Arabs in India
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2018) |
 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 54,947[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Kerala,Kashmir,Andhra Pradesh,West Bengal,Bihar,Telangana,Punjab,Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh,Sindh,Haryana,Western Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra,Eastern Uttar Pradesh,Karnataka,Delhi,RajasthanandTamil Nadu | |
| Languages | |
| Gujarati,Tamil,Bengali,Malayalam,Urdu,Hindi,Kashmiri,EnglishandArabic | |
| Religion | |
| Islam |
Arabs in Indiaare people withAraborigins who have over a long period of time, settled in theIndian subcontinent.There have been extensive trade and cultural links between India and the Arab world spanning several millennia.[2][3]The west coast region of India, especiallyMalabarand Konkan coasts were active trading hubs, where Arab merchants frequently used to visit on their way to Sri Lanka and South East Asia.[4]Over a span of several centuries, migrants from different Arabian nations immigrated to various regions and kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent as merchants, missionaries and through intermarriages.
Communities
[edit]The earliest immigrants from the Arab world arrived as merchants to theMalabarcoastal region of South West India, today consisting of the state of Kerala.[5]Many of these Arab merchants intermarried with local women. Concentrations of these mixed-race descendants of Arab merchants can be found especially in theKozhikodeandMalappuramdistricts ofKerala.There also have been historic and close links between the Orthodox churches of South-West India and the Christian Arab orthodox churches in the middle east for several centuries, especially among the Orthodox Christians in India and Syria, which they maintain until this day and many of the Christians from these communities have claimed their ancestors are Arabs and the DNA results support this claim withHaplogroup G-M201andHaplogroup J-M304being prominent.[6]
Descendants of Arabs also live in the villages ofVariavandRanderinGujarat.InHyderabad,Chaushare an Arab community ofHadhramidescent whose ancestors were recruited as soldiers byNizam of Hyderabad.[7]Konkani Muslimstrace their ancestry to traders fromHadhramaut(inYemenorSouth Arabia).[8]In coastalKarnataka,a group ofPersianspeaking Sunni Muslims fromIraqhavingAssadisurname arrived inMangaloreduring the reign ofTipu Sultan.They claim their ancestry fromBanu Assad.These population migrations may have been favoured by both theNizam of HyderabadandTipu SultanofMysorebecause both had their ancestral linkages to these populations. TheAsaf Jahi Dynastyclaimed Arab ancestry fromAsir Provinceand Tipu Sultan from theBani HashimofHijazProvince inArabia.Many Arabs havingAdnaniancestry such asQuraishi,Ansaritribes and other descendants of theSahabawere employed by thePrincely Statesin their military as they were found efficient during warfare in Gujarat and Karnataka. InKerala,Syed Thangalsof Hadhrami descent settled around the 17th century as missionaries to propagateIslam.
There are alsoShia Sayyidsin the Northern region of the country who claim descent fromWasit,IraqlikeZaidisalthough some are falsely claiming this ancestry.[citation needed]Sunni Sayyidof the country also claim Arab descent fromSufimissionaries although these claims are also dubious. Most of the Sufis migrated fromPersia.Sunni Sayyids claim their Arab ancestry throughImam HassanorImam Hussain,in which case their names may beHassani,Hussaini,Hashmi,NaqviandBukhari.Some also claim descent from both and are termed "Najeeb al-Tarfayn"or" Noble on both sides ". Many Sufi Saints such asAbdul-Qadir GilaniandMoinuddin Chishtiand their descendants claim themselves asNajeeb al-Tarfaynhowever some claim this descent falsely.Indian Sheikhsalso claim Arab descent from Sufis or migrants. They belongsQuraishtribe and trace lineage fromUmar–Farooqi,Abu Bakr-Siddiqui,Uthman–UsmaniandAlvi–Alawi,Alvi Awan orMir,who established theRashidun Caliphate.MainlySheikhswho trace their lineage toQuraishtribe areQuraishi.Many who can vaguely trace their lineage to theQuraishtribe call themselvesQuraishi.Many having the nameAnsariclaim their lineage to theAnsartribes ofMadina Munawwaraand the companions of theIslamic prophetMuhammadsuch asAbu Ayyub al-Ansari.Many of the present Indian Sheikhs converted from Hindu castes such asKayasthandRajput.
