The Jaga are a 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...

  community found in the state of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

 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...

. They are also known as Jagawa and Jagabhatt.

Origin

The Jaga are converts from the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 Jaga Bhatt

Jaga people of India

Jagas are a social caste based group of people higher up in the Hindu hierarchy who held the traditional job of genealogists of primarily Rajput, Gurjar and Meenas families mainly in Rajasthan and surrounding states. They had power and a matching responsibility for accuracy as their testimony in...

 caste

Caste

Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...

. Like other Bhatt communities the Jaga were once a community of professional singers and genealogists. The Jaga are found in the districts of Shahjahanpur

Shahjahanpur District

Shahjahanpur district is one of the historical districts of Uttar Pradesh in the republic of India. It is a part of Bareilly division. The main town is Shahjahanpur and its Tehsils are: Powayan, Tilhar, Jalalabad, and Kanth....

, Bareilly

Bareilly District

Bareilly district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. City of Bareilly is the district headquarters. The district consists of six tehsils. These are: Aonla, Baheri, City of Bareilly, Faridpur, Meerganj and Nawabganj. Bareilly district is a part of Bareilly Division....

, Farrukhabad

Farrukhabad District

Farrukhabad district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The town of Fatehgarh is the district headquarters. The district is part of Kanpur Division....

, Hardoi

Hardoi District

Hardoi disctrict is a district of Uttar Pradesh, India, and Hardoi town is the district headquarters. Hardoi district is a part of Lucknow division.-Economy:...

, Unnao

Unnao District

Unnao District is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The town of Unnao is the district headquarters. The district is part of Lucknow Division.-History:...

 and Lucknow

Lucknow District

Lucknow District is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Lucknow is the district headquarters and the district is part of Lucknow Division...

. They speak 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...

 among themselves, and Hindi with outsiders.

Present Circumstances

The Jaga are divided into two sub-groups, the Ladua and Laggiha. Each of these two groups are strictly endogamous, and intermarriages between the two groups is rare. In fact, like other Uttar Pradesh Muslim

Muslims of Uttar Pradesh

Muslims in Uttar Pradesh number about 30,740,158 , and form the largest religious minority in the state. They are also known as Urdu speakers, on account of Urdu being their native language, and have also been referred to as Hindustani Musalman. In the strict sense, the Uttar Pradesh Muslims do not...

s, the community practice both cross cousin and parallel cousin marriages. The Jaga are entirely Shia, but also incorporate folk beliefs.

Traditionally, the Jaga were engaged in composing poetry and reciting the poetry on special occasions. They were dependent on patrons, who were often the large landowners known as zamindar

Zamindar

A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...

s and in Awadh

Awadh

Awadh , also known in various British historical texts as Oudh or Oude derived from Ayodhya, is a region in the centre of the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh...

, the talukdars. With the abolishment of the zamindar

Zamindar

A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...

 system by the 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...

n government at independence in 1947, the Jaga lost many of their patrons. The community are now mainly employed as landless agricultural labourers.