Meo (marketed as meo) is the commercial brand-name of a triple-play subscription home telecommunications service provided by Portugal Telecom. The service can be delivered either through ADSL2+, FTTH or Satellite link and is available throughout Portugal.

The service was started as a pilot test in the city of Lisbon in 2006 and was later extended to Porto and Castelo Branco, Portugal. The commercial launch of the ADSL2+ service took place in June 2007, and the satellite service took place in April 2008 operating in the Hispasat satellite, soon followed by the FTTH service.

The ADSL2+ and FTTH offers reach the several areas in Portugal and include broadband Internet services (at up to 200Mbit/s currently) as well as telephone service.

There were plans to launch a new digital television DVB-T service also under the meo brand known as meo TDT.

The television channel line-up includes the Portuguese version of international channels such as

• AXN
• Sony Entertainment Television
• FOX
• Syfy Universal
• MTV
• Disney Channel
• National Geographic Channel
• Eurosport

and several European Football club television channels such

• Benfica TV
• Chelsea TV
• Manchester United TV
• Barca TV
• Real Madrid TV
• F.C. Internationale Milano Channel

It currently competes with SONAECOM's IPTV offer Optimus Clix, ZON Multimédia Cable and Satellite TV, Cabovisão Cable offer and Vodafone Portugal IPTV offer.

Television Channel Lineup[link]

• Main Article List of Channels on Meo IPTV (ADSL2+ and FTTH)
• Main Article List of Channels on Meo Satellite TV

External links[link]

• Meo IPTV home page

v t e Television in Portugal Terrestrial digital RTP1 • RTP2 • SIC • TVI Satellite, cable, and IPTV channels Odisseia • Canal Hollywood • SIC Notícias • Canal Panda • Panda Biggs • SIC Radical • RTP Informação • AXN • SIC Mulher • RTP Memória • RTP África • MTV Portugal • Canal de História • MGM Channel • Eurosport • Discovery Channel • Discovery Travel and Living • Discovery Civilization • Discovery Science • Discovery Turbo • Travel Channel • TV Globo Portugal • Record Internacional • Disney Channel • Disney Cinemagic • Nickelodeon • SportTV • Euronews • TVCine • National Geographic Channel • FOX • FOX Life • FOX Crime • FX • FOX Movies • ESPN Classic • Zone Reality • Fashion TV • Extreme Sports Channel • MOV • Animax • Syfy Universal • MVM TV • Afro Music TV • Música Brasil TV • AXN White • Fuel TV • ESPN America • Nat Geo Wild • Nat Geo Music • Style Network • Casa Club TV • E! Entertainment • Eurochannel • C Music • Benfica TV • JimJam • TVI24 • BabyFirst TV • Cartoon Network • Caça e Pesca • Yacht & Sail • PFC • Boomerang • TCM • Biography Channel • MyZen TV • MTV Music • MTV Rocks • MTV Dance • VH1 • VH1 Classic • MCM • Mezzo TV • Brava HDTV • Regiões TV • CNN International • ARtv • Televisión de Galicia • Arte Regional and local, Internet streaming RTP Madeira • RTP Açores • Porto Canal • Região Norte TV • TVNET • TV Ciência • Aveiro TV • Douro TV • Guimarães TV • Fama TV • Media TV • Minho Actual TV • Norte Litoral TV • Politécnico TV • PortiTV • Ritmos TV • SomLuso TV • TV Beja • TV Braga •TV Évora • TV Horizonte • TV Tejo • Valsousa.tv • Viseu TV • Xira TV • TorresTV • MVM TV • Regiões TV Cable platforms ZON TV · Cabovisão Satellite platforms ZON TV · meo satélite IPTV (television over ADSL) platforms Optimus Clix · meo · Vodafone Casa TV IPTV (television over fiber optic) platforms Optimus Clix Fibra · meo fibra · Vodafone Casa Fibra TV Media holding companies Rádio e Televisão de Portugal • Impresa • Media Capital • Controlinveste • Cofina • Multicanal • ZON Multimédia • NexTV • Fox International Channels Former companies TVTEL

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: complete mess: overlinks, original research, poor phrasing, dodgy sources. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (January 2012)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

