Turk Jamat
Encyclopedia
The Turk Jamat are a Muslim
community found in the state of Gujarat in India
. Many members of Turk Jamat Muslim community migrated to Pakistan
after the independence in 1947 and settled in Karachi
.
s of Junagadh
. They claim to be earliest Muslim
settlers to the Sorath
region of Kathiawar
, and claim to have from Central Asia
as soldiers in the army of Alauddin Khilji
. The community are still found mainly in the taluka of Verawal in Junagadh District
. They are also found in the talukas of Keshod, Una, and Mandvi
of Junagadh District
. The community are Gujarati
speaking, using the Kathiawari
dialect.
The community had traditionally served as soldiers in the armies of the various princely states in the Kathiawar Agency
. They were and still are a community of small to medium sized farmers. A good many are also traders. Like other Gujarati Muslim
s, they have a caste association known as the Jamat, which acts both as a welfare organization and an instrument of social control.
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 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...
. Many members of Turk Jamat Muslim community migrated to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
after the independence in 1947 and settled in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
.
History and origin
The Turk Jamat claim descent from Turk soldiers who served in the army of the NawabNawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
s of 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,...
. They claim to be earliest 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...
settlers to the Sorath
Sorath
Sorath is an India musical raga that appears in the Sikh tradition from northern India and is part of the Sikh holy scripture called Sri Guru Granth Sahib Every raga has a strict set of rules which govern the number of notes that can be used; which notes can be used; and their interplay that has...
region of Kathiawar
Kathiawar
Kathiawar or Kathiawad is a peninsula in western India, which is part of the Saurashtra region on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state. It is bounded on the north by the great wetland of the Rann of Kutch, on the northwest by the Gulf of Kutch, on the west and south by the Arabian Sea, and on...
, and claim to have from Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
as soldiers in the army of Alauddin Khilji
Alauddin Khilji
Ali Gurshap Khan better known by his titular name as Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji was the second ruler of the Turko-Afghan Khilji dynasty in India.He was a well and capable ruler. He belonged to the Afghanized Turkic tribe of the Khiljis...
. The community are still found mainly in the taluka of Verawal in Junagadh District
Junagadh district
Junagadh District is a district of the Indian state of Gujarat. Its administrative headquarters is the city of Junagadh.-Geography:The district is located on the Kathiawar peninsula in western Gujarat. It is surrounded by Rajkot District , Porbandar District , Amreli District...
. They are also found in the talukas of Keshod, Una, and Mandvi
Mandvi
Mandvi is a city and a Municipality in Kachchh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was once a major port of the region and summer retreat for Maharao of the Kachchh. The old city had a surrounding fort, and remains of the fort wall can still be seen to this day...
of Junagadh District
Junagadh district
Junagadh District is a district of the Indian state of Gujarat. Its administrative headquarters is the city of Junagadh.-Geography:The district is located on the Kathiawar peninsula in western Gujarat. It is surrounded by Rajkot District , Porbandar District , Amreli District...
. The community are Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
speaking, using the Kathiawari
Kathiawari
The Kathiawari is a breed of horse from India, originating in the Kathiawar peninsula. Closely related to the Marwari horse, and resembling both that breed and the Arabian horse from which they descend, the Kathiawari was originally bred as a desert war horse for use over long distances, in rough...
dialect.
Present circumstances
The Turk Jamat have fourteen clans, the main ones being the Mughal, Mori, Gori, Mirza, Gobi, Chauhan, Rathore, Shelat, Agwan, Hala, Tajwani, Tavani, Kajal, Khokhar and Regowa. Among these the Mughal, Mirza and Shelat are three numerically dominant sections. All these clans have equal status and intermarry. They are endogamous, and marriage is preferred with in close kin, and they practice both cross cousin and parallel cousin marriage.The community had traditionally served as soldiers in the armies of the various princely states in the Kathiawar Agency
Kathiawar Agency
The Kathiawar Agency, on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, was a political unit of some 200 small princely states under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency of British India. Soon after India's independence in 1947, all but one of them acceded to the new...
. They were and still are a community of small to medium sized farmers. A good many are also traders. Like other 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...
s, they have a caste association known as the Jamat, which acts both as a welfare organization and an instrument of social control.