Geographical distribution

The Meghwal are from Marwar in Rajasthan. In the 1981 Census for Rajasthan, the combined population of people notified as Megh, Meghwal, Menghvar was 889,300.[9] They also live in western Gujarat near the Pakistan border and in other parts of India such as Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. The Meghs are from Jammu and Kashmir,[10] and Himachal Pradesh and known as Megh, Arya Megh and Bhagat. In some places they are known as Ganeshia, Meghbansi, Mihagh, Rakhesar, Rakhia, Rikhia, Rishia and other names.[2] Some of the Mahashas also claim to be belonging to Meghs.[11] After Partition of India in the year 1947, the Meghs who had become converts to the Hinduism, had to migrate to Indian territory.[12] Most of them migrated from Sialkot and settled in camps established for them in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.[citation needed]
In Pakistan the word Meghwar is used in place of Meghwal. As of 1991, the population of Meghs in Punjab (India) was estimated at 105,157.[13] In 2000, about 226,600 Meghwar lived in Pakistan, principally in the Punjab northeast of the cities of Dadu and Nawabshah,[14] and in Sindh, mostly in the Badin, Mirpur Khas, Tharparkar, and Umerkot districts.[citation needed]