date=2020-11-18|language=Hindi|place=[[Ranchi]]|publisher=[[BBC Hindi]]|access-date=2022-02-18}}</ref>
| total_year = [[2011 Census of India|2011 Census]]
| popplace = India
| languages = [[Hindi]], [[Mewari language|Mewari]], [[Marwari language|Marwari]], [[Dhundari language|Dhundari]], [[Harauti language|Harauti]], [[Mewati language|Mewati]], [[Wagdi language|Wagdi]], [[Malvi language|Malvi]], [[Bhili language|Bhili]] etc.<ref>The assignment of an ISO code [myi] for the Meena language was spurious (Hammarström (2015) ''Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices''). The code was retired in 2019.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Sociological Evaluation of the Major Government Schemes Meant for Promoting Education and Health among The Members of the Meena Tribe in Rajasthan |url=http://www.socialresearchfoundation.com/upoadreserchpapers/3/96/1604130649531st%20s.s.%20charana%20.............pdf}}</ref>
| genealogy =
| religions = [[Hinduism]] (99.7%), others (0.14%)<ref name=jos>{{cite web|title=Meena in India|url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13723/in|website=Joshua Project|access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref>
| related = {{•}} [[Bhil]] {{•}} [[Parihar (clan)|Parihar]] {{•}} [[Meo (ethnic group)|Meo]]
}}

'''Meena''' ({{IPA|hns|miːɳa|pron}}) is a tribe from northern and western [[India]] which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the [[Bhil]] community.<ref name="Googlebook2">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAE1UqAo3GoC&dq=meena+as+scheduled++tribe&pg=PA41 | title=Human Rights and Legal Pluralism | publisher=[[LIT Verlag]] [[Münster]] | work=Social Science › General | date=2011 | accessdate=8 October 2014 | first=Yüksel | last=Sezgin | pages=41 | isbn=9783643999054 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012005234/http://books.google.co.in/books?id=HAE1UqAo3GoC&pg=PA41&dq=meena+as+scheduled++tribe&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NTc0VLuNLIGNuAT6sIGYCg&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=meena%20as%20scheduled%20%20tribe&f=false | archive-date=12 October 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Googlebook3">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMffCgAAQBAJ&dq=Meena+tribe&pg=PA166 |title=Emerging Trends in Indian Politics| publisher=Taylor & Francis| year=2013| first=Govinda Chandra | last=Rath | pages=166 | isbn= 9781136198557}}</ref> They got the status of [[Scheduled Tribe]] by the [[Government of India]] in 1954.<ref name="Deutsche Welle">{{cite news |title=आखिर क्यों भड़कते हैं आरक्षण के आंदोलन {{!}} DW {{!}} 12.02.2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/hi/%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%96%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0-%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%82-%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BC%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%87-%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%88%E0%A4%82-%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A3-%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%87-%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%A8/a-47474059 |access-date=12 May 2022 |work=Deutsche Welle |language=hi}}</ref>

== Ethnography ==
[[File:Mina caste man in 1898.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Mina caste man in 1898]]

The Meenas were originally a [[nomadic tribe]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mina|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mina-South-Asian-people}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Culture of India | date=15 August 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8PJFLeURhsC |page=36| publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group | isbn=9781615301492 }}</ref> They were described as a semi-wild and [[hill tribe]] similar to the [[Bhils]].<ref name="Kapur 2007 131">{{cite book |chapter=The Minas: Seeking a Place in History |first=Nandini Sinha |last=Kapur |title=The Social and the Symbolic |editor-first=Bernard |editor-last=Bel |publisher=Sage |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-76193-446-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGfjUNxrlckC&pg=PA131 |page=131}}</ref> During the [[British Raj]] in India, the British Government classified them as a "criminal tribe" under the [[Criminal Tribes Act]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Crime, Liberalism and Empire: Governing the Mina Tribe of Northern India|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240702060}}</ref> Presently they are described as a [[Scheduled Tribe]] by the [[Indian Government]].<ref name=list>{{cite web|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SC/ST/ST%20Lists.pdf |title=List of notified Scheduled Tribes |publisher=Census India |access-date=18 February 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107225208/http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/ST%20Lists.pdf |archive-date=7 November 2013 }}</ref>

== Geography ==
Currently, they are present in the states of [[Rajasthan]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Punjab]] and [[Haryana]] and the [[Union Territory of Delhi]] in [[India]].<ref name=list>{{cite web|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SC/ST/ST%20Lists.pdf |title=List of notified Scheduled Tribes |publisher=Census India |access-date=18 February 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107225208/http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/ST%20Lists.pdf |archive-date=7 November 2013 }}</ref>

== History ==

=== Origin ===
[[File:Minas.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Minas]]

The Meenas claim a mythological descent from the [[Matsya]] avatar, or fish incarnation, of [[Vishnu]].<ref name="Kapur May 2008">{{cite journal | title= Reconstructing Identities and Situating Themselves in History : A Preliminary Note on the Meenas of Jaipur Locality | last= Kapur | first= Nandini Sinha | journal=Indian Historical Review |volume=27 |issue=1 |year=2000 | pages= 29–43 | df= dmy-all |doi=10.1177/037698360002700103 | s2cid= 141602938 |quote=the entire community claims descent from the Matsya (fish) incarnation of Vishnu}}</ref> They also claim to be descendants of the people of the Matsya Kingdom, which flourished in the 6th century B.C.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qxxnZ4XxUbsC&pg=PA12 |title=Tribal and Indigenous People of India: Problems and Prospects |publisher=APH Publishing |year=2002 |first1=Rabindra Nath |last1=Pati |first2=Jagannatha |last2=Dash |page=12 |isbn=978-8-17648-322-3}}</ref> The historian Pramod Kumar notes that it is likely that the tribes living in the ancient Matsya kingdom were called Meena but it cannot be said with certainty that there is anything common between them and the modern Meenas. They are considered to be [[adivasi]] (aboriginal people).<ref name="Pramod_1984"/>

Nandini Sinha Kapur, a historian who has studied early India, notes that the oral traditions of the Meenas were developed from the early 19th century AD in an attempt to reconstruct their identity. She says of this process, which continued throughout the 20th century, that "The Minas try to furnish themselves a respectable present by giving themselves a ''glorious past''". In common with the people of countries such as [[Finland]] and [[Scotland]], the Meenas found it necessary to invent tradition through oral accounts, one of the primary uses of which is recognised by both historians and sociologists as being "social protest against injustices, exploitation and oppression, a ''raison d'être'' that helps to retrieve the image of a community." Kapur notes that the Meenas not merely lack a recorded history of their own but also have been depicted in a negative manner both by medieval [[Persian Empire|Persian]] accounts and records of the colonial period. From medieval times through to the [[British Raj]], references to the Meenas describe them as violent, plundering criminals and an anti-social ethnic [[tribal]] group.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=The Minas: Seeking a Place in History |first=Nandini Sinha |last=Kapur |title=The Social and the Symbolic |editor-first=Bernard |editor-last=Bel |publisher=Sage |year=2007 |isbn=9780761934462 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGfjUNxrlckC&pg=PA129 |pages=129–131}}</ref>

According to Kapur, the Meenas also attempt [[Rajputization]] of themselves.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Social and the Symbolic: Volume II |year=2007 |pages=129–146 |publisher=[[SAGE publications|Sage]] |editor1-first=Bernard |editor1-last=Bel |editor2-first=Jan |editor2-last=Brouwer |editor3-first=Biswajit |editor3-last=Das |editor4-first=Vibodh |editor4-last=Parthasarathi |editor5-first=Guy |editor5-last=Poitevin |chapter=Minas Seeking a Place in History |first=Nandini Sinha |last=Kapur |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a7yGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA129 |isbn=978-8132101178}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kothiyal |first=Tanuja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=be-7CwAAQBAJ&q=tanuja+kothiyal+book |title=Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert |date=14 March 2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-08031-7 |pages=265 |language=en |quote=from gradual transformation of mobile pastoral and tribal groups into landed sedentary ones. The process of settlement involved both control over mobile resources through raids, battles and trade as well as channelizing of these resources into agrarian expansion. Kinship structures as well as marital and martial alliances were instrumental in this transformation. ... In the colonial ethnographic accounts rather than referring to Rajputs as having emerged from other communities, Bhils, Mers, Minas, Gujars, Jats, Raikas, all lay a claim to a Rajput past from where they claim to have 'fallen'. Historical processes, however, suggest just the opposite.}}</ref>

=== Rajput period ===
The Meenas ruled at certain places in Rajasthan until they were overpowered by the invading [[Rajput]]s. After the end of their rule, the Meenas made forests and hills their sanctuary and started fighting to reclaim their kingdom. One such example was the [[Kingdom of Amber]], Who had to face many wars to stop their struggle and later established peace by making treaty with conditionals.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Indian Princes and their States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kz1-mtazYqEC |publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=19| isbn=9781139449083 | last1=Ramusack | first1=Barbara N. | date=8 January 2004 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author=Rima Hooja|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tosMAQAAMAAJ |title=A history of Rajasthan |year=2006|page=396| publisher=Rupa & Co. |isbn=9788129108906 |language=en |oclc=80362053}}</ref> From Meenas the [[Bundi]] was captured by Rao Dewa (A.D. 1342), [[Dhundhar]] by [[Kachhwaha]] Rajputs and Chopoli by the [[Muslim]] rulers. [[Kota, Rajasthan|Kota]], [[Jhalawar]], [[Karauli]] and [[Jalore]] were the other areas of earlier Meena influence where they were forced to surrender ultimately.<ref>{{cite book |last=Meena |first=Madan|title=Tribe-British Relations in India |chapter=Rulers, Criminals and Denotified Tribe: A Historical Journey of the Meenas|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-3424-6_17 |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2021 |pages=275–290 |doi=10.1007/978-981-16-3424-6_17|isbn=978-981-16-3423-9 |s2cid=240554356 }}</ref>

=== British colonial period ===
[[File:A Meena of Jajurh.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A Meena of Jajurh]]

The Raj colonial administration came into existence in 1858, following the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] which caused the government of Britain to decide that leaving colonial administration in the hands of the [[East India Company]] was a recipe for further discontent. In an attempt to create an orderly administration through a better understanding of the populace, the Raj authorities instituted various measures of classifying the people of India.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DmyVKwxmeyUC |title=In quest of Indian folktales: Pandit Ram Gharib Chaube and William Crooke |first=Sadhana |last=Naithani |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-253-34544-8 |access-date=2013-04-15}}</ref> One such measure was the [[Criminal Tribes Act]] of 1871, under the provisions of which Meenas were placed in the first list of the Act in 1872 in [[Patiala and East Punjab States Union]], [[Rajasthan]] and [[Punjab]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Caught in nostalgia: Artist Madan Meena's work inspired from 'The Thirsty Crow'|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2022/oct/31/caught-in-nostalgia-artist-madan-meenas-work-inspired-from-the-the-thirsty-crow-2513439.html}}</ref> Another such measure was the [[Habitual Criminals Act]] of 1930, under whose provisions the Meenas were placed.<ref>{{cite book |first=Steven L. |last=Danver |year=2015 |title=Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vf4TBwAAQBAJ&dq=chaukidar+meena+in+criminal+tribes+act&pg=PA550 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |page=550|isbn=9781317464006 }}</ref> The community remained stigmatised for many years, notably by influential officials of the Raj such as [[Herbert Hope Risley]] and [[Denzil Ibbetson]], and were sometimes categorised as [[animist]]s and as a [[hill tribe]] similar to the [[Bhil]]s.<ref name="Kapur 2007 131"/> The Meenas remained an officially designated [[Denotified tribes of India|criminal tribe]] until 1952, three years after the Act had been repealed. Mark Brown has examined the impact and issues of the Meena community during British rule and the change in their status from being a higher social group to a criminal tribe.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Crime, Liberalism and Empire: Governing the Mina Tribe of Northern India |last=Brown |first=Mark |journal=Social and Legal Studies |year=2004 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=191–218 |doi=10.1177/0964663904042551 |s2cid=143535325 }}</ref>

