Arab (Gujarat)
Encyclopedia
A large number of people with Arab
origins have over time have settled in the state of Gujarat in India
, and now form one of the large communities Muslim
in that state. They are also known as Chavuse, especially in Saurashtra. In Gujarat the term Arab
strictly refers to families that came in the 17th, 18th and 19th Century from the Arabian Peninsula
, and does not include the Sayyid
and Shaikh
communities, who also claim an Arab
origin. They have a common origin with the Chaush
community of the Deccan region.
, while others claim to have from the Hadhramaut
region of Yemen
. During the 18th Century, when the Gujarat region was divided into a number of states, many Arabs were recruited by the various rajahs for their armed forces. Arabs soldiers made a large part of the armies of Bhavnagar
and Jamnagar
states. During the early twentieth century, the Arabs abandoned Arabic for Urdu
, Bhavnagar
, Panchmahal and Surat
. They are divided in 169 clans, but generally divided into groups, the Hejazi, originating from Saudi Arabia
, and the Hadhramis
from Yemen
. Their main clans are the Akvon, Acari, Ansari, Anuj, Kathiri, and Qureshi. Each clan is of equal status, but the Qureshis are accorded seniority on account of the fact that they were the tribe of the Prophet Mohammad.
The Arab community is mainly landless. Military and security services in the armies of the states of Jamnagar
, Junagadh
and Bhavnagar
was their traditional occupation. They are now mainly in urban community, and have taken up a number of professional occupations such as the law and medicine. A significant numbers have also emigrated to the Arab Persian Gulf states
such as the Abu Dhabi
, Saudi Arabia
and Qatar
. The community have a caste association, the Akhil Gujarat Arab Samaj, which is active in community affairs. They are Sunni Muslim
s, with a few belonging to the Wahabi sect. The community have remained strictly endogamous, with virtually no cases of intermarriage with neighbouring Gujarati Muslim
communities.
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
origins have over time have settled in the state of Gujarat in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and now form one of the large communities Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
in that state. They are also known as Chavuse, especially in Saurashtra. In Gujarat the term Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
strictly refers to families that came in the 17th, 18th and 19th Century from the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
, and does not include the Sayyid
Sayyid of Gujarat
The Sayyid of Gujarat are members of the wider Sayyid community of South Asia. They are also known as Mir and Pirzada.-History and origin:...
and Shaikh
Gujarati Shaikh
The Shaikh are a Muslim community found in the state of Gujarat in India. They are part of the larger Shaikh community of South Asia. Included within the Shaikh community are the Shaikhda of Bharuch district and the Sodagar of Patan.-History and origin:...
communities, who also claim an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
origin. They have a common origin with the Chaush
Chaush
The Chaush are a Sunni Muslim community of Hadhrami Arab descent found in the Deccan region of India. An extension of these Arab descendants are also found in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro. It is a Turkish word used particularly during the Ottoman era of the Balkans, 'Chaush' or Čauši were...
community of the Deccan region.
Origin
Some of the Arabs of Gujarat claim to have come from SindhSindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, while others claim to have from the Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut, Hadhramout, Hadramawt or Ḥaḍramūt is the formerly independent Qu'aiti state and sultanate encompassing a historical region of the south Arabian Peninsula along the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, extending eastwards from Yemen to the borders of the Dhofar region of Oman...
region of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. During the 18th Century, when the Gujarat region was divided into a number of states, many Arabs were recruited by the various rajahs for their armed forces. Arabs soldiers made a large part of the armies of Bhavnagar
Bhavnagar
-Topography:Bhavnagar is a coastal city in the eastern coast of Saurashtra, also known as Kathiawar, located at . It has an average elevation of 24 metres . It occupies area of 53.30 km². General slope dips in the northeasterly direction at the apex of Gulf of Khambhat...
and Jamnagar
Jamnagar
Jamnagar is a city and a municipal corporation in Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city was built up substantially by Maharaja Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji in the 1920s, when the district was known as Nawanagar. The district lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch and is...
states. During the early twentieth century, the Arabs abandoned Arabic for Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
Present circumstances
The Arabs are now found in the districts of JunagadhJunagadh
Junagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...
, Bhavnagar
Bhavnagar
-Topography:Bhavnagar is a coastal city in the eastern coast of Saurashtra, also known as Kathiawar, located at . It has an average elevation of 24 metres . It occupies area of 53.30 km². General slope dips in the northeasterly direction at the apex of Gulf of Khambhat...
, Panchmahal and Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
. They are divided in 169 clans, but generally divided into groups, the Hejazi, originating from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, and the Hadhramis
Hadhrami people
The Hadhrami or Hadharem are people from the Hadhramaut and their descendants in diaspora communities around the world. They speak Hadhrami Arabic....
from Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. Their main clans are the Akvon, Acari, Ansari, Anuj, Kathiri, and Qureshi. Each clan is of equal status, but the Qureshis are accorded seniority on account of the fact that they were the tribe of the Prophet Mohammad.
The Arab community is mainly landless. Military and security services in the armies of the states of Jamnagar
Jamnagar
Jamnagar is a city and a municipal corporation in Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city was built up substantially by Maharaja Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji in the 1920s, when the district was known as Nawanagar. The district lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch and is...
, Junagadh
Junagadh
Junagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...
and Bhavnagar
Bhavnagar
-Topography:Bhavnagar is a coastal city in the eastern coast of Saurashtra, also known as Kathiawar, located at . It has an average elevation of 24 metres . It occupies area of 53.30 km². General slope dips in the northeasterly direction at the apex of Gulf of Khambhat...
was their traditional occupation. They are now mainly in urban community, and have taken up a number of professional occupations such as the law and medicine. A significant numbers have also emigrated to the Arab Persian Gulf states
Arab states of the Persian Gulf
"Arab states of the Persian Gulf" or "Arab Persian Gulf states" or "Persian Gulf Arab states" or "Arabic Persian Gulf states" or "Arab States of The Gulf", are terms that refer to the six Arab states of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, bordering the Persian Gulf....
such as the Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. The community have a caste association, the Akhil Gujarat Arab Samaj, which is active in community affairs. They are Sunni Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s, with a few belonging to the Wahabi sect. The community have remained strictly endogamous, with virtually no cases of intermarriage with neighbouring Gujarati Muslim
Gujarati Muslim
The term Gujarati Muslims is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the State of Gujarat in west India, who speaks the Gujarati Language as a mother-tongue and follows certain customs different from the rest of Indian Muslims...
communities.