Mayo or Meo or Mewati is a prominent Muslim Rajput tribe from North-Western India. A considerable number of Meos migrated to Pakistan after independence in 1947 and now they are estimated to be over 12 million. In Pakistan, Meos have lost their distinct group identity and cultural traditions and have assimilated with other Muslim population. Meos have also intermarried with Meena tribe.^[1] Representing the largest part of the Muslim population in Rajasthan and Haryana, the Meos number approximately 20,000,000 (according to 1984 data). They are crowded into the Alwar and Bharatpur districts in the northeastern part of the state, as well as in the Mewat District of the adjacent state of Haryana. The areas of the three districts where they live are collectively called Mewat, a reference to their supremacy in the area. Meos speak Mewati, a language of the Indo-Aryan part of the Indo-Iranian part of the Indo-European language family, and live in a tribal culture. The majority is uneducated and is currently classed under Other Backward Class (OBC).^[2]

History and origin[link]

Meos are inhabitants of Mewat, a territorial region that falls between the important urban centres of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and consists of Mewat district of Haryana and some areas of adjoining Alwar and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, where the Meos have lived for a millennium. They were Rajput Two edited by B.K Lavania, D. K Samanta, S K Mandal & N.N Vyas page 986 to 990 Popular Prakashan</ref>

Hasan Khan Mewati represented Meos in the battle of Kanwah along with Rana Sangram Singh (Rana Sangha)in 1526 against the Mughal Zahir ud-din Muhammad Babur. Hasan Khan and his Meo warriors gave a brave fight. Hasan Khan was killed in the battle of Kanwah while his son Tahir Khan was captured by the Mughals. Later on, Tahir Khan fled from the Mughal camp. The Mughal Emperor Babar has also written about Hasan Khan Mewati in his autobiography, Bāburnāma. To the Mughals, the Mewatis were "rebels". Later the British ethnographers termed them "criminal tribes".

To two modernizing princely rulers of eastern Rajasthan in the first half of the 20th century, embracing Hindu nationalism, they were Muslims. Finally, to the Islamising, pietist missionary movement, Tablighi Jama'at, which has flourished in Mewat since independence, the Mewatis were the Jahiliyyah of pre-Islamic Arabia, in urgent need of reform. In this important and welcome contribution, Shail Mayaram tells the story of the princely and Tabligh regimes as well as the story of Mewati resistance she finds throughout. She makes a valuable contribution to understanding how a particular group comes to be identified by others, and to identify itself, as "Muslim" — an identity contingently produced and profoundly modern, the product, not the opposite, of nationalism.^[3]

Connection with the other communities[link]

According to British historian Russell, Meos call themselves by Hindu names with the exception of Ram ; and Singh is a frequent affix, though not so common as Khan.^[4] The Meo represent a blending of Hinduism and Islam. Meo profess the beliefs of Islam but the roots of their ethnic structure are in Hindu caste society. In fact, the neighbouring Hindu Jats,^[5] Minas, Ahirs and Rajputs share the same bans.^[6] According to some sources, the Meo community may have a common origin with the Meena community.^[7] Other traditions connects with the Khanzada of Alwar, a neighbouring Muslim Rajput community.^[8] The Mewat district of Haryana was carved out of some tehsils of Gurgaon and Faridabad districts in 2005. However, the boundary of Mewat region is not precisely defined. The region is semi-arid with scanty rainfall and this has defined the vocations the Meos follow. Poverty and illiteracy are high due to neglect by the rulers for centuries. Only one in ten Meos is able to properly read and write.

