Bachgoti Khanzada

The Bachgoti Khanzada are a Muslim community found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They are sub-group within the larger Khanzada community of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Common surnames include khan and kunwar.^[1]

Origin

The Bachgoti Khanzada claim descent from Tilok Chand, a Bachgoti Rajput chieftain, who was a contemporary of the Mughal Emperor Babar. Tilok Chand is said to have been captured by the Emperor, after an unsecusful rebellion, and given the option to convert to Islam, or face long incarceration. He chose the former option, and took the new name Tatar Khan. His sons, Barid Khan and Jalal Khan adopted the name the khanzada, which literally means a son of a khan. Hasan Khan, a son of Barid Khan, is said to have founded the town of Hasanpur, which was the headquarters of the tribe. The Bachgoti Khanzada were substantial landowners in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and provided the taluqdar families of Hasanpur, Maniarpur and Gangeo.^[2]

Present Circumstances

The Bachgoti Khanzada are found mainly in the districts of Faizabad and Sultanpur. They are Sunni Muslims, except the taluqdar families, but incorporate many folk beliefs. The Bachgoti speak both Awadhi and Urdu. They were at one time substantial landowners, but with the carrying out of land reform by the government of India after independence in 1947, they lost many of their larger estates. The community are now small to medium-sized farmers, growing wheat, sorghum, pulses and sugar cane. They have no caste council or panchayat, although there are localized panchayats in their villages. Although the community did practice clan exogamy, this is no longer the case.^[3]

The sense of belonging to the Rajput community remains strong, with the Bachgoti Khanzada still strongly identifying themselves with the wider Rajput community of Awadh, and often refer to themselves as simply Rajput. This is shown by the persistence in their marriages of Rajput customs, like bursting of fire crackers and sending specially made laddoos to biradati members. Many members of the community continue to serve in the armed forces of India, an activity traditionally associated with the Rajputs. However, like other Indian Muslims, there is growing movement towards orthodoxy, with many of their villages containing madrasas. The madrasas have also facilitated the growth of Urdu, with it beginning to replace the Awadhi dialect they traditionally spoke.^[4]

See also

• Bachgoti
• Mandarkia

References

1. A Gazetteer of Sultanpur District Volume XLVI: Gazetteers of the United Provinces edited by H. R Neville
2. Tribes and Castes of North Western Provinces and Oudh by William Crooke
3. Tribes and Castes of Northwestern Provinces and Oudh by William Crooke page 38
4. http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/times-of-india-the/mi_8012/is_20070708/muslim-rajputs-india/ai_n39451474/?tag=content;col1