Hyderabadi Muslims

History

The Deccan plateau acted as a bulwark sheltering South India from the invasions and political turmoil that affected North India. This allowed the Muslim-ruled state of Hyderabad to develop a distinctive culture during the Qutb Shahi dynasty, Mughal Aurangzeb and later the Asaf Jahi dynasty of the Nizams.

According to Time, the seventh Nizam was the richest man in the world during the late 1940s, and fifth richest person of all time according to Forbes Magazine after adjustment for inflation and currency purchasing power parity.

The Nizam was the Muslim ruler of the vast princely Hyderabad State. The capital city of Hyderabad was primarily Urdu-speaking Muslim until the Incorporation of Hyderabad into India and the subsequent rise to dominance of Telugu-speaking people of Telangana State. The state's economy was agrarian, and Hyderabad was primarily a government and administrative hub, run mostly (but far from exclusively) by Muslims. The aristocracy, jagirdars and deshmukhs (wealthy landowners), and even minor government officials, could afford to hire servants, usually also Muslims, in a social order similar to the class system of Victorian England. The Nizam allied himself with the British early on, with ensuing political stability. The Muslim upper and middle classes were free to concentrate on a care-free and leisurely lifestyle involving clothes, jewelry, food, music, literary arts, and other indulgences, little of which trickled down to the servant class, known as naukar (a word originally used for the Mughal Emperor Babur's closest feudal retainers).

After Indian Independence from the British Raj, Hyderabad State, under the rule of the Seventh Nizam lasted for a year, until September 18, 1948, when the Indian Army, launched Operation Polo, and invaded Hyderabad state, annexing it into the Indian Union. The Invasion resulted in the massacre of thousands of Hyderabadi Muslims, and mass migration mainly to the west, and Pakistan.

The Hyderabadi Muslim Identity After the Integration

The Integration of Hyderabad, into the dominion of India, other than the shock of the controversial massacre of the integration, took a turn of an identity crisis for the Hyderabadi Muslim people. Thousands of Hyderabadi Muslims emigrated from the newly integrated Indian state of Hyderabad for Pakistan, the UK, the U.S. and Canada, creating a large diaspora of people. The people who migrated to Pakistan were now placed under a new term called Muhajir, along with other Urdu speaking immigrants from present day India. Even though the Muhajir people began to dominate politics and business mainly in the metropolitan city of Karachi, their unique Hyderabadi Muslim Identity was lost, and has now evolved into a result of Karachi's booming cosmopolitan scene. The Hyderabadi Muslims who stayed in the integrated Hyderabad state, were faced with new language issues, and a wave of immigration from other Indian states, especially after 1956. After the Indian reorganization of 1956, with states being divided on linguistic lines, Hyderabadi Muslims, in Telangana, Marathwada, and Hyderabad-Karnataka were faced with the learning and emerging dominance of Telugu, Marathi, and Kannada respectively, and their native language Dakhini became a home language while Urdu in the forefront of Politics in these regions became comparatively less widespread. The present day Hyderabadi Muslims know very little about their cultural heritage, especially those who aren't from Hyderabad city, or India. Hyderabadi Muslims are now seen as a result of Indian cosmopolitanism, and their history is being lost in Indian textbooks.

The relative isolation of Hyderabad until annexation to India, its distinctive dialect of Urdu and the strong web of interconnecting family relationships that still characterizes Hyderabadi Muslims, sometimes leads to charges of parochialism from other Indian Muslim communities, but it also ensures a Hyderabadi Muslim identity endures among the Indian diaspora.

Demographics and distribution

The largest concentration of Hyderabadi Muslims is in the old city of Hyderabad. After the Partition of India and the Incorporation of Hyderabad by India, the Muslims of the state lost their privileged status, so significant numbers chose to migrate to other countries such as Pakistan, the Arab States of the Persian Gulf, the United States, UK, Canada and Australia.

