The Muslim Gaddi are a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

community found mainly in northern

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 ...

. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1947, the Gaddi of the states of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and are now found in the provinces of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and

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 ...

. In

and North India, some community members have started to refer to themselves as Ghazi in a way to reconstruct identity.

History and origin

There a number of theories as to the origin of the Muslim Gaddi community. In

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.;;;;;;;; ...

, there are two distinct groups who go by the name Gaddi. In the foothills of the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, in what are now the state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir resides a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

community known as the Gaddi. The Muslim Gaddi of

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 ...

is not an alpine community, but are found in the plains of

, distributed in the states of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

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 ...

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 si ...

, and have never been nomadic. Prior to the

in 1947, Muslim Gaddi communities were also found in

. In fact, it is unclear whether there is any connection between the two groups other than the sharing of a common name. With regards to the Muslim Gaddi, there are different theories as to their origin. The Gaddi of

claim partial

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

ancestry. The Gaddi in

and

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

claim descent from a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

saint Gaddi Salahuddin Elahi, and said to have arrived in the region in the 19th century. This is shown by the fact that most Gaddi in Bihar and Jharkhand still speak

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

, the language of eastern

, and not the local

Sadri Sadri is a municipality in the Pali district of Rajasthan, India. It is considered the gateway to Marwar from Mewar. Sadri is one of the main places of worship for the Jain community. Ranakpur Temple and Shri Parshuram Mahadev Mandir are locate ...

language. According to some other sources, they were the earliest inhabitants of

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

, and this region they are often also referred. A Research Book (in Urdu) on Gaddi castes has been written by Abdul Jabbar Khan Ghazi, A Gaddi Lawyer, discussing all castes and sub castes of Gaddi present in India and Pakistan . The Origin and the initial use of Word "Gaddi" is discussed in detail in the book. Like many other

groups in

, 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 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 Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. The Battle of Karnal between ...

and

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

, and 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 western

were and still are mainly

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

cultivators. The Gaddi 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 ...

, such as

Khari boli Kauravi ( hi, कौरवी, ur, ), also known as Khaṛībolī is a set of Western Hindi varieties of Shauraseni Prakrit mainly spoken in Northwestern Uttar Pradesh. Standard Hindi and Urdu are based on Khariboli, specifically on its De ...

in western

Haryanvi Haryanvi ( ' or '), also known as Bangru, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the state of Haryana in India, and to a lesser extent in Delhi. Haryanvi is considered to be part of the dialect group of Western Hindi, which also includes Kharibo ...

and

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

Present circumstances

The Gaddi are found throughout the states of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and

in India and have OBC status, and the provinces of

and

. As consequence of the grant of OBC status, the community is eligible to obtain the benefit of a number of affirmative action programmes of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

In 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. Some owns the huge parts of Land that are earned by hard work of their ancestors. They have much in common with other

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

communities, In addition, the western

and

the Gaddi have always possessed agricultural land, and are a small and medium scale

cultivator A cultivator is a piece of agricultural equipment used for secondary tillage. One sense of the name refers to frames with ''teeth'' (also called ''shanks'') that pierce the soil as they are dragged through it linearly. It also refers to mac ...

s. However, in eastern

, the word Gaddi is almost become synonymous with milk selling. In Uttar Pradesh, Gaddis are found mainly in the eastern and western regions of the state, in the districts of

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

(on the bank of river Ganges),

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capita ...

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

Unnao Unnao is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Unnao district and a part of Lucknow division, between Kanpur and Lucknow. Unnao is a large industrial city with three industrial suburbs around it. ...

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 ...

, Badayun, Badohi, Sitapur, sandila, hardoi, lucknow, Lakhimpur, Bareilly, and

Bahraich Bahraich is a city and a municipal board in Bahraich district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the Saryu River, a tributary of the Ghaghara river, Bahraich is north-east of Lucknow, the state capital. The districts of Barab ...

. However, the community is concentrated mainly in western

, in particular the districts 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 Government ...

and

and historically in the neighbouring areas of

such as

and

. The western

Gaddi, like other neighbouring

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

s have benefited from the effects of the

green revolution The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...

, and many have successfully begun mechanising their farming, such as buying tractors. The Gaddi are Muslims of the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

sect, following various denominations such as Hanafi, Deobandi, and even local

Folk Islam In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized rel ...

