Dr Shujaat Ali Quadri
Chhoti Beri village of Nagaur district has completely changed. Kayamkhani-dominated village had shanties till a few years back. There are good havelis built there today. Wearing thick clothes also had to face trouble, but now there is hardly any young man or woman in Beri village who is not wearing colorful clothes made of attractive terracotta. Houses were built with essential amenities. The Kayamkhani Muslims of Chhoti Beri with 400 families have maintained their dignity. 95 percent of the people in this village are Kayamkhani Muslims.
Former sarpanch Captain Kasim Khan said that not a single person drinks alcohol here. Muslims abstain from alcohol, and consider earning money from interest as against religion. He says that not a single Kayamkhani family in Beri earns money from interest. Transactions among themselves are done only with equal money.
The Kayamkhani caste has its own history in Rajasthan. Kayam Singh, the son of the Chauhan king of Daderwa, was converted to Islam during the time of Emperor Firoz Shah Tughlaq in Delhi. The children of his other brothers are still Chauhan Rajputs. Even after becoming Kayamkhani, the Rajput culture did not go away from his children. Beri’s Kayamkhani say that, five generations ago, there used to be marriage among Rajputs. Now the cultural ties with the Rajputs have been completely severed. The house of Kayamkhani in the village was called Kotdi. Like Rajputs there would be a gathering on marriage, sacrifice would be distributed. A huge mosque has been built in Beri on the west side of the village. More than 30 lakhs were spent on Beri’s mosque. The beauty of the village has increased with the painted mosque. The people of the village have also given money for the mosque.
Many Kayamkhanis of the village have also performed Hajj. After independence, the Kayamkhanis of Beri are feeling happy and satisfied living in the village.
Beri doesn’t have a citadel. It came under Fatehpur, Jhunjhunu. At the time of King Sawai Jaisingh of Jaipur, Shiv Singh Shekhawat of Sikar, Sadul Singh of Jhunjhunu abolished the Nawabi of Fatehpur, Jhunjhunu and established their rule. In this way, the nawabi of Kayamkhanis in Fatehpur, Jhunjhunu ended 300 years ago but the Beri faction is still intact.
Beri had a population of 1,223 in 1961. At that time this village was very weak economically even though the population was less. Now the population is more than 2,500. Many people have even built modern style bungalows. This has happened because of money from Arab countries. The kayamkhani women of Chhoti Beri do not go out to work. Throughout the day, women do the work of drawing boondi on clothes in every house. On behalf of Sujangarh Ladnun Didwana Losal, cloth is given here to extract boondi. Not a single woman was found idle. The girls have started studying. People say that most of the relations also take place in villages only. The women’s clothes are of good quality and expensive. Years ago, the clothes of Kayamkhani women used to be Rajputi women’s Ghaghra Lugdi black kurti. Now salwar kurtas are more in vogue. Old women are still attracted to old customs. The new generation has completely changed. Each Kayamkhani’s family donated 1,000 each for the school. The Kayamkhanis here belong to the Malkan gotra. There is only “Malkan” in Mangluna and Shobhasar.
The Kayamkhanis have always participated in wars. They like the job of the Indian Army. During the partition of India, most of the Kayamkhani families remained in India. In the Indo-Pak war, the Kayamkhani soldiers earned fame by showing bravery in the Indian Army. The seats of permanent officers are also reserved in the Indian Army. Every Kayamkhani’s house in this village is related to the army. A large number of widows are getting pension. And a large number of people from here have reached the rank of captain in the army. Captain Kasim Khan, Captain Faizu Khan, Captain Asghar Khan, Captain Bhanwaru Khan, Captain Taju Khan, Captain Asta Ali Khan, Captain Faiz Mohammad Khan and more than 200 soldiers are employed in the army or are getting pension.
The soldier of this village Ibrahim Khan was burnt in a tank in the war with Pakistan, the government has given him a petrol pump in Moradabad. Kalu Khan of Chhoti Beri was also honored by the government. Hussain Khan Captain has won the award in Moscow Olympics in Equestrian. Many people of Beri village in 61st Cavalry have earned a name in horse riding. Ayub Khan of Beri is pursuing medical education. Nek Mohammad here is a police inspector in Jodhpur. Aladdin Khan is a retired RI and Ghafoor Khan is a retired police station.
Hostels are being run in Jodhpur, Didwana for the improvement of education in Kayamkhanis. There is no communal tension here. There are no fights or quarrels either. Due to the large number of soldiers, they also speak politely. Some families here have settled in Jodhpur, Jaipur. Earlier, there were 500 camel carts in this village, that was the main source of income. Now almost all have sold it. Beri can be called an ideal village.
