Mech people

The Mech (spelled ''Meche'' in Nepal; pronounced /mes/ or /meʃ/) is an ethnic group belonging to the Bodo-Kachari group of peoples. It is one of the scheduled tribes of India, listed both in West Bengal and Assam, India. They inhabit West Bengal, Nepal, Assam and Nagaland."Mech Kachari community of Nagaland celebrates post-harvest festival"
''ANI News''

Etymology

It has been suggested that ''mech'' is probably a corruption of the Sanskrit word ''mlechchha''. Nevertheless, Stuart N. Wolfenden observed that some people do self-designate as Mech, So, he reconstructed ''Mech'' from Tibeto-Burman root "mi" means "man". Other authors have speculated that ''Meche'' is derived from the Mechi river because the Bodo-Kachari peoples in Nepal had settled around it; ''Mecha'' a region of the '' Bod'' country; and descendants of Mechel a legendary figure of Nepal.

Origin

Bodo-Kachari peoples that migrated into present day India and gradually spread themselves into the whole of Assam, North Bengal and parts of East Bengal. It is said that, during their migration to India, they marched towards different directions. one group went along the river Brahmaputra and established themselves in the whole of Assam up to Goalpara district and parts of Jalpaiguri district and Cooch Behar district under the name of Bodo or Boro. Another group went towards the West along the foot of the Himalayas up to the river Mechi, bordering India and Nepal and settled on the North bank of the river known as Mechi or Mechia. Later they spread to Darjeeling Terai, Baikanthpur in Jalpaiguri district again marched further East and settled in the Dooars. It is said that, a group of Mech people, again moved further East, crossed the Sankosh river, and went towards Goalpara in Assam. Due to repeated floods in Dooars and eastern bank of Teesta river, many families migrated towards Assam.

History

The first record is found from the early 13th century in Tabaqat-i Nasiri, where they are mentioned along with the Koch and Tharu and are found to inhabit between the country of Tibet and Lakhanawati (Gauda). In Persian history, these three groups of people, the Koch, Mech and Tharu, possessed the physiognomy of the Turks and the Mongols and their speech was different from the rest of the subcontinent. It is recorded that one Ali Mech, Mech chieftain, guided Bakhtiyar Khalji's army to invade Tibet via Kamarupa. 16th/17th century's Yogini Tantra states that Kuvacas were born of a Mech woman. According to Darrang Rajvamsavali of Koch kings and MS Chronicle collected by Buchanon Hamilton, Biswa Singha's father was a Mech and mother was a Koch. 19th and 20th century's scholars state that designation Mech is name applied to western section of Bodos by others and also to some extent by the people themselves.In former number of this journal the writer has proposed an explanation of the name Bara-fisa, and it now seems that - designation applied to western section of the same people is also capable of an interpretation going back to tibeto-burman original...(Mech) is used not only by their neighbours but also to some extent by the people themselves.

Distribution

Mechs are found in West Bengal and Assam in India, and in Nepal.

Demand of Mech-Kachari Autonomous Council

Presently, there are two types of Mech. One identify themselves with the Boro people and the other identify themselves separately as Mech-Kachari. The Mech-Kacharis want to preserve their language, culture and uplift their economic status; and so they have been demanding a Mech-Kachari autonomous council for some time."Mech-Kachari demands autonomous council"
''Assam Times''

Notable people

* Ali Mech
* Kalicharan Brahma

Notes

References

Printed sources

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Web-sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mech Tribe
Ethnic groups in India
Sino-Tibetan-speaking people
Tribes of West Bengal
Social groups of Assam
Social groups of West Bengal
Tribes of Assam