The Muslim Shaikh (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

(

Shahmukhi Shahmukhi (, ) is a Persian alphabet, Perso-Arabic alphabet script used historically by Punjabi Muslims (primarily in present-day Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistani Punjab) to write the Punjabi language. It is generally written in the Nastaʿlīq Callig ...

): مسلم شیخ; ) are a community found in the

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 ...

province of

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 ...

. The Shah Khel community of the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

, has similar roots. There are a number of traditions as to the origin of the Muslim Shaikhs. Most of these carry its history back to Balmik, as the ancestor of the tribe. Many members of the

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 ...

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

community converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. 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, many of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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 ...

and they known as Deendar.

Dīn Dīn ( ar, دين, Dīn, also anglicized as Deen) is an Arabic word with three general senses: judgment, custom, and religion. It is used by both Muslims and Arab Christians. In Islamic terminology, the word refers to the way of life Muslims ...

means ''religion'' and Dar means ''follower'' in

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ur, , link=no, ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, In ...

. During the 19th century, many Hindus converted to Islam, especially in the western parts 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 the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They were merchants of the village communities, and used to live in huts at a distance from the village. Their job included collecting taxes from houses. But by the 19th century, most of them had taken to agricultural work.

Language

They speak various dialects of

and/or Sindhi, depending where they reside.

Present circumstances

A recent report on the conditions of the Shah Khel community came to this conclusion: :"The respondents in this village claim to have settled in this village over 200 years ago. They live in a cluster of 30 houses 300 yards from the main houses of the village. The houses used to number 200 at first. Their people used to earn from agricultural and livestock work. Some went to the city and made some savings. Now the community is divided between the richer ones who do the livestock business and live outside the village in nearby cities, and the others who are permanent residents and do agricultural and domestic work. The wealthier community members who left the village still come back to marry their children within the clan. They get free wood and milk from the landlord on weddings and deaths."http://se2.isn.ch/serviceengine/FileContent?serviceID=10&fileid=3C132E93-A640-AA92-7BAD-92FE85D6EE11&lng=en It is further found that many Shah Khel were still involved in their traditional occupation of begging. Shah Khel also suffer from being bonded labourers, as a number of recent studies have shown.

References

{{reflist Punjabi tribes Social groups of Pakistan Surnames Shaikh clans Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan

Language

Present circumstances

See also

References