216 “Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [June, 1906. 
great. extent in recent years, and this has brought about the 
ture. The Merats reply to these allegations that they still 
give their daughters in marriages to the same Muhammadan 
the Rawats have by no means substantiated their case. 
Rawats of various villages from the Todgarh Police circle on 
the south to villages in the Pushkar, Gegal and Srinagar police 
circles in the Ajmer district on the north have been questioned as 
to the reasons of the split. They all give undesirable matrimonial 
alliances and the beef-eating ah sneha of the Merats as the 
reasons, and say they gave up marrying at periods varying from 
ears ago onwards, for these same reasons. The matrimonial 
customs and beef-eating propensities of the Merats are, on the 
showing of the Rawats themselves, nothing new, and, it seems 
clear, that what the Rawats term reasons are really excuses. Some 
of them have stated in the most barefaced manner that Merat girls 
were married to “ Mochis” and “Regars” and other unclean 
sects in Ajmer and other places. These allegations have, on enquiry, 
been found inaccurate, and would appear to be wholly unjustified. 
Merat girls are, as a rule, ma rried to Merats, while some are 
married to Khadims and such Tike in Ajmer. It is true that 
Muhammadans of high social standing es not intermarry with 
Merats, though they will allow their “ Gol sons from con- 
cubines to marry Merat girls, because iiey ede get wives from 
amon “ goo madan families for such sons. n the rom 
ren h 
ee provided with wives, the number of marriageable Merat 
girls must be very small. It ta; therefore, probable that 
=, their looking upon beef-eating with the same horror as 4 
aie an. The beef-eating ery is a palpableexcuse. The Rawats 
ave failed to substantiate their case. cial contra Aree! ee to 
a sc nineteen 
satel men. pirats), bos ee: in the 44th Merwara Infantry, are fe: 
