The Nagar Muslims are a Muslim community found in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

in India. They are Muslim converts from the larger

Nagar Brahmin Nagar Brahmin is a Brahmin subcaste from the Indian state of Gujarat. Author T. Sasaki writes, amongst Brahmins of Gujarat, Nagar Brahmins were the most prominent subdivision in the political, economic and social relation, social activities o ...

community. The Nagar are also known as Nagar Shaikh.

Origin

The Ahar

pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...

of Bulandshahr District was held by the Nagar and Nagar artisans prior to the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

conquest of the region in the 11th century. During the invasion of Muhammad Ghori, many of them along with their ruler from the

Baranwal Baranwal (also spelled Barnwal, Burnwal, Varnwal, Warnwal or Barnawal) is a part of the larger Bania (caste), Bania community of northern India. They originated in north India in the regions today comprising Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jh ...

community converted to Islam in a deal to prevent further bloodshed and to save the remaining community. During those times, there was a common practice in which part of the community would convert to Islam and the invader would grant clemency to the remainder of the community. The Barnwal converts were called Barani and the Nagar converts were called Nagar Muslims. Even today, many prominent Muslims from Western Uttar Pradesh belong to these communities. As the Nagar played a key role in the 1857

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, most of their estates were confiscated. They were led by Sohrab Khan, who set himself up as the independent ruler, taking advantage of the collapse of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

authority.

Present circumstances

The Nagar are largely endogamous, although there have been a few cases of intermarriage with the Behlim Shaikh of

Bulandshahr Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Governme ...

city, a community of similar status. There remains a marked preference to marry close kin, and they practice both cross cousin and parallel cousin marriages. The Nagar are

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Muslims, and largely

Barelvi The Barelvi movement, also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (People of the Prophet's Way and the Community) is a Sunni revivalist movement that generally adheres to the Hanafi school, Hanafi and Shafi'i school, Shafi'i schools of jurisprudenc ...

. Their customs are similar to other Shaikh communities in the Doab region. The Nagar generally speak standard

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

.Indian Muslims by Mohammad Mujeeb

References

{{Indian Muslim Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh Shaikh clans

Origin

Present circumstances

See also

References