ABSTRACT
In the organisation of a Deccan village the Mahars play an essential part. The manner in which the Mahars live in a Deccan village is very well-known. They have their quarters apart from the rest of the people, outside the village, in the mahar wada. The right to live there belongs to the Mahars of the village: it is one of their vatan or hereditary rights. All over the Deccan, a change has taken place in the position of the village Mahars. The chapter aims to try and indicate the nature of the families, the sources of income, the conditions of life and the extent to which disintegrating influences have affected life in a definite village or small town, —Saswad being taken as an example. It describes the occupation of the men belonging to the village.
