>John of Reading at 09:18, 31 October 2020

2020-10-31T09:18:36Z

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The '''Galiara''' are a [[Muslim]] community found in the state of [[Gujarat]] in [[India]].<ref>People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part One edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pp. 364–367</ref>

== History and origin ==

The Galiara derive their name from the [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] word ''gali'' which means ''indigo''. People who are engaged in the extraction of indigo and dyeing are referred to as Galiara. They are found throughout [[Gujarat]]. According to their traditions, the community were originally [[Rajput|hindu]], who some four hundred years ago, migrated from [[Marwar]] to [[Junagadh]], in search of a livelihood. The Galiara are descendants of these Hindu who converted to [[Islam]] under the influence of a [[Muslim]], Musabhai. They are mainly distributed in the districts of [[Bhavnagar]], [[Rajkot]] and [[Junagadh]]. The community speak Gujarati, although most now have some knowledge of [[Hindi]]. <ref>People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part One edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pp. 364–367</ref>

== Present circumstances ==

The community is divided into a number of clans, the main ones being the Mehtar, Pathan, Raddiwala, Khanzada, Mirza and Shaikh. Their traditional occupation has been greatly affected by the growth of paper mills, and many Kagzis have abandoned there paper manufacturing. Many are now involved in petty trade, or have taken to farming. The Ahmadabad Kagzi Jamaat is their caste association, and deals with the various problems of the community.<ref>People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Two edited by R. B. Lal, P. B. S. V. Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pp. 571–575</ref>

== See also==

*[[Kadia (Muslim)|Muslim Kadia]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}
{{Indian Muslim}}

[[Category:Social groups of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Muslim communities of India]]
[[Category:Muslim communities of Gujarat]]

Galiara - Revision history

>John of Reading at 09:18, 31 October 2020