Because of its status as the richest of the princely states in India and being ruled by a Muslim leader, Hyderabad State attracted Muslims from all around India and even other countries in search of work. Many Muslim poets, musicians, scholars, soldiers and administrators from far and wide sought employment in the Nizam's court, the Hyderabad Civil Service, army or educational institutions. Among those who spent a significant amount of time in Hyderabad were the famous poet Josh Malihabadi, Fani Badayuni, religious scholar Shibli Nomani and court photographer Lala Deen Dayal among others

A section of Hyderabadi Muslims are of Hadhrami Arab origin, who came to serve in the Nizam's military. They are known as Chaush and mostly reside in the Barkas neighbourhood of Hyderabad. There are also some Siddis who are of African descent.

In Pakistan, most of the Hyderabadi migrants are settled in the southern port city of Karachi. Estimates of the Hyderabadi population in Karachi range between 20,000 and 200,000 today. The main neighbourhoods where the Hyderabadi migrants in Karachi initially settled were Hyderabad Colony, Bahadurabad (named after the Hyderabadi Muslim leader Bahadur Yar Jang) & Laiqabad known as (Murghi Khana). In 2007, a replica of the famous Charminar monument in Hyderabad was built at the main crossing of Bahadurabad.

Classification

Hyderabadi Muslims today, refer to the Urdu speaking Muslim community, from the 1801 landlocked princely state of Hyderabad, who developed a distinct cultural identity from other Dakhini Muslims. Even though the princely state of Hyderabad had once reached the southernmost points of India, it's the culture from the known landlocked territories of the Nizam, that constitutes Hyderabadi Muslim culture, while the Dakhini Muslims of the Carnatic, and the Circars, developed their own distinct culture, and culinary tradition. The Chaush community, even though they speak Urdu, and live in the erstwhile Hyderabad State, are usually not considered Hyderabadi Muslims, since they came recently to the region. Even though they absorbed many Hyderabadi Muslim cultural features, namely language and cuisine (Chaush cuisine has more Arab influences), they're a more homogeneous group, of Hadhrami Arab ancestry, and reside in close knit Chaush communities such as the Barkas neighborhood of Hyderabad. This is compared to most Hyderabadi Muslims, who have ancestries from various ethnic origins, and are less a homogeneous group.

Politics

Hyderabadi Muslims have organized themselves politically along religious lines.The most prominent example of this is the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, currently led by Asaduddin Owaisi. The party dominates the politics scene in Hyderabad's Old City, and consistently wins seats for the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) and the Telangana Legislative Assembly. The party claims to represent the interests of Muslims by campaigning for greater protection of minority rights. A rival breakaway faction of the AIMIM is the Majlis Bachao Tehreek that also claims to represent the interests of Muslims in Hyderabad.

However, some Hyderabadi Muslims have been strong supporters of secular progressive movements, such as the famous Urdu poets Makhdoom Mohiuddin and Sulaiman Areeb, and Hassan Nasir who participated in the Telangana Rebellion against the rule of the Nizam. Hyderabadi Muslims were also at the forefront of the formation of the Comrades Association in 1939, one of the first communist organizations in Hyderabad which struggled against the Nizam. Other secular members of the Hyderabad Muslim community include Shoaibullah Khan, the editor of the Urdu daily Imroz that was critical of the Razakars and urged Hyderabad's integration with India (he was stabbed to death). The story of a poor Muslim peasant named Bandagi who was killed while struggling against the landlord was immortalised in the popular drama Ma Bhoomi about the Telangana Rebellion. In 1946, editor of Urdu daily Saltanat Sayyid Ahmedullah Qadri was the first journalist of Hyderabad state who wrote articles on the One nation Theory.

