The Behlim are Muslim people mainly found in North India and

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 ...

. They are a sub-caste of the Rajputs. The Behlims trace their origin back to the great saint Sufi Masood Ghazi. Behlim is derived from Urdu word "Baa-Ilm", meaning Knowledgeable. A large number can be found in Gujrat and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

History

Behlim (Belim) is a sub-caste of Rajput and turk. The word is said to be a corruption of the word ''ba-ilm'', meaning those who are knowledgeable in

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 ...

. The two distinct communities of Behlim (Belim) are those 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 ...

and

who are found mainly in (Mansa-ITADRA)

Mehsana Mehsana (), also spelled Mahesana, is a city and municipality in Mehsana district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Established in 14th century, the city was under Gaekwads of Baroda State from 18th century to the independence of India in 1947 ...

and

Banaskantha Banaskantha district is one of the thirty-three districts of the Gujarat state of India. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Palanpur which is also its largest city. The district is located in the Northeast of Gujarat and is pre ...

districts, while those of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, Fatehpur India, are found mainly in the

Doab ''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...

region of that state. Behlim community is a subcategory of the wider Shaikh community in South Asia.Muslim Communities of Gujarat by S. C Misra pages 81 to 83

Pakistan

Multan/Bahawalpur

Behlim (Belim) families are present all over Pakistan, especially in Multan.Lodhi was a Rajput who started this sub-caste in 1486. Many welfare societies adopt the Rajput name. Punjabi Rajput Welfare Society is a well-known society in Multan. Behlim (Belim) family played a frontline role in the founding of this society. These families migrated from India during partition. Behlim are also in Pakistani city Gujarat.

Daharki/Sindh

Behlim (Belim) families live in the

Daharki Daharki ( ur, ) is a city in Ghotki District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the capital of Daharki Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district. It is situated about 100 km northeast of Sukkur, between Mirpur Mathelo ...

Ghotki District Ghotki District ( sd, ضِلعو گھوٽڪي; ) is a district of the province of Sindh, Pakistan, with headquarter the city of Mirpur Mathelo. Prior to its establishment as a district in 1993, it formed part of Sukkur District. Administration ...

of Sindh. These families migrated from Northern India (

Sirohi Sirohi is a city, located in Sirohi district in southern Rajasthan state in western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirohi District and was formerly the capital of the princely state of Sirohi ruled by Deora Chauhan Rajput rul ...

, Rajasthan) during partition.

Rahimyar Khan / Punjab

Sohail Nasir, Fuzail Ahmed, Muhammad Asif, Abdul Rauf are renowned names of Behlim Families of rahimyar khan.

Other locations

Behlim (Belim) families live in

Vehari Vehari also spelled Vihari (), is a city and the headquarters of Vehari District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 62nd largest city. Vehari is about from the historical city of Multan. Vehari is located at the Multan-Delhi ...

Sahiwal Sahiwal ( Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 21st largest city of Pakistan by population and the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is appro ...

(Maisi Tehsil Verhari and in central area of Sahiwal), Pakpatan,

Khanewal Khanewal () is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 36th largest city of Pakistan by population. Khanewal is named after the earliest settlers here who belonged to the caste ‘Daha’ (A Su ...

Kabirwala Kabirwala ( ur, , Punjabi ), is a town of Khanewal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The town is the headquarters of Kabirwala Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the district. Kabirwala was 118th biggest city, with a populatio ...

Jhang Jhang (Punjabi, ur, ), ) is the capital city of Jhang District, in the central portion of the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the 18th largest city of Pakistan by population. The historic ...

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

(

Shorkot Shorkot ( ur, , Basti starabad=), ( pa, ), is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is also a capital city of Shorkot Tehsil in Jhang district. It is located at 30°30'N 72°24'E with an altitude of 131 metres (433 ft). The city is famous ...

, Khurarianwala),

Rahimyar Khan Rahim Yar Khan () is a city in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 9th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is the capital of the Rahim Yar Khan District and Rahim Yar Khan Tehsil. The administration of the city is subdivided into nin ...

, Sadiqabad, Fatehpur-Shekhawati (Sikar-Rajasthan) and Khanpur.

Present circumstances

Gujarat

The Behlim (Belim) is an agrarian community, found mostly in north Gujarat. According to some traditions, they were once

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

, and their customs are similar to other

Muslim Rajput Muslim Rajputs are the descendants of Rajputs of Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period in India onwards, retaining historically Hindu surnames suc ...

communities, such as the Maliks. The Behlim (Belim) intermarry with other

Gujarati Muslim The term Gujarati Muslim is usually used to signify an Indian Muslims, Muslim from the state of Gujarat in western coast of India. Most Gujarati Muslims have Gujarati language as their mother tongue, but some communities such as the Momin Ansari ...

communities of similar status such as

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

Shaikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

and Molesalam Rajputs. Unlike other Gujarati Muslims, they have no caste association and generally are allied to other Rajput landholding classes. They speak

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

and are Sunni Muslims.

Uttar Pradesh

, the Behlim are found mainly in the Doab region. They claim to be of Turkic origin, arriving in India during the time of

Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 30 April 1236, ) was the third of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid Empire, Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sove ...

. The Behlim families of

Bulandshahr Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Governmen ...

played an important role in the city's history. Other Behlim are found in the districts of

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

and

Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar is a city under Muzaffarnagar District in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated midway on the Delhi - Haridwar/ Dehradun National Highway (NH 58) and is also well connected with the national railway network. It is ...

. In addition to the Doab Behlim, two other settlements are found in

Gonda District Gonda district (Hindi: गोण्डा/गोंडा, Urdu: گونڈہ) is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city of Gonda is the district headquarters, and also the administrative centre for the Devipatan Division. The t ...

and

Basti District Basti district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state, India, and a part of Basti Division. Basti city is the district headquarters. Origin of name and history Basti was originally known as Vaishishthi. The origin of the name Vaishi ...

in eastern Uttar Pradesh. These Behlim have little or no connection with those of western Uttar Pradesh. Both communities speak

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

. They are largely Sunni. The community considers itself as belonging to the wider

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

community.Tribes and castes of North-Western Provinces and Oudh by Wiliam Crook

Rajasthan

The population of Behlim is found across the state with concentrations in Sikar, Fatehpur Shekhawati, Sujangarh, Didwana, Ladnu, Kuchaman and Nagour. The Behlim Kingdom (Haveli) is situated in Fatehpur Shekhawati, built in 1922 by Haji Deen Mohammad Behlim, one of the prominent figures of the region. Rangrej is the oldest Behlim gotra with ancestors migrating from Afghanistan. Rangrej are found in other communities of Muslims, and are termed Behlim Rangrej in many parts of Rajasthan. The other gotra in Rajasthan are Khokhar, Gori, Chouhan, and Khilji. The Behlim Rangrej, Behlim Gori, Behlim Chouhan and Behlim Khilji communities are part of a broader community of

in Rajasthan. Most Rajasthan Behlim marry into other Gotra of Behlim,

, Kayamkhani, and

Pathans Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

. Most Behlims migrated from Pakistan after 1947.

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Sunni, while traces of

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

are found throughout the state.

References

{{Indian Muslim Muslim communities of India Muslim communities of Pakistan Muslim communities of Gujarat Social groups of Gujarat Social groups of Pakistan Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Shaikh clans