Muslim Gaddi

Musalmaan Gaddi

Total population
593,000 [1]
Regions with significant populations
•  Pakistan •  India •  Nepal•
Languages
• Urdu • Khari Boli • Awadhi • Haryanvi
Religion
• Islam 100% •
Related ethnic groups
• Gaddi • Gujjar • Ghosi

The Muslim Gaddi are a Muslim community found mainly in North India.^[2] After the partition of India in 1947, the Gaddi of the states of Haryana and Delhi migrated to Pakistan and are now found in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh.^[3] In Pakistan, the community is often referred to as Gadi Rajput, and sometimes Gaddi Pathan. A few Gaddi are also found in the Terai region of Nepal.

History and origin

There a number of theories as to the origin of the Gaddi community. In South Asia, there are two distinct groups who go by the name Gaddi. In the foothills of the Himalaya, in what are now the states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir resides a Hindu nomadic community known as the Gaddi. The Muslim Gaddi of North India is not an alpine community, but are found in the plains of North India, distributed in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and have never been nomadic. Prior to the partition of India in 1947, Muslim Gaddi communities were also found in Haryana. In fact, it is unclear whether there is any connection between the two groups other than the sharing of a common name.^[4]

With regards to the Muslim Gaddi, there are different theories as to their origin. According to some sources, the Gaddi are said to be Gurelbansi Ahir, who were converted to Islam, during the rule of the Mughals, although the exact circumstances of their conversion are unclear. ^[5] While in Haryana and Rajasthan, the Gaddi themselves claim to of Rajput origin, and those of Bihar claim Arab ancestry. ^[6] The Gaddi in Bihar and Jharkhand claim descent from a Sufi saint Gaddi Salahuddin Elahi, and said to arrived in the region in the 19th Century. This is shown by the fact that most Gaddi in Bihar and Jharkhand still speak Bhojpuri, the language of eastern Uttar Pradesh, and not the local Sadri language. ^[7] According to some other sources, they were the earliest inhabitants of Awadh, and this region they are often also referred to as Muslim Ahir. ^[8]

The Gaddi have five sub-divisions, which are the Sadhre, Nyodha, Othi, Badgaia, and Swaetye. Like many other Muslims groups in North India, the Gaddi community is further divided into clans, known as biradaris, which are said to be descended from a common ancestor. Their main biradaris are the Aheer, Ahawar, Bachhar, Bais, Pathan and teli Malik. Marriages are preferred within the biradari. Their hereditary occupation was that of the production and sale of milk, but the Muslim Gaddi of Karnal and Ambala in Haryana, and the Doab region of western Uttar Pradesh were and still are mainly peasant cultivators. The Gaddi speak Urdu and well as various dialects of Hindi, such as Khari boli in western Uttar Pradesh, Haryanvi in Pakistan and Bhojpuri in Bihar.^[9]

Present circumstances

The Gaddi are found throughout the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan in India and have OBC status, and the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. As consequence of the grant of OBC status, the community is eligible to obtain the benefit of a number of affirmitative action programmes of the Government of India.

In India

In North India, the Gaddi are a community that has been associated with cattle farming. They are involved in the selling of milk, especially those settled in towns. They have much in common with other pastoral communities, such the Gujjar, Ghosi and Ahir. In addition, the western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana the Gaddi have always possessed agricultural land, and are a small and medium scale cultivators. However, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the word Gaddi is almost become synonymous with milk selling. ^[10]

In Uttar Pradesh, Gaddis are found mainly in the eastern and western regions of the state, in the districts of Allahabad (on the bank of river Ganges), Aligarh, Meerut, Badayun, Badohi, Sitapur, Lakhimpur, Bareilly, and Bahraich.^[11] However, the community is concentrated mainly in western Uttar Pradesh, in particular the districts of Meerut, Bulandshahr and Aligarh and historically in the neighbouring areas of Haryana such as Karnal and Ambala. ^[12] The western Uttar Pradesh Gaddi, like other neighbouring peasant castes have benefited from the effects of the green revolution, and many have successfully begun mechanizing their farming, such as buying tractors. ^[13]

The Gaddi are Muslims of the Sunni sect. They are an endogamous community, practising clan and village exogamy in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (i.e. not marrying with in the clan). Among other Gaddi communities, marriages are preferred within the biradari, and with a marked preference for parallel cousin and cross cousin marriages. The Gaddi tend to reside in multi caste and multi religious villages, often occupying their own quarters. In western Uttar Pradesh, the Gaddi are what is often are referred to as the dominant caste, usually making between half and two thirds of the population of the village, and their villages are referred to as Gaddi villages. ^[14] In Awadh, Bihar and Jharkhand the Gaddi are often one of the occupational castes, and are never numerically dominant. Each of their settlement contains an informal caste association, known as a biradari panchayat. The panchayat is headed by a chaudhary, a position that is often hereditary within a particular family. Among the duties of the panchayat is the resolving of intra community disputes and punishing those who breach community norms. ^[15] Gaddi caste leader is Mr.Allauddin Azad(M.L.A) distic Sawai madhopur rajasthan and -

The Gaddi in Rajasthan are found mainly in Bundi, Bharatpur, and Sawai Madhopur districts.all most gaddi caste live in sawai Madhopur and gangapur city and coloney 1-(rajeev coloney,gaddi mirzapur, namner and village Mahanandpur(Doyda),pawta. They speak a mixed dialect of Hindi and Urdu, as well as the Marwari dialect. According to their traditions, they acquired the name Gaddi from their ancestral occupation of cleaning the thrones (Gaddi in Urdu) of the Mughal Emperors. The community claims to be of Rajput ancestry that converted to Islam. In Rajasthan, the community consists of small and medium sized farmers. A small number of Gaddi are employed as labourers in the construction industry. The Gaddi of Rajasthan have their own caste council, the Gaddi Navayung Mandal, which act as institution for social control as well as welfare for the community. Like other Muslim communities in Rajasthan, they are strictly endogamous.^[16]

