Concept

Ghosi tribe

Summary
The Ghosi are a Muslim community found mainly in North India. Ghosis of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar claim descent from the Ahir community, and indeed are known as Muslim Ahirs. The Ghosi in West Bengal claim Rathore Rajput ancestry. In Uttar Pradesh, they have the following sub-divisions, Thena, Chauhan, Dogar, Chikange and Bam. These sub-divisions are known as shijras, and the Ghosi prefer to marry within the shijra. Consanguineous marriages are now starting to take place. They use the surname Khan, which also used by other pastoral or agricultural Muslim communities of North India. The community is landless, and their main economic activity is the rearing of the cow or buffalo, and selling milk. Many now are employed as labourers as well. They are found throughout North India, and in Uttar Pradesh are concentrated in the districts of Lucknow, Kanpur, Sultanpur, Meerut, Bahraich, Gonda and Kheri. They speak Urdu and various local dialects of Hindi, in particular Awadhi. The Ghosi of Rajasthan claim to be of Gujjar origin. They keep large herds of cows and buffaloes and sell the milk. In Jhunjhunu and Jaipur districts, they are known as Ghosi, while in Churu, Jodhpur and Sikar districts, they are known as Gujar Ghosi. A good many Ghosi are also cultivators, and many are now landless agricultural labourers. The community are divided into a number of clans, known as gotras, the main ones being the Tinna, Khaleri, Moel, Balhud, Tatar, Bhati and Chauhan. They practice clan exogamy, while maintaining strict endogamy. All the Ghosi clans intermarry and are of equal status. The Ghosi are Sunni Muslims and speak the Shaikhawati dialect of Rajasthani. The Ghosi of West Bengal are found mainly in the districts of 24 Parganas and Midnapore, in particular near the towns of Barrackpur and Kharagpur . According to the traditions of this community, they emigrated from Kanpur, in what is now Uttar Pradesh some five centuries ago. They claim to be descended from Amar Singh Rathore, a Rajput nobleman from Jhansi, on whose conversion to Islam was disowned by his caste.
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