Meos generally do not follow the Muslim law of inheritance and so among them, as in the sister communities such as Jats and Minas and Ahirs, custom makes a younger brother or a cousin marry the widow of the deceased by a simple Nikah ceremony.^[9] '

Effect of partition on the Meo community[link]

According to book "The Partition of India and Mountbatten" Ahirs started attacking Muslims of Gurgaon and Alwar.^[10] Jekins wrote that on 30 April 1947 Hindu Jats^[11] and Gujjars had joined Ahirs against Meos, in one village alone Ahirs had killed 28 Meos. 36 bodies of Meos were found in a Nallah (Creek) near one of the Gurgaon villages and that these bodies had been brought from Alwar where the state forces had fired on a crowd from an Army vehicle.^[12] Jinnah papers wrote that Sikh army personnel have indiscriminately shot the Meos and in Gurgaon the Sikh military had taken it upon themselves to wage a war on behalf of non-Muslims.^[13][14] Thirty thousand Meos are killed in the princely state of Bharatpur alone, which is an official figure. No figures are available for the number s killed and displace in Alwar. But the total Meo population in the two princely states is nearly two hundred thousand. Overnight the Meos are slaughtered or evicted by multicaste mobs referred to as Dhars. Their villages are razed to the ground. Only those are allowed to stay who have been subject to Shuddhi (so called purification, in fact, a euphemism for a conversion rite). The violence is hardly spontaneous. It is completely organized by the princely stated and orchestrated by the organisation of what are today referred to as the Hindu Right.^[15]

At the time of independence a considerable portion of Mewat's Muslim population migrated to Pakistan. Many Meo families that migrated from India after independence and settled in Mewat Kasur, Lahore District, Samundri Tehsil and Faisalabad District. The Meos settled in rural areas of Faisalabad District, Toba Tek Singh, Ahmadpur Sial, Jhang District, Safdarabad Tehsil, Nankana Sahib District, Sargodha District, Gujranwala District, Wazirabad District, Multan District, Bahawalpur District, Layyah District, and Shehr Sultan a remote town in Muzaffargarh District, Karachi and many cities of Sindh province. Meos have settled in Dera Ismail Khan District and Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Balochistan province. At present in Pakistan the Meo population is estimated more than 12 million approximately.^[3]

Conversion to Islam[link]

Although it happened gradually over the time, now nearly all Meo embraced Islam due to the efforts of Sufis, historical changes and different movements. This remains undebatable fact that these were only Meos who first entered into the circle of Islam, from the central part of India. Initially Islam was introduced to Meos by brother in law of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, commander Ghazi Salar Sahu and his son Ghazi Masud Salar Sahu. In this chain other important names are Khawaja Muin-ud-din Chisti (Ajmari) Hazrat Meeran Hussain Khang Sawar and Shah Naseer-ud-Din Chiragh Dehalvi. Moulana Muhammad Ilyas the founder of famously known "Tableeghi Jamaat" has introduced Meos at International level because the pioneer preachers of this movement are Meos.^{[citation needed]}

It must be noted that Hindu inhabitants of Mewat, though belonging to the same Kshatriya castes to which the Meos belonged before conversion to Islam, are not called Meo. Thus the word "Meo" is both region-specific and religion-specific. Apparently, Meos come from many Hindu castes who converted to Islam and amalgamated as Meo community.^{[citation needed]}

They are peasants and agriculturists. There was a close inter-community relationship between the Muslim Meos and other peasant-pastoral castes such as the Jats and the Ahirs until 1920s when the Tablighi Jama'at introduced spiritual reformation of Muslim Meos.^{[citation needed]}

Moinuddin and his deputies, known as Mian Sahibs, taught Meos Islamic practices. After conversion to Islam their community was known as Meos. There were more conversions during the reign of Sultan Balban in the 13th century and during the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir rule in the 17th century. The Meos insist on Mahabharta descent for the entire community. For years the Meos blended both Hindu and Muslim customs in their culture. For example, the popular names for both males and females were Hindu, but Muslim names were given as well, and the Muslim title Khan was added to a Hindu name. Two major Islamic rituals observed by the Meos were male circumcision and burial of the dead. Some of the Hindu festivals and ceremonies were maintained. The Muslim festivals, such as the two Eids (Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha), Ramadan, Shab-e-Barat, and Ashura in Muharram, were practiced. As these people were descendents of Mahabharta and were fun loving, they used festivals like Moharram as occasion to celebrate. Their girls used to exhibit dances which were called Habdas.^{[citation needed]}

