The Muslim Saifi, or sometimes pronounced Barhai are

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 in

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 ...

. They are also known as Saifi which denotes the Muslim sub-caste of blacksmiths and carpenters. A small number are also found in the

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...

region of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. The community is also sometimes referred to as Saifi or

Tarkhan Tarkhan ( otk, 𐱃𐰺𐰴𐰣, Tarqan, mn, or ; fa, ترخان; ; ar , طرخان; alternative spellings ''Tarkan'', ''Tarkhaan'', ''Tarqan'', ''Tarchan'', ''Turxan'', ''Tarcan'', ''Turgan, Tárkány, Tarján'') is an ancient Central Asia ...

descendent of

Tarkhan Dynasty The Tarkhan dynasty ( sd, ترخان گهراڻو), was established by the a Tarkhan and ruled Sindh, Pakistan from 1554 to 1591 AD. General Mirza Isa Beg founded the Tarkhan dynasty in Sindh after the death of Shah Husayn Arghun of the Arg ...

of Sindh Pakistan.''People of India Uttar Pradesh'', Volume XLII Part One, edited by A Hasan & J C Das, pp. 190-193.

Origin

The community derive their name from the word ''barhai'', which means carpenter in

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 ...

. According to their own traditions, they are descended from early

settlers to

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 ...

. It is however likely, that they are immigrant from the Central Asia.They are also known as

. In

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 ...

, the Barhai/ Saifi have two sub-divisions, the Tarkhan and the Multani or immigrants from Multan known as

Multani Lohar The Multani Lohar are a Muslim community found in the state of Gujarat in India.People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Two edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pages 781-784 History and origin The community cla ...

Each of these two groups in endogamous. They 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 ...

and

Rohilkhand Rohilkhand (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...

regions, and speak the

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 ...

dialect. The community has been granted

Other Backward Class The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...

status. The term Saifi refers to Sword makers during medieval times.

Present circumstances

The Behna are no longer mainly employed mainly as carpenters, and many work in farming. They are largely small and medium sized farmers, although a sizeable number are agricultural labourers, and live in multi caste and multi religious settlements, but occupy their own distinct quarters. Each settlement has a

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 ...

council, known as a

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 ...

, which acts as an instrument of social control. It deals with intra community disputes, as well as punishing those who breach communal norms. Although they live in close proximity to other

groups, such as the

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 ...

, Gaddi, Ansari, Rajput Muslim and

Qassab The Qassab ( ur, قصاب; from the Arabic word (''Qasaab- butcher''), are members of a north Indian community or ''biradari''. Occasionally most Quresh caste members are referred to as the Qassab. At present, Qassab who are engaged in meat cu ...

, and the

Muslim Teli The Muslim Teli are members of the Teli caste who follow Sunni Islam. They are found in India and Pakistan. Related to the Muslim Teli are the Ghanchi, a community found in Gujarat, who are also involved in the manufacture of cooking oil. Lu ...

, Muslim Banjara,

Baghban The Bagban are a Muslim community found in North as well as the Decca areas of West India.People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 108 to 111 In the Deccan region they are known as Bagwan. The Bagwan ...

and

Rohilla Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Ro ...

, there is very little interaction, and virtually no intermarriage. The only group with which close relations are maintained are the

Saifi The Muslim Saifi, or sometimes pronounced Barhai are Muslim community, found in North India. They are also known as Saifi which denotes the Muslim sub-caste of blacksmiths and carpenters. A small number are also found in the Terai region of Nepa ...

, and this includes intermarriage. With regards to neighbouring

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 ...

groups such the

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

and

Gujjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...

, a social distance is maintained. The Barhai are

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 ...

of the

Barelvi The Barelvi movement ( ur, بَریلوِی, , ), also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaah (People of the Prophet's Way and the Community) is a Sunni revivalist movement following the Hanafi and Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, with strong Suf ...

Deobandi Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law, formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives, by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...

sect. They speak

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

. There customs are similar to other Uttar Pradesh Muslims.''People of India Uttar Pradesh'', Volume XLII Part One, edited by A Hasan & J C Das, p. 243.

Notable People

•

Arif Lohar ) , native_name_lang = ur , birth_name = , alias = , birth_date = , origin = Punjab, Pakistan , instrument = Chimta , genre = Punjabi Folk music , occupation = Vocalist, musician , ...

, Pakistani Singer

References

{{Indian Muslim Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh Muslim communities of India