The Attarwala are a Muslim community found mostly in the state 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 ...

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 ...

History and origin

The Attarwala claim to be descended from a group of Mughal Hazara soldiers who were initially settled in

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

, during the rule of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. According to their recorded documents, they then migrated to Ahmedabad via

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

Ratlam Ratlam, known historically as Ratnapuri (lit. ''gem city''), is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam di ...

and

Godhra Godhra is a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Panchmahal district. Originally the name came from ''gou'' which means "cow" and ''dhara''- which have two meanings dependi ...

. This migration followed their participation in the community in the 1857 Indian War Independence. Once settled in

, India, the community took up the occupation of manufacturing perfumes known as

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. The word attarwala means the manufacturer of perfumes. A second migration took place in 1947 from

, after the partition of India, with some members immigrating to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, while others joining their co-ethnics in Ahmedabad. The Attarwala are now found mainly in Ahmedabad, India and some of them in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan.

Present circumstances

The Attarwala are distinct from other Gujarati Muslims, as their mother tongue is

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

. Many now are wage labourers, involved in pulling a

rickshaw A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...

. They are

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

Muslims and have their own caste association, the Shia Jafria Attarwala Jamat. The caste association runs a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

as well as other welfare activities.

References

{{Hazara tribes Hazara tribes Muslim communities of Gujarat Hazara diaspora Muhajir communities Perfumers Incense in India Perfumery Occupational surnames

History and origin

Present circumstances

See also

References