Meo children would play Gilli-danda, Kabaddi, Pehlwani, Horse riding, flying Kites and so on. Quran as well as Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata were read and Hindu shrines outnumbered the mosques in Mewat. Many Meos prayed in the Muslim manner and some worshiped at the shrines of the Hindu gods and goddesses. Since 1947, however, with the independence of India, after revival of Islamic traditions Meos have conformed to Islamic norms. In addition, considerable number of Meos have emigrated to Pakistan.^{[citation needed]}

Almost every Meo village has a mosque. Many Rajasthani Meos still retain mixed Hindu-Muslim names. Names such as Ram Khan or Shankar Khan are not unusual in the Meo tracts in Alwar. The Muslim community of Meos was highly Hinduised before independence. They celebrated Diwali and Holi as they celebrated two Eids (Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha). They do not marry within one's Gotras like Hindus of the north though Islam permits marriage with cousins. Solemnization of marriage among Meos was not complete without both Nikah as in Islam and circling of fire as among Hindus. Meos believe that they are direct descendants of Krishna and Rama even as they claim to be among the unnamed prophets of God referred to in the Quran.^[3]

The Meo version of the Mahabharat called the Pandun Ka Kara, is performed by Mirasis or Jogis to an audience composed of Meos as also non-Meo Muslims. The authors, performers and audience are, thus, all Muslim. The Meos regard the Mahabharata clans as the ancestors of their own lineage. The folk epic then is far more than mere "myth" and is central to the cultural identity of the Meos.

Muslim musicians, called Mirasis, dressed in flowing white Kurtas and dhotis and bright crimson turbans. Although the Meos today follow Muslim customs, they still follow some traditional Hindu marriage rituals and kinship patterns. Cousin marriage is still taboo among this group. Attempts to break this tradition have met strong opposition. In addition, Meos do not observe the Muslim tradition of secluding their women. Meo society is divided into at least 800 exogamous clans. Some of the clan organizations resemble those of the Rajputs, but others seem to have connections with Hindu castes such as Brahmans, Meena, Jats, and Bhatiaras. Apparently the Meos come from many Hindu castes who converted to Islam and amalgamated as Meo community.

Raymond Jamous' work on Meo[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

To the Mughals, the Mewatis were "rebels". To British ethnographers, they were "criminal tribes". To two modernizing princely rulers of eastern Rajasthan in the first half of the twentieth century, embracing Hindu nationalism, they were "Muslim". Finally, to the Islamicizing, pietist movement, Tablighi Jama'at, which has flourished in Mewat since partition, the Mewatis were the jahiliyya of pre-Islamic Arabia, in urgent need of reform. In this important and welcome contribution, Shail Mayaram tells the story of the princely and Tabligh regimes as well as the story of Mewati resistance she finds throughout. She makes a valuable contribution to understanding how a particular group comes to be identified by others, and to identify itself, as "Muslim" — an identity contingently produced and profoundly modern, the product, not the opposite, of nationalism. Alwar and Bharatpur were home to about two-thirds of the Meo, who comprised some sixty percent of the population's 330,620 Muslims in 1941. At partition, Mayaram discovered, contrary to her expectations, there was an explicit state policy of "cleansing," characterized by forced conversion, capture of women (who "do not have any religion" [p. 191]), and genocide of Muslims with an estimated 82,000 killed. After partition, Meos lost land to Hindu and Sikh refugees. An informant told Mayaram his own story: he fled; returned because of Congress promises that he would retain his property; discovered his houses burnt and animals gone; and received back only sixty of his original 600 bighas of land. "Tabligh came to our village after this," he concluded (pp. 205–06).

ETHNONYMS: Mewāti, Mina, Meena Meo[1][link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Representing the largest part of the Muslim population in Rajasthan, the Meos number approximately 600,000 (according to 1984 data). They are crowded into the Alwar and Bharatpur districts in the northeastern part of the state, as well as in the Gurgaon District of the adjacent state of Haryana. The areas of the three districts where they live are collectively called Mewat, a reference to their supremacy in the area. Meos speak Rajasthani, a language of the Indo-Iranian part of the Indo-European Family. The Meos pursue many different service occupations and are known as bangle sellers, dyers, butchers, water carriers, and musicians, among others.

