Again, as has been seen, the Gujarati Telis of Burhanpur have taken to
trade, and some of them have become wealthy merchants and capitalists
from their dealings in cotton. The position of Telis in Burhanpur was
apparently one of peculiar degradation under Muhammadan rule. According
to local tradition they had to remove the corpses of dead elephants,
which no other caste would consent to do, and also to dig the graves
of Muhammadans. It is also said that even now a Hindu becomes impure
by passing under the eaves of a Teli's house, and that no dancing-girl
may dance before a Teli, and if she does so will incur a penalty of
Rs. 50 to her caste. The Telis, on the other hand, vigorously repudiate
these allegations, which no doubt are due partly to jealousy of their
present prosperity and consequent attempts to better their status. The
Telis allege that they were Modh Banias in Gujarat and when they came
to Burhanpur adopted the occupation of oil-pressing, which is also
countenanced by the Shastras for a Vaishya. They say that formerly
they did not permit widow-marriage, but when living under Muhammadan
rule they were constrained to get their widows married in the caste,
or the Muhammadans would have taken them. The Muhammadan practices
already noticed as prevalent among them are being severely repressed,
and they are believed to have made a caste rule that any Teli who goes
to the house of a Muhammadan will have his hair and beard shaved and be
fined Rs. 50. They are also supposed to have made offers to Brahmans of
sums of Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 to come and take their food in the verandas
of the Telis' houses, but hitherto these have not been accepted.