This is one the interesting part I have found in the book named "Thapa politics in Nepal". This book not only helps in getting the glimpse of that era it also helps in status of Magar people in society at that time.
This particular part in book with Appendix-N, which is in actual a letter written by that times British Residency in Nepal to Governor general of East India Company, while updating the current situation in Nepal.
Few interesting excerpts from the book is as follow:
"But from the 12th century downwards, the tide of Muslims conquest and bigotry continued to sweep multitudes of the Brahmans of the plains from Hindustan into the proximate hills, which now compose the western territories of the kingdom of Nepal. There the Brahmans soon located themselves. They found the natives illiterate , and without faith, but fierce and proud."
Natives is the word we need to give attention here. Khas are also included in it.
"The offspring of the original Khas females & of Brahmans, with honors and rank of the second order of Hinduism, got the patronymic titles of the first order, and hence the key to the anomalous nomenclature of so many stripes of the military tribes of Nepal is to be sought in the nomenclature of the sacred order"
The above lines and few other lines that is there in book indicates that how Khas & the Brahmans from Gangetic plane blended with each other and help in establishing Khastriya caste in Nepal. In my own opinion this is the reason why in todays time its very difficult to distinguish between Khas & modern Chhetris. However this is again a topic in itself which I will definitely take up in my future blogs.
"The remaining military tribes of the Parbattias are the Magar & Gurung, who now supply the greater number of the soldiers of this state.
From lending themselves less early and heartily to Brahmanical influence than the Khas, they have retained, in vivid freshness, their original languages, physiognomy, and, in a less degree, habits.
The Gurungs are less generally and more recently redeemed from Lamaism and primitive impurity than the Magars.
But though both the Gurungs & Magars still maintain their own vernacular tongues, Tartar faces, and earless manners, yet, what with military service for several generations under the predominant Khas, and what with the commerce of Khas males with their females, they have acquired the Khas language, though, not to the oblivion of their own, and the Khas habits and sentiments, but with the sundry reservations in favour with pristine Liberty.
As they have, however, with such grace as they could muster, submitted themselves to the ceremonial law of purity and to Brahman supremacy, they have been adopted as Hindus. But partly owing to the licenses above glanced at, and partly by reason of the necessity of distinction of caste to Hinduism, they have been denied the thread, and constituted a doubtful order below it, and yet not Vaishya nor Shudra, but a something superior to both the latter - what I fancy it might puzzle the Shastris to explain on Hindu principles.
The martial classes of Nepal are, then, the Khas, Magar & Gurung, each comprising a very numerous race.
The Khas are rather more devoted to the house of Gorkha, aw well as more liable to Brahmanical prejudice than the Magars or Gurungs; and on both accounts, are perhaps somewhat less desirable as soldiers for our service than the latter tribes.
These highland soldiers (refer to Magar & Gurungs), who dispatched their meal in half an hour, and satisfy the ceremonial law by mere washing their hands and face and taking off their turbans before cooking, laugh at the pharisaical rigour of our Sipahis, who must bathe from head to foot and make puja, ere they begin to dress their dinner, must eat nearly naked in the coldest weather, and cannot be marching trim again in less than three hours.
In war, the former readily carry several days' provisions on their backs: the latter would deem such an act intolerably degrading.
The former see in foreign service nothing but the prospect of glory and spoil: the latter can discover in it nothing but pollution and peril from unclean men and terrible wizzards, goblins, and evil spirits."
Though not directly we can get the status of Magars at that times. It gives at least some of insight into our history. One main thing is era of 18th century was almost as good as era of 10th century in many terms in case of Nepal.