Like most Indian Muslims, the Meos were originally Hindu; when and how their conversion to Islam came about is unclear. It seems probable they were converted in stages: first by Salar Masud in the eleventh century, by Balban in the thirteenth century, and then during Aurangzeb's rule in the seventeenth century. The Meos insist on Rajput descent for the entire community. For years the Meos blended both Hindu and Muslim customs in their culture. For example, the popular names for both males and females were Hindu, but Muslim names were given as well, and the Muslim title Khan was added to a Hindu name. Two major Islamic rituals observed by the Meos were male circumcision and burial of the dead. Most of the Hindu festivals and ceremonies were maintained. The Muslim festivals, such as the two Ids, Shab-e-barat, and Muharram, were practiced. Reading the Quran was less well liked than the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, and Hindu shrines outnumbered the mosques in Mewat. Few Meos prayed in the Muslim manner but most worshiped at the shrines of the Hindu gods and goddesses. Since 1947, however, with the partition of India, a revival of Islamic tradition has forced many Meos to conform to Islamic norms. In addition, many Meos have emigrated to Pakistan.

Although the Meos today follow most Muslim customs, they still follow traditional Hindu marriage rituals and kinship patterns. Cousin marriage is still taboo among this group. Attempts to break this tradition have met strong opposition. In addition, Meos do not observe the Muslim tradition of secluding their women. Meo society is divided into at least 800 exogamous clans. Some of the clan organizations resemble those of the Rajputs, but others seem to have connections with Hindu castes such as Brahmans, Meena, Jats, and Bhatiaras. Apparently the Meos come from many Hindu castes and not just the Rajputs.

Shail Mayaram's work on the Meos[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The book, Against History, Against State : Counterperspectives from the Margins, by shail Mayaram on the Muslim Meo is a significant contribution to studies of subaltern dissent. The author focuses on the texts recited by professional bardists from another caste, permitting the Meo to affirm their own identity against the Other of the state and giving them a meaningful view of their own past. This work is based on oral literature of the Mewat region.

Meo Tribe DNA And Genealogy[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Project administrator Karamat Ullah Khan Meo is a member of the Meo tribe and lives in Pakistan. He took part in Genealogy project of Deep ancestry and is declared member of Haplogroup R1a1.This haplogroup is specifi to Arians.It is common in Brahmans, Tribals, Meenas, Chenchu and Meo Tribe. Population of Meos is roughly estimated around 10 million; living in India and Pakistan. They have been living there from last more than 10,000 years. Before 1947 their majority lived in Mewat (The Land of Meo's). Which is South-west of Delhi. A Large number of Meos lived in other states of undivided India ( UP, CP, Rajisthan, Rajputan, Sindh, Baluchistan, Bharatpur, Alwar, Punjab and So on. Meos of the Sub-continent are close-knit into a Pal system or pal organization; governed by patri-lineages. Organizational structure of the Meo community describes them into two groups:

• Paliya Meos
• Nepaliya Meos.

Paliya Meos distinguish themselves consisting of 5 Bans. i.e.

• Jadu from Krishna (Duhlot, Chiraklot, Daimroth, Punglot, Nai)
• Tanvar from Arjuna (Dairwaal, Rattavat, Balot, Ladhavat )
• Kachvaha from Ram ( Dhaingal, Seengal / Bar'gujar )

Others include Rathor (Kalisa), Chauhan (Pahat).

Meo Saints, Chuhar Sidh and Lal Das are both from Jadu Bans and same is true for Kairu-Pandu.

Language[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The mother tongue of Meos is Mewati. This Language is spoken all over the Mewat but every person belonging to Mewat is not necessarily Meo. Generally the residents of Mewat are called Mewati. Mewati is a language resembling with Haryanvi, Braj Bhasha and Rajasthani, Urdu and Mewati have also many common features. Mewati has great treasure of literary work including poetic ballads, sonnets, proverbs etc. These are compiled in the form of couplets

Meo Gotras[link]

The Meo are divided into thirteen pals and fifty-three goths. This division was done by Great Meo Ruler “Maharana Kaku Rana Balot Meo, in the thirteenth century. Later on Meo pals were reorganized again during the period of Mughal King Akbar. Traditionally they are known as Twelve-Fifty-Two-Pals or Bara-Bawan-Pal. Here is a list of the clans found in the Mewat:

