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The Mech (spelled ''Meche'' in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
; pronounced /mes/ or /meʃ/) is an ethnic group belonging to the Bodo-Kachari group of peoples. It is one of the
scheduled tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
of India, listed both in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
and
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
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 ...
. 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 Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups. The ...
''. 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 The Mechi River is a trans-boundary river flowing through Nepal and India. It is a tributary of the Mahananda River. Course The Mechi originates in the Mahabharat Range in Nepal. It flows through Nepal, forms the boundary between India and Nepal ...
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 Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, North Bengal and parts of
East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...
. It is said that, during their migration to India, they marched towards different directions. one group went along the river
Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
and established themselves in the whole of Assam up to
Goalpara district Goalpara district is an administrative district of the Indian state of Assam. History It was a princely state ruled by the Koch kings and the then ruler of the undivided kingdom. Today the erstwhile Goalpara district is divided into Kokrajha ...
and parts of
Jalpaiguri district Jalpaiguri district () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The district was established in 1869 during British Raj. The headquarters of the district are in the city of Jalpaiguri, which is also the divisional headquarters of No ...
and
Cooch Behar district Cooch Behar district () is a district of Indian state of West Bengal. Formerly part of the Kamarupa kingdom, the area became the heart of the Kamata Kingdom in the 12th century. During the British Raj, the district was known as Cooch Behar st ...
under the name of Bodo or Boro. Another group went towards the West along the foot of the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
up to the river Mechi, bordering
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 ...
and
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and settled on the North bank of the river known as Mechi or Mechia. Later they spread to
Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...
, Baikanthpur in
Jalpaiguri district Jalpaiguri district () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The district was established in 1869 during British Raj. The headquarters of the district are in the city of Jalpaiguri, which is also the divisional headquarters of No ...
again marched further East and settled in the
Dooars The Dooars or Duars ( as, দুৱাৰ, duar, rkt, দুৱাৰ, duar, bn, দুয়ার, duyar) () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the ...
. It is said that, a group of Mech people, again moved further East, crossed the
Sankosh river Sankosh (also Mo Chu, and Svarnakosha) is a river that rises in northern Bhutan and empties into the Brahmaputra in the state of Assam in India. In Bhutan, it is known as the Puna Tsang Chu below the confluences of several tributaries near the ...
, and went towards
Goalpara Goalpara, Pron: ) is the district headquarters of Goalpara district, Assam, India. It is situated to the west of Guwahati. Etymology The name Goalpara is said to have originated from the word "Gwaltippika" meaning Guwali village, or The villa ...
in Assam. Due to repeated floods in
Dooars The Dooars or Duars ( as, দুৱাৰ, duar, rkt, দুৱাৰ, duar, bn, দুয়ার, duyar) () are the alluvial floodplains in eastern-northeastern India that lie south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas and north of the ...
and eastern bank of
Teesta river Teesta River is a long river that rises in the Pauhunri Mountain of eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Rangpur, and enters the Bay of Bengal. It drains an area of . In India, it flows through ...
, many families migrated towards
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.


History

The first record is found from the early 13th century in
Tabaqat-i Nasiri ''Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' ( fa, ), named for ''Sultan'' Nasir-ud-Din, is an elaborate history of the Islamic world written in Persian by Minhaj-i-Siraj Juzjani and completed in 1260. Consisting of 23 volumes and written in a blunt straightforward st ...
, where they are mentioned along with the Koch and Tharu and are found to inhabit between the country of
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and Lakhanawati (Gauda). In Persian history, these three groups of people, the Koch, Mech and Tharu, possessed the physiognomy of the
Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
and the
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
and their speech was different from the rest of the subcontinent. It is recorded that one
Ali Mech Ali Mech was a tribal chief in the 13th century CE, in the region of present-day Assam belonging to the Mech people. He is said to have helped Bakhtiyar Khalji duing his Tibet campaign and converted to Islam under his influence. Biography Ali M ...
, Mech chieftain, guided Bakhtiyar Khalji's army to invade
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
via
Kamarupa Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 11 ...
. 16th/17th century's
Yogini Tantra The ''Yogini Tantra'' is a 16th- or 17th-century tantric text by an unknown author either from Assam or Cooch Behar: "One of the most explicit descriptions of Tantric sexual rites occurs in Yogini tantra, a sixteenth-century text from Cooch Beha ...
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 West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
and
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
in India, and in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.


Demand of Mech-Kachari Autonomous Council

Presently, there are two types of Mech. One identify themselves with the
Boro people Boro (बर'/बड़ो ), also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are ...
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 Ali Mech was a tribal chief in the 13th century CE, in the region of present-day Assam belonging to the Mech people. He is said to have helped Bakhtiyar Khalji duing his Tibet campaign and converted to Islam under his influence. Biography Ali M ...
* 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