History of Satyamev Puram.
(Mewat)
Mewat is a land of the descendants of Rama, Krishna and Arjuna. Once a brahmin named Kishandhaj had come from Indore and settled in this region, developed the city & named the city, as Satyamev Puram.
Later, Alauddin Khilji snatched all the lands owned by him & other Brahmins, Jats, & Rajputs and handed it over, to the Khanzads. During that time the population of Khanzads and Quraysh was the highest here. When the country was partitioned, during 1947, almost all of the Qureshis and Khanzade went to Pakistan.
Meo and Jat communities had been living, in the countryside around Nuh. Meos, were ancient tribe of hindus, who were peasants. Hindu inhabitants of Mewat, although belonging to the same Kshatriya castes to which the Meos had belonged before forcible conversion to Islam, by Aurangzeb, were initially not called Meos. Subsequently the word Meo became region & religion specific. Truth is that, Meos come from many hindu tribes. They were forcibly converted to Islam and amalgamated as the Meo community.
Mughal persecution had, infact, little effect on the strengthening of their Islamic identity, but it reinforced their initial resistance to the tyrant mughal rule.
They were Hindu Rajputs and Kashtriya who had converted to Islam between the 12th and 17th century, until as late as Aurangzeb’s rule. Over the centuries, they have maintained their age-old distinctive ancient cultural identity, & have retained their surnames, which connect them to their Rajputs and Kashtriya ancestors.
Nevertheless, being in the vicinity of Delhi and Agra, Mewat remained within the reach of the Turkish Sultans of Delhi who routinely undertook military campaigns to convert Meos. For instance, in 1260 C.E, Balban (reigned 1266-87 ce) led a successful military campaign against them. From 1266 CE onwards, he constructed a fort to guard the south-western side of Delhi against the incursions of the Mewatis, cleared forests and converted religion of many Meos. Meos had to struggle a lot to retain their identity.
The Meo tribes appear to have been hostile towards the central islamic authority in Delhi, ever since the establishment of the Turkish rule. Further, it appears that the Meos conducted their predatory activities in nexus with Rajputs suggesting that the complex relationship between the Meos and the central authority till the reign of Firozshah Tughlaq, may be understood in the light of a combined Meo-Rajput struggle for their survival in the thick forests and Aravali hills of the Mewat region.
It is understood that during October 2, 2004, the then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala had named the city of Mewat, as Satyamev Puram City. After this, when the Congress came to power in April 2005, a notification was issued to make it a district again and its name was changed to Mewat. After this, in the year 2016, the name of Mewat was changed to Nuh.
Nuh was a main center of the first freedom struggle in the year 1857 in the freedom struggle. The people here actively participated in the freedom struggle. Martyr’s Park was also built here in the memory of the martyrs of the area.
The title of Wali-e-Mewat was used by the Khanzada Mewati rulers of Mewat State from 1372 till 1527, who ruled Mewat as an independent state. In 1372, Sultan Firuz Shah.
Tughlaq granted Raja Nahar Khan Mewati of Kotla Fort, the Lordship of Mewat. He established a hereditary polity in Mewat and proclaimed the title of Wali-e-Mewat.
Later his descendants affirmed their own sovereignty in Mewat and ruled there till 1527.
The consequences of the battle of Khanwa affected the fortunes of a number of Indian chiefs, though in varying degrees, but the Khanzadas of Mewat were the worst hit. The territory of Mewat was annexed by Babur and this shifted the control of Mewat from the Khanzadas, who had enjoyed it for over 175 years to the Mughals. The Khanzadas remained no longer a regional political entity of any significance, though the Mughal emperors tried to cultivate the Khanzadas by forging matrimonial relations or co-opting them into the administration.
When Humayun regained his lost power (1555 CE), he tried to consolidate his position vis-a-vis the Khanzadas by marrying the elder daughter of Jamal Khan Mewati, the nephew of Hasan Khan, while his powerful Turkish noble Bairam Khan married the younger one.
Though the Khanzadas had failed to preserve their political autonomy, they continued to hold on to dominant positions in the rural society as zamindars of varying statures.
During the British raj, they came under the Alwar state and Bharatpur state. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the area passed to the direct control of British rule.
Akbar involved Khanzadas of Mewat in his land revenue administration system and army on account of their past military-administrative experiences. During the reign of Akbar, the Mewat region, became an integral part of the Mughal empire.
Later, especially since tughlaq era, this region witnessed the establishment and consolidation of the Khanzada chiefdom and the gradual transformation of hindu meo tribes into islamic fundamentalism. The Meos, with whom the name and identity of Mewat, is generally associated, played a more prominent role in the mughal state as revenue-paying peasants, postal carriers, spies and guards. During the 18th century, this region, became part of Rajputs State and the Bharatpur state of Jats, who emerged as victorious, in the wake of weakening control of the mughals.
After the establishment of colonial rule in the region, the British declared the most of the ancient tribes, as criminals & traitors during 1871 & brought it, under the British surveillance, because of consistent freedom struggle activities, being originated from this region. It is there fore time to reclaim glory of ancient city of Satyamev Puram.