^[16]

Cultural aspects[link]

Hybrid culture[link]

The Meos are have two strong identities, both of which they are equally proud of:

• Their Muslim identity, going back to their conversion to Islam by various Sufi saints who began settling in their territory from the 11th century onwards, and whose shrines/mausoleums or dargahs/mazars today dot the entire countryside in Mewat.
• Their Rajput heritage and lineage, which they are very proud of. Despite their conversion to Islam, they still follow some Hindu practices to this day as inherited customs.
• A penetrating sense of superiority of their Rajastani culture with the bravery of their warlords Hasan Khan Meo, a representative of Meo Rajputs in the War Against Gias-u-Din Balban and Deo Khan Meo, are the sources of proud for Meo.
• Without reservation, Gias-u-Din Balban and Mughal kings faced perennial defeats by the Meo warrior tribe around Delhi and in the interiors of Rajasthan.^[3]

Meo men are tall, with ponderous turbans woven around their heads, dressed in long flowing robes.^{[citation needed]} The Meos are Muslim Rajputs, about a ten million-strong community, known for its admixture of Hindu and Islamic customs, practices and beliefs.^{[citation needed]} The Meos have two identities, both of which they are equally proud of.^{[citation needed]} On the one hand, they claim to be Muslims, tracing their conversion to various Sufi saints who began settling in their territory from the 11th century onwards, and whose shrines or 'dargahs' today dot the entire Mewati countryside.^{[citation needed]} On the other hand, they also claim to be Rajputs and direct descendants of Krishna and Rama. These Hindu deities are respectfully referred to by the Meos as 'dada' or 'grandfather'.^{[citation needed]}

Since 1947, after revival of Islamic traditions Meos now conform to Islamic norms.^{[citation needed]}

Marriage customs[link]

The Meo have been subject to a number of recent ethnographic studies. These books have dealt with issues such as marriage and self perception of the community.^[17] "In the study of family and kinship, social anthropologists have often focused on unilateral descent groups or on marriage, but rarely on the specific nature of the brother-sister relationship. Until now this relation has been reduced either to one of siblingship, more often, consanguinity, or to a form of incest prohibition that leads to matrimonial exchange. This book presents the kinship system of the Meo, a Muslim community of ‘Rajput’ caste of north India, where the brother-sister relationship transcends the distinctions between consanguines and affines to pervade relations both before and after marriage.^[17]

"The author develops the notion of ‘metasiblingship’ to convey the specific nature of this relationship. In the vocabulary of kinship studies, meta siblingship is defined as the chain of two brother-sister pairs linked by a marriage. It is enacted in life-cycle rites in the complimentarily between the father’s (married) sister, who leads these ceremonies, and the mother’s brother, who is responsible for the principal prestations.^[17]

In India[link]

In India, the Meo are found mainly in the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. They are still concentrated in the historic Mewat region.

In Rajasthan[link]

The Meo of Rajasthan are still concentrated in the region of Alwar and Bharatpur. The Rajasthan Meo are essentially cultivators and cattle breeders, and the Mewat breed are famous all over India.^[18]

In Haryana[link]

The Meo in Haryana are found mainly in newly created Mewat district apart from neighboring Faridabad and Gurgaon. The Meo of Haryana are settled agriculturists, and after a century of Tablighi influence, are far more orthodox, than their Rajasthani neighbors.^[19]

Meos in Madhya Paradesh

The Meo, a backward community in the State having a total population of about 32 lakh. The Meo community dominates in Mandsaur, Kannod, Dewas, Khategaon, Jaora, Ratlam, Narsinghgarh, Susner, Agar and Bagli.^{[citation needed]}

In Uttar Pradesh[link]

In Uttar Pradesh, the Meo are found mainly in the western regions of Rohilkhand and Doab. Unlike those of Mewat, the Uttar Pradesh Meo are dispersed. Their main gotras in the state are the Chhirklot, Dalut, Demrot, Pandelot, Balot, Dawar, Kalesa, Landawat, Rattawat, Dingal and Singhal. The Uttar Pradesh Meo maintain a system of community endogamy, and gotra exogamy. The Meo of UP are a community of small farmers, and urban wage labourers.^[20]