Culture

Hyderabadi Muslims, are noted for their hospitable nature also known as Deccani Tehzeeb. While Hyderabadi Muslims take pride in their "Nawabi" language, literature, poetry, architecture, and cuisine. The performing arts are often overlooked, especially regarding Hyderabadi culture. In fact, the once, great culture of the Hyderabadi Muslims, and their Nizam is being lost. Interestingly enough though, the founding of the city of Hyderabad, can be attributed to one of the wives of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, Queen Bhagyamati, who was a dancer in the courts of the Golkonda kings, with whom the founder of Hyderabad had named the city in her honour, Bhagyanagar, and later Hyderabad. Tales of the legendary dancers Taramati, and Premamati, are still echoed in the halls of the Taramati Baradari, showing the rich culture of Hyderabad's glorious past. Mah Laqa Bhai, a prominent Hyderabadi Muslim poet of the 18th century, patronized the Kathak dance form in the courts of the Nizam, which is now being lost amongst Hyderabadi Muslims. Though, the once great dance traditions among the Hyderabadi Muslims are almost lost, two distinct, cultural practices are still popular among Hyderabadi Muslims, namely Marfa, and Dholak ke Geet. Marfa was brought by the Siddi and Chaush peoples, of Africa and Yemen, who were deployed in the army of the Nizams. This music, is accompanied by the beating drums of a great tradition, which were once popular in national celebrations of the dissolved Hyderabad state, is still popular among Hyderabadi Muslims in marriages. Dholak ke geet is also one such great tradition. Dholak ke geet are songs, that have been orally passed down from generation to generation since the time of the Nizams, and is sung at marriages, accompanied by a Dholak drum. Dholak ke geet are sung by all members of a family, regardless of gender, and age, and have strange yet funny lyrics bringing up awkward situations, the most popular being, "Kaali Murghi," which talks about someone losing their black chicken. Other than Musical forms of art, Hyderabadi Muslims have taken great honour in the writing, and reading of poetry, and annual Mushairas and Mehfils take place around the world, which has become a symbol of unity for Hyderabadi Muslims, and Urdu poets alike, continuing an ancient tradition.

Language and literature

One of the most identifiable markers of Hyderabadi Muslim culture is the local dialect of Urdu, called Hyderabadi Urdu which in itself is a form of Dakhini. It is distinct by its mixture of vocabulary from Turkish, Persian and Arabic, as well in some vocabulary from Telugu and Marathi that are not found in the standard dialect of Urdu. In terms of pronunciation, the easiest way to recognize a Hyderabadi Urdu is use of "nakko"(no) and "hau"(yes); whereas in standard Urdu its "nahi" for (no) and "haa" for (yes).

Though Hyderabadi Urdu or Dakhini are the native languages of the Hyderabadi Muslim people, most people can speak standard Urdu, and often put Urdu as their mother tongue on censuses, as Dakhini is not a recognized language as such. Along with the languages they learn from birth, Hyderabadi Muslims can speak Hindi, which is mutually inteligible with standard Urdu, and taught in most Indian schools. Hyderabadi Muslims can also speak the majority languages spoken in the regions they live, namely Telugu, Marathi, and Kannada. The other important characteristic of the natives is cultural refinement in terms of interpersonal communication, referred to as 'meethi boli' (or, sweet and civilised speech). 'Tameez', 'tahzeeb' and 'akhlaq' (etiquette, custom, and tradition) are considered very important and guests are treated well with lot of 'mahmaan nawaazi' (hospitality).

Among the famous Hyderabadi Urdu poets are Amjad Hyderabadi, Dagh Dehalvi, Molana Mufti Mir Ashraf Ali, Safi Aurangabadi Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Sulaiman Areeb and khawja Shouq. Others poets who made Hyderabad their home for a significant amount of time include Josh Malihabadi and Fani Badayuni. Although not a Muslim himself, Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad was steeped in Hyderabadi Muslim culture and wrote Urdu poetry under the pen name of "Shad" (Urdu: شاد‎).

Cuisine

Some famous Hyderabadi cuisine (dishes) that are served at weddings are: Hyderabadi Biryani, Haleem, Khubani ka Mitha, Gil-e-Firdaus, Double Ka Meetha, Luqmi, Dum ka qimah, Marag, Kaddu ki Kheer, Mirchi ka Salan and Baghare Baigan.

Other popular food items are: Chakna, Tamate ka Kut, Khatti Dal, Dalcha, Shirmal, Rawghani Roti, Nahari, Pasande, Pathar Ka Ghosht, Naan, Dum Ka Murgh, Khagina, Katche Gosht Ki Biryani, Khichdi, Nargisi Kheema, Shaami, Kofte, Tala Hua Ghosht, Poori, Kheer, Sheer Khorma, Til ka Khatta, Til ki Chutney and Qubuli,shikampur,Tahari, Khichdi, shawarma.

Chai and Paan are served after a meal.

