https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Khotta_peopleKhotta people - Revision history2026-07-31T22:36:56ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Khotta_people&diff=130947&oldid=prev>Citation bot at 21:55, 9 July 20212021-07-09T21:55:18Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indo-Aryan Muslim community}}{{EngvarB|date=June 2021}}{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}{{infobox ethnic group<br />
| group = Khotta<br />
| native_name = {{hlist|{{lang|bn|খোট্টা}}|{{lang|ur|{{Nastaliq|کھوٹّا}}}}}}<br />
| image =<br />
| image_caption =<br />
| population = {{Circa|~1&nbsp;million|lk=yes}}<br />
| popplace = {{flagicon image|..West Bengal Flag(INDIA).png}} '''[[West Bengal]], [[India]]'''<br/>([[Burdwan division|Burdwan]], [[Malda division|Malda]], [[Medinipur division|Medinipur]])<br />
| langs = [[Khotta Bhasha]] (native)<br/>[[Bengali language|Bengali]] ('''mostly''' spoken as an [[second language|L2]])<br />
| religions = [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]]<br />
| related_groups = [[Bihari Muslims]]<br />
}}<br />
The '''Khotta''' are a small [[Muslim]] community residing in the [[Indian state]] of [[West Bengal]].<br />
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==History==<br />
The Khotta community trace their origins to the districts of [[Darbhanga district|Darbhanga]] and [[Muzaffarpur district|Muzaffarpur]] in the [[Bihar]] state. Formerly classified as Muslim [[Das (surname)|Das]], they migrated eastwards to West Bengal where they came to be known as the Khotta. Their presence in Bengal dates back several decades and they are mentioned in 20th-century writer [[Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay]]'s [[Srikanta (book)|Srikanta]] novel.<br />
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==Geographic distribution==<br />
They mainly inhabit in Kaliachak I & II, Harishandrapur, Ratua and Manikchak block in the district of Malda and Farakka, Samserganj, Raghunathganj and Suti blocks in the district of Murshidabad. They are also found scattered in parts of Birbhum, Medinipur and Hooghly.<ref name="a">{{cite web |title=West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Report on Khotta Muslim |url=http://wbcbc.gov.in/advice/69-Khotta%20Muslim.pdf|website=wbcdc.gov.in |accessdate=26 May 2020}}</ref><br />
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== Culture ==<br />
The Khotta Muslim people are [[endogamous]] people in general but in recent times marriages happen outside their clans also. They have their own lok sangeet, funeral rites, marriages etc. having traits and features peculiar to their community only. They have special food habits such as kadoka gillabhat, gurbhatta, chinaka gillabhat, palo etc.<ref name="a"/><br />
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== Language ==<br />
The Khotta Muslim people speak [[Khotta Bhasha]] in their homes. The language, which is sort of a dialect, is an admixture of Hindi, Urdu and Bengali. But they all are bilingual and speak & learn Bengali, as Khotta Bhasha has no written form. At present the language has only an intra community conversational status. Their medium of education is now Bengali.<ref name="a"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hassan |first1=Mahmud |title=Khotta Language: Linguistic and Grammatical Identification |url=https://www.academia.edu/6035947 |website=academia.edu |accessdate=26 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Present circumstances ==<br />
The total population of Khotta Muslim people is about 10 [[lakh]]s in the State of West Bengal. The traditional occupation of the community is cultivation. But they have to fall back on the job of small farmers, land labourers, migrant labourers etc. for their livelihood.<ref name="a"/><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:People from West Bengal]]<br />
[[Category:Muslim communities of India]]<br />
{{Indian Muslim}}</div>>Citation bot