The Attar are a Muslim community and caste found in the state of Maharashtra and state of

Andhra pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

in India. This community has no connection with the Attarwala of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, other than both communities at one time having been involved in the manufacture of

ittar Ittar, also known as attar, is an essential oil derived from botanical or other natural sources. Most commonly these oils are extracted via hydro or steam distillation. The Persian physician Ibn Sina was first to derive the attar of flowers ...

s (perfumes).People of India Maharshtra Volume XXX Part One edited by B.V Bhanu, B.R Bhatnagar, D.K Bose, V.S Kulkarni and J Sreenath pp. 88–98 Popular Prakashan

Origin

The community's name comes from ''

'', the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

word for ''perfume''. Attar originally came from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in about 1450. They are now found in western Maharashtra, particularly in the districts of Nasik,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, Satara,

Ahmadnagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1 ...

Sholapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, with a branch lin ...

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

, Dhulia and the city of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. Also in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

state in Hindupur,

Penukonda Penukonda also called Penugonda is a town in the Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 70 km away from Anantapur town. Demography According to '' The Imperial Gazetteer of India'', Penukonda was a subdivision and tal ...

, Kadiri in south

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Traces of the Attar community are also found in modern Pakistani Punjab, Indian Punjab and Haryana. Historically, Attar caste has its roots with «KHING»खिँग community, whose small center can be found in Hindupur in state of

in India. Maharaj Chanan Shah, a follower of Sufism was the head founder of the «KHING»खिँग community. Present Shaik Attar Athiq Ahmed popularly known as Attar Athiq Bhai is Crown Prince and Head to House of Attar in Hindupur Attars are rulers of West parts of

and east part of

. After migrating to India Attar community started dealing with manufacturing of perfumes and smell sticks etc. Currently only few families are dealing with their family business. Some families have moved abroad and settled in USA, Canada and Europe and some in other states of India. In 1658 AD Attar Community migrated to south India in Kolar district in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

State these Attars share blood relation with

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the at ...

father of

Tippu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...

Tiger of Mysore ruler of

Mysore Kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...

. Along with business . Attars had small kingdoms under the rule of

. After martyrdom of

in August 24 1799, Head of Attar Family then Attar Kareem Sab along with his younger brothers migrated to a small village near to Hindupur town. Attar Kareem Sab Continued to live imperial and aristocratic as their ancestors and followed their family traditional business. After Attar Kareem sab his elder son Attar Musa Miyan Sab became his Successor. Attar Musa Sab during his regime made his elder son Attar Miyan Sab as Head of House of Attar.In 1956 elder son of Attar Miyan Sab Attar Allahbakash Sab moved to Hindupur town, Attar Miyan Sab declared his elder son as the next hier to House of Attar.

Present circumstances

After holding place as head to House of Attar Attar Allahbakash Sab started and registered Kola Brand Agarbatti on 12 February 1962 that was first product House of Attar has registered officially. After death of Attar Allahbakash Sab in 1990 on April 14th his youngest son Attar Idrees Ahmed became head to House of Attar. On 22 March 2022 Shaik Attar Athiq Ahmed (Attar Athiq Bhai) elder son of Attar Idrees Ahmed has been Crowned as Crown Prince and head to House of Attar. The Attars have set up their own caste association, the Attar Council, which acts as a community welfare organization and pressure group. They are Tablighi or Sunni Muslims, and now fairly orthodox. Mostly now Attar have involved all businesses, active politics, etc. There is no concept of clan exogamy, and the community practices both parallel cousin and cross-cousin marriages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attar (Caste) Muslim communities of Maharashtra Indian castes Perfumery Perfumers Incense in India

Origin

Present circumstances

See also

References