=== Rebellion ===
In the 1840s, Meenas organized a huge movement in Jaipur under the leadership of Lakshminarayan Jharwal against the British rule, which was a Meena rebellion against the British government.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bajrange |first1=Dakxinkumar |last2=Gandee |first2=Sarah |last3=Gould |first3=William |year=2019 |title=Settling the Citizen, Settling the Nomad: 'Habitual offenders', rebellion, and civic consciousness in western India, 1938–1952 |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=337–383 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X18000136|s2cid=56335179|url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/144745/11/Gould%20Gandee%20Chhara%20CT%20Citizens%20-%20280218.pdf }}</ref>

=== Recent history ===
[[File:Meena.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Meena]]

[[Kumar Suresh Singh]] notes that the Meenas have not abandoned their [[customary law]]s<ref>{{cite book|title=Tribal Ethnography, Customary Law, and Change|isbn = 9788170224716|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X4bW-_jEvXoC&dq=meena+tribe+on+Ethnography&pg=PA300|last1 = Singh|first1 = K. S. |author-link=Kumar Suresh Singh |year = 1993 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |page=300}}</ref> Meenas have better rights for women in many respects compared to many other Hindu castes.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Codified Hindu Law: Myth and Reality |last=Kishwar |first=Madhu |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=29 |issue=33 |date=13 August 1994 |pages=2145–2161 |jstor=4401625 }}</ref>

===Caste reservation===
[[File:Meenas, Hindoos of low caste, vagrants, Delhi (NYPL b13409080-1125443).jpg|thumb|250px|right|Meenas, Hindoos of low caste]]

The Meena fall into the [[Scheduled Tribe]] category in the state of [[Rajasthan]] and the majority of them are classified as being Hindu,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAE1UqAo3GoC&pg=PA41 |title=Human Rights and Legal Pluralism |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |year=2011 |access-date=2014-10-08 |first=Yüksel |last=Sezgin |page=41 |isbn=978-3-64399-905-4}}</ref> but in [[Madhya Pradesh]] Meena are recognised as a Scheduled Tribe only in Sironj Tehsil, [[Vidisha]], while in the other 44 districts of the state they are categorised as [[Other Backward Classes]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58G8PPAN48cC&pg=PA35 |title=Awareness in Weaker Section: Perspective Development and Prospects |publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. |year=1997 |access-date=2014-10-08 |first=Mahendra Lal |last=Patel |page=35 |isbn=978-8-17533-029-0}}</ref>

In Rajasthan, the Meena caste members oppose the entry of [[Gurjar]]s into Scheduled Tribe fold, fearing that their own share of Scheduled Tribe reservation benefits will be eroded.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2AsXFWT-CIC&pg=PA96 |title=Ethics: Theory and Practice |publisher=Pearson Education India |author=Satyanarayana |year=2010 |page=96 |isbn=978-8-13172-947-2}}</ref>

It is believed by media that the well-off Meena community enjoy a major share of ST reservation at the cost of other tribals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/how-meenas-got-st-status/articleshow/2087874.cms|title=How Meenas got the ST status|date=31 May 2007|newspaper=The Economic Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/jats-agitation-haryana-reservation-95386-2012-03-07|title=Flip side of the Jat agitation in Haryana|date=9 March 2012|website=India Today}}</ref>

== Subdivisions ==

The Meenas themselves are also a sub-group of Bhils.<ref>{{cite book|title=Human Rights and Legal Pluralism| isbn=9783643999054 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HAE1UqAo3GoC| last1=Sezgin | first1=Yuksel | year=2011 | publisher=LIT Verlag Münster }}</ref>

The Meena tribe is divided into several clans and sub-clans (''adakh''s), which are named after their ancestors. Some of the ''adakh''s include Ariat, Ahari, Katara, Kalsua, Kharadi, Damore, Ghoghra, Dali, Doma, Nanama, Dadore, Manaut, Charpota, Mahinda, Rana, Damia, Dadia, Parmar, Phargi, Bamna, Khat, Hurat, Hela, Bhagora, and Wagat.<ref name="Pramod_1984">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dF-Iu2Pt3KQC&pg=PA3 |title=Folk Icons and Rituals in Tribal Life |first=Pramod |last=Kumar |publisher=Abhinav |year=1984 |isbn=978-8-17017-185-0 |pages=3–4}}</ref>

[[Bhil Meena]] is another sub-division among the Meenas. As part of a [[sanskritisation]] process, some Bhils present themselves as Meenas, who hold a higher socio-economic status compared to the Bhil tribal people.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGyzY12uSr8C&pg=PA127 |title=Tribal Culture, Continuity, and Change: A Study of Bhils in Rajasthan |first=Anita Srivastava |last=Majhi |publisher=Mittal |year=2010 |isbn=978-8-18324-298-1 |page=127 }}</ref>

A sub-group known as "Ujwal Meena" (also "Ujala Meena" or "[[Parihar (clan)|Parihar]] Meena") seek higher status, and claim to be Rajputs, thus distinguishing themselves from the Bhil Meenas. They follow vegetarianism, unlike other Meenas whom they designated as "Mailay Meena".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kj583zZs2dMC&pg=PA3 |title=A Study of Bundi School of Painting |first=Jiwan |last=Sodh |publisher=Abhinav |year=1999 |isbn=978-8-17017-347-2 |page=31 }}</ref>

Other prevalent social groupings are Zamindar Meena and the Chaukidar Meena. The Zamindar Meena, comparatively well-off, are those who surrendered to powerful Rajput invaders and settled on the lands believe to be granted by the Rajputs. Those who did not surrender to Rajput rule and kept on waging guerrilla warfare are called the Chaukidar Meena.<ref name="TribalCultures">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q29TcbHrMfUC&pg=PA18 |title=Tribal Cultures and Change |publisher=Mittal Publications |first1=Rann Singh |last1=Mann |first2=K. |last2=Mann |year=1989 |page=18}}</ref>

== Culture ==
[[File:Mina 2.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Mina]]

There is a custom in the Meenas to perform ''Pitra Tarpan'' after taking a collective bath on the day of [[Diwali]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Das |first1=Jayasree |last2=Chakraborty |first2=Sudipta |year=2021|title=Scope of dark tourism as a revival strategy for the industry|url=https://www.caluniv.ac.in/dj/BS-Journal/V-42-I-II/BS-JD-SC.pdf |journal=Business Studies |volume= XLII |issue= 1 & 2}}</ref> They adopt the culture of worshiping trees and plants in marriages, festivals and other ceremonies as per the ''Dharadi'' tradition.<ref name=":0">
{{Cite web|last=Meena|first=Ram|date=2020-05-05|title=Sociolinguistic Study of Meena / Mina Tribe In comparison to other Tribes of Rajasthan|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341151233|volume=67|pages=45–58}}</ref> They worship different family deities according to the gotra.<ref>{{cite book |title=Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vf4TBwAAQBAJ&q=meena+tribe |page=550| isbn=9781317464006 | last1=Danver | first1=Steven L. | date=10 March 2015 | publisher=Routledge }}</ref> They celebrate [[Meenesh Jayanti]] on the third day of the [[Chaitra]] month's [[Shukla paksha]].<ref name="Kapur May 2008"/>

=== Art ===
[[Mandana Paintings]] are widely practiced by the women of the Meena tribe.<ref>{{cite book|first=Madan |last=Meena |author-link=Madan Meena |year=2009|title=Nurturing Walls: Animal Paintings by Meena Women |publisher=Tara Books |isbn=978-8-18-621168-7}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{Main|List of Scheduled Tribes in Rajasthan}}

According to the [[2011 Census of India]], the Meenas have a total population of 5 million.<ref>{{cite news|title=Will the tribals get their separate religion code, Jharkhand's proposal is now with the Modi government|url=https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india-54975388 |work=BBC}}</ref> According to a report by [[Hindustan Times]], the population of Meenas in [[Rajasthan]] is 7% of the state's population.<ref>{{cite news|title=In Rajasthan, tribal body acts as family court for ST couples|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/in-rajasthan-a-tribal-organization-not-courts-gives-divorce-decrees/story-kAU0nQnORMI5O80aVMeMdJ.html|work=Hindustan Times}}</ref> And according to the report of a [[Germany|German]] news television [[Deutsche Welle]], the Meenas constitute 10% of the population of the state of Rajasthan.<ref name="Deutsche Welle"/> Whereas according to a report by [[BBC Hindi]], the population of Meenas is 14% of the state's population.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news |title=वसुंधरा के लिए सांप छछूंदर वाली स्थिति |url=https://www.bbc.com/hindi/regionalnews/story/2007/06/printable/070602_rajasthan_analysis |access-date=12 May 2022 |work=BBC |date=June 2007 |language=hi}}</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Rajasthani people]]
*[[Susawat]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==

*{{cite book |title=Demography and health profile of the tribals: a study of M.P. |first=Dipak Kumar |last=Adak |publisher=Anmol Publications}}
*{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=Mark |title=Ethnology and Colonial Administration in Nineteenth-Century British India: The Question of Native Crime and Criminality |journal=The British Journal for the History of Science |volume=36 |issue=2 |year=2003 |pages=201–219 |jstor=4028233 |doi=10.1017/S0007087403005004|doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal|last1=Bajrange |first1=Dakxinkumar |last2=Gandee |first2=Sarah |last3=Gould |first3=William |year=2019 |title=Settling the Citizen, Settling the Nomad: 'Habitual offenders', rebellion, and civic consciousness in western India, 1938–1952|journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=337–383 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X18000136|s2cid=56335179 |doi-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |first=Anastasia |last=Piliavsky |year=2015 |title=The "Criminal Tribe" in India before the British|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/abs/criminal-tribe-in-india-before-the-british/E3F6C2797D935E942CE011D0DBBD4FCA |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=323–354 |doi=10.1017/S0010417515000055 |jstor=43908348|s2cid=144894079 |url-access=subscription }}
*{{cite book |first=Sohan Lal |last=Sharma |title=Emerging Tribal Identity: A Study of Minas of Rajasthan |year=2008 |publisher=Rawat Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVgvPwAACAAJ |jstor=23620676|isbn=9788131602386 }}
*{{cite journal |first=V.C. |last=Channa |title=Development in Meena Villages: A Case Study |journal=Indian Anthropologist |year=2008 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=33–42 |jstor=41920055}}
*{{cite book |last=Meena |first=Madan|title=Tribe-British Relations in India |chapter=Rulers, Criminals and Denotified Tribe: A Historical Journey of the Meenas|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-3424-6_17 |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2021 |pages=275–290 |doi=10.1007/978-981-16-3424-6_17|isbn=978-981-16-3423-9 |s2cid=240554356 }}

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{{Social groups of Rajasthan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Social groups of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Social groups of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Social groups of Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Haryana]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Other Backward Classes]]
[[Category:Other Backward Classes of Haryana]]
[[Category:Other Backward Classes of Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Other Backward Classes of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Denotified tribes of India]]
[[Category:Surnames of Indian origin]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]

Meena - Revision history

Saurabh at 15:01, 8 March 2026