Mirshikar: Difference between revisions

The '''Mirshikar''' are a [[Muslim]] community, found in [[North India]] who were traditionally hunters and trappers of birds and small animals. This should not be confused with the title of the same name used for the high position of "chief huntsman" and served in the courts of Persian and Mughal rulers and taught them to hunt.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bernier, Francois |title=Travels in the Mogul Empire. A.D. 1656-1668. Translated and annotated by Archibald Constable in 1891.  |edition=2| year=1916| publisher=Humphrey Milford | place= London |url=https://archive.org/stream/travelsinmogulem00bernuoft#page/182/mode/2up/|page=182}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| journal=Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal | volume=3 | title=Note on the Shungar falcon| author=Phillott, D.C. | pages=113–114 | year=1907|url=https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753002183785#page/113/mode/1up}}</ref>

The word Mirshikar is a combination of two [[Urdu]] words, mir meaning lord and shikar meaning a hunt, and their name means a leader of a hunting party. They are mostly concentrated in the Indian states of [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]]. The Mirshikar speak a dialect which is a combination of [[Urdu]] and [[Hindi]]. Mirshikars in Bihar hunt both by day and night and work alongside other trapper communities like the Mallahas. Most are into animal husbandry. They are emerged from the pashtuns (Pathans) who were came from the poor villages.{{cn|date=April 2021}} They started so many different profession over the time for the survival.{{cn|date=April 2021}} The main profession was the hunting. They started calling themselves 'MIRSHIKAR' for their own satisfaction in the society as the term 'MIRSHIKAR' means 'Lord of the hunters' until this community was proposed by the government. Mirshikar community, because of their low literacy rate was unable to emerge again as Pashtuns (Pathans) but their title remain the same as Khan, Pakhtan, Alam, or with no title -for Male. On the other hand, Nisha, Khatoon, Khatun, Aara, Parween are used as the title for the Female till now Beside this, there is a Massive number of Mirshikar Muslim having the title 'KHAN' referring to this title as their predecessor's title and claimed that they are often known as the 'LATHMAAR PATHAN' and a pure orthodox Muslim. 'LATHMAAR PATHAN' is referred to the pathan groups which are very talented in order fight with Laathi (Bamboo stick).{{cn|date=April 2021}} Nowadays Mirshikar are making a growth  in the literacy rate in which reservation for the MIRSHIKAR Muslim is playing a major role for their upliftment.<ref>{{cite journal| url=https://archive.org/stream/journalofbombay611964bomb#page/380/mode/2up/ |pages=370–384 |title=Notes on migrant birds of north Bihar| author=George, P.V.| year=1964| journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society | volume=61| issue=1}}</ref> In some parts of Uttar Pradesh the tribe name is reduced to ''maskar''.<ref>{{cite book|page=105| url=https://archive.org/stream/tribescastesofno01croo#page/n333/mode/2up/| title=The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh. Volume 1| author=Crooke, W.| year=1896| place=Calcutta| publisher=Government Press}}</ref>

Ali Hussain from a mirshikar community in Manjhaul in Begusarai is acclaimed for his work as a bird trapper for the [[Bombay Natural History Society]]. He worked with [[Salim Ali]] and many other ornithologists to aid the [[Bird ringing|marking]] and study of birds. In 1998 he was flown to Jackson County, Mississippi and during his 1-week visit, he demonstrated his clap-trap and noose-trap techniques and helped capture 10% of the sandhill crane population of Mississippi.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1068&context=nacwgproc| year=2001| chapter=Use of traditional Indian trapping methods to capture sandhill cranes| author1= Hereford, S.G.| author2=Grazia, T.E.| author3=Nagendran, M.D.|author4=Hussain, Ali| title=North American Crane Workshop Proceedings.|page=220}}</ref> His method is now a standard in crane research.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Parker, Jeannette M.|author2= Folk, Martin J.|author3= Baynes, Stephen B.| author4=Candelora, Kristen L.|chapter =Use of Clap Traps in Capturing Nonmigratory Whooping Cranes in Florida| year=2008| title=North American Crane Workshop Proceedings. Paper 196.|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nacwgproc/196}}</ref> In 1998, the Indian government Films Division recorded a documentary featuring Ali Hussain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmsdivision.org/shop/nm0370-birdman|title= Birdman. News Magazine. 370. Directed by Shankar Patnaik. Produced in 1998.|publisher=Films Division, India|access-date=16 September 2016<!--| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m56iBHvGPlg -->}}</ref>

* [[Qalandar (clan)]]