In the Doab, the region of western Uttar Pradesh situated between the Ganges and Yamuna river, the Meo are concentrated in the south-western portion of this region. The district of Mathura formed part of the historic Mewat region, especially the Chhata tehsil, and is home to a large community of Meo. The south west portion of Bulandshahr District is also home to a large community of Meo.^[21] The Meo also extend to Meerut District. The Doab Meo now speak Urdu, and have abandoned Mewati.^[20]

Separate from the Doab Meo are the Meo of Rohilkhand. Culturally they are now indistinguishable from the neighbouring Muslim communities. They are found mainly in Moradabad, Bareilly, Rampur and Pilibhit districts. These Meo are said to have Mewat in the 18th Century, fleeing the great famine of 1783, and these Meo are generally referred to by the term Mewati. They now speak Khari Boli and Urdu, and no longer maintain a system of gotra exogamy, with now many practicising parallel-cousin marriages.^[20]

In Delhi[link]

The Meo in Delhi are found mainly in the neighbourhood of old delhi-kucha pandit Lal kuan.gali shahtara Ajmri gate Bara Hindu Rao, Azadpur. Hauz Khas, Hauz Rani, Mehrauli, Begampur, Moti Masjid, Kalu ki Sarai, Chardan, Bheola, Satbari, Chattarpur, Toot Sarai, and Shaikh Sarai. They are a semi-urban community, as many of their villages have been swallowed up by Delhi. Many Meo are now employed in government service, while others have taken to market gardening, an activity associated with the Arain community. Some members of the community have also set up small factories. The growth of Delhi has led to the abandonment of the Mewati dialect in favour of Urdu, which is now their main language. Similarly, there has been a decline in the power of the caste council. The Meo have maintained gotra exogamy, very rarely marrying into their own got. Their main gotras in the state are the Chhirklot, Demrout, Dalut, Pandelot, Balot, Dawar, Kalesa, Landawat, Rattawat, Dingal, Terwal, Saizwa; and Sahrawat.^[22]

In Pakistan[link]

In Pakistan, the Meos are found in the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh provinces. The Meo population in Pakistan is estimated at more than 12 million.^[3] At the time of independence, a considerable portion of Mewat's Muslim population migrated to Pakistan in 1947. The tragic events during the independence forced the Meos to migrate from India.^[15] Migration claimed thousands of people and those who reached Pakistan were completely devastated.^{[citation needed]} The Meo refugees were settled across Pakistan and mainly in Punjab and Sindh provinces.^{[citation needed]} The Meos from Rajasthan, Indian Punjab and Haryana settled in Pakistani Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Balochistan provinces.^{[citation needed]} While Meos from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh settled in Sindh.^{[citation needed]} The Meos in Pakistani Punjab have assimilated with Punjabis while Meos in Sindh have assimilated with Muhajirs.^{[citation needed]}

Many Meo families settled in Mewat Kasur, Lahore District, Samundri Tehsil and Faisalabad District. The Meos settled in rural areas of Faisalabad District, Toba Tek Singh, Ahmadpur Sial, Jhang District, Safdarabad Tehsil, Nankana Sahib District, Sargodha District, Gujranwala District, Wazirabad District, Multan District, Bahawalpur District, Layyah District, and Shehr Sultan a remote town in Muzaffargarh District, Karachi and many cities of Sindh province. Meos have settled in Dera Ismail Khan District and Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Balochistan province.^{[citation needed]}

In Pakistan, Meos are becoming urban and now reside in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Peshawar and Quetta. Meos constitutes considerable portion of Muhajir population in Karachi and Hyderabad. The older generation of Meos continue to use Mewati among themselves. The newer generation are now more conversant in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi and English.^[23] Meos have lost their group identity and distinct cultural traditions and have assimilated with local Muslim population.^{[citation needed]} As in India, Meos are still major contributor to Muslim missionary Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan.^{[citation needed]}

Many Meos have worked in Persian Gulf region and have became prosperous. Many Meos have emigrated and settled in United Kingdom, United States and Canada.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

[1]