The Miyana are a

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 India, medieval period in India onwards, retaining historically Hin ...

community found 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 Miyana are

Rajput 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 ...

s who were converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

during the rule of

Allauddin Khilji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...

in the thirteenth century. According to other traditions, they were Rajputs of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

who immigrated to Kutch during the period of

Jadeja The Jadeja (also spelled Jarejo) (Gujarati: ) is a Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat. They claim to be descended from the legendary Jamshed of Iran. They also claim descent from Krishna. They originated from pastoral communi ...

rule.

Present circumstances

The Miyana are found throughout Kutch and Saurashtra. They speak both Kutchi and

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 ...

. The community is sub-divided into a number of clans, the main ones being Mahur, Movar, Manek,

Bhatti Bhatti () is a clan of Rajputs and Jats found in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Bhattis along with Bhuttos and Bhatias claim to have originated from the Hindu Bhati Rajputs. In the years preceding the Indian rebellion of 1857 the British ...

( Jesalmer), Jam, Dhona, Katiya, Mokha, Maman, Gagda, samtani, Ladhani, Malani, Samani, Musani, Jeda, Traya, Manka, Khod,

Makwana The Makwana, or Makawana is a clan ( Gotra) of the Koli caste found in the Indian state of Gujarat. The Makwana clan is mostly found among Talpada Kolis, Chunvalia Koli and Ghedia Kolis. In 1931 census of Baroda State, there were 20,700 Koli ...

, Sandhvani, Kajediya, Kakkal, Baidmulla. Unlike other

groups such as the

Molesalam Rajput The Molesalam are a Muslim Rajput community found in the state of Gujarat in India. They also refer to themselves as Molesalam Thakur and sometimes Molesalam Girasia (Grasiya). The Molesalams were targeted in an oppressive ''shuddhi'' ‘purif ...

and Nayak in

, the Miyana do not practice

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra fo ...

exogamy. Both parallel cousin and cross cousin marriages are preferred. The Miyana subsist by fishing and agriculture. Fishing is an important activity for the Kutchi Miyana. They have their own caste association, the Sunni muslim Jamaat Maliya Miyana. People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Two edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pages 938–943

References

{{Indian Muslim Social groups of Gujarat Muslim communities of India Muslim communities of Gujarat Tribes of Kutch

History and origin

Present circumstances

See also

References