Kutchi people

Kutchi people
કચ્છી ڪڇي कच्छी
Total population
c. 1 million
Regions with significant populations
India, Pakistan
Languages
Kutchi
Additionally: Gujarati, Jangbari, Hindi-Urdu, or Sindhi
Religion
Majority: Hinduism, Minority: Jainism, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Sindhis, Gujaratis, other Indo-Aryan peoples

The Kutchi people (Kutchi and Gujarati: કચ્છી (Gujarati script); Sindhi: ڪڇي (Perso-Arabic); कच्छी (Devanagari), IPA: [kətːʃʰiː])[citation needed] traditionally hail from the Kutch district of the western Indian state of Gujarat and the Sindh province of Pakistan.

History

The Kutchi Memons are a Kutchi people who converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 15th century A.D., due to the influence of Sunni Pirs, such as Saiyid Abdullah. Kutchis, being a part of the Indian diaspora, have maintained their traditions abroad; in 1928, Kutchi Hindus in Nairobi held a Swaminarayan procession which 1200 people attended. The Kutchis have been living in southern part of Sindh for decades and call themselves Sindhis.

Many Kutchi people are also part of the Khoja community, an international diaspora of individuals from Gujarat and its surrounding areas. From the 14th century onwards, they were influenced by the Isma'ili Nizari Pirs such as Pir Sadrudin and converted from Hinduism to Isma'ilism. In the 19th and 20th century, many of them immigrated to East Africa in search of economic opportunities, in addition to North America, the United Kingdom, and Oman.

Notable Kutchi people

Shyamji Krishna Varma
Azim Premji
Vipul Shah

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2011 Census tables: C-16, population by mother tongue". Census of India Website. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  2. ↑ ...
  3. 1 2 "Is Kutchi Rabita Committee any good in a peaceful Lyari?". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 9 June 2020. Kutchis are one of the indigenous communities of the city and mainly concentrated in Lyari, Malir, Baldia Town, Keamari, Ibrahim Hyderi, Mowach Goth and New Karachi. Belonging to the Kutch area in the Indian state of Gujarat, they have been living in Karachi and other parts of Sindh for decades and call themselves Sindhis.
  4. ↑ Srinivas, Smriti (2001). Landscapes of Urban Memory: The Sacred and the Civic in India's High-Tech City. University of Minnesota Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-4529-0489-4.
  5. ↑ Williams, Raymond Brady (8 November 2018). Introduction to Jethalal Hinduism. Cambridge University Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-1-108-42114-0.