The Gaddi in Bihar and Jharkhand claim descent from a Sufi saint Gaddi Salahuddin Elahi. They are said to have emigrated from Uttar Pradesh in the 19th century, and their earliest settlement was Bihar Sharif. The Gaddi are found in Ranchi, Dhanbad, Lohardaga, Chakradharpur, Rohtas and Jameshedpur. The Gaddi are strictly endogamous, and practice both cross-cousin and parallel cousin marriages. They speak both Urdu and Bhojpuri. The Gaddi of Bihar are largely landless, relying on the selling of milk, and are a semi-urban community. A small number of the community have become businessmen and petty traders. The Gaddi have their own caste association, the Bihar Gaddi Anjuman.^[17]

Progress of Gaddis in Modern India

In Delhi, through the efforts of the late Mr Noor Mohammad (advocate), an All India Gaddi Welfare Association(AIGWA) was founded in the year 1988, with the aim of uniting and the social upliftment of Gaddis from various parts of India. Gaddis have contributed to the development of modern India by effectively taking part in the scientific and technical establishments, medical profession, legal fraternity, and politics of India. Many Gaddis in India have migrated for better educational and financial opportunities to metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. Many Gaddis have emigrated to western countries in pursuit of better prospects. According to Khalid Rehman Ghazi S/o Late Abdur Rehman Ghazi , A Master Degree holder in History from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi , Indian Muslim Gaddi originated from Turky. He says that the Turkish Gaddi cmmunity came in India during the time of Mehmood Gaznavi as soldiers and ultimately settled in India. This community remain loyal with every ruling class in India. Even they remain loyal to the British Government and today this community have four MLAs in Utter Pradesh.

In Pakistan

The Haryana and Delhi Gaddi emigrated to Pakistan, after the independence in 1947. In the Ambala and Karnal, the Gaddi were already a community of small cultivators, and they remain so in Pakistan. According to the traditions of the Haryana Gaddi, they are a Rajput clan, that is believed to have accepted Islam during reign of Sultan Mahmood Ghazanwi, and as such the community refers to itself as Gadi Rajputs.The Gaddi are now found mainly in central and south Punjab, in the districts of Muzaffargarh, Okara, Shaikhupura, Gujranwala and Nankana Sahib . They are particularly concentrated in the districts of Gujranwala and Shaikhupura, and towns of Kot Addu and Kundhya.

The Punjab Gaddi live in multi ethnic villages, but occupy their own distinct quarters. Most Gaddi remain small and medium scale farmers, although a good number also seek in employment in the armed forces and police. Like in India, most Gaddi settlements contain biradari panchayats, which act as instruments of social control, and they remain strictly endogamous, preferring to marry close kin, such as parallel cousins. The community speak Haryanvi among themselves, and Punjabi with the wider community. Most Gaddi also now speak Urdu, and are Sunni. The Gaddis of Delhi and Rajasthan have settled in Sindh and are still involved with dairy farming, and are found mainly in the cities of Karachi , Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas. They speak Haryanvi among themselves and Urdu with outsiders. Many of those settled in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas also speak Sindhi. The Gaddi have set up their own caste association, the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Biradri Gaddi Pathan, which has set up community centres and acts a community welfare association.

See also

• Gaddi
• Ahir
• Gujjar
• Gaderia

Footnotes

1. ^ http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?peo3=16770
2. ^ People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part two by K S Singh page 475 Manohar Publications
3. ^ A Glossary of the Tribes & Castes of Punjab by H. A Rose page 255
4. ^ A Glossary of the Tribes & Castes of Punjab by H. A Rose page 255
5. ^ People of India: Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part two by K S Singh page 475 Manohar Publications
6. ^ A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of Punjab and North West Frontier by H A Rose pages 370 to 372
7. ^ People of India Bihar Volume XVI Part One edited by S Gopal & Hetukar Jha pages 306 to 310 Seagull Books
8. ^ Tribes and Castes of North Western Provinces and Oudh Volume II by William Crook pages 370 to 372
9. ^ People of India: Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part two by K S Singh page 475 Manohar Publications
10. ^ Social inequality among Indian Muslims Parvez A. Abbasi Published 1999 by A.C. Brothers in Udaipur .
11. ^ People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part two by K S Singh page 478 Manohar Publications
12. ^ Tribes and Castes of North Western Provinces and Oudh Volume II by William Crooke pages 370 to 372
13. ^ Social inequality among Indian Muslims Parvez A. Abbasi Published 1999 by A.C. Brothers in Udaipur .
14. ^ Social inequality among Indian Muslims Parvez A. Abbasi Published 1999 by A.C. Brothers in Udaipur .
15. ^ People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part two by K S Singh page 478 Manohar Publications
16. ^ People of India: Rajasthan Volume XXXVIII Part One edited by B.K Lavania, D. K Samanta, S K Mandal & N.N Vyas pages 351 to 353 Popular Prakashan
17. ^ People of India Bihar Volume XVI Part One edited by S Gopal & Hetukar Jha pages 306 to 310 Seagull Books

References

• Verma, V. 1996. Gaddis of Dhauladhar: A Transhumant Tribe of the Himalayas. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi.