Mukhi
Mukhi (mukhia) is the title used for a head of community or village elites[1] and their local government in Western India and Sindh.[2] It is derived from the word mukhiya meaning 'foremost', and prior to Indian independence they were the most powerful person in each community, imbued with both civil and judicial powers.[3][4]
Status
Mukhi headmen generally came from the wealthiest
History
The tradition of mukhis and panchayat raj (village self-government) is thought to be thousands of years old but currently decreasing in influence due to the growth of government and democratic decentralisation.[11]
Since at least the 16th Century, the roles carried out by mukhis included those relating to local revenue gathering and expenditure, policing and justice. By the 19th, under the
In 1876, according to the Village Police Act, the mukhis were also given central roles in the criminal justice system and required to carry out surveillance about suspicious activities and reporting to district level officials.[2] They had powers to resolve conflicts within their community, particularly those relating to marriages,[13] and give consent over the building of properties[1] and officiate over daily events or rituals.[14]
In
Ismailism
In the
Family name
Mukhi is also a common name within Sindhis denoting a hereditary relationship to a mukhi[16] and, from a separate root, in other Indian communities as meaning "beautiful".[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b c India's Villages. Development Department, West Bengal, 1955
- ^ a b Peasant Pasts: History and Memory in Western India. Vinayak, Chaturvedi, University of California Press, 2007
- ISBN 8170750350
- ^ Tribe, Volumes 2-6. Tribal Research Institute (Rajasthan, India). Tribal Research Institute and Training Centre, 1966
- ^ Villages, Women, and the Success of Dairy Cooperatives in India: Making Place for Rural Development. Basu, Pratyusha. Cambria Press, 2009
- ^ The Twice-born: A Study of a Community of High-caste Hindus. Carstairs, G. Morris, Indiana University Press, 1967
- ^ a b Gujarat, Part 3. Popular Prakashan, 2003
- ^ Research in Sociology: Abstracts of M.A. and Ph. D. Dissertations Completed in the Department of Sociology, University of Bombay. Concept Publishing Company, 1989
- ^ Encyclopaedia of Indian Woman: Emancipation Through Legislative Reforms, Volume 5. Akashdeep, 1990
- ^ The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750-1947: Traders of Sind from Bukhara to Panama, Markovits, Claude. Cambridge University Press, 22 Jun 2000
- ^ Tribal Culture, Continuity, and Change: A Study of Bhils in Rajasthan. Majhi, Anita Srivastava , Mittal Publications, 2010
- ^ Balochistan Through the Ages: Tribes Vol. 2: Selection from Government Record. Baluchistan (Pakistan) Nisa Traders 1979, University of Virginia, Apr 2009
- ^ All India Reporter, Volume 3, Chitaley D.V., 1950
- ^ a b Encyclopaedia of Ismailism. Mumtaz Ali Tajddin Sadik Ali, Islamic Book Publisher, 2006.
- ^ The Amil Community of Hyderabad, Narsain, S.J. 1932
- ^ Essential Sindhi Cookbook. Reejhsinghani, Aroona, Penguin Books India, 2004
- ^ A Smaller Hindustani and English Dictionary, Taylor & Francis
Sources
- Bherumal Mahirchand Advani, "Amilan-jo-Ahwal" - published in Sindhi, 1919
- Amilan-jo-Ahwal (1919) - translated into English in 2016 ("A History of the Amils") at sindhis