Khada Dupatta

The Khada Dupatta or Khara Dupatta(uncut veil) is an outfit composed of a kurta (tunic), chooridaar (ruched pair of pants), and 6 yard dupatta (veil) and is traditionally worn by Hyderabad brides. Sometimes the kurta is sleeveless and worn over a koti resembling a choli. The bride also wears a matching ghoonghat (veil) over her head. The accompanying jewellery is:

Sherwani

The Sherwani is the traditional men's garb of Hyderabad. It is a coat-like tunic with a tight-fitting collar (hook & eyelet fastening), close-fitting in the upper torso and flaring somewhat in its lower half. It usually has six or seven buttons, often removable ones made from gold sovereigns for special occasions. The material is usually silk or wool. A groom may use gold brocade for his wedding sherwani, but otherwise good taste dictates understated colors, albeit with rich and textured fabrics. The sherwani is usually worn over a silk or cotton kurta (long shirt) and pyjamas (baggy pants with a drawstring at the waist).

The sherwani is closely associated with Hyderabad, although it has spread since to the rest of India and to Pakistan. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru adapted its design and turned it into his trademark Nehru Jacket, further popularizing the garment.

Religion

The majority of Hyderabadi Muslims are Sunni and the two largest minorities are Shia and Mahdavi. Sunni Muslims mostly follow the Hanafi school of Islamic Jurisprudence, although the Chaush community follows the Shafi'i school of thought and mainly reside in areas close to Barkas, the former Military Barracks of the Nizam, an area where the residents are mainly of Hadhrami Arab descent from Yemen. Shia Muslims mostly resides in Old City areas like Noor Khan Bazar, Darul Shifa, Purani Haveli, Dabeer pura, Yaqut pura, Ali Jah Kotla and surroundings. These areas has many historical Imam bargahs and Shia Mosques since Quli Qutub shah dynasty followed by Nizams. There are some small numbers of Shias in Moula Ali area, Qayam Nagar, Langar House and in New City mostly Iranis which owns many reputed restaurant throughout the city Muharram and Ramzan observe by Shia. While Mahdavis densely populated in Chanchalguda,Kaladera, Malakpet,Chauni Nad e Ali Baig, Kachiguda, Musheerabad, Baba Nagar and other parts of the city. Many MahdaviaDaira are located in chanchalguda and Musheerabad. Islam in Hyderabad, with historical patronizing by the rulers, has a strong Sufi influence, Tablighi Jamaat has also been active since late 50s, with its headquarters at Jama Masjid Mallepally. Salafis, Dawoodi Bohra and Ismai'li are also in some areas. Bismillah ceremony a Islam initiation ceremony, held for children between the age 3 – 5.

Religious knowledge and its propagation flourished under the Nizam with institutions like the world-famous Jamia Nizamia (Jami'ah Nizamiyyah) of Hyderabad. The largest Mosque of Hyderabad, the Makkah Masjid gathers congregations of two hundred thousand and more on special occasions of Eid prayers and especially of Jumu'at-al Wida' ( the last Friday of Ramadan )

Hyderabad has also produced many renowned religious scholars of representing different Islamic sects and trends, including Bahadur Yar Jung, Jamaat-e-Islami founder Abul Ala Maududi,Hazrath Syed Ashraf Shamsi, Allama Hazrat Moulana Mufti Mir Ashraf Ali,The Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Nizam, Hazrath Syed Shabuddin (Moulvi Sahab), Afzal-ul- Ulema Hazrath Syed Najmuddin, Hazrath Syed Nusrath Mujtehdi, Tablighi jamaat key player maulana abid khan sahab, Sunni Barelvi scholar Turab-ul-Haq Qadri, and Shia scholars Allamah Rasheed Turabi, Moulana Baquar Agha (Ex Mla MIM) . Currently professor and philosopher Dr. M. A. Muqtedar Khan, who lives and teaches in the U.S. is one of the most famous intellectuals from Hyderabad who frequently lectures in Europe, and the Middle East.

Writers and poets

Religious scholars

Artists

Academics

Scientists

Politicians

Military Services

Administrators

Cricket

Football and hockey

Tennis and other sports

Others