There are also descendants of SyedJalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhariand through his grandson Syed Jahaniyan Jahangsht, who can trace their lineage to theTwelve Imamsfrom the lineage ofImam Ali al-Hadi(known as Imam Naqi). The Sufi Saint Jalaludin Surkh Posh settled in modern-day Punjab to spread Islam.
During the early twentieth century, the Arabs abandonedArabicforUrdu.[9]Each clan is of equal status, but the Quraishis are accorded seniority as the tribe ofMuhammad.[9] The community have remained strictly endogenous, with virtually no cases of intermarriage with native Indian ethnolinguistic communities such as theGujaratis.[9]
InPunjabregion of Pakistan side including Indian Punjab andSindhregion of Pakistan various tribes such asArain,Abbasi,andBukhari,Syedswho also claim to be Arabs. Arain are the generations of those Arab tribes who arrived withUmayyadGeneralMuhammad Bin Qasimvia Sindh in 711 A.D.
Arab ancestry among Indians
[edit]It is estimated that several groups in India haveMiddle EasternArab ancestry. Especially Muslim groups and various populations in western India have at least some Arab ancestry. Genetic analyses show that Arab and other West Asian lineages are quite common in Indians.[10][11]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 23,318 | — |
| 1981 | 28,116 | +20.6% |
| 1991 | 21,975 | −21.8% |
| 2001 | 51,728 | +135.4% |
| 2011 | 54,947 | +6.2% |
| Source: Language Census of India (2011) | ||
See also
[edit]- India–Saudi Arabia relations
- India–United Arab Emirates relations
- Arab diaspora
- Adnani Arabs
- Chaush (India)
References
[edit]- ^"Language"(PDF).Census of India.2011.
- ^Pillalamarri, Akhilesh."India and the Gulf States Share a Long History".thediplomat.com.Retrieved2020-09-05.
- ^Observer, Oman (2017-12-25)."Ancient Oman had trade links with Indus Valley".Oman Observer.Retrieved2020-09-05.
- ^Mohamed, K.M.; Mohammad, K.M. (1999)."ARAB RELATIONS WITH MALABAR COAST FROM 9th TO 16th CENTURIES".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.60:226–234.ISSN2249-1937.JSTOR44144090.
- ^Koya, S.M. Mohamad (1976)."Muslims of the Malabar Coast as Descendants of the Arabs".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.37:195–200.ISSN2249-1937.JSTOR44138933.
- ^"Familytree - Syrian Christians DNA Project Information Nasranis".18 February 2007.
- ^"Hadhramis present a slice of Yemen in India's Hyderabad".Al Arabiya English.2018-12-13.Retrieved2020-09-05.
- ^Khalidi, Omar(1996)."The Arabs of Hadramawt in Hyderabad".In Kulkarni; Naeem; De Souza (eds.).Mediaeval Deccan History.Bombay:Popular Prakashan.ISBN978-8-1715-4579-7.
- ^abcPeople of India Gujarat Volume XXII Part One Editors R. B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan and M Azeez Mohideen pages 74 to 77
- ^Belle, Elise M. S.; Shah, Saima; Parfitt, Tudor; Thomas, Mark G. (2010-09-01). "Y chromosomes of self-identified Syeds from the Indian subcontinent show evidence of elevated Arab ancestry but not of a recent common patrilineal origin".Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.2(3): 217–224.doi:10.1007/s12520-010-0040-1.ISSN1866-9565.S2CID16195047.
- ^Yelmen, Burak; Mondal, Mayukh; Marnetto, Davide; Pathak, Ajai K; Montinaro, Francesco; Gallego Romero, Irene; Kivisild, Toomas; Metspalu, Mait; Pagani, Luca (August 2019)."Ancestry-Specific Analyses Reveal Differential Demographic Histories and Opposite Selective Pressures in Modern South Asian Populations".Molecular Biology and Evolution.36(8): 1628–1642.doi:10.1093/molbev/msz037.ISSN0737-4038.PMC6657728.PMID30952160.
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