. They are an

endogamous Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

community, practising

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

and village

exogamy Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups c ...

and

(i.e. not marrying within 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 clan and multi religious villages, often occupying their own quarters. In western

, the Gaddi are what is often referred to as the dominant clan, usually making between half and two thirds of the population of the village, and their villages are referred to as Gaddi villages. In

and

the Gaddi are often one of the occupational clans, and are never numerically dominant. Each of their settlement contains an informal clan association, known as a biradari

panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

. The panchayat is headed by a

chaudhary Chaudhary (or Choudhary ; also: Chaudhuri, Choudhuary, Chowdhury) is a hereditary title mainly in South Asia, mainly used by Jats, Gurjar and Bhumihars. Chowdhury (Hindi: चौधरी/चौधुरी/चौधारी; Urdu: چودھر� ...

, 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. The Gaddi in

are found mainly in

Bundi Bundi is a city in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India and capital of the former princely state of Rajputana agency. District of Bundi is named after the former princely state. Demographics According to the 2011 Indian cens ...

, Bharatpur, and

Sawai Madhopur Sawai Madhopur is a city and Municipal Council (Nagar Parishad) in the Sawai Madhopur District in Rajasthan state, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sawai Madhopur District of Rajasthan. Ranthambore National Park which is 7 ...

districts. 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 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 ...

ancestry that converted to Islam. In Rajasthan, the community consists of small and medium-sized farmers. A small member of Gaddi are employed govt sarvis, The Gaddi of Rajasthan have their own clan 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. The Gaddi in

and

claim descent from a

saint Gaddi Salahuddin Elahi. They are said to have emigrated from Uttar Pradesh in the 19th century, and their earliest settlement was

Bihar Sharif Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from '' vihara'' (meaning monastery), also the nam ...

. The Gaddi are found in

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

Dhanbad Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur. It ranks as the 42nd largest city in India and is the 33rd largest million-plus urban agglomeration in India. Dhanbad shares its land borders with Pa ...

, Lohardaga, Chakradharpur, Rohtas and

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

. The Gaddi are strictly endogamous, and practice both cross-cousin and parallel cousin marriages. They speak both Urdu and

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

. 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 clan association, the Bihar Gaddi Anjuman.People of India Bihar Volume XVI Part One edited by S Gopal & Hetukar Jha pages 306 to 310 Seagull Books

In Pakistan

The

and

Gaddi emigrated to Pakistan, after the independence in 1947. In the

and

, the Gaddi were already a community of small cultivators, and they remain so in Pakistan. According to the traditions of the

Gaddi, they are a

clan, that is believed to have accepted

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 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

, in the districts of

Muzaffargarh Muzaffargarh (Urdu and pa, , , Fort of Muzaffar) is a city in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the Chenab River, it is the capital of the district with the same name. It is the 39th largest city of Pakistan by populatio ...

, Okara, Shaikhupura,

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

and

Nankana Sahib Nankana Sahib () is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is the most ...

. They are particularly concentrated in the districts of

and Shaikhupura District Bhakkar, 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

, most Gaddi settlements contain biradari panchayats, which act as instruments of social control, and they remain strictly

, preferring to marry close kin, such as parallel cousins. The community speak

among themselves, and Punjabi with the wider community. Most Gaddi also now speak

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

. The Gaddis of

and

have settled in

and are still involved with dairy farming, and are found mainly in the cities of

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 cap ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

and

Mirpurkhas Mirpur Khas ( Sindhi and ; ''meaning "Town of the most-high Mirs"'') is the capital city of the Mirpur Khas District and Mirpur Khas Division in the Sindh province, Pakistan. Mirpur Khas is the 16th largest city in Sindh province and the 80th ...

. They speak

among themselves and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and

also speak Sindhi. The Gaddi have set up their own clan association, the ''All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Biradri Gaddi'', which has set up community centres and acts a community welfare association. Besides these, in Karachi, they have a separate community registered with the name "Anjuman Rajput Gaddi" with central office in Ranchore Lane, an old city area of Karachi. This community is living in Karachi since migrating from India after independence in a closed community system having population concentration in Ranchore Lane, Burns Road, its adjoining areas and Mehmoodabad.

Footnotes

References

*Verma, V. 1996. ''Gaddis of Dhauladhar: A Transhumant Tribe of the Himalayas''. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. {{Indian Muslim Social groups of Pakistan Punjabi tribes Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan Muslim communities of India Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh Social groups of Bihar Social groups of Rajasthan

History and origin

Present circumstances

In India

In Pakistan

See also

Footnotes

References