In Raj, an exodus exposes conflict between folk singers and jajmans
20 families flee Dantal village as equations change between communities
For generations the Manganiyar community of folk artists has lived peacefully with their upper-caste Hindu patrons, but the recent exodus of 20 families from a Jaisalmer village has exposed the undercurrents of a conflict that has been brewing in the remote villages of Rajasthan.
The Manganiyars are a 25,000 to 30,000-strong Muslim community of hereditary professional singers who have lived for centuries in western Rajasthan’s Thar Desert region, primarily in Barmer and Jaisalmer districts.
The nomadic tribespeople eke out a living by performing at social functions and religious gatherings of upper caste landowners and many among them also work as farm labourers.
Almost every family is associated with a patron, or jajman, most of whom are Rajputs, who give them food and money and allow them to build huts on their agricultural land. But the equation between the new generation of Manganiyars and upper caste families is no longer the same.
The barter system that used to take care of their basic needs is no longer sufficient and the impoverished youngsters of the community are being forced to look for other occupations.
“After singing for hours at functions and religious gatherings, they get ₹11 or ₹25 as reward if the hosts are happy with their performance,” said Baksh Khan, a social activist working with the displaced families at a government-run home in Jaisalmer.
“If the performance does not satisfy the host, they are not paid and treated rudely,” he told HT.
Experts say that behaviour of a patron with the community depends on individuals, but agree equations are changing.
The community is encouraging its younger generation to study, and the youngsters are no longer interested in taking up traditional folk music as a profession, said Kuldeep Kothari of Jodhpur-based Rupayan Sansthan, an institute that promotes Rajasthani art and culture. “The barter system under which the jajmans (patrons) used to give grain, cattle and other goods to the Manganiyars has worked in the past, but now the aspirations of the youth have changed,” he said. “They need money to buy gadgets like mobiles and other such things.”
While a few community members, including Gazi Khan and Mame Khan, have become famous, other performers who have not been able to find a platform have no regular income.
The younger generation is not too interested in taking up ancestral occupation, said Shaukat, son of a folk singer, who studies in high school in Dantal. He is among those who left the village.
“I have seen my father perform for hours and earn a pittance. I would rather focus on my studies and get a job,” he said.
Dantal village, where folk singer Amad Khan was allegedly beaten to death by a faith healer (bhopa) and his two brothers on September 27, is dominated by Rajputs. The healer, Ramesh Suthar, had asked Khan to sing a specific Raga so the spirit of the goddess could enter his body and make him solve local problems.
Khan’s and other families are too scared to return despite assurances from the administration. “I will commit suicide rather than return to the village,” Khan’s widow, Kemku, told HT. “We are not safe there,” she said.