Meo and Mewati

The Muslim inhabitants of Mewat are called Meo (मेव) and meena hindu in Rajasthan. Most of the population of Mewat is of Meo Muslims. They converted from Meena under Sufi influence in the 13th century. Meos follow the clan culture of Pals and Gotra like Hindus Kshatriyas. Meos are divided into 13 pals and 52 gotras. Even Meo and Meena used to be counted in single column in the census registers during British period. (ref Imperial tables-1933).Meos speak Mewati, a language of the Indo-Aryan language family.

Hindu origins
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. The neighboring Hindu Gurjar,Jats, Minas, Ahirs and Rajputs share the same mores.
Hindu inhabitants of Mewat, although 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 clans who converted to Islam and amalgamated as Meo community.

Connection with other Hindus communities in Mewat region
Many Rajasthani Meos 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. Meos 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. 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

Even after conversion to Islam they retained their Mahabharata culture by creating Gotras and Pals for marriages and social interaction. They can still trace back their brotherhood and links with Gurjar,Meena, Rajputs, Ahirs and Jats in the nearby villages in the region.

Meos speak Mewati dialect, a slight variant of the Haryanvi and Rajasthani dialects, of Hindi and live in a tribal culture. The culture and gotra of meos is same as Meena tribe in Rajasthan. The majority is uneducated and is currently classed under Other Backward Class (OBC). Mewati Gharana is well known Gharana of Indian classical music. Mirasi singers keep a wonderful tradition of oral history of their Meo patrons.

Hasan Khan Mewati was a well-known chieftain from Mewat. He fought against Babur in the Battle of Khanwa in 1527. The Delhi–Gurgaon–Alwar–Jaipur highway used to pass through Mewat until the late 1960s when the new national highway NH 8 was constructed bypassing Mewat.

'Hazi Khan Mewati', a great warrior and one of the commanders of Hindu King, Raja Hem Chandra Vikramaditya popular as Hemu, had helped Hemu at a critical juncture to defeat Akbar's army at Battle for Delhi in October 1556 and establish native rule at Delhi and in North India.