Jhalawar: The irony of Kanjars

Where women steal the show

Jhalrapatan, Jhalawar

Just imagine: the next time you feel hungry, you squeak. Or if you’re thirsty, you sound like a tiger on the prowl and the desire of a light snack may make you sound like an owl in the night sky. Eating food – animal’s style – may be an unfriendly thought for us but for the notorious tribes of Jhalawar, this is the way to combat hunger.

Kanjars, an infamous tribe dating back to centuries, are identified in the region as a group of thieves who are always high on self-made liquor. Members of this tribe steal trucks and kill people to feed their families. Quite obviously, for all this disrepute, Police have either arrested many male members or declared them as “Wanted”. The one’s that haven’t fallen prey to the Police are all absconding and underground, away from their homes.

Every male member of the tribe has worked out a coding with his wife. So, whenever hunger strikes, out comes the sound of an animal. This code is easily identifiable by the woman who, according to cries, gets food for their husbands.

“We hide in the wells. Then, we replicate the cries of animals. (Squeak Squeak),” says Het Ram, of one such village called called Mulduriya. He added that the coding was done to fool the Police in the region.

And this practice is a blessing in disguise for some of the women in the region. One of the most backward districts of the state, The Chief Ministers’ own constituency is witness to women emancipation in disguise. A woman called “Patelan” (head of the village) runs the show – her word being the final verdict – even for men.

“Even I cannot speak in front of her,” the Patelan’s husband quips. The Patelan of the region, Geeta Ji Patelan is an active woman who manages everything – from the market a list of vegetables to the district SP Head Quarters with the list of the village’s problems.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Jhalawar Govardhan Lal Meena however said that their tricks are all well understood by the authorities now. “These people are very notorious and have taken the entire district for ransom. They pelt stones at Police, raise alarm at anything that approaches them. They stop trucks on MP highway, Aklera highway and Jaipur highway in the night and either kill the driver or loot away the truck.”

With the Police now identifying 14 areas as Kanjar dominated, declaring them as “highly notorious” and setting off a heavy Police patrolling in the region, the sounds of the tribes might soon be over.