The Mahars are an important social group within the Inian state of Maharashtra state and surrounding states. A grouping of related endogamous castes, the Mahar are the largest scheduled caste group in Maharashtra. In the early 1980s, the Mahar community was estimated to make up about 9% of the population of the state of Maharashtra. Mahars who have converted to Islam are also found in Pakistan. There is a theory that the name of the state of Maharashtra comes from their name: 'Mahar rashtra' (= "country of Mahars"), but this theory is not generally accepted.