Makaji Meghpar () (also known as Meghana) is a village and former

chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

of Hardhrol Jadeja chieftains in the Jamnagar district of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was founded in 1754 by Makanji Jadeja of

Dhrol State Dhrol State was one of the 562 princely states of British India. It was a 9 gun salute state belonging to the Kathiawar Agency of the Bombay Presidency. Its capital was in the town of Dhrol, located in the historical Halar region of Kathiawar. ...

. Gujarati writer Harilal Upadhyay was from the village. The people are mainly

Jadeja The Jadeja (also spelled Jarejo) (Gujarati: ) is a Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat. They claim to be descended from the legendary Jamshed of Iran. They also claim descent from Krishna. They originated from pastoral communit ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

s with some

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

Patel The Patel is an Indian surname or title, predominantly found in the state of Gujarat representing the community of land-owning farmers and later (with the British East India Company) businessmen, agriculturalists and merchants. Traditionally th ...

s and

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

History

Makaji Meghpar was founded by Makanji Jadeja in 1754 as the capital of the chiefdom (Jagir). Until

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, this village was ruled under

Nawanagar State Nawanagar was an Indian princely state in the historical Halar region, located on the southern shores of the Gulf of Kutch. It was ruled by the Jadeja Rajput dynasty and became the part of newly formed India. The city is now known as Jamnagar. ...

Census

Makaji Meghpar is a medium size village located in Kalavad of Jamnagar district, with total 383 families residing. The Makaji Meghpar village has population of 1942 of which 983 are males while 959 are females as per Population Census 2011. In Makaji Meghpar village population of children with age 0-6 is 259 which makes up 13.34% of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Makaji Meghpar village is 976 which is higher than Gujarat state average of 919. Child Sex Ratio for the Makaji Meghpar as per census is 837, lower than Gujarat average of 890. Makaji Meghpar village has lower literacy rate compared to Gujarat. In 2011, literacy rate of Makaji Meghpar village was 74.45% compared to 78.03% of Gujarat. In Makaji Meghpar Male literacy stands at 80.88% while female literacy rate was 68.01%.

Work Profile

In Makaji Meghpar village out of total population, 729 were engaged in work activities. 87.38% of workers describe their work as Main Work, while 12.62% were involved in Marginal activity providing livelihood for less than 6 months. Of 729 workers engaged in Main Work, 448 were cultivators while 116 were Agricultural labourer.

Data table

Castes

Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 21.83% and Socially and Educationally Backward Caste constitutes 25.75% of total population in Makaji Meghpar village. The village Makaji Meghpar currently doesn't have any Schedule Tribe (ST) population. Forward Castes (Rajputs, Brahmins and Patels) constitutes 52.42% of the population of Makaji Meghpar.

Economy

Village's main activity is agriculture. Most of them are engaged in farming, producing main crops such as ground nuts, bajra, cotton, and wheat.

Administration

The village is administered by Makaji Meghpar Gram Panchayat which is headed by

Sarpanch A sarpanch ( IAST: ''Sarpañch'' Hindi: ''सरपंच'') or Gram Pradhan or Mukhiya is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the Gram Sabha (village government) in India. The Sarp ...

. Alabhai M. Gamara is an incumbent Sarpanch, Bharatiba Mayurdhvajsinh Jadeja is Upsarpanch.

Government and politics

Makaji Meghpar Gram Panchayat is the local government of the village. The panchayat has a total of 8 wards and each ward is represented by an elected ward member. The ward members are headed by a

and the present Sarpanch is Alabhai Gamara. The secretary of the panchayat is Parakramsinh Jadeja.

Geography

Makaji Meghpar is located at 22.33°N 70.48°E. It has an average elevation of 53 metres (174 ft). The village is located on the bank of Domdi River and Und River. The village is spread in the area of 23.44 km². Makaji Meghpar is situated in the region called Saurashtra in the

state of

. Meghpar is the administrative headquarter of the Makaji Meghpar Rural Complex including Shivnagar, Mangalpur and Paru faubourgs.

Culture

All residents of Makaji Meghpar speak Gujarati language.

Religions

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

is only religion in Makaji Meghpar.

Temples

The village has several Hindu temples, such as Aashapura Mataji Temple, Bhavani Mata Temple, Vaidyanath Mahadev Temple, Thakurji na Chora, Hanuman temple,shakti mata temple, etc. There are several Devdis ( small temples) dedicated to folk gods and goddesses of peasant and pastoral communities. These Devdis include sacred places dedicated to Meladi mata, Ramdeoji, machchho mata, khetaliya(kshetrapal) naag, sarmariya naag etc.

Sports

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

is the most popular sport in Makaji Meghpar. Other popular traditional sports include

Kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

and

Kho Kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

Connectivity

The Makaji Meghpar Rural Complex is connected with Paddhari,

Kalavad Kalavad is a city and a municipality in Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Post Office Pin Code is 361160. Kalavad is known for shitla mataji temple. Geography Kalavad is located at . It has an average elevation of 87 metres ...

and surrounding villages with single lane paved road. Rajkot Airport is nearest Airport. Hadmatiya junction and Paddhari are nearly railway stations.

References

External links

Imperial Gazetteer, on dsal.uchicago.edu
{{Princely states of the Western India States Agency Villages in Jamnagar district States and territories established in 1754 1754 establishments in India Princely states of Gujarat Rajput princely states Rajput princely states of Gujarat