Jhalawar: The irony of Kanjars

Sanket Upadhyay
Jhalrapatan, Jhalawar

Anyone who comes to know about these 20 women-governed villages in the Chief Minister’s own constituency might consider Jhalawar as a women emancipated district. One of the most backward districts of the state, Jhalawar has many such villages where a woman called “Patelan” runs the show – her word being the final verdict – even for men. But these very villages in Patan area of this district are those where women and children as less as 3-5 years of age are disposed off for monetary considerations.
Considered abandoned by society, members of this nomadic tribe called “Kanjars” claim that they have their own reasons for doing so. Member of village Mulduriya, Sunita says: “Police harasses us. For any theft in the region, they blame our men. We are abandoned by nearby villages and don’t get work. We were helpless and get Rs 15,000–20,000 by giving a daughter to a person in the Kanjar community members in Bundi.” She said that Police arrested their husbands and demanded hefty sums from them in return. “I was helpless and had to send my daughter off,” she said.
Drowned in poverty, this mother Kailash of village Chandiakhedi sent off her children for money: “I got Rs 15,000 by marrying off my five year old daughter in a Kanjar community of Bundi. I had no option because we are very poor and Police sent my husband to jail. My six sons are in nearby villages as employers took them away for work (bonded labour) for about Rs 3,000 for a year.”
The woman head of village Mulduriya, Geeta Ji Patelan said that villagers were helpless as the state government snapped off all their efforts to be self-dependent. “We produce good brewed liquor using Mahua (local produce). It is very popular among nearby villages. Police and excise officials get our men arrested for illegal production. Give us permission to sell liquor or buy liquor from us so that our financial condition improves,” she said. Kanjars are an infamous tribe from the Maharaja era. They were identified as a group of thieves who were always high on self made liquor. Members of this tribe pelt stones or raise alarm at anything alien that approaches them.
Though the government presses that rehabilitation efforts have been made, the villagers declare them useless. “They gave us 2 bigha land on top of a mountain. How’s that supposed to help?” questioned Het Ram of one such village. Superintendent of Police (SP) Jhalawar, Govardhan Lal Meena said that any Kanjar was free to come up and complain in individual capacity against Policemen who demanded money from them. He said that a departmental inquiry would be ordered against erring officials. Police said marrying off daughters as young as 5 years was an age-old ritual among the Kanjars. On Police’s efforts to stop this, they have received brickbats from the community. Officials added that action would be taken on complaint. Police has identified 14 areas as Kanjar dominated and has declared them as “highly notorious.”