The Deshwali, or sometimes pronounced Deswali, are a

muslim community ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

found in the state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. A small number of Deshwali are found in the city of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, sindh .

History and origin

The community gets its name from the word ''desh'', which in the local Marwari language means land and ''wali'', which in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

(originally from Arabic) means lord, literally the word ''Deshwali'' means a feudal lord. They were employed as soldiers in the army of

Prithvi Raj Chauhan Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present ...

. They are the early adopters of the Islam in India, which they accepted via the preaching of the Sufi saint

Moinuddin Chishti Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan Sijzī (1143–1236 CE), known more commonly as Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī or Moinuddin Chishti, or by the epithet Gharib Nawaz (),Blain Auer, "Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan", in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, TH ...

. In

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, the community lives in Indore, Barnagar and Ratlam. In

, they live in Nagour, Ajmer, Tonk, Bhilwara, Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Bundi, Udaipur and Jaipur districts. They speak the Marwari dialect, with many having knowledge of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' gotras In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra ...

, and practice both parallel and cross-cousin marriages. The community consists of large to medium-sized farmers, and like other

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

groups in

, have been affected by the abolishment of the Jagirdari system. A small number of Deshwali are sharecroppers and landless agricultural labourers. A few are also engaged in petty business, and the community has seen a growth in education and the start of urbanization. The Deshwali are Sunni and continue to pay special reverence to

, the Sufi saint of

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "' ...

. They are relatively more orthodox than the Merat and

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

, neighbouring

Muslim Rajput Muslim Rajputs are the descendants of Rajputs of Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval period in India onwards, retaining historically Hindu surnames suc ...

communities.''People of India Rajasthan'' Volume XXXVIII Part One edited by B.K Lavania, D. K Samanta, S K Mandal & N.N Vyas pages 312 to 315 Popular Prakashan In addition to the Deswalis in

, there is also community of Deshwali found in the city of Hyderabad sindh and adjoining rural areas. They maintain close relations with the

Qaimkhani Kayamkhani or Kaimkhani (also spelled kayam Khani and Kaim Khani) is a Muslim community of India who were notable for ruling the Fatehpur-Jhunjhunu region in Rajasthan from the 1300s to the 1700s. History They are said to be descended from Cha ...

and Khanzada, two neighbouring

Rajasthani Rajasthani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India * Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there * Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region * Rajasthani architecture * Rajasthani art ...

communities found in Sindh.

References

{{Indian Muslim Social groups of Rajasthan Jat clans Muslim communities of India Muslim communities of Rajasthan Sindhi tribes