The crimes and daring of the Minas have obtained for them a
considerable place in history. A Muhammadan historian, Zia-ud-din
Bami, wrote of the tribe: [265] "At night they were accustomed to
come prowling into the city of Delhi, giving all kinds of trouble and
depriving people of their rest, and they plundered the country houses
in the neighbourhood of the city. Their daring was carried to such an
extent that the western gates of the city were shut at afternoon prayer
and no one dared to leave it after that hour, whether he travelled
as a pilgrim or with the display of a king. At afternoon prayer they
would often come to the Sarhouy, and assaulting the water-carriers
and girls who were fetching water they would strip them and carry
off their clothes. In turn they were treated by the Muhammadan rulers
with the most merciless cruelty. Some were thrown under the feet of
elephants, others were cut in halves with knives, and others again were
flayed alive from head to foot." Regular campaigns against them were
undertaken by the Muhammadans, [266] as in later times British forces
had to be despatched to subdue the Pindaris. Babar on his arrival at
Agra described the Mewati leader Raja Hasan Khan as 'the chief agitator
in all these confusions and insurrections'; and Firishta mentions two
terrible slaughters of Mewatis in A.D. 1259 and 1265. In 1857 Major
Powlett records that in Alwar they assembled and burnt the State ricks
and carried off cattle, though they did not succeed in plundering any
towns or villages there. In British territory they sacked Firozpur
and other villages, and when a British force came to restore order
many were hanged. Sir D. Ibbetson wrote of them in the Punjab: [267]
"The Minas are the boldest of our criminal classes. Their headquarters
so far as the Punjab is concerned are in the village of Shahjahanpur,
attached to the Gurgaon District but surrounded on all sides by
Rajputana territory. There they until lately defied our police and even
resisted them with armed force. Their enterprises are on a large scale,
and they are always prepared to use violence if necessary. In Marwar
they are armed with small bows which do considerable execution. They
travel great distances in gangs of from twelve to twenty men,
practising robbery and dacoity even as far as the Deccan. The gangs
usually start off immediately after the Diwali feast and often remain
absent the whole year. They have agents in all the large cities of
Rajputana and the Deccan who give them information, and they are in
league with the carrying castes of Marwar. After a successful foray
they offer one-tenth of the proceeds at the shrine of Kali Devi."
Like other criminals they were very superstitious, and Colonel Tod
records that the partridge and the _maloli_ or wagtail were their chief
birds of omen. A partridge clamouring on the left when he commenced
a foray was a certain presage of success to a Mina. Similarly,
Mr. Kennedy notes that the finding of a dried goatskin, either whole
or in pieces, among the effects of a suspected criminal is said to
be an infallible indication of his identity as a Mina, the flesh of
the goat's tongue being indispensable in connection with the taking
of omens. In Jaipur the Minas were employed as guards, as a method of
protection against their fellows, for whose misdeeds they were held
responsible. Rent-free lands were given to them, and they were always
employed to escort treasure. Here they became the most faithful and
trusted of the Raja's servants. It is related that on one occasion
a Mina sentinel at the palace had received charge of a basket of
oranges. A friend of the same tribe came to him and asked to be shown
the palace, which he had never seen. The sentinel agreed and took him
over the palace, but when his back was turned the friend stole one
orange from the basket. Subsequently the sentinel counted the oranges
and found one short; on this he ran after his friend and taxed him with
the theft, which being admitted, the Mina said that he had been made
to betray his trust and had become dishonoured, and drawing his sword
cut off his friend's head. The ancient treasure of Jaipur or Amber was,
according to tradition, kept in a secret cave in the hills under a body
of Mina guards who alone knew the hiding-place, and would only permit
any part of it to be withdrawn for a great emergency. Nor would they
accept the orders of the Raja alone, but required the consent of the
heads of the twelve principal noble families of Amber, branches of the
royal house, before they would give up any part of the treasure. The
criminal Minas are said to inhabit a tract of country about sixty-five
miles long and forty broad, stretching from Shahpur forty miles north
of Jaipur to Guraora in Gurgaon on the Rohtak border. The popular idea
of the Mina, Mr. Crooke remarks, [268] is quite in accordance with
his historical character; his niggardliness is shown in the saying,
'The Meo will not give his daughter in marriage till he gets a mortar
full of silver'; his pugnacity is expressed in, 'The Meo's son begins
to avenge his feuds when he is twelve years old'; and his toughness in,
'Never be sure that a Meo is dead till you see the third-day funeral
ceremony performed.'