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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2020}}
{{infobox ethnic group|
|group= Shaikh
|population = 1,084,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=18084&rog3=IN|title=Shaikh in India}}</ref>
|popplace = • {{flagcountry|India}} • {{flagcountry|Pakistan}}
|langs = • [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] • [[Hindi language|Hindi]] • [[Urdu language|Urdu]]
|rels= • [[File:Allah-green.svg|18px]] [[Islam]] 100% •
|related= • [[Sindhi Shaikh]] • [[Shaikh of Rajasthan]] • [[Shaikhs in South Asia|Shaikh]]
}}

The Shaikh are a [[Muslim]] community found in the state of [[Gujarat]] in [[India]]. They are part of the larger [[Shaikhs in South Asia|Shaikh]] community of [[South Asia]]. Included within the Shaikh community are the [[Shaikhda]] of [[Bharuch district]] and the Sodagar of [[Patan, Gujarat|Patan]].<ref name="ReferenceA">People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Three edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pages 1278-1282</ref>

==History and origin==

The word Shaikh in [[Arabic]] means a tribal elder or headman.

The term Shaikh can cover a community of no definite origin, since the name has been used by any individuals of wide background. On occasion, they may be of influential people or poor farmers converted by Sufi saints who used to adopt Shaikh title.

They played a key role in the early [[Islamic]] history of [[Gujarat]], serving as courtiers and administrators for the [[Gujarat Sultanate|Sultans of Gujarat]] and later [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] rulers. After the breakup of the [[Mughal Empire]], they became rulers of a number of states in the [[Kathiawar]] region, with [[Mangrol, Kathiawar|Mangrol]] being the most important.

The community is found mainly in [[Ahmedabad district|Ahmedabad]], [[Bharuch]], [[Godhra]], [[Vadodara]], [[Rajkot]], [[Junagadh]], [[Bhavnagar]] and the [[Kutch District]]. They are essentially an urban community, except the Shaikh of [[Kutch]]. The [[Kutchi people|Kutchi]] Shaikh have three groups of equal status, the Shaikh Dada, Shaikh Sayed and Shaikh Fakeer. The first two are found in Kanyabee village and the last group in Shaikh Sumrasar village of the [[Bhuj]] [[taluka]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==Shaikh by District History & origin==

=== The Hansotis of Bharuch ===
The Shaikh of [[Bharuch]] District include the Hansotis, a unique community, who initially arose from the [[Hansot]] taluka of [[Gujarat]]. The Hansoti dialect, which has often been assigned to a broader language known as "[[Bombay Urdu]]" has an archaic proto-[[Urdu]] character; it has retained Arabic and Turkic words which other Urdu dialects do not. Some may ascribe it to the geographical middle zone, popularly entitled Bombay Urdu. Their language borrows many grammatical aspects from Indo Aryan languages such as Punjabi, Archaic Turkish Bombay/Dakhni Urdu and Gujarati. Many Hansoti’s also migrated to Pakistan as well during the Partition of India, therefore being a huge community in Pakistan.

The ethnic mix of Hansotis, on the precursor stock, includes a dizzying variety of additions e.g. phenotypic features, covering the range from Yemen, Iraq & Syria to Khorasanian(Central Asian Turco-Persian), native Indic nationalities to Ethiopic Habshis which are a rarity now. One often sees their men being barrel-chested, broad-shouldered with Turkic eyes & noses, children with brown hair, & even the odd example of blue or green eyes & red hair. There are tall men possessed of a Punjabi, or Rajput cast of features . Although a lot of Hansoti’s can speak Gujarati due to its geographical location, however they are not ethnically Gujarati and are somewhat a clannish and independent group. Their Last names consist of Shaikh, Malek(Malik), Chauhan(Rajputs), and Pathan(Pathans).

Many Hansoti’s have settled in several parts of the world. Predominantly California, especially, San Francisco( Bay Area) and several other states, countries in Europe, Africa, etc.

Prominent people from Hansot include:
* [[Shaikh Samad]], who reported directly to the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Akbar]] (regarding the [[Parsi]] community of [[Navsari]], among other matters);
* Actor [[Farooq Sheikh]], and;
* Cricketer [[Abdulahad Malek]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/290721.html|title=Abdulahad Malek profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos}}</ref>

==Present circumstances==

The Shaikh of Gujarat are largely an urban community, with the exception being the Shaikh of [[Kutch]], who are largely farmers. In [[Kutch]], the Shaikh undertake rain fed agriculture, and grow mainly wheat, sorghum and groundnuts. A few rear goat, sheep and cattle. Those in the urban area engage in a number of occupation, and have traditions similar to other [[Gujarati Muslim]]s community. The majority of the Shaikh are [[Sunni]], the only exception being the Shaikh families of the town of [[Khambhat]], who are [[Shia]]. Like other [[Gujarati Muslim]]s, and in opposition to Islamic precepts, some have a statewide caste association, the Shaikh Samyukh Mowath Jamat. The Shaikh of [[Gujarat]] have differing native languages depending on their particular ethnogenesis. Some speak [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] with large number of [[Urdu]] loanwords, while those of [[Kutch]] speak [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]]. .,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> & yet others speak archaic proto-Urdu e.g. Hansotis.

==The Sodagar==

The Sodagar or "Arab Shaikh" are a small sub-group within the larger Shaikh community. They originate from the [[Hadhramaut]] region of [[Yemen]], and settled in the city of [[Patan, Gujarat|Patan]], during the period of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] rule, and intermarried with the [[Sunni Bohra]] community. The community were involved the buying and selling of silk, and exporting it to the [[Middle East]]. They still maintain links with the [[Middle East]], being fluent in [[Arabic]]. But the Sodagar mohalla in Patan has declined, with many of their houses becoming crumbling ruins. They have their own caste association, the Jamat Shams Sodagaran, which is involved in the up keep of their jamat khana, in the town of Patan. They are strictly endogamous, and do not marry with other Shaikh groups. There are still cases of intermarriage with [[Arab]] communities in the [[Middle East]].<ref>Muslim Communities in Gujarat by Satish C Misra pages 112-114</ref>

==See also==

* [[Shaikhs in South Asia]]
* [[Sindhi Shaikh]]s

==References==

{{reflist}}
{{Indian Muslim}}

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

Gujarati Shaikh - Revision history

>Citation bot at 09